DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I in the reply filed on November 25, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-5, 7-9, 12-16 and 18-20 are pending in this application.
Claims 6, 10, 11 and 17 have been withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 recites “communication with to the battery cooling system”, which should recite --communication with the battery cooling system--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 4 and 15, applicant claims the warm air module is connected to the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler in parallel; or the warm air module is connected to the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler in series. The elected species do not disclose the system wherein the warm air module is connected to the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler in series; hence this limitation is indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-9, 12-15 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyoshi (KR 20210114344 A).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 12 and 13, Miyoshi discloses a thermal management system, comprising: an engine cooler (12) comprising a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet (shown in Fig. 2); an exhaust gas recirculation system cooler (42), an outlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler being in communication with the liquid inlet (Fig. 2 depicts flow from 4a4 to 4b4 and 4a2), and an inlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler being in communication with the liquid outlet (4a2-4a4); and a temperature adjustment and heat dissipation assembly (54, 53), an inlet of the temperature adjustment and heat dissipation assembly being in communication with the inlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler, and an outlet of the temperature adjustment and heat dissipation assembly being in communication with the outlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler (as seen in Fig. 2, elements 42, 54 and 53 are part of the same system and all inlets and outlets are in communication);
wherein the temperature adjustment and heat dissipation assembly comprises a thermostat (54) and a radiator (53) that are connected to each other, an inlet of the thermostat is in communication with the inlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler, and an outlet of the radiator is in communication with the outlet of the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler (Fig. 2).
Regarding claims 3, 4, 13 and 14, Miyoshi discloses the thermal management system, further comprising: a warm air module (43), an outlet of the warm air module being in communication with the liquid inlet (through pump 51), and an inlet of the warm air module being in communication with the liquid outlet (shown in Fig. 2: 5a-44-4a3); and,
wherein the warm air module is connected to the exhaust gas recirculation system cooler in parallel (Fig. 1).
Regarding claims 7, 8, 18 and 19, Miyoshi discloses the thermal management system further comprising: an air-conditioning system (2); and a second heat exchange plate (27) comprising: a third heat exchange channel (27b) being in communication with to the battery cooling system (3); and a fourth heat exchange channel (27a) being in communication with to the air-conditioning system (Fig. 2);
wherein the air-conditioning system comprises: a compressor (21); a first heat exchanger (26), a first end of the first heat exchanger connected to the compressor; and a second heat exchanger (22), a first end of the second heat exchanger connected to a second end of the first heat exchanger through a switching valve (28), and a second end of the second heat exchanger connected to the compressor, wherein two ends of the fourth heat exchange channel are respectively connected to the compressor and the second end of the first heat exchanger (Fig. 2).
Regarding claims 9 and 20, Miyoshi discloses the thermal management system further comprising an electronic expansion valve (24) disposed between the fourth heat exchange channel (27a) and the first heat exchanger (26).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 5, 9, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyoshi (KR 20210114344 A) in view of Zhang et al. (CN 113859051 A).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, Miyoshi discloses a battery cooling system (3); a first heat exchange plate (27) comprising: a first heat exchange channel being in communication with to the battery cooling system (2).
Miyoshi doesn’t disclose a second heat exchange channel, a first end of the second heat exchange channel being in communication with the liquid inlet; and a three-way valve comprising: a first opening being in communication with the liquid inlet; a second opening being in communication with a second end of the second heat exchange channel; and a third opening being in communication with the warm air module, and configured to be in communication with one of the first opening and the second opening. Zhang discloses a thermal management system comprising an engine cooler (32) and having a battery cooling system (29); a first heat exchange plate (8) comprising: a first heat exchange channel being in communication with to the battery cooling system (Fig. 1); and a second heat exchange channel (7), a first end of the second heat exchange channel being in communication with the liquid inlet (2); and a three-way (4) valve comprising: a first opening being in communication with the liquid inlet; a second opening being in communication with a second end of the second heat exchange channel; and a third opening being in communication with the warm air module (Fig. 1 depicts valve 4 having openings tied to inlet 2, channel 7 and heater core 6), and configured to be in communication with one of the first opening and the second opening (Fig. 1). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to arrange the thermal management system of Miyoshi as taught by Zhang in order to achieve the heating requirements.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/TEUTA HOLBROOK/
Examiner
Art Unit 3747
/GEORGE C JIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747