DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/18/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1-15 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1 line 4, “to heat liquid” should read “to heat a liquid”.
In claim 5, line 6, “allowing liquid to be introduced therein” should read “allowing the liquid to be introduced therein”.
In claim 6, line 7, “thereby allowing liquid to be introduced” should read “thereby allowing the liquid to be introduced”.
In claim 8, line 3, “a flow amount of liquid flowing inside the housing” should read “a flow amount of the liquid flowing inside the housing”.
In claim 12, line 9, “to allow liquid to flow into and out of the housing body” should read “to allow the liquid to flow into and out of the housing body”.
In claim 13, line 7, “to allow liquid to flow into and out of the housing body” should read “to allow the liquid to flow into and out of the housing body”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim(s) 2-15 is/are objected to for their dependency on an objected base claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1-15 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 calls for the limitation “wherein a first polarity or a second polarity different from the first polarity is applied to each of the plurality of rotary bodies” (last paragraph); which limitation is indefinite as it is unclear as to how a limitation recited in an alternative is required to practice the other alternative. To clarify, the limitation requires only one of “a first polarity” and “a second polarity”. In the instance where the second polarity is selected, the limitation requires particularities of the first polarity (see “a second polarity different from the first polarity”). However, the first polarity and its particularities are not part of the claimed invention in the instance where the second polarity is selected. Accordingly, the scope of the limitation is indefinite. Appropriate correction is required.
Analogously; claim 2 requires both “the first polarity” and “the second polarity”. However, parent claim 1 requires only one of “the first polarity” and “the second polarity”. Thus, it is unclear what the scope of claim 2 is as it requires both limitations that were previously claimed in the alternative.
Claim(s) 2-15 is/are indefinite for their dependency on an indefinite base claim.
Prior Art Rejection
where there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of a claim, it would not be proper to reject such a claim on the basis of prior art. As stated in In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962), a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 should not be based on considerable speculation about the meaning of terms employed in a claim or assumptions that must be made as to the scope of the claims.
The closest prior art of record, Young (KR 101750226 B1), discloses a heat pump with improved energy efficiency #100, the heat pump comprising a power unit #20 providing a rotational driving force for liquid circulation, and receiving power to heat a liquid (abstract); and a housing #10 defining a space therein to allow the power unit to be disposed therein, wherein the power unit comprises a motor #M; a shaft #21 connected to the motor to receive power; and a plurality of rotary bodies (#22 & #28) rotatably provided on the shaft to be spaced apart from each other (Fig. 1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hyun (US 20080224550 A1), Porter (US 5179307 A), and Fradella (US 4520300 A).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIONEL W NOUKETCHA whose telephone number is (571)272-8438. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon - Fri: 08:00 AM - 04:00 PM.
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/LIONEL NOUKETCHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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