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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-10 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The specification notes in ¶ [0001], and throughout the rest, that the integrated cooling module is one for a vehicle cooling system. However, the claim(s) lack specification for this being a vehicle cooling system and no part of the disclosure conveys that this cooling system is one that can be applied to any and all other systems (e.g. computers, satellites, mining equipment, etc.) without significant modification outside the scope of the disclosure. For the purposes of examination, the claims will be examined as though the integrated cooling module is one for a vehicle system (as in claim 11).
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 4-6 and 8-10 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.
Claim 4 recites “the coolant discharge port of the second chamber is connected to the component through a connection flow path extending from the corresponding coolant discharge port.” The claim here is saying “the coolant discharge port is connected to the corresponding coolant discharge port.” But it is a coolant discharge port, so what is the corresponding one? It’s unclear what the flow path is or what it is extending between. What is the “corresponding coolant discharge port” of the second chamber’s coolant discharge port? This is not clear nor claimed directly.
Claims 8-10 recite directions such as “rear” and “upper” without defining the directionality of the tank with regards to anything (noting, in light of the 112 1st rejection above, no vehicle is even claimed) and thus is trying to claim directional structures without any reference on what the directions mean.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 1-3, 7-10, 12, and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baek et al (KR 2022-0042841A).
Regarding claim 1, Baek discloses an integrated coolant module comprising:
a reservoir tank 100 having a hollow internal space that accommodates a coolant (¶ [0001]), the reservoir tank comprising a plurality of partition regions S1 S2 separated by a partition wall 140 in the internal space (Fig. 5a, shown); and
a component coupled to one side of the reservoir tank and comprising at least one of a valve and a pump (Fig. 2, pump 400 and valve 500 attached to the side of tank 100), wherein
at least one of the plurality of partition regions in the reservoir tank communicates directly with the component (Fig. 3, shown tank 100 connected to valve 200 and pump 400 via in/out pipes 112 114), and another partition region communicates with the component while penetrating a region that communicates directly with the component (Fig. 3 and Fig. 5, wherein the region S2 penetrates the wall 140 on one side and communicates with the pipe 111).
Regarding claim 2, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of partition regions comprises a first chamber and a second chamber, the component is disposed on a lateral surface of one side of the reservoir tank that is a lateral surface of one side of the first chamber (Fig. 2 and 3, shown).
Regarding claim 3, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 2, wherein an assembling surface between the component and the reservoir tank is disposed in parallel with the partition wall (Fig. 3 and 4, the wall where the component attaches to the tank is flat in at least one point and the two are parallel at it).
Regarding claim 7, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 2, wherein the first chamber is disposed at one side based on the partition wall and formed in an elongated shape, and the second chamber is disposed at the other side based on the partition wall and formed in an elongated shape (Fig. 5, shown elongated chambers s1 and s2).
Regarding claim 8, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 7, wherein the reservoir tank has at least a partial region having a height that decreases forward from a rear side (Fig. 2, the tank is shown to have a slope which would decrease height from tis center near the cap toward the rear).
Regarding claim 9, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 8, wherein an upper surface of the region of the reservoir tank in which the height decreases forward from the rear side is formed in a curved shape (Fig. 2, the tank 100 is shown to be curved on top and its side).
Regarding claim 10, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 8, wherein an upper surface of the region of the reservoir tank in which the height decreases forward from the rear side is formed in a straight shape( Fig. 2, the tank is shown to have a curved shape which would decrease height from its center toward the sides).
Regarding claim 12, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 7, wherein a single coolant injection port is provided at a rear side of an upper portion of the reservoir tank (Fig. 4, the tank has multiple coolant ports which could be considered “at a rear side” and “an upper portion” without knowing how these directions are defined. It’s noted that inlet 111 appears to be on a rear side and toward the upper half as defined by the prior art’s directions).
Regarding claim 14, Baek discloses the ntegrated coolant module of claim 2, wherein an upper portion of the partition wall has a penetrated structure, and the first chamber and the second chamber communicate with each other through the penetrated upper portion of the partition wall (Fig. 5, the wall 140 has an area that is “penetrated” to form an opening through it).
Regarding claim 15, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 2, wherein a single coolant injection port is provided on an upper portion of the reservoir tank, and the single coolant injection port is disposed on a vertically upper portion of the partition wall (Fig. 4, the tank includes a coolant injection port 111 on an upper portion and a coolant injection port 113 which is also on a “vertically upper portion” of the wall).
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) 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek.
Regarding claim 11, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 8, but fails to disclose wherein at least a part of an upper surface of the reservoir tank is formed along a hood line of a vehicle.
Baek, for its part, discloses including the cooling circuit in a vehicle system (Abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to including the reservoir tank near along a hood line of a vehicle, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. In this case, Baek already is within a vehicle, simply positioning the device along a hood to “be along” it would simply involve routine experimentation to find the best location within a vehicle compartment.
Regarding claim 13, Baek discloses the integrated coolant module of claim 2, but fails to disclose wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are formed symmetrically with respect to the partition wall.
Baek, for its part, shows the chambers s1 and s2 being very similar and nearly symmetric, but simply not perfectly symmetric. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to form the chamber in perfect symmetry since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN A LATHERS whose telephone number is (571)272-1050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10a-6p.
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/KEVIN A LATHERS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3747