DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Requirement for Information Under Rule 1.105
Applicant and the assignee of this application are required under 37 CFR 1.105 to provide the following information that the examiner has determined is reasonably necessary to the examination of this application.
In response to this requirement, please provide a copy of each of the following items of art referred to in the specification and the claim, that is, the “joint industry council” standard or material indicated in claim 10 and paragraph [0029], that was relied upon at the time of the filling of this instant application.
A complete reply to the enclosed Office action must include a complete reply to this requirement. The time period for reply to this requirement coincides with the time period for reply to the enclosed Office action.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-19) in the reply filed on 08/13/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim 20 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/13/2025.
The status of the claims for this application is as follows.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Claims 20 are currently withdrawn.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/05/2024 was considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 11/05/2024.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “flange fitting comprises a threaded exterior surface” (claims 7 and 18), “the flange fitting comprises a threaded interior hollow core” (claims 8 and 19), “the flange fitting comprises a braze joint fitting configuration” (claim 9), and “the elongated socket comprises a braze joint configuration such that when the microchannel tube is operatively connected to the elongated socket the braze joint” (claim 10), must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-5 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 2 and 13 recites “a stadium-shaped opening”. The claim language is unclear because stadiums come in a variety of different shapes. What constitutes as a stadium-shaped?
The claims have been rejected as best understood.
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) 1-6, 9, and 11-17, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 20010100628, (hereinafter, KR-628).
At the outset the applicant is reminded that:
1. While features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477-78, 44 USPQ2d 1429, 1431-32 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
2. A claim containing a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987).
Re Clm 1: KR-628 discloses a coupling kit (see Figs. 1-12d), comprising:
a coupling device (see Figs. 1-12d) comprising:
an elongate body (the body illustrated in Fig. 1c) including a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end opposite the first longitudinal end (see the two ends of the body illustrated in Fig. 1c),
wherein at least one end of the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end comprises a flange fitting (see Fig. 1c, the right side end) longitudinally extending therefrom; and
an elongated socket (see Figs. 1c, the left side end and see 2a and 2b which illustrate elongated socket(s)) disposed in a sidewall of the elongate body,
the elongated socket being configured to operatively connect to a microchannel tube (the elongated socket is made to or is capable of being operatively connect to a microchannel tube; for example: a microchannel tube 11 shown in Figs. 1 and 10); and the microchannel tube configured to be operatively connected to the elongated socket of the coupling device (see Figs. 3a-3c), wherein the microchannel tube comprises an alloy material forming a first planar surface and a second planar surface opposite the first planar surface, wherein a plurality of partitions are disposed between the first planar surface and the second planar surface, the plurality of partitions forming microchannels through which a heat transfer medium can flow in a laminar manner (note that the microchannel tube and its structures are not positively recited elements of the claim but rather are the intended use element(s) of the claimed elongated socket; also note that KR-628 discloses a microchannel tube).
Re Clm 2: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongated socket comprises a stadium-shaped opening (the outer opening of/at 19) that extends longitudinally from proximate the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end (see at least the one 19 that is closest to the flange fitting and said 19’s weld and said 19’s brazing at 22).
Re Clm 3: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongated socket comprises a contiguous hollow channel (the4 entire inner channel) connecting the stadium-shaped opening to a hollow core of the flange fitting (see Fig. 2a).
Re Clm 4: KR-628 discloses wherein the contiguous hollow channel comprises a capsule-shaped interior (see Fig. 2a).
Re Clm 5: KR-628 discloses wherein the contiguous hollow channel comprises a lip surface (the surface at the end of the lead line for 22 in Fig. 3b) that forms a stepwise diameter (at the end of the lead line for 22 in Fig. 3b) within the contiguous channel such that the microchannel tube is inhibited from traversing (by brazing 22) from the stadium-shaped opening to a back wall surface (the curved wall surface opposite said 22) of the contiguous channel when inserted due to the lip forming (by brazing) a smaller diameter across a back portion (the back of the hole of the opening of 19) of the contiguous channel that is opposite the stadium-shaped opening.
Re Clm 6: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongate body comprises a rectangular dome extending from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end, wherein the sidewall forms a rectangular base opposite a dome surface of the rectangular dome (similar to that of the applicant’s).
Re Clm 9: KR-628 discloses wherein the flange fitting comprises a braze joint fitting configuration (the flat surface to the left of the conical structure, see Figs. 1a and 1c).
Re Clm 11: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongated socket comprises a braze joint (at 22, see 3a and 3b) configuration such that when the microchannel tube is operatively connected to the elongated socket the braze joint retains connectivity for pressures of at least 2,000 pounds per square inch (the elongated socket has a braze joint (at 22, see 3a and 3b) which is made to or is capable of having a microchannel tube operatively connected to the elongated socket and the braze joint retains connectivity for pressures of at least 2,000 pounds per square inch).
Re Clm 12: KR-628 discloses a coupling device (see Figs. 1-12d), comprising:
an elongate body (the body illustrated in Fig. 1c) including a first longitudinal end and a second longitudinal end opposite the first longitudinal end (see the two ends of the body illustrated in Fig. 1c), wherein at least one end of the first longitudinal end and the second longitudinal end comprises
a flange fitting (see Fig. 1c, the right side end) longitudinally extending therefrom; and an elongated socket (19(s)) disposed in a sidewall of the elongate body (see Figs. 1c, the sidewall on the left end and see Figs. 2a and 2b which illustrate elongated socket(s)),
the elongated socket being configured to operatively connect to a microchannel tube (note that the microchannel tube and its structures are not positively recited elements of the claim but rather are the intended use element(s) of the claimed elongated socket).
Re Clm 13: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongated socket comprises a stadium-shaped opening (of the 19(s)) that extends longitudinally from proximate the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end (see Figs. 2a and 2b).
Re Clm 14: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongated socket comprises a contiguous channel (see Figs. 1a, 1c, 2a and 2b) connecting the stadium-shaped opening to a hollow core of the flange fitting (see Figs. 1a, 1c, 2a and 2b).
Re Clm 15: KR-628 discloses wherein the contiguous channel comprises a hollow capsule-shaped interior (see Fig. 2a).
Re Clm 16: KR-628 discloses wherein the contiguous channel comprises a lip (the surface at the end of the lead line for 22 in Fig. 3b) that forms a step-wise diameter (at the end of the lead line for 22 in Fig. 3b) within the contiguous channel such that the microchannel tube is inhibited from traversing (by brazing 22) from the stadium-shaped opening to a back wall (the curved wall surface opposite said 22) of the contiguous channel when inserted due to the lip forming (by brazing) a smaller diameter across a back portion (the back of the hole of the opening of 19) of the contiguous channel that is opposite the stadium-shaped opening.
Re Clm 17: KR-628 discloses wherein the elongate body comprises a rectangular dome extending from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end, wherein the sidewall forms a rectangular base opposite a dome surface of the rectangular dome (similar to that of the applicant’s).
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) 7, 8, 10, 18, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20010100628, (hereinafter, KR-628) as applied to claim(s) 1-6, 9, and 11-15 above.
Re Clms 7 and 18: KR-628 discloses wherein the flange fitting comprises a threaded surface.
KR-628 fails to disclose that the disclosed exterior surface is threaded.
A thread or threads allow for a member to mate with another member to form a joint, where such would be for making a fluid tight joint.
The examiner is taking Official notice that it is old and well-known to use thread(s) on an external surface, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified the device of KR-628, to have had threads on an external surface, with a reasonable expectation of success because it is old and well-known to have external threads on the exterior surface of a member, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Re Clms 8 and 19: KR-628 discloses wherein the flange fitting comprises a threaded interior hollow core.
KR-628 fails to disclose that the disclosed interior hollow core is threaded.
A thread or threads allow for a member to mate with another member to form a joint, where such would be for making a fluid tight joint.
The examiner is taking Official notice that it is old and well-known to use thread(s) on an internal surface, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified the device of KR-628, to have had threads on an interior hollow core, with a reasonable expectation of success because it is old and well-known to have external threads on the exterior surface of a member, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Re Clm 10: KR-628 discloses wherein the flange fitting comprises a flare seating surface (see Fig. 1a and 1c, the flare on the right side).
KR-628 fails to disclose that the disclosed flare seating surface is 37 degrees of a joint industry council fitting.
KR-628 discloses a flare seating surface that appears to be or approaching 37 degrees and having flare seating surface at 37 degrees would allow for a seal to be made with the joining members, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified the device of KR-628, to have had the disclosed flare seating surface is 37 degrees of a joint industry council fitting, with a reasonable expectation of success because one is merely changing the angular shape of a member with another angular shape of another member, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint.
Note that it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 167 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
A thread or threads allow for a member to mate with another member to form a joint, where such would be for making a fluid tight joint.
The examiner is taking Official notice that it is old and well-known to use thread(s), for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have modified the device of KR-628, to have had threads, with a reasonable expectation of success because it is old and well-known to have threads on a member, for the purpose of forming a leak free joint between two mating members.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following documents have structural features (tubes into a fitting) which are similar to the applicant’s claimed invention; JP-63006394-A, JP-02121770-A, JP-2012163223-A, and US-10208879-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES A LINFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-3066. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Troutman can be reached at (571) 270-3654. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JAMES ALBERT LINFORD
Examiner
Art Unit 3679
10/28/2025
/Matthew Troutman/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3679