DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 6/15/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of the claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. 102 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 in view of Kumada et al. U.S. PGPub 2004/0079099.
The indicated allowability of claim 4 is withdrawn in view of Kumada et al. U.S. PGPub 2004/0079099. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kumada et al. U.S. PGPub 2004/0079099 (hereinafter “Kumada”).
Regarding claims 1, 4 and 6, Kumada discloses a vehicle air conditioning apparatus comprising: a first seat (i.e. driver’s seat) and a second seat (i.e. rear passenger seat) (e.g. ¶25-27; Fig. 1-2); an air conditioner configured to generate first air-conditioning air and second air-conditioning air by conditioning air supplied to a vehicle compartment (e.g. ¶25-27; Fig. 1-2); an occupant detector configured to detect whether an occupant is present in the second seat (e.g. ¶105 and 107); air-conditioning air outlets comprising a first outlet (i.e. outlet from seat duct) that is provided in vicinity of the first seat and from which the first air-conditioning air is to be sent out into the vehicle compartment and a second outlet (i.e. outlet from rear seat duct) that is provided in vicinity of the second seat and from which the second air-conditioning air is to be sent out into the vehicle compartment (e.g. ¶28-32; Fig. 1-2); and a calculation processor configured to, when determining that the occupant is not present in the second seat based on an output from the occupant detector, send out the first air-conditioning air from the first outlet into the vehicle compartment and send out the second air-conditioning air from the second outlet into the vehicle compartment, the first air-conditioning air being conditioned to be at a first temperature, the second air-conditioning air being conditioned to be at a second temperature set to increase an air conditioning effect (e.g. ¶25-27 and 105), wherein the calculation processor is further configured to: execute a first mode in which the first temperature and the second temperature are individually set (i.e. independently controlled), the first air-conditioning air is conditioned to be at the first temperature and is sent out from the first outlet, and the second air-conditioning air is conditioned to be at the second temperature and is sent out from the second outlet (e.g. ¶25-27; Fig. 1-2); execute a second mode in which, when the occupant is not present in the second seat, the first air-conditioning air conditioned to be at the first temperature is sent out from the first outlet, the second air-conditioning air conditioned to be at the second temperature is sent out from the second outlet with a reduced flow amount (e.g. ¶107, “limit or reduce the flow of uncomfortable air”) as compared with that in the first mode (e.g. ¶105 and 107); and upon transition from the first mode to the second mode, the second temperature of the second air-conditioning air is changed to a temperature (e.g. predetermined temperature) that increases the air-conditioning effect (e.g. ¶105).
Regarding claim 2, Kumada discloses the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation processor is configured to, when the vehicle compartment is to be cooled, cause the second temperature of the second air-conditioning air to be lower than or equal to the first temperature of the first air-conditioning air (e.g. ¶28, when passenger wants cooler air).
Regarding claim 3, Kumada discloses the vehicle air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation processor is configured to, when the vehicle compartment is to be heated, cause the second temperature of the second air-conditioning air to be higher than or equal to the first temperature of the first air-conditioning air (e.g. ¶28, when passenger wants warmer air).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kumada as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Sato EP-1512563-A2 (hereinafter “Sato”).
Regarding claim 5, Kumada does not explicitly disclose a display on which an air conditioning state of the vehicle compartment is to be displayed, wherein the calculation processor is configured to, when the second temperature is changed, refrain from causing information to be displayed, the information indicating that the second temperature is changed.
Sato discloses a display on which an air conditioning state (e.g. driver’s side/overall temperature) of the vehicle compartment is to be displayed (e.g. abstract; ¶32-35 and 38-47; Fig. 1 and 3-8), wherein the calculation processor is configured to, when the second temperature (e.g. passenger side temperature) is changed, refrain from causing information to be displayed, the information indicating that the second temperature is changed (e.g. abstract; ¶32-35 and 38-47; Fig. 1 and 3-8, when passenger side temperature is not displayed when overall temperature is displayed).
At the time the invention was filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to include a display to display the air conditioning state in the vehicle. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this in order to inform the passenger or driver of the current air conditioning state for achieving the desired air conditioning state.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to modify Kumada with Sato to obtain the invention as specified in claim 5.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not disclose a calculation processor configured to execute a second mode in which, when the occupant is not present in the passenger seat, the first air-conditioning air is sent out and the second air-conditioning air is sent out more weakly than in the first mode, and upon transition from the first mode to the second mode, change the second temperature of the second air-conditioning air to a temperature that increases the air conditioning effect.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES R KASENGE whose telephone number is (571)272-3743. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30am to 4pm EST.
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CK
August 24, 2026
/CHARLES R KASENGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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