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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 1. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
The only difference between the two claims that examiner can detect are that claim 1 recites “an ambient temperature of the air and a humidity of the air”, whereas claim 13 recites “an ambient temperature of the air or a humidity of the air”. However, the difference between “and” and “or” is not considered to be a difference in scope in this case because both claims recite selecting from “at least three parameters of the system”. In other words, Examiner considers “selecting at least three parameters selected from A, B, C, D, and E” to be equivalent to “selecting at least three parameters selected from A, B, C, D, or E”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyakoshi et al. US 2017/0282689 (“Miyakoshi”).
Miyakoshi discloses:
1. A method for controlling a system for air conditioning and/or heating an inside air stream intended to be sent to a passenger compartment of a vehicle, said system comprising a loop (e.g., Fig. 1 #1) for the circulation of a refrigerant, said loop including:
- a first heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 1 #9) between the refrigerant and the inside air stream for cooling said inside air stream,
- a second heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 1 #4) between the refrigerant and the inside air stream or a heat transfer fluid for heating said inside air stream, situated downstream of the first heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 1 #9) in the direction of circulation of the inside air stream,
said method comprising of selecting a mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream from a plurality of dehumidification modes (e.g., Fig. 6: “Dehumidifying and heating operation possibility judgment area X1”, “Dehumidifying and heating for internal cycle”, “Dehumidifying and cooling operation possibility judgment area X2”, “Dehumidifying and cooling”), said selection step selecting being implemented on the basis of maps (e.g., Fig. 6, Fig. 8, Fig. 9), produced in advance, of at least three parameters of the system, referred to as humidity control parameters, selected from an actual temperature of the inside air stream upstream of the first heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 2 #37: “Indoor Air Temperature Sensor”), a temperature setpoint downstream of the second heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 2 #46: “Radiator Temperature Sensor”, “TH”, [0087]), a temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger (e.g., [0065]: “target outlet temperature TAO”), a flow rate of said inside air stream through the first exchanger (e.g., [0088]: “TGNChfb”), an ambient temperature of the air (e.g., Fig. 2 #33: “Outdoor Air Temperature Sensor”, “Tam”) and a humidity of the air (e.g., Fig. 2 #34: “Outdoor Air Humidity Sensor”).
2. The control method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the maps of the parameters of the system are produced as a function of the actual temperature of the air stream upstream of the first heat exchanger, the temperature setpoint downstream of the second heat exchanger and one or more of the other humidity control parameters, referred to as additional parameters and other parameters making it possible to calculate or deduce these control parameters (e.g., Fig 2).
3. The control method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or one of said additional parameters is the temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger (e.g., [0128] “heat absorber target temperature TEO”).
4. The control method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or one of said additional parameters is the air flow rate in the first heat exchanger (e.g., [0118]: “air volume”).
5. The control method as claimed in any one of the claim 1, wherein the method further comprises prior determining a dehumidification configuration, said prior determining being carried out as a function of the value of the ambient temperature (e.g., [0097]: “Operation Mode on Startup”).
6. The control method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises mode changing which the system switches from one of the modes for dehumidifying the inside air stream to another of the modes for dehumidifying the inside air stream, said mode changing being implemented after selecting the dehumidification mode (e.g., [0014]: “Change Control of Operation Mode”).
7. The control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said mode changing is carried out depending on whether a temperature threshold is reached by the temperature setpoint downstream of the second exchanger or by the temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger (e.g., Fig. 6).
8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loop includes:
- a third heat exchanger between the refrigerant and an outside air stream, said third exchanger being capable of acting selectively as an evaporator and a condenser for the refrigerant (e.g., Fig. 1 #7),
- a compressor for the refrigerant (e.g., Fig. 1 #2).
9. The control method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the loop is configured to operate selectively in
- at least one serial mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream in which said refrigerant circulates in succession, from the compressor, through a serial branch referred to as the serial condensation branch, including the second exchanger, a serial branch referred to as the intermediate serial branch, including the third exchanger, and a serial branch referred to as the serial evaporation branch, including the first exchanger (e.g., “dehumidifying and cooling”), and
- at least one parallel mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream in which said refrigerant circulates in succession, from the compressor, in a condensation branch and then, from a junction, in a first parallel branch, referred to as the first parallel evaporation branch, comprising including the third exchanger, acting as an evaporator and, in parallel, in a second parallel branch, referred to as the second parallel evaporation branch, comprising including the first exchanger (“dehumidifying and heating mode”).
10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the loop is configured to switch from a first serial mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream to a second of the serial modes for dehumidifying the inside air stream, or vice versa, when a first temperature threshold is reached by the temperature setpoint downstream of the second exchanger or by the temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger, the switch from the first to the second serial dehumidification mode varying the proportion of the inside air stream passing through the second exchanger (e.g., Fig. 6).
11. The control method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the loop is configured to switch from the at least one serial mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream to the at least one parallel mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream, or vice versa, when a second temperature threshold is reached by the temperature setpoint downstream of the second exchanger or by the temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger (e.g., Fig. 6).
12. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the at least one parallel mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream includes a first parallel mode and a second parallel mode, wherein the loop is configured to switch from the first of the parallel modes for dehumidifying the inside air stream to a the second of the parallel modes for dehumidifying the inside air stream, or vice versa, when a third temperature threshold is reached by the temperature setpoint downstream of the second exchanger or by the temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger, a degree of opening of the first expansion member in said first parallel mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream being greater than a degree of opening of said first expansion member in the second parallel mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream, the switch from the first to the second parallel dehumidification mode varying the proportion of the refrigerant passing through the first exchanger (e.g., Fig. 6).
13. A method for controlling a system for air conditioning and/or heating an inside air stream intended to be sent to a passenger compartment of a vehicle, said system comprising a loop for the circulation of a refrigerant, said loop including:
- a first heat exchanger between the refrigerant and the inside air stream for cooling said inside air stream,
- a second heat exchanger between the refrigerant and the inside air stream or a heat transfer fluid for heating said inside air stream, situated downstream of the first heat exchanger in the direction of circulation of the inside air stream,
said method comprising selecting a mode for dehumidifying the inside air stream from a plurality of dehumidification modes, said selecting being implemented on the basis of maps, produced in advance, of at least three parameters of the system, referred to as humidity control parameters, selected from an actual temperature of the inside air stream upstream of the first heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 2 #37: “Indoor Air Temperature Sensor”), a temperature setpoint downstream of the second heat exchanger (e.g., Fig. 2 #46: “Radiator Temperature Sensor”, “TH”, [0087]), a temperature setpoint downstream of the first exchanger (e.g., [0065]: “target outlet temperature TAO”), a flow rate of said inside air stream through the first exchanger (e.g., [0088]: “TGNChfb”), an ambient temperature of the air or a humidity of the air (e.g., Fig. 2 #33: “Outdoor Air Temperature Sensor”, “Tam”) and a humidity of the air (e.g., Fig. 2 #34: “Outdoor Air Humidity Sensor”).
14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the maps of the parameters of the system are produced as a function of the actual temperature of the air stream upstream of the first heat exchanger, the temperature setpoint downstream of the second heat exchanger and one or more of the other humidity control parameters, referred to as additional parameters or other parameters making it possible to calculate or deduce these control parameters (e.g., Fig. 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yamaguchi et al. US 11,407,279 discloses a vehicular air conditioner that includes an air conditioner, a heater core, a heat pump cycle unit, a temperature detector, and a controller. The heat pump cycle unit includes a first inside heat exchanger disposed downstream of the heater core in a flow direction of a conditioning air, a second inside heat exchanger disposed upstream of the heater core in the flow direction of the conditioning air, and an outside heat exchanger. The temperature detector is configured to detect a passage air temperature, the passage air temperature being a temperature of the conditioning air that has passed through the heater core. The controller is configured to selectively switch a circuit layout of the heat pump cycle unit between a cooling circuit, a heating circuit, and a dehumidifying-heating circuit based on the passage air temperature.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN A JARRETT whose telephone number is (571)272-3742. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30.
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, Kenneth Lo can be reached at 571-272-9774. 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.
/RYAN A JARRETT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
03/03/26