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 .
This office action is a response to an application filed 11/16/2023, in which claims 1-10 are pending and ready for examination.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in People’s Republic of China on 11/16/2022. It is noted, however, that a certified copy of the CN202211435385.5 application has not been received, as required by 35 U.S.C. 119(b). Please see the document titled “Document indicating retrieval request was unsuccessful “ dated 04/16/2024 with document code ”PD.RETR.FAIL” in the prosecution history file wrapper of instant application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Examiner has considered the references listed on the Information Disclosure Statement submitted on 06/03/2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 5, the claim recites the limitation “judging whether the subunit meets “shut-down for power-off”/“shut-down for temperature-reaching” conditions, and if so, sequentially unloading one subunit every a specified time according to the accumulative operating time of the subunit.”
A review of the instant specification does not appear to disclose what constitutes a “shut-down for power-off” condition. A text search for “power off” reveals that the term only appears in paragraphs 14 and 37 of the instant specification. However, neither of these paragraphs specify what the condition entails, and applicant does not disclose what it intends the condition to be, such as shutting down what for power off of what, and for what reason (i.e. condition)? For the purpose of examination, the limitation is being broadly interpreted to mean any condition.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1, 5, and 10, the claims respectively recite the limitation “every a specified time.” The phrase is unclear, as to whether there is a typographical error, and to what “every” specified times are being referred to. For example, is this meant to be that something occurs every tine for a specified time? Or is it that there is a specified time for every condition? Or does mean something else? For the purpose of examination, the limitation is being broadly interpreted to mean any for of time, such as an interval, cycle, etc.,, for any form of event or condition.
Regarding claim 4, the claim recites the limitation “further comprising: judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets the maximum water temperature/minimum water temperature limiting conditions, and if not, performing a “shut-down for temperature-reaching” process.” There has been no prior mention of a “maximum water temperature/minimum water temperature,” and it is not clear what this means, For example, the terms “maximum” and “minimum” have not appeared previously. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, the limitation is being broadly interpreted to be any temperature condition.
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1- 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chinese Patent Publication No. CN109373654A to Zhang (hereinafter Zhang. English translation of CN109373654A is included and cited in this office action), in view of Chinese Patent Publication No. CN 111981642A to Liu et al., (hereinafter Liu. English translation of CN 111981642A is included and cited in this office action).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a parallel control method of a variable frequency air source heat pump cold water unit (Muti unit parallel control, Cooling Chiller heat pump, see p2-p4, Figs. 1-3, p10, Zhang), wherein the variable frequency air source heat pump cold water unit comprises
a plurality of subunits disposed in parallel (Parallel units, see , p4, p10, Figs. 1-3, Zhang), the parallel control method comprising the steps of:
setting a set water temperature of each of the subunits (Set water temps, see Figs. 1-3, p5, Table 1, Zhang), and acquiring a total outlet water temperature of the variable frequency air source heat pump cold water unit (Total water outlet temperature, see p6, p5 p27, 119, Zhang);
according to an operating mode of the variable frequency air source heat pump cold water unit, judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets a first unloading condition (Unloading condition in view of total outlet temperature in a specified mode, such as cooling, see p26,-27, p13, Figs. 4-5, p4Zhang), and if so, controlling the subunit with the lowest operating frequency to perform an unloading action (Unloading units by condition from steps, with the smallest in ranked operation frequency, see p38, 73, Figs. 4-5, 59, Zhang);
acquiring the total outlet water temperature in real time, and judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets a second unloading condition (An alternate, Unloading condition in view of total outlet temperature in return, in an operating mode, see p26,-27, p13, Figs. 4-5, Zhang), and if so, controlling the subunit with the lowest operating frequency to perform the unloading action (Unloading units by condition from steps with the smallest in ranked operation frequency, see p38, 73, Figs. 4-5, 59, Zhang);
judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets a start-up loading condition in real time, and if so, controlling the first subunit with the shortest accumulative operating time of the subunits performing the unloading action to perform a start-up loading action (A loading determination on a temperature condition of output water, where loading of a unit and unloading of another is based on ranking of smallest operating frequency, and where it is understood that loading is a startup and unloading a shutdown, p6, 65, 59, 73, 83, 97 109, 65, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang);
and judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets the start-up loading condition every a specified time, and if so, controlling the subunit to perform the start-up loading action, the subunit performing the start-up loading action being shut down according to conditions in a non-parallel mode (Loading, which is a start-up, is determined on a condition on a cycle time, and unload, shut down according to cycle condition that is a condition to a non-parallel mode, see p73, p6, 82, 109, p42-43,47, 65, 88, 90, p97, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang).
Zhang does not explicitly teach a first unloading condition being: in a heating/domestic hot water mode, a total outlet water temperature ≥ a set water temperature - (a number of subunits turned on - a first preset value); and in a cooling mode, a total outlet water temperature ≤ a set water temperature ＋ (a number of subunits turned on - a second preset value);
However, Liu from the same or similar field of heat pumps and parallel control, teaches a first unloading condition being: in a heating/domestic hot water mode, a total outlet water temperature ≥ a set water temperature - (a number of subunits turned on - a first preset value) (In a heating mode, a condition requirement used in unloading action uses a determination condition of a inequality comparison based on a total water outlet temperature, a preset temperature, and a value that is indicative of the number of modules in an area, see Pg. 5, Pgs. 4-6, Fig. 2, Liu); and in a cooling mode, a total outlet water temperature ≤ a set water temperature ＋ (a number of subunits turned on - a second preset value) (In a cooling mode, a condition requirement used in unloading action uses a determination condition of a inequality comparison based on a total water outlet temperature, a preset temperature, and a value that is indicative of the number of modules in an area, see Pg. 5, Pgs. 4-6, Fig. 2, Liu).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the environmental control as described by Zhang and incorporating specified unloading conditions, as taught by Liu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to provide increased energy efficiency by more efficiently configuring the use of modules in an environmental control system through the use of specified condition that better reflect the needed resource requirements that implement a gradual change (see Abs., pg.6, Liu).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches wherein the start-up loading condition is: in the heating/domestic hot water mode, whether the total outlet water temperature is not higher than the set water temperature, and whether the total outlet water temperature has risen within a first preset time period, and if the total outlet water temperature is not higher than the set water temperature, and the total outlet water temperature has not risen within the first preset time period, the first subunit with the shortest accumulative operating time of the subunits performing the unloading action is controlled to perform the start-up loading action (Loading is determined on a condition on a cycle period time and according to a comparison of outlet temperature and above a set temperature, with a smallest operating unit being ordered for use, see 120, p73, p6--7, 82, 109, p42-43,47, 65, 88, 90, p97, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang); and in the cooling mode, whether the total outlet water temperature is not lower than the set water temperature, and whether the total outlet water temperature has fallen within a second preset time period, and if the total outlet water temperature is not lower than the set water temperature, and the total outlet water temperature has not fallen within the second preset time period, the first subunit with the shortest accumulative operating time of the subunits performing the unloading action is controlled to perform the start-up loading action (Loading is determined on a condition on a cycle period time and according to a comparison of outlet temperature and less than set temperature, with a smallest operating unit being ordered for use, see 76, p73, p6, 82, 109, p42-43,47, 65, 88, 90, p97, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang);.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches wherein the second unloading condition is: in the heating/domestic hot water mode, the total outlet water temperature rises by a first specified temperature (Condition for heating to increase temperature to a set temp, see p120, p6,121, p78, Table 1, p4, 65, Zhang); and in the cooling mode, the total outlet water temperature falls by a second specified temperature (Condition for cooling is to decrease temperature to a set temp, see p120, p6, 121, p78, Table 1, p4, 65, Zhang).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets the maximum water temperature/minimum water temperature limiting conditions, and if not, performing a “shut-down for temperature-reaching” process (Operation of loading units is performed until the temperature condition is met, and if not loading and unloading of units is performed, see Figs. 4-5, p121, p6, 65, 59, 73, 83, 97 109, 65, Zhang).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches judging whether the subunit meets “shut-down for power-off”/“shut-down for temperature-reaching” conditions, and if so, sequentially unloading one subunit every a specified time according to the accumulative operating time of the subunit (Operation of loading units is performed until the temperature condition is met, and if not loading and unloading of units is performed, where unloading can be one by one, thus sequentially, see p119, Figs. 4-5, p121, p6, 65, 59, 73, 83, 97 109, 65, Zhang).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches further comprising a start-up control logic: according to the operating mode of the variable frequency air source heat pump cold water unit, judging whether the total outlet water temperature meets a first start-up condition, and if so, turning on the subunit in a shut-down state with the shortest accumulative operating time (A loading determination on a temperature condition of output water, where loading of a unit and unloading of another is based on ranking of smallest operating frequency, and where it is understood that loading is a startup and unloading a shutdown, p6, 65, 59, 73, 83, 97 109, 65, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang); and acquiring the total outlet water temperature every a first specified time, and judging whether the difference between the total outlet water temperatures of adjacent time intervals meets a second start-up condition every a second specified time, and if so, turning on the subunit in the shut-down state with the shortest accumulative operating time; and if not, not turning on the subunit (A determination on a temperature condition of output water, where loading of a unit and unloading of another is based on ranking of smallest operating frequency, and based on time intervals, p28, 65 73, p6, 65, 59, 73, 83, 97 109, 65, Figs. 4-5, Tables, Zhang).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Liu further teaches wherein the first start-up condition is: in the heating/domestic hot water mode, the total outlet water temperature ≤ the difference between the set water temperature and a third preset value (In a heating mode, a another condition requirement used in unloading action uses a determination condition of a inequality comparison based on a total water outlet temperature, a preset temperature, and a third value difference that is indicative of the number of modules in an area, see Pg. 5, Pgs. 4-6, Fig. 2, Liu); and in the cooling mode, the total outlet water temperature ≥ the sum of the set water temperature and a fourth preset value (In a cooling mode, another condition requirement used in unloading action uses a determination condition of a inequality comparison based on a total water outlet temperature, a preset temperature, and a value that is indicative of the number of modules in an area, see Pg. 5, Pgs. 4-6, Fig. 2, Liu); and the second start-up condition is: in the heating/domestic hot water mode, the total outlet water temperature ≤ the difference between the set water temperature and the third preset value, and the difference between the total outlet water temperatures ≤ a first temperature threshold; and in the cooling mode, the total outlet water temperature ≥ the sum of the set water temperature and the fourth preset value, and the difference between the total outlet water temperatures ≥ a second temperature threshold (Condition requirements based on specified inequalities comparison based on a total water outlet temperature, a preset temperature, and a value that is indicative of the number of modules in an area, see Pg. 5, Pgs. 4-6, Fig. 2, Liu).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the environmental control as described by the combination that includes Zhang and incorporating specified unloading conditions, as taught by Liu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to provide increased energy efficiency by more efficiently configuring the use of modules in an environmental control system through the use of specified condition that better reflect the needed resource requirements that implement a gradual change (see Abs., pg.6, Liu).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Zhang further teaches further comprising: acquiring the total outlet water temperature every 5 min, and judging whether the difference between the total outlet water temperatures meets the second start-up condition every 30 min, and if so, turning on the subunit in the shut-down state with the shortest accumulative operating time; and if not, not turning on the subunit (Control with conditions is performed on cycle time and detecting total outlet temperature is performed within the cycle time, with a condition of loading a short operating frequency unit, see p73, 65, 67, Figs. 4-5, Zhang).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Zhang and Liu teaches all the limitations of the base claim as outlined above, and are analyzed as previously discussed with regard to that claim.
Liu further teaches wherein if the difference between the total outlet water temperatures or the total outlet water temperature does not meet any of the start-up conditions for a specified time, and no unloading action of the subunit is detected during the specified time, one subunit with the shortest accumulative operating time is forcibly turned on ( At least one module is loaded after reaching a period to meet a requirement, in a system with conditions based on the difference between outlet temperature, and where accumulated operation is used to balance operation times of modules, see Pg 6 1st para, Pg. 7 para 1, Pg. 6, Liu)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify the environmental control as described by the combination that includes Zhang and incorporating a forced operation, as taught by Liu.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to do this modification in order to better avoid temperature fluctuations by using at least one operating unit and balancing the operation time of the units (see Pg 6 1st para, Pg. 7 para 1, Pg. 6, Liu).
Claim 10 is rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pitonyak et al., US. Patent Publication No. 2010/0006042 teaches optimizing multiple boiler system based on conditions related to operating conditions .
Carrasco et al., US. Patent Publication No. 2022/0120435 teaches a boiler system with multiple boilers that performs control without excessive overshoot by reducing an overall system output water temperature..
Meier et al., US. Patent Publication No. 2009/0084120 teaches a conditioned air delivery system where several parallel refrigeration units can be operated in a coordinated manner .
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILIO J SAAVEDRA whose telephone number is (571)270-5617. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30am-5:30pm (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert E Fennema can be reached at (571) 272-2748. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EMILIO J SAAVEDRA/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2117