DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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 Information Disclosure Statements, filed 26 March 2026 and 11 June 2026 have been fully considered by the examiner. Signed copies are attached.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claims 1-20 are rejected, grounds follow.
THIS OFFICE ACTION IS FINAL, see additional information at the conclusion of this action.
Priority
Examiner acknowledges that instant application is a Continuation in Part of Applications 17/073,781 (now US patent # 11,789,415) and 17/073,801 (now US patent # 11,754,984) and has been accorded the benefit of the earliest priority date for those portions which find support in the earlier filed applications
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 10, filed 19 June 2026, with respect to the 35 USC 103 rejection of Claims 1, 3-11, and 13-19 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 USC 103 rejections of Claims 1, 3-11, and 13-19 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 11, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 on the ground of non-statutory double patenting over claims 1-17 of US Patent 11,789,415 in view of “Corbin” have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made on the ground of non-statutory double patenting over Claims 1-17 of US Patent 11,789,415 in view of “Corbin” and the previously cited Marik et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0277760.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks page 11, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7, 11-13, 15, 17, and 19-20 on the ground of non-statutory double patenting over claims 1-5, 9-14, and 18 of US Patent 11,754,984 in view of “Corbin” have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made on the ground of non-statutory double patenting over Claims 1-5, 9-14, and 18 of US Patent 11,754,984 in view of “Corbin” and the previously cited Marik et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0277760.
Applicant's arguments, see Remarks page 12, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-3, 5, 7-8, 11-13, 15, 17 and 19-20 on the ground of non-statutory double patenting over claims 1-4, 9, 10, 12, and 16 of US Patent 10,809,675 in view of Corbin and “DeAngelis” have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Following review of the amended claim limitations it is Examiner’s position that the claims are not patentably distinct from those set forth in US Patent 10,809,675 in view of variously, Corbin and DeAngelis, and the rejection is therefore maintained. See below for detailed rejection.
Examiner notes for clarity of the record that Terminal Disclaimers filed in view of the 3 reference patents 11,789,415; 11,754,984; and 10,809,675 would overcome these rejections and the application would be in condition for allowance.
Double Patenting
In the interest of Clarity, Examiner notes that there are three independent double patenting rejections, over each of 11,789,415; 11,754,984; (variously in view of Corbin and Marik) and 10,809,675 (variously in view of Corbin and DeAngelis).
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-17 of U.S. Patent No. 11,789,415 in view of Corbin et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0039686 and Marik et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0277760. Because, as illustrated in the table below, the reference patent in view of Corbin and Marik teaches or fairly suggests the claims at issue in the instant application:
Instant Application
Reference 11,789,415
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;
HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;
one or more controllers comprising one or more processing circuits configured to:
one or more controllers comprising one or more processing circuits configured to:
execute a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level wherein:
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller") (nb. 11,789,415 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
the first level is configured to generate targets for a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from the one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment,
[Claim 1] ...generate energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of Marik [0026] "supervisory controller 106 can control local controllers 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-N (e.g., HVAC system 102) via network 110.")
the second level configured to generate time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period by performing a control process using (i) the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment
generate setpoints for the HVAC equipment using the energy targets for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may energy amounts to be added or removed; used as constraints, see Claim 3.)
and (ii) a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operate the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
operate the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
2. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 1) ...using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment;…
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
2. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein
the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
the energy targets comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
the one or more controllers are configured to generate the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period according to one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment.
the one or more controllers are configured to use the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment as a constraint when generating the setpoints for the HVAC equipment.
4. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise one or more indoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units and the setpoints comprise at least one of:
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise one or more indoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units and the setpoints comprise at least one of:
refrigerant flow setpoints for the one or more indoor VRF units; or
refrigerant flow setpoints for the one or more indoor VRF units; or
temperature setpoints for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the one or more indoor VRF units.
temperature setpoints for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the one or more indoor VRF units.
5. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
4. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the energy targets using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces; and
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces.
6. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to:
5. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to:
generate temperature profiles for the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets; and
generate temperature profiles for the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets; and
generate the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment such that the HVAC equipment operate to drive actual temperatures of the one or more building spaces toward the temperature profiles.
generate the setpoints for the HVAC equipment such that the HVAC equipment operate to drive actual temperatures of the one or more building spaces toward the temperature profiles.
7. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
6. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
the one or more controllers are configured to generate a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
the one or more controllers are configured to generate a plurality of energy targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
8. The HVAC system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of HVAC subsystems and the plurality of building spaces are located in separate buildings thermally decoupled from one another such that no direct heat exchange occurs between building spaces served by separate HVAC subsystems.
7. The HVAC system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of HVAC subsystems and the plurality of building spaces are located in separate buildings thermally decoupled from one another such that no direct heat exchange occurs between building spaces served by separate HVAC subsystems.
9. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise:
8. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise:
one or more airside units configured to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using a heated or chilled fluid provided as an input to the one or more airside units; and
one or more airside units configured to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using a heated or chilled fluid provided as an input to the one or more airside units; and
at least one of an outdoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) unit or a waterside system configured to provide the heated or chilled fluid to the one or more airside units.
at least one of an outdoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) unit or a waterside system configured to provide the heated or chilled fluid to the one or more airside units.
10. The HVAC system of claim 9, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets for the one or more building spaces by determining:
9. The HVAC system of claim 8, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the energy targets for the one or more building spaces by determining:
an amount of thermal energy to be delivered to each of the one or more airside units at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
an amount of thermal energy to be delivered to each of the one or more airside units at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
an amount of thermal energy to be produced by at least one of the outdoor VRF unit or the waterside system at each of the plurality of time steps in the time period.
an amount of thermal energy to be produced by at least one of the outdoor VRF unit or the waterside system at each of the plurality of time steps in the time period.
11. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
10. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level,
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller") (nb. 11,789,415 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
wherein executing the multi-level model predictive control system comprises: executing the first level to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generating energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
executing the second level to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints for the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces
generating setpoints for the HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the energy targets for the one or more building spaces; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may energy amounts to be added or removed; used as constraints, see Claim 3.)
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 10) ...using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment;…
13. The method of claim 11, wherein:
11. The method of claim 10, wherein:
the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
the energy targets comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
generating the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment comprises generating one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment at each of the plurality of time steps in the future time period and generating the time-varying setpoints according to the one or more constraints.
the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment are used as a constraint when generating the setpoints for the HVAC equipment.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise one or more indoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units and the setpoints comprise at least one of:
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise one or more indoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units and the setpoints comprise at least one of:
refrigerant flow setpoints for the one or more indoor VRF units; or
refrigerant flow setpoints for the one or more indoor VRF units; or
temperature setpoints for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the one or more indoor VRF units.
temperature setpoints for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the one or more indoor VRF units.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the energy targets are generated using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces; and
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces.
16. The method of claim 11, comprising:
14. The method of claim 10, comprising:
generating temperature profiles for the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets; and
generating temperature profiles for the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets; and
generating the setpoints for the HVAC equipment such that the HVAC equipment operate to drive actual temperatures of the one or more building spaces toward the temperature profiles.
generating the setpoints for the HVAC equipment such that the HVAC equipment operate to drive actual temperatures of the one or more building spaces toward the temperature profiles.
17. The method of claim 11, wherein:
15. The method of claim 11, wherein:
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
the targets comprise a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
the energy targets comprise a plurality of energy targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
18. The method of claim 11, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise:
16. The method of claim 11, wherein the HVAC equipment comprise:
one or more airside units configured to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using a heated or chilled fluid provided as an input to the one or more airside units; and
one or more airside units configured to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using a heated or chilled fluid provided as an input to the one or more airside units; and
at least one of an outdoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) unit or a waterside system configured to provide the heated or chilled fluid to the one or more airside units.
at least one of an outdoor variable refrigerant flow (VRF) unit or a waterside system configured to provide the heated or chilled fluid to the one or more airside units.
19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller") (nb. 11,789,415 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
wherein the first level is configured to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generate energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of Marik [0026] "supervisory controller 106 can control local controllers 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-N (e.g., HVAC system 102) via network 110.")
the second level is configured to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints over the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces;
generating setpoints for the HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the energy targets for the one or more building spaces; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may energy amounts to be added or removed; used as constraints, see Claim 3.)
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 17) ...using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment;…
Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 11-13, 15, 17, and 19-20 rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-5, 9-14, and 18 of U.S. Patent No. 11,754,984 in view of Corbin et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0039686 and Marik et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0277760. Because, as illustrated in the table below, the reference patent in view of Corbin and Marik teaches or fairly suggests the claims at issue in the instant application:
Instant Application
Reference 11,754,984
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;
airside HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces; and
one or more controllers comprising one or more processing circuits configured to:
one or more controllers configured to:
execute a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level wherein:
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller")
(nb. 11,754,984 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
the first level is configured to generate targets for a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from the one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment,
generate energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of Marik [0026] "supervisory controller 106 can control local controllers 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-N (e.g., HVAC system 102) via network 110.")
the second level configured to generate time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period by performing a control process using (i) the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment
generate setpoints for the airside HVAC equipment using the airside energy targets; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may be energy amounts to add or remove, see claim 4, used in an objective function, see claim 6)
and a (ii) model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operate the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
control the airside HVAC equipment to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces in accordance with the setpoints.
2. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 1) ...using a heat transfer model that defines a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the airside energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the airside energy targets for the one or more building spaces
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the airside HVAC equipment;…
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
each of the airside energy targets corresponds to a different time step of a time period and is used to control the airside HVAC equipment during the corresponding time step of the time period.
the one or more controllers are configured to generate the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period according to one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment.
(in view of Claim 4.): The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the airside energy targets indicate an amount of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the airside HVAC equipment.
5. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
5. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the airside energy targets using an airside power consumption model that defines a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
...and the airside energy targets.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
...airside power consumption…
7. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
9. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building zones; and
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
(obvious in view of 11,754,984, Claim 2: … the airside HVAC equipment are distributed across a plurality of airside subsystems, each airside subsystem configured to provide heating or cooling to a different building space ….)
the one or more controllers are configured to generate a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
the one or more controllers are configured to generate a zone energy target for each of the plurality of building zones, each zone energy target indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to one of the plurality of building zones or removed from one of the plurality of building zones.
11. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
10. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level,
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller")
(nb. 11,754,984 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
wherein executing the multi-level model predictive control system comprises: executing the first level to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generating energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
executing the second level to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints for the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
generating setpoints for the airside HVAC equipment based on the airside energy targets; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may be energy amounts to add or remove, see claim 4, used in an objective function, see claim 6)
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
controlling the airside HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces in accordance with the setpoints.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 10) ...using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment;…
13. The method of claim 11, wherein:
12. The method of claim 10, wherein:
the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
each of the airside energy targets corresponds to a different time step of a time period and is used to control the airside HVAC equipment during the corresponding time step of the time period.
generating the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment comprises generating one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment at each of the plurality of time steps in the future time period and generating the time-varying setpoints according to the one or more constraints
(in view of Claim 13:) The method of claim 10, wherein the airside energy targets indicate an amount of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the airside HVAC equipment.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the airside energy targets are generated using an airside power consumption model that defines a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
...and the airside energy targets.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
...airside power consumption …
17. The method of claim 11, wherein:
18. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building zones;
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building zones;
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
(obvious in view of 11,754,984, Claim 11: … the airside HVAC equipment are distributed across a plurality of airside subsystems, each airside subsystem configured to provide heating or cooling to a different building space ….)
the targets comprise a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
the method comprising generating a zone energy target for each of the plurality of building zones, each zone energy target indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to one of the plurality of building zones or removed from one of the plurality of building zones
19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
(although not recited as including non-transitory media, obvious over 11,754,984 claim 10:) A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level
(obvious in view of Marik fig. 1 and [0024] "Supervisory controller 106 can be a model predictive controller" [0023] "each zone of HVAC system 102 includes a local controller")
(nb. 11,754,984 also discloses a multi-level MPC, although it is not expressis verbis in the claims, see summary and background)
wherein the first level is configured to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generating energy targets for the one or more building spaces ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable; time period may be future, see claim 2)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of Marik [0026] "supervisory controller 106 can control local controllers 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-N (e.g., HVAC system 102) via network 110.")
the second level is configured to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints over the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces;
generating setpoints for the airside HVAC equipment based on the airside energy targets; (the targets vary by time, see claim 2, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (targets may be energy amounts to add or remove, see claim 4, used in an objective function, see claim 6)
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
controlling the airside HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces in accordance with the setpoints.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 10) ...using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the energy targets for the one or more building spaces,
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment;…
Claims 1-3, 5, 7-8, 11-13, 15, 17, and 19-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-4, 9, 10, 12, and 16 of U.S. Patent No. 10,809,675 in view of Corbin et al., US Pg-Pub 2014/0039686 and in view of DeAngelis, Francesco, et al. "Optimal home energy management under dynamic electrical and thermal constraints." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics 9.3 (2012): 1518-1527. Because, as illustrated in the table below, the reference patent in view of Corbin and DeAngelis teaches or fairly suggests the claims at issue in the instant application:
Instant Application
Reference 10,809,675
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, the HVAC system comprising:
HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;
an airside system having a plurality of airside subsystems, each airside subsystem comprising airside HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;
one or more controllers comprising one or more processing circuits configured to:
a high-level controller configured to
execute a multi-level model predictive control system
(obvious in light of 10,809,675 disclosing model predictive control as the type of control system, see background)
comprising a first level and a second level wherein:
[nb. A high level controller… a plurality of low level controllers]
the first level is configured to generate targets for a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from the one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment,
a high-level controller configured to generate a plurality of airside subsystem energy targets... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of claim 7: )
generate time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period by performing a control process using (i) the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable for the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment
(claim 7) [each low-level airside controller configured to]... generate airside temperature setpoints for the corresponding airside subsystem using the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;... (the targets vary by time, see claim 9, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (in view of DeAngelis page 1521 where thermal energy targets are used in a constraint for an objective function to determine operational setpoints.)
and a (ii) model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operate the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
each low-level airside controller corresponding to one of the airside subsystems and configured to control the airside HVAC equipment of the corresponding airside subsystem in accordance with the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem.
2. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 1) each heat transfer model corresponding to one of the plurality of airside subsystems and defining a relationship between:
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and the thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding airside subsystem;
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein: the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
2. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein each airside subsystem energy target indicates an amount of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment of the corresponding airside subsystem
the one or more controllers are configured to generate the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period according to one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment.
(obvious in view of DeAngelis page 1521 where thermal energy targets are used in constraints for an objective function to determine operational setpoints.)
5. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the one or more controllers are configured to generate the targets using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
3. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the high-level controller is configured to generate the plurality of airside subsystem energy targets using an airside power consumption model that defines a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
…and the airside subsystem energy targets.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
...airside power consumption...
7. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein:
9. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
a first airside subsystem of the plurality of airside subsystems comprises a plurality of building zones;
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
(claim 1) ...an airside system having a plurality of airside subsystems, each airside subsystem comprising airside HVAC equipment configured to provide heating or cooling to one or more building spaces;…
the one or more controllers are configured to generate a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
a first low-level airside controller of the plurality of low-level airside controllers is configured to generate a zone energy target for each of the plurality of building zones in the first airside subsystem, each zone energy target indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to one of the plurality of building zones or removed from one of the plurality of building zones at a plurality of time steps in a time period.
8. The HVAC system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of HVAC subsystems and the plurality of building spaces are located in separate buildings thermally decoupled from one another such that no direct heat exchange occurs between building spaces served by separate HVAC subsystems.
4. The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of airside subsystems are located in separate buildings thermally decoupled from each other such that no direct heat exchange occurs between the plurality of airside subsystems.
11. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
10. A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system
(obvious in light of 10,809,675 disclosing model predictive control as the type of control system, see background)
comprising a first level and a second level, wherein executing the multi-level model predictive control system comprises:
[nb. A high level controller… a plurality of low level controllers]
executing the first level to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generating a plurality of airside subsystem energy targets at a high-level controller ... (i.e. ‘energy’ is the variable;)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
executing the second level to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints for the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces
(Claim 16) … generating, by each of the plurality of low-level airside controllers, airside temperature setpoints for the corresponding airside subsystem using the airside subsystem energy targets for the corresponding airside subsystem; …(the targets vary by time, see claim 9, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (in view of DeAngelis page 1521 where thermal energy targets are used in a constraint for an objective function to determine operational setpoints.)
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
controlling, by each of the plurality of low-level airside controllers, the airside HVAC equipment of the corresponding airside subsystem in accordance with the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 10) ...each heat transfer model corresponding to one of the plurality of airside subsystems and defining a relationship between:
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and the thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding airside subsystem;
13. The method of claim 11, wherein: the targets for the variable comprise amounts of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment at each of a plurality of time steps in a time period; and
11. The method of claim 10, wherein each airside subsystem energy target indicates an amount of thermal energy to be added to the one or more building spaces or removed from the one or more building spaces by the HVAC equipment of the corresponding airside subsystem.
generating the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment comprises generating one or more constraints comprising the amounts of thermal energy to be added or removed by the HVAC equipment at each of the plurality of time steps in the future time period and generating the time-varying setpoints according to the one or more constraints.
(obvious in view of DeAngelis page 1521 where thermal energy targets are used in constraints for an objective function to determine operational setpoints.)
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the targets are generated using an airside power consumption model defining a relationship between:
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of airside subsystem energy targets are generated using an airside power consumption model that defines a relationship between
the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
... and the airside subsystem energy targets.
airside power consumption predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces.
...airside power consumption...
17. The method of claim 11, wherein:
(obvious in view of claim 9:) The HVAC system of claim 1, wherein
the one or more building spaces comprise a plurality of building spaces;
a first airside subsystem of the plurality of airside subsystems comprises a plurality of building zones;
the HVAC equipment comprise a plurality of HVAC subsystems, each HVAC subsystem corresponding to a building space of the plurality of building spaces and configured to provide heating or cooling to the corresponding building space; and
(claim 1) ...a plurality of low-level airside controllers, each low-level airside controller corresponding to one of the airside subsystems;…
the targets comprise a plurality of targets, each energy target corresponding to a HVAC subsystem of the plurality of HVAC subsystems and generated based on a thermal capacitance of the building space to which the heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding HVAC subsystem.
a first low-level airside controller of the plurality of low-level airside controllers is configured to generate a zone energy target for each of the plurality of building zones in the first airside subsystem, each zone energy target indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to one of the plurality of building zones or removed from one of the plurality of building zones at a plurality of time steps in a time period.
19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
(although not recited as including non-transitory media, obvious over 10,809,675 claim 10:) A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for a building, method comprising:
executing a multi-level model predictive control system
(obvious in light of 10,809,675 disclosing model predictive control as the type of control system, see background)
comprising a first level and a second level, wherein:
[nb. A high level controller… a plurality of low level controllers]
the first level is configured to generate targets of a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces;
generating a plurality of airside subsystem energy targets at a high-level controller ... (i.e. energy is the variable)
in view of: Corbin [0008] teaching current and forecasted weather conditions are relevant to assessment of the operational environment for simulating energy consumption impacts.
and provide the targets to the second level;
(obvious in view of claim 16: )
the second level is configured to receive the targets and generate, by performing a control process, time-varying setpoints over the future time period for HVAC equipment that provide heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces using the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces;
(Claim 16) … generating, by each of the plurality of low-level airside controllers, airside temperature setpoints for the corresponding airside subsystem using the airside subsystem energy targets for the corresponding airside subsystem; … (the targets vary by time, see claim 9, therefore it would at least be obvious to have the setpoints also vary by time.) (in view of DeAngelis page 1521 where thermal energy targets are used in a constraint for an objective function to determine operational setpoints.)
and a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment
Obvious in view of: Corbin [0013] teaching generating a model relating amount of energy used by the system to transition between thermostat set points, e.g.
operating the HVAC equipment using the setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
controlling, by each of the plurality of low-level airside controllers, the airside HVAC equipment of the corresponding airside subsystem in accordance with the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the targets are generated using a heat transfer model defining a relationship between:
(claim 10) ...each heat transfer model corresponding to one of the plurality of airside subsystems and defining a relationship between:
the targets for the one or more building spaces;
the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the targets for the one or more building spaces; and
a temperature of the one or more building spaces predicted to result from the airside subsystem energy target for the corresponding airside subsystem;
a thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which the heating or cooling is provided by the HVAC equipment.
and the thermal capacitance of the one or more building spaces to which heating or cooling is provided by the corresponding airside subsystem;
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: While Mengle, Corbin, Marik, De Angelis, and Hu teach many of the features of the claimed invention as outlined in the non-final rejection mailed 01 April 2026; and Ettl et al., US Pg-Pub 2016/014693 teaches an HVAC control system which includes heat transfer models for forecasting future building temperatures; and Uno et al., US Pg-Pub 2016/010947 teaches an HVAC control system which models energy balances of controlled spaces; none of the references, alone or in reasonable combination, teach or fairly suggest all of the limitations of the claimed invention, particularly:
(Claim 1)
execute a multi-level model predictive control system comprising a first level and a second level, wherein:
the first level is configured to generate targets for a variable indicating an amount of thermal energy to be added to or removed from the one or more building spaces over a future time period using a load prediction made using weather information related to weather outside the one or more building spaces … and provide the targets to the second level; and
the second level is configured to receive the targets and generate time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment for the future time period by performing a control process using (i) the targets in a constraint or in a difference between the targets for the variable and predicted values for the variable in an objective function for the one or more building spaces… and (ii) a model defining a relationship between the variable and the time-varying setpoints for the HVAC equipment; and
operate the HVAC equipment using the time-varying setpoints to provide the heating or cooling to the one or more building spaces.
(Excerpted)
…in combination with the remaining limitations and features of the claimed invention.
Independent Claims 11 and 19 recite substantively the same subject matter identified with respect to claim 1 above. Accordingly, mutatis mutandis, these claims are likewise persuasive for the above noted reason(s).
The dependent claims 2-10, 12-18 and 20 being definite, fully enabled, further limiting, and dependent upon the above noted claim(s), are likewise persuasive for at least the above noted reason(s).
However, Claims 1-20 are rejected over, variously, one or more of US 11,789,415; US 11,754,984; and US 10,809,675 for double patenting, as set forth above.
Conclusion
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.
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/J.T.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2119
/MOHAMMAD ALI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2119
Prosecution Insights