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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the opening angle a satisfies the relation: θ+α ≥ 90°, where θ is a wetting angle between a molten braze-welding filler material and a base material of the separating element must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Bonnet (US20040251015A1: cited by Applicant).
Regarding claim 1, Bonnet teaches a duct or vessel (see Figures 5 and 6) comprising a separating element (1) that divides an interior of the duct or vessel into a first inner space (1st NS) and a second inner space (2nd NS: see Bonnet’s Figures 5 and 6 annotated by Examiner), and is joined to the duct or vessel by braze-welding (see ¶ [0029]: Examiner notes that the recitation of " joined to the duct or vessel by braze-welding " is considered product-by-process limitation. The cited prior art teaches all of the positively recited structure of the claimed apparatus or product. The determination of patentability is based upon the apparatus structure itself. The patentability of a product or apparatus does not depend on its method of production or formation. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process. See In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985) (see MPEP § 2113)),
wherein the separating element (1) comprises a pair of plates, each of which comprises a central portion (CP) and a peripheral edge (PE/166) raised with respect to the central portion (see Bonnet’s Figures 5 and 6 annotated by Examiner), the plates being joined to each other at their central portions (CP) so as to define an annular gap (gap between 166, also see ¶ [0037]) around the central portions (CP), interposed between the peripheral edges of the plates, the annular gap fluidically communicating with a through-hole (167/7) formed on a side wall of the duct or vessel (see Bonnet’s Figures 5 and 6 annotated by Examiner),
wherein each of the plates has a profile in radial cross-section comprising an inflection point between the central portion and the peripheral edge, wherein a tangent to the plate at the inflection point defines an opening angle a with respect to an interface plane between the plates, and wherein the opening angle a satisfies the relation: θ+α ≥ 90°, where θ is a wetting angle between a molten braze-welding filler material and a base material of the separating element, (see Bonnet’s Figure 2 annotated by Examiner, Examiner notes that due to geometry shape of plates and the peripheral edges, the angle between the interface plane and the base line, that extends from the peripheral edge to interface plane, is 90 degree. Therefore, the opening angle must be smaller than 90 degrees. Furthermore, Examiner also notes that the opening angle a satisfies the relation: θ+α ≥ 90°, where θ is a wetting angle between a molten braze-welding filler material and a base material of the separating element is considered product-by-process limitation since the wetting angle between a molten braze-welding filler material and a base material of the separating element can be adjust/ lowered by adjust or modifying the process of the welding such as adjusting the heat that melt the filler material, using flux, or preparing the welding surface to achieve desired wetting angle).
Regarding claim 2, Bonnet teaches a heat exchanger comprising a first distributor and a second distributor (i.e. end tanks :see ¶ [0016]), and a plurality of parallel, coplanar tubes interconnecting the first distributor and the second distributor (see ¶ [0016]), wherein each of the first and second distributors has a tubular body (Examiner notes that each of Bonnet’s first distributor and second distributor (i.e. end tanks) has a tubular body due to the cross-section shape of the separating element (1)), on a side wall of which a plurality of slits (TS) are formed (see Bonnet’s Figures 5 and 6 annotated by Examiner), wherein in each slit of the plurality of slits an end of a respective tube of the plurality of parallel, coplanar tubes is inserted (Examiner notes that it’s implicit that in each slit of the plurality of slits an end of a respective tube of the plurality of parallel, coplanar tubes is inserted), and wherein at least one of the first and second distributors is the duct or vessel of claim 1 (see the rejection of claim 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHALED AL SAMIRI whose telephone number is (571)272-8685. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30AM~3:30PM, M-F (E.S.T.).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571) 270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHALED AHMED ALI AL SAMIRI/Examiner, Art Unit 3763 /JOEL M ATTEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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