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 .
Applicant’s amendment dated 08 May 2026 has been fully considered.
Final rejection has been made because of new matter
After carefully reviewing Applicant’s amendment, it is noted that the claimed invention has errors based on 35 USC 112(a), and may include new matter. Thus, a 35 USC 112(a) rejection has been made, this Office Action has been made FINAL.
35 USC 112(a) rejections
Claims 1-12 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.
It is unclear which embodiment in this application discloses the claimed invention of independent claim 1. Claims 1-12 may have new matter. Independent claim 1 recites:
1. (Currently Amended) A refrigeration system comprising: a first cooling loop; a second cooling loop; a refrigerant evaporator coupled to an upper portion of the first cooling loop and configured to extract heat from a cogeneration system using a Rankine cycle to pump working fluid; and a refrigerant condenser coupled to an upper portion of the second cooling loop and operatively coupled to the cogeneration system.
None of the embodiments in this application discloses a combination of the underlined limitations (newly added limitations) of amended claim 1 above including a first cooling loop; a second cooling loop; a refrigerant evaporator coupled to an upper portion of the first cooling loop, a refrigerant condenser coupled to an upper portion of the second cooling loop . Most embodiments in this application disclose a cogeneration system with a power generation loop; for example, figure 1 discloses a turbine 124 in combination with a generator 128; this power generation loop CANNOT be reasonably considered as a cooling loop. In fact, the limitation “second cooling loop” is not found anywhere in the specification. By definition, A cooling loop is a closed or open circulation system designed to transfer heat away from equipment or processes by circulating a working fluid. Figure 7A appears to have a condenser 772 and an evaporator 774 coupled to upper portions of two loops but the specification does not describe those loops as cooling loops. In fact, the loop with evaporator 774 is a heating loop with heat input. Figure 18 discloses an evaporator 1804 on the first loop, and a condenser 1809 in the second loop. However, the specification does not disclose that those loops are cooling loops and the condenser 1809 is not connected to an upper portion of its loop.
Note: claim language should be equivalent with the terms in the specification to enable persons with ordinary skill in the art to understand. Please point out exactly which embodiment recites the combination of the limitations in the amended claim 1 above. For now, those limitations appear to be new matter and is rejected under 35 USC 112(a) rejection.
Finality
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Conclusions
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Examiner Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-4861. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday--Thursday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Laurenzi, can be reached on (571) 270-7878.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HOANG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
HOANG NGUYEN
PRIMARY EXAMINER
ART UNIT 3746
Hoang Minh Nguyen
6/1/2026
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