DETAILED ACTION
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 3 is 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.
In claim 3, the recitation that the first fluid bypasses through the space between the tubes contradicts the claim from which it depends.
In claims 11 and 13, “peanut” and “petal” shapes are not sufficiently distinct as to determine the metes and bounds of a claims. Both peanuts and petals (presumptively of flowers) are subject to large natural fluctuations in both size and structure. Peanuts vary in the number of legumes found in each casing and if petal-shaped is supposed to refer to a flower, no varietal of flower has even been specified. It is suggested that the applicant describe the shapes of the desired figures directly.
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.
Claim 5 is 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 claim directly contradicts the disclosure which asserts that the outer wrap tightens the tube bundle to provide uniform spacing between the tubes (Para. [0018]). It is not understood how the wrap could create non-uniform spacing or how the wrap could provide opposite effects described in the specification and recited by the claim. The disclosure does not appear to provide sufficient guidance to construct or indication of possession of this feature in claim 5.
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 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagurny.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Nagurny teaches a tube bundle (Fig. 2; collection of tubes 202) comprising twisted tubes (Fig. 3a) having a tubular wall and passage inside for a first fluid to flow through (Fig. 2; seawater) and a second fluid to pass between the tubes (Fig. 2; working fluid), the tubes comprise one or more ribs extending from the tubular wall twisted about its length (the ribs are the deformed outward extremities of the elliptical cross-section; fig. 3b) and the tubes are polymeric (Para. [0067]), per claim 1; the tubes may be elliptical in cross-section (Fig. 3b), per claim 10.
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) 1-2, 8-9, and 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2001289583 (‘583) in view of Nagurny (US 2011/0011572).
Regarding claim 1, ‘583 teaches a tube (4) in shell (1) heat exchanger with twisted (Fig. 2) tubes comprising: one or more tube bundles (bundle of 4; Fig. 1) each comprising two or more twisted tubes (Fig. 1) each tube having a tubular wall and passage inside (Figs. 4-5) for a first fluid (from 8 to 9) to flow through, each tube being twisted about its respective length (Fig. 2), each bundle configured for a second fluid to pass through open space between the tubes (from 10 to 11), each tube twisted to provide flow direction changes to first and/or second fluids (Figs. 2-5) wherein the tubes comprise one or more ribs (4-2) extending from the tubular wall and twisted about its length.
‘583 does not specify the construction material to be polymeric.
Nagurny teaches that it is old and well-known to form heat exchanger tubes from polymers (see list of suitable materials Para. [0067]).
It would have been obvious to form the device of ‘583 from any suitable material, including those delineated by Nagurny, as ‘583 leaves such a choice to one of ordinary skill.
‘583 further teaches that: one or more ribs extend outward from an outer surface of the tubular wall (Fig. 3), with the dimensions selected for the second fluid to pass through the open space between the tubes (see Fig. 1; the second fluid passes between the tubes and therefore the dimensions are ‘selected’ so that this can occur), per claim 2; the ribs extend inward from an inner surface of the tubular wall (4-3), per claim 3; the tube bundle has a fixed length (Fig. 1), per claim 8; the tube bundle comprises a plurality of non-circular tubes twisted about it respective length (Figs. 2-5), per claim 9; the tube may have a conjoined two-lobed structure (Fig. 5;), per claim 11; the tube may comprise a polygon twisted tube (Fig. 4), per claim 12; the tube may comprise a multi-lobed structure (Fig. 6), per claims 13 and 14.
Claim(s) 1, 4, and 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wanni (US 6,874,572) in view of Nagurny (US 2011/0011572).
Regarding claim 1, Wanni teaches a tube in shell heat exchanger with twisted tubes comprising: one or more tube bundles (160) each comprising two or more twisted tubes each comprising a tubular wall and passage inside the wall (see Fig. 2) configured for a first fluid to flow through (from 40 to 130); each twisted tube being twisted about its respective length (see Figs. 2-3), each bundle configured for a second fluid to pass through open space between the twisted tubes (from 110 to 120), each tube being twisted to generate flow direction changes for the first and/or second fluid (inherently 170 change the flow of the second fluid flowing around them) wherein at least one of two or more twisted tubes comprise one or more ribs (170) extending from the tubular wall and twisted about its length (Fig. 3).
Wanni does not specify the construction material to be polymeric.
Nagurny teaches that it is old and well-known to form heat exchanger tubes from polymers (see list of suitable materials Para. [0067]).
It would have been obvious to form the device of ‘583 from any suitable material, including those delineated by Nagurny, depending on the temperature, corrosion, and other conditions required by a particular application.
Regarding claims 4 and 6-7, Wanni teaches that an outer wrap may be disposed around the tube bundle to control bypass of the second fluid between the twisted tubes (Col. 5:4-7), per claim 4; a housing (150) disposed outside the tube bundle, per claim 6; and the wrap tightens the tube bundle to reduce space between the housing and tube bundle (Col. 5:4-7), per claim 7.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Devon Lane whose telephone number is (571)270-1858. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 9-4.
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/DEVON LANE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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