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 .
Status of Rejections
All 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) rejections from the previous office action are withdrawn in view of the Applicant’s amendments. All 35 U.S.C. § 103 rejections from the previous office action are maintained and modified only in response to the amendments to the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1 and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 20140353167) in view of Lim et al. (US 20150274545).
Regarding claim 1, Cho teaches an apparatus for controlling water softeners, the apparatus comprising:
a first water softener (first filter unit 10; Fig. 4) configured to soften and recycle source water (i.e., the filter unit is operated under purification or regeneration modes; paragraph 9);
a second water softener (second filter unit 20) configured to soften and recycle mutually complementarily with the first water softener (i.e., the filter unit is operated under purification or regeneration modes; paragraph 9); and
a controller (controller 30; Fig. 5) configured to control water softening and recycling of the first water softener and the second water softener (i.e., the controller applies the purification voltage and the regeneration voltage to the first filter unit and the second filter unit; paragraph 9), based on remaining water softening capabilities of the first water softener and the second water softener, wherein the remaining capabilities represent amounts of ions or ionic materials that are adsorbable by electrodes of the first water softener and the second water softener (i.e., Cho recognizes that remaining capabilities of the filters changes because as the amount of adsorbed solids increases, the electrical attraction of the electrodes weakens [0025]; eventually, the electrodes become saturated and fail to remove a sufficient quantity of new dissolved solids [0025]; Cho teaches that the “the controller 30 may continuously check whether a TDS concentration, i.e., the first measured concentration, of the first filter unit 10 is dropped to be equal to or less than a pre-set water purification reference value A” and “before the TDS removal capability of the first filter unit 10 is completely degraded, the second filter unit 20 may first start to perform a water purification operation such that the second filter unit 20 has a sufficient TDS removal rate when the TDS removal rate of the first filter unit 10 is completely decreased” [0055]),
wherein the controller is configured to:
control the second water softener to perform water softening when the remaining capability of the first water softener is less than a first preset reference value (i.e., the controller applies the water purification voltage to the second filter unit when the first measured concentration is equal to or less than the pre-set value in the first filter unit; paragraph 10), and
control the first water softener to perform recycling when the remaining capability of the first water softener is less than the first preset reference value (i.e., the controller applies a water purification to the first filter unit when the second measured concentration is equal or less than a reference value; paragraph 10), and
wherein the remaining capabilities of the first water softener and the second water softener are values calculated based on a total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration of the source water, and a TDS concentration of water softened by the first water softener or the second water softener (Cho teaches that the “the controller 30 may continuously check whether a TDS concentration, i.e., the first measured concentration, of the first filter unit 10 is dropped to be equal to or less than a pre-set water purification reference value A”).
Cho does not explicitly teach the capability is calculated based on the flow rate of the water.
Lim et al. teaches a water softening apparatus comprising a flow rate sensor configured to sense flow rate of soft water discharged from or treated by the softening unit (paragraph 95). The controller 150 receives the results sensed by the sensor unit 145, determines the time-point to initiate regeneration of the softening apparatus 100, and controls power applied to the electrode 125 to produce regeneration water having an appropriate pH level (paragraph 96). The control process is automatically performed based on a preset reference (paragraph 97).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention modified the controller of Cho with the controller of Lim et al. to control the filter units based on the flow rate of water in order to determine when to initiate regeneration and apply the appropriate power to the electrodes to initiate the regeneration process.
For claim 4, Cho teaches wherein the controller is configured to: control the first water softener to perform recycling after preset time has elapsed (i.e., the controller applies a purification voltage for a first time first before applying a regeneration voltage to the first filter unit; paragraph 8) when the capability of the first water softener is the first preset reference value or more and less than a second preset reference value (since a specific preset value are not defined, the applying the purification voltage would inherently be between the capabilities of two reference values).
For claim 5, Cho teaches wherein the controller is configured to: control the first water softener to continue to perform water softening during next use of water when the capability of the first water softener is not less than the second preset reference value (i.e., the controller may apply the water purification voltage to the first filter unit and would be capable of being applied during the next use of water when the capability is not less than the second preset value).
For claim 6, Cho teaches wherein the controller is configured to: perform a control to finish recycling even though use of water is stopped, when at least one of the first water softener and the second water softener performs recycling (i.e., the controller may selectively apply the water purification voltage and the regeneration voltage to the filter units to allow the TDS included in discharged purified water to have a preset target TDS value; paragraph 43). The controller performs regeneration operation for a period of time and thus would be capable of performing the regeneration even though use of water is stopped.
For claim 7, Cho teaches wherein the controller is configured to: control, among the first water softener and the second water softener, a water softener that finishes recycling first to perform water softening (Cho teaches that purification and regeneration can be performed iteratively and thus would result on regenerating first before purification; paragraph 8).
For claim 8, Cho further teaches wherein the first water softener and the second water softener perform the water softening and recycling in a capacitive deionization scheme (paragraph 60).
Response to Arguments
In the Remarks, filed August 6, 2026, on page(s) 7, Applicant argues that Cho does not expressly disclose or suggest using a calculated capability value as the control parameter, and that the capability is a value representing the amount of ions or ionic substances that can be adsorbed onto the electrodes.
This argument is deemed to be unpersuasive. It is noted that the limitation requiring the controller to control the water softeners “based on remaining water softening capabilities” is highly broad and does not require any specific steps or algorithm but a merely conceptual correlation linking the control to a capability of the water softeners. Cho teaches that as the amount of adsorbed solids on electrodes increases, the electrical attraction of the electrodes weakens [0025]. Eventually, the electrodes become saturated and fail to remove a sufficient quantity of new dissolved [0025]. Therefore, Cho recognizes that the capability of the water softener/filter changes over time due to adsorption of solids on the electrodes.
Cho further teaches in paragraphs 42 and 55:
[0042] Also, the controller 30 may receive a magnitude (sig_current) of a current flowing when a voltage is applied to both ends of the electrodes 14a, 14b, 24a, and 25b of the first filter unit 10 and the second filter unit 20. Since the magnitude (sig_current) of the current is proportional to an amount of dissolved solids included in the raw water, a TDS value within the filter unit may be obtained by measuring the magnitude (sig_current) of the current. In addition, the controller 30 may include a TDS sensor unit (not shown) for measuring a TDS value within the filter unit, and may directly measure a TDS value within the filter unit upon receiving a sensing value (sig_sensor) from the TDS sensor unit.
[0055] Referring to FIG. 7, after applying the water purification voltage to the first filter unit 10, the controller 30 may continuously check whether a TDS concentration, i.e., the first measured concentration, of the first filter unit 10 is dropped to be equal to or less than a pre-set water purification reference value A1. When the first measured concentration is dropped to be equal to or less than the water purification reference value A1, the controller 30 may apply the water purification voltage to the second filter unit 20. Namely, when a TDS removal rate of the first filter unit 10 is dropped to be equal to or less than the water purification reference value A1, it may be determined that the electrodes 14a and 14b of the first filter unit 10 are saturated to degrade TDS removal capability of the first filter unit 10. Thus, before the TDS removal capability of the first filter unit 10 is completely degraded, the second filter unit 20 may first start to perform a water purification operation such that the second filter unit 20 has a sufficient TDS removal rate when the TDS removal rate of the first filter unit 10 is completely decreased.
Since the current flowing through the electrodes is proportional to the amount of dissolved solids in the water [0025] and the controller continuously checks the TDS concentration to determine the removal capability, i.e., remaining capability [0055], Cho teaches controlling the softeners based on the remaining capability and calculating the capability based on the TDS.
Applicant on page 7 further argues that the control variable in Cho is the current water quality or the TDS removal rate. In contrast, Applicant's claimed invention calculates the capability of each of the first and second water softeners. The system then controls the water softeners such that, when the calculated capability falls below a predetermined threshold, the second water softener is switched to the water-softening operation while the first water softener is regenerated. Thus, Cho does not expressly disclose or suggest using a calculated capability value as the control parameter.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. Cho’s controller checks the capability of the water softeners by measuring the current flowing through the electrodes which corresponds to the TDS removal rate. When the TDS concentration is dropped to be equal to or less than a water purification reference value, the controller 30 may apply the water purification voltage to the second filter unit 20 [0055]. Therefore, Cho is clearly calculating the capability of the water softeners based on a TDS and its concentration. While Cho does not explicitly use the exact terminology recited in claim 1, it teaches the same underlying concept.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUAN V VAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8521. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00.
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/LUAN V VAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1795
