CTNF 18/180,201 CTNF 88246 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Specification The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains to many words (184), whilst the maxim allowed is 150. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3 and 8-9 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 3 , the prior art, along or in combination, does not disclose the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 2, further comprising a dehumidification bypass conduit extending from the downstream point of the heating-side expansion valve to an upstream point of the evaporator, wherein the first control valve further includes a second outlet port communicating with the dehumidification bypass conduit. Regarding claim 8, the prior art does not disclose, along or in combination does not disclose the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 7, further comprising a battery cooling subsystem thermally connected to a battery ( D -25,[0093]); a second distribution conduit extending from an upstream point of the cooling-side expansion valve to the upstream point of the compressor; and a battery chiller configured to transfer heat between the second distribution conduit and the battery cooling subsystem . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-2 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Durrani (US 2020/0220236) and Tsuboi et al. (US 2021/0283991) . Regarding claim 1 , Durrani ( D ) discloses a vehicle thermal management system, comprising: a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) subsystem thermally connected to a passenger compartment (Abstract); and a powertrain cooling subsystem thermally connected to a powertrain component (29,30,31, [0082], Figure 1) wherein the HVAC subsystem includes a compressor (2), an interior condenser (3) disposed on a downstream side of the compressor, a heating-side expansion valve (4, [0089]) disposed on the downstream side of the interior condenser (3), an exterior heat exchanger (5) disposed on the downstream side of the heating-side expansion valve (4), a first distribution conduit (L-shaped branch terminated under (15), continuing to (9) in Figure 1) extending from a downstream point of the heating-side expansion valve to an upstream point of the compressor (via (9)), a water-cooled heat exchanger (12, [0091]) disposed on the first distribution conduit, a first control valve (6) disposed on an upstream side of the exterior heat exchanger (5), a second control valve (14) disposed on the first distribution conduit, a cooling-side expansion valve disposed on the downstream side of the exterior heat exchanger (5), and an evaporator disposed on the downstream side of the cooling-side expansion valve (10), and the water-cooled heat exchanger is configured to transfer heat between the first distribution conduit and the powertrain cooling subsystem (12). Durrani ( D ) does not disclose a third control valve disposed on the downstream side of the exterior heat exchanger; a cooling-side expansion valve disposed on the downstream side of the third control valve. However, Tsuboi ( T ) discloses a cooling device (Abstract) wherein a third control valve (42, Figure 1) can be disposed on the downstream side of the exterior heat exchanger (34, i.e., condenser), a cooling-side expansion valve disposed on the downstream side of the third control valve ( D -7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this application to add a valve within the refrigerant circuit in order to better regulate the system’s temperature. In this case the modification would be to install the valve upstream of ( D -7 in figure 1, which would allow for the bypassing of the primary evaporator ( D -10), while still allowing the use of the secondary evaporator ( D -11). Regarding claim 2 , Durrani ( D ), as modified, discloses the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein the first control valve ( D -6) includes an inlet port communicating with the heating-side expansion valve ( D -4), and a first outlet port communicating with the exterior heat exchanger ( D -5, below 15 in Figure 1), and the first control valve is configured to adjust an opening degree of the first outlet port ( D - [0112]). Regarding claim 4 , Durrani ( D ), as modified, discloses the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 1, wherein the second control valve ( D -14) includes an inlet port communicating with the water-cooled heat exchanger ( D -12, Figure 1), and a first outlet port communicating with the compressor ( D -2), and the second control valve is configured to adjust an opening degree of the first outlet port ( D - [0113]). Regarding claim 5 , Durrani ( D ), as modified, discloses the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 4, further comprising a first branch conduit ( D -8 to 11 to 16 to 13 to 2 to 3 to 4, Figure 1) extending from the first distribution conduit ( D - L-shaped branch terminated under (15), continuing to (9) in Figure 1) (to an upstream point of the exterior heat exchanger ( D -5, because the system is a loop), wherein the second control valve ( D -14) further includes a second outlet port communicating with the first branch conduit ( D -below (16) in Figure 15), and the second control valve is configured to adjust an opening degree of the second outlet port ( D - [0113]). Regarding claim 6 , Durrani ( D ), as modified, discloses the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 1, further comprising a second branch conduit ( D -7 to 10 to 16 to 13 to 2 to 6, Figure 1) extending from the first distribution conduit ( D - L-shaped branch terminated under (15), continuing to (9) in Figure 1) to a downstream point of the exterior heat exchanger ( D -5, below (15). Regarding claim 7 , Durrani ( D ), as modified, discloses the vehicle thermal management system according to claim 6, wherein the third control valve (42, Figure 1) includes an inlet port (located upstream of D - (7) in Figure 1) communicating with the exterior heat exchanger ( D -5) and a first outlet port communicating with the second branch conduit ( D -7 to 10 to 16 to 13 to 2 to 6, Figure 1) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Attached form PTOL-8902 lists relevant refrigerant circuits relevant to the inventive concepts . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN E BARGERO whose telephone number is (571) 270-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday. 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, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JOHN E BARGERO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762 /HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 2 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 3 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 4 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 5 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 6 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/180,201 Page 7 Art Unit: 3762
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