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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to: Application filed on November 10th, 2023
Claims 1-20 are pending claims.
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 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.
Claims 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clanin, US PG PUB# US2010/0057258A1 (hereinafter Clanin) in view of Coogan et al., US PG PUB# US2009/0047894A1 (hereinafter Coogan).
As for independent claim 1:
Clanin discloses a system comprising:
a controller; a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit in communication with the controller (0030, 0031, 0033, Clanin discloses programmable control unit, communication unit and controller for hvac);
a first damper positioned at a first air duct, the first air duct supplying air from an exterior of a premises to the HVAC unit, the first damper in communication with the controller (Clanin discloses outside air duct and outside air damper supplying exterior air to the unit in 0039-0040);
a second damper positioned at a second air duct, the second air duct supplying air from an interior of the premises to the HVAC unit, the second damper in communication with the controller (Clanin discloses recirculating damper supplying air to the interior air to the unit in 0038-0040);
a first pressure sensor configured to detect an air pressure exterior to the premises, the first pressure sensor in communication with the controller (Clanin discloses pressure sensor used for building control in 0033, 0041, and 0071); a second pressure sensor configured to detect an air pressure within the premises, the second pressure sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure exterior to the premises from the first pressure sensor and the detected air pressure within the premises from the second pressure sensor (0040-0041 and 0071-0072, Clanin discloses pressure sensors and controllers);
Clanin does not discloses wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises. In the same field of endeavor Coogan discloses wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises in 0016-17, 0020-0022. In the cited section Coogan discloses feedback controller logic for adjusting air pressure in response to the received conditions. Accordingly it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a skilled artisan to modify the system of Clanin to incorporate the feedback control as taught by Coogan, thus allow dynamic real time air pressure control to the system (Coogan, 0020).
As for dependent claim 2:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises to be greater than the air pressure exterior to the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper when the detected air pressure within the premises is less than the detected air pressure exterior to the premises (Clanin 0070, position pressurization and Coogan, 0018-0020).
As for dependent claim 3:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises to be greater than the air pressure exterior to the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper such that the first air duct supplies more air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second air duct supplies from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit (Clanin, 0019-0021, see increase airflow to maintain building pressure).
As for dependent claim 4:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the second damper from a second damper first position to a second damper second position, wherein the second damper second position restricts more air from passing from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second damper first position (Clanin 0039-0040, recirculation damper and 0016-0018 feedback control).
As for dependent claim 5:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 4, wherein each of the second damper first position and the second damper second position allow air to pass from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit (Clanin 0039-0040, recirculation damper and 0016-0018 feedback control).
As for dependent claim 6:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the first damper from a first damper first position to a first damper second position, wherein the first damper first position restricts more air from passing from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the first damper second position (Clanin 0039-0040, recirculation damper and 0016-0018 feedback control).
As for dependent claim 7:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising a first air filter positioned at the first air duct such that air passing from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit passes through the first air filter before reaching the HVAC unit (see filtering rack disclosed by Clanin, 0033, 0036).
As for dependent claim 8:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising an air quality sensor positioned to detect an air quality metric of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the air quality sensor in communication with the controller, and wherein the controller is configured to adjust the first damper based at least in part on the detected air quality metric (Clanin, 0090, 0016, see air quality sensor and damper controls).
As for dependent claim 9:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the second pressure sensor is positioned to detect air pressure at or adjacent the second air duct, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to use the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor to determine a presence of an air blockage condition at the second air duct (Coogan, discloses pressure diagnostics and controls in 0019-0020).
As for dependent claim 10:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising: a third damper positioned at a third air duct, the third air duct supplying air from the HVAC unit to a first zone of the premises, the third damper in communication with the controller; a first temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the HVAC unit to the first zone, the first temperature sensor in communication with the controller; a fourth damper positioned at a fourth air duct, the fourth air duct supplying air from the HVAC unit to a second zone of the premises, the fourth damper in communication with the controller; and a second temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the HVAC unit to the second zone, the second temperature sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the second damper is positioned at the second air duct, and the second air duct supplies air from the first zone of the premises to the HVAC unit, and
wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the temperature of the second zone by adjusting at least one of the third damper and the fourth damper based on the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor (Clanin 0030-0034, Coogan 0016-0021).
As for dependent claim 11:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to change the temperature of the second zone by adjusting at least two of the second damper, the third damper, and the fourth damper based on the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor (Clanin 0030-0034, Coogan 0016-0021, see third damper and fourth along with controller).
As for dependent claim 12:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, further comprising: a third temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the third temperature sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises, the detected air pressure within the premises, and the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor (Clanin, 0091, Coogan 0016-0020).
As for dependent claim 13:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 12, further comprising: a first humidity sensor positioned to detect an air humidity level of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the first humidity sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air humidity level from the first humidity sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises, the detected air pressure within the premises, the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor, and the detected air humidity level from the first humidity sensor (Clanin, 0091, Coogan, 0016-0023).
As for dependent claim 14:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure within the premises from the second pressure sensor, wherein the controller is configured to use the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor to determine an activity category for a first zone of the premises, and wherein the controller is configured to cause a set point temperature for the first zone to be adjusted based on the determined activity category for the first zone (Coogan, 0018-0023).
As for independent claim 15:
Clanin discloses controller comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable storage article including computer-executable instructions; and programmable processing circuitry configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to: receive a detected air pressure exterior to a premise from a first pressure sensor, receive a detected air pressure within the premise from a second pressure sensor (Clanin discloses control unit, pressure sensor used for building control in 0033, 0041, and 0071);
Clanin does not discloses adjust an amount of air supplied from an exterior of a premise to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises. Coogan discloses adjust an amount of air supplied from an exterior of a premise to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises in 0016-17, 0020-0022. In the cited section Coogan discloses feedback controller logic for adjusting air pressure in response to the received conditions for the HVAC unit. Accordingly it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a skilled artisan to modify the system of Clanin to incorporate the feedback control as taught by Coogan, thus allow dynamic real time air pressure control to the system (Coogan, 0020).
As for dependent claim 16:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the controller of claim 15, wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air supplied from an exterior of a premise to the HVAC unit by adjusting a first damper positioned at a first air duct that supplies air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit (Clanin 0035, 0039-0040, see programmable logic controller for adjusting air to the hvac unit).
As for dependent claim 17:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the controller of claim 16, wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust an amount of air supplied from an interior of the premises to the HVAC unit based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises (Clanin, 0039-0030, 0064-0065).
As for dependent claim 18:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the controller of claim 17, wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air supplied from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit by adjusting a second damper positioned at a second air duct that supplies air from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit (Clanin 0033, 0038-0040 and 0046-0048).
As for dependent claim 19:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the controller of claim 18, wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air supplied from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit to cause the detected air pressure within the premises to be greater than the detected air pressure exterior to the premises (Clanin 0064-0067 and Coogan 0018-0021).
As for dependent claim 20:
Clanin – Coogan discloses the controller of claim 19, wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust at least one of the first damper and the second damper such that the first air duct supplies more air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second air duct supplies from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit (Clanin 0046-0047 and Coogan 0019-0021).
It is noted that any citation to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the references should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)).
The Examiner notes MPEP § 2144.01, that quotes In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825,159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968) as stating “in considering the disclosure of a reference, it is proper to take into account not only specific teachings of the reference but also the inferences which one skilled in the art would reasonably be expected to draw therefrom.” Further MPEP 2123, states that “a reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill the art, including nonpreferred embodiments. Merck & Co. v. Biocraft Laboratories, 874 F.2d 804, 10 USPQ2d 1843 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975 (1989).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID PHANTANA ANGKOOL whose telephone number is (571) 272-2673. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7:00-3:30 PM.
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/David Phantana-angkool/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2172