DETAILED ACTION
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
While the material of claims 1-2 alone is known in the art (see rejections below) the inclusion of a metal layer in the groove which is distinct from but connected to the heating element, as required by claim 3, does not appear to be fairly taught or suggested in the art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 210689319 (‘319) in view of WO 2015/133381 (‘381).
Regarding claims 1-2, ‘319 teaches a heat storage brick (100) comprising first (facing in Fig. 1), second (back side in Fig. 1), and third (face with groove forming 111) surfaces with the third surface connecting the first and second (Fig. 1) and a first groove (forming 111; Fig. 1) provided int he third surface and connected to the first and second surfaces (Figs.), per claim 1; and a metal layer (the resistive heating element 120) provided inside the first groove, per claim 2.
‘319 recites that the device is a brick without specifying ceramic materials and does not utilize phase change heat storage materials therein.
‘381 teaches that it is old and well-known to form thermal storage members (10) from ceramic (20) with latent heat storage parts provided inside the ceramic part (31).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to form the device of ‘319 with an enclosed phase change material, as taught by ‘381, in order to provide constant temperature across an optimized thermal band of the device.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Von Behrens (US 12,352,505) in view of ‘381.
Regarding claim 1, Von Behrens teaches forming heat storage blocks (e.g. 1610) from refractory materials (Col. 5:57); including a first (surface with 1620), second (opposite 1620), and third (surface with the indents/grooves 1660 and 1650 formed between its outer edges in Fig. 16) surfaces with the third surface connecting the first and second (Fig. 16) and a first groove (groove forming 1650) provided in the third surface and connected to the first and second surfaces (Fig. 16).
Von Behrens recites refractory materials without specifying ceramics and does not utilize phase change heat storage materials therein.
‘381 teaches that it is old and well-known to form thermal storage members (10) from ceramic (20) with latent heat storage parts provided inside the ceramic part (31).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to form the device of Von Behrens with an enclosed phase change material, as taught by ‘381, in order to provide constant temperature across an optimized thermal band of the device.
Regarding claims 4-5, Von Behrens further teaches that: a fourth surface is opposite the third (i.e. the surface opposite 1660 in Fig. 16) connecting the first and second surfaces and a second groove (1694) provided in the first surface connecting the third and fourth surfaces (Fig. 16), per claim 4; the first (forming 1650) and second (1694) grooves are connected (see Fig. 16), per claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, Von Behrens further teaches a first surface connected to the first through third surfaces (back side of the device in Fig. 16), a sixth surface opposite to the first surface (front face in Fig. 16) likewise connected to the first through third surfaces, and a third groove (groove between sidewall 1690 and its equivalent lower edge; the bottom of this groove forms 1660 and 1650) provided in the third surface and connected to the fifth and sixth surfaces (Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 7, Von Behrens teaches first and second heating elements (installed in 1640 and 1650, respectively) provided inside the ceramic part and configured to heat the heat storage element.
In the combination with 381, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to locate the phase change material of ‘381 between the heating elements as ‘381 intends for the phase change material to surround medium flow channels (see 211) and the medium flow channels in Von Behrens (channels 1630, 1632, 1635) are located between the first and second heating elements (see Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 8, in the combination with ‘381, the latent heat storage part will have a plate shape with two principle surfaces (i.e. the external surfaces which define the thermal collection portions between 1640 and 1650) and the first and second heating elements are arranged on a plane parallel to the two principle surfaces (i.e. within 1640 and 1650).
Regarding claim 9, a fourth surface opposite to the third surface (see Fig. 16) and connecting the first and second surfaces, wherein the plurality of heat storage devices are arranged with third and fourth surfaces of adjacent heat storage devices in a first direction are opposed to each other (see Fig. 17) and first and second surfaces of adjacent heat storage devices in a second direction perpendicular to the first oppose each other (see fig. 17).
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.
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, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at 571.270.5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DEVON LANE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights