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, “a water condenser having…a fluid inlet, and a fluid outlet, wherein heat is transferred from air flowing into the air inlet to fluid flowing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet” 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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-16, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Giacomini (US 20170247862).
Regarding claim 1, Giacomini teaches a condenser apparatus (fig. 4) comprising: (a) a housing (22) for directing air flow within the housing (fig. 4), and having an air inlet (42) and an air outlet (70); (b) a cross flow heat exchanger (46) having a first air inlet (50), a first air outlet (52), a second air inlet (56), and a second air outlet (58); (c) an airflow driver (68) for driving airflow through at least a portion of the housing; (d) a water condenser (62) having an air inlet (52 into 62) for receiving air flowing from the first air outlet of the cross flow heat exchanger (fig. 4), an air outlet (62 into 56) for providing air to the second air inlet of the cross flow heat exchanger (fig. 4), a fluid inlet (water within 62, paragraph 0094), and a fluid outlet (out of 62 into 65), wherein heat is transferred from air flowing into the air inlet to fluid flowing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet (paragraph 0094); and (e) a condensate collector (65) for collecting water condensate from the air flowing into the air inlet of the water condenser.
Regarding claim 2, Giacomini teaches the airflow driver comprises a fan (air blower, paragraph 0098).
Regarding claim 3, Giacomini teaches the airflow driver comprises a plurality of fans (two blower units, paragraph 0098).
Regarding claim 4, Giacomini teaches the airflow driver drives air through the cross flow heat exchanger and through the water condenser (fig. 4).
Regarding claim 5, Giacomini teaches the cross flow heat exchanger provides for removal of sensible heat from the air flowing from the first air inlet to the first air outlet (paragraph 0089, 0091, 0095).
Regarding claims 6, 7, Giacomini teaches the cross flow heat exchanger provides a reduction in temperature of air of at least 2 degrees F (understood that 46 is capable of reducing the air flowing through 42 by at least 2 degrees F to about 14 degrees F since 46 precools the air before entering 62, paragraph 0091, 0095).
Regarding claims 9-16, 19, it is noted that although the preamble of claim 14 is directed towards a method, the structure of the combined teachings disclose all the structure being provided in the method steps, thus the method is also anticipated by the combined teachings. If a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art device. When the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device will inherently or obviously perform the claimed process. Thus, the method, as claimed, would necessarily result from the normal operation of the apparatus. See MPEP 2112.02.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 17-18 and 20 are 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claims 8 and 17, the subject matter which is considered to distinguish from the closest prior art of record, Giacomini (US 20170247862). The prior art of record teaches allowing air from the air outlet of the water condenser to flow into the second air inlet of the cross flow heat exchanger in contrast to the claimed features of a bypass opening for allowing air from the air outlet of the water condenser to bypass flow into the second air inlet of the cross flow heat exchanger as recited in claim 8 or allowing the processed air to bypass the cross flow heat exchanger as recited in claim 17.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH J MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)270-3840. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-3:00 CT pm M-F.
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.
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/ELIZABETH J MARTIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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