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 .
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 7, 9, 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley (US 2020/0290429 – provided by Applicant in the IDS) in view of FOR1 (DE102013110965A1).
Regarding claim 1, Blatchley teaches a cabin climate control assembly for a working vehicle (see Abstract), the cabin climate control assembly comprising:
a first circuit for circulating a refrigerant (212, Fig. 1, paragraph [0027]);
a second circuit for circulating a liquid (214, Fig. 1, see paragraph [0025]):
an evaporator configured to transfer heat energy to the refrigerant in the first circuit (270, Fig. 1, paragraph [0028]);
a compressor configured to compress the refrigerant in the first circuit and thereby generate additional heat energy in the first circuit (240, Fig. 1, paragraph [0027]); and
a condenser configured to transfer heat energy between the compressed refrigerant and the liquid in the second circuit (224, Fig. 1, paragraph [0025]); and
a heat exchanger configured to expel heat energy from the liquid in the second circuit (218, Fig. 1, paragraph [0024]);
wherein the cabin climate control assembly comprises a heating mode in which the cabin climate control assembly is configured to remove heat energy from air entering or circulating within a cabin of a working vehicle via the evaporator (see paragraph [0032]), then add the removed heat energy and additional heat energy generated by the compressor back into the air entering or circulating within the cabin via the heat exchanger, in order to raise the temperature of the cabin (see paragraph [0033]).
Blatchley does not teach a diverter positioned between the evaporator and the heat exchanger, the diverter being configured to divert air which has been cooled by the evaporator to the outside of the cabin.
FOR1 teaches an air conditioning system for a vehicle (FOR1, Title) which features a fan that propels air through an evaporator (FOR1, see Description, “The fan 5 conveys the air to the evaporator 6”) with a diverter positioned between the evaporator and a heat exchanger (FOR1, see Fig. 1, see Abstract, at least which notes, “The housing (2) has at least one air guiding device (12, 20) with which an air mass flow conditioned in the air conditioning system (1) can be diverted into the environment”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley with diverting air which has been cooled by the evaporator, as taught by FOR1, in order to control the ratio of air that is ventilated.
Regarding claim 2, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, wherein the second circuit comprises a heater configured to raise a temperature of the liquid in the second circuit (Blatchley, 218, Fig. 1, paragraph [0032]), wherein, optionally, the heater is an immersion heater contained within pipework of the second circuit such that liquid flowing through the second circuit contacts the immersion heater (as the limitation is noted to be optional, it is not required by the art).
Regarding claim 7, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, wherein one or more fans configured to direct air entering or circulating within the cabin towards the evaporator and/or heat exchanger (FOR1, see Description, “The fan 5 conveys the air to the evaporator 6”).
Regarding claim 9, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, wherein the diverter is configured to be selectively actuated in order to divert air which has been cooled by the evaporator outside of the cabin or towards the heat exchanger (FOR1, “The housing (2) has at least one air guiding device (12, 20) with which an air mass flow conditioned in the air conditioning system (1) can be diverted into the environment”).
Regarding claim 18, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, comprising an expansion device located in the first circuit between the condenser and the evaporator (Blatchley, 254, Fig. 1, paragraph [0030]).
Regarding claim 19, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, comprising a pump configured to circulate the liquid around the second circuit (Blatchley, 222, Fig. 1, paragraph [0030]).
Regarding claim 20, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, further comprising a receiver drier in the first circuit to remove moisture and/or debris from refrigerant circulating in the first circuit (Blatchley,242, Fig. 1, see paragraph [0027]); optionally, wherein the receiver drier is located between the condenser and an expansion device.
Regarding claim 21, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 20, further comprising an expansion device (Blatchley, 264, 254, Fig. 1, paragraph [0027]), wherein the receiver drier is located between the condenser and the expansion device (Blatchley, 242, Fig. 1, see paragraph [0027]).
Claims 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley in view of FOR1, further in view of FOR2 (DE10201901233A1 – provided by Applicant in the IDS).
Regarding claim 10, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, but does not teach an external air inlet, the external air inlet being in fluid communication with the evaporator for extraction of heat from the external air. FOR2 teaches a system for heating a passenger cabin (FOR2, Title) which utilizes an external air inlet that is in fluid communication with an evaporator (FOR2, 156, Fig. 3, see Description, the air inlet is in fluid communication with the evaporator 132 via the heat exchanger 134). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with an external air inlet as taught by FOR2, in order to increase the overall rate of heat transfer in the system/.
Regarding claim 11, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, wherein the diverter is configured to be selectively actuated to divert a first portion of external air received from the external air inlet to the outside of the cabin (see FOR2, Description which notes different positions to actuate different flows, see motivation to combine in rejection of claim 10), and a second portion of external air received from the external air inlet to the heat exchanger (see FOR2, Description which notes different positions to actuate different flows, see motivation to combine in rejection of claim 10).
Regarding claim 12, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 1, but does not teach that the second circuit comprises a radiator external to the cabin and a valve arrangement configured to selectively direct liquid in the second circuit from the condenser towards the heat exchanger and/or the radiator.
FOR2 teaches a cabin air refrigerant system (FOR2, Title) which features a diverter (FOR2, 162, 164, Fig. 3, see Description) which features a second circuit (FOR2, 182, Fig. 4) that comprises a radiator external to the cabin (FOR2, 188, Fig. 4, see Description) and a valve arrangement configured to selectively direct liquid in the second circuit from the condenser towards the heat exchanger and/or the radiator ((FOR2, 200, Fig. 4, see Description)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with a radiator external to the cabin and a valve arrangement configured to selectively direct liquid in the second circuit from the condenser towards the heat exchanger and/or the radiator, as taught by FOR2, in order to increase the overall heat transfer efficiency of the system.
Regarding claim 13, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 12, comprising a cooling mode in which the cabin climate control assembly is configured to remove heat energy from air entering or circulating within the cabin via the evaporator (Blatchley, paragraph [0031]), then transfer the removed heat energy to an external environment via the radiator, in order to reduce the temperature of the cabin (met through the combination with FOR2, see FOR2 Description).
Regarding claim 14, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 12, comprising a mixed mode in which the cabin climate control assembly is configured to remove heat energy from air entering or circulating within the cabin via the evaporator (Blatchley, paragraph [0034]),
then transfer a first portion of the removed heat energy and additional heat energy generated by the compressor back into the air entering or circulating within the cabin via the heat exchanger (see Blatchley, paragraph [0034]) and a second portion of the removed heat energy and additional heat energy generated by the compressor to an external environment via the radiator (met through the combination with FOR2, as FOR2 teaches the connection with the radiator).
Regarding claim 15, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 14, wherein the ratio of the first and second portions is controlled by the valve arrangement in order to maintain a temperature within the cabin (inherent function of the valve arrangement as the entire purpose of the climate control assembly is to maintain temperature).
Regarding claim 16, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 14, wherein the valve arrangement comprises a first valve configured to control flow of liquid in the second circuit between the condenser and the heat exchanger (FOR2, 86, Fig. 2) and a second valve configured to control flow of liquid in the second circuit from the condenser to the radiator (FOR2, 58, Fig. 2, see Description). See motivation to combine in the rejection of claim 12 above.
Regarding claim 17, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 12, but does not teach a radiator fan configured to blow ambient air across the radiator. However, the Examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that the use of fans to increase the rate of heat exchange across heat exchangers. Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with a radiator fan to blow air across the radiator, in order to increase the rate of heat transfer in the radiator.
Claims 3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley in view of FOR1, further in view of Nemesh (US 2010/0012295, previously cited).
Regarding claim 3, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 2, wherein the working vehicle is an electric or plug-in hybrid working vehicle (see paragraph [0012]. Blatchley does not specifically teach wherein the cabin climate control assembly is configured to run the heater when it is determined that the working vehicle is on charge.
Nemesh teaches a vehicle HVAC system (Nemesh, Title, Abstract) wherein during an operating mode where the vehicle is being plugged-in and charged (Nemesh, paragraph [0022]) the heater core of the HVAC system is operated to run (Nemesh, 68, see paragraph [0022]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with running the heater while the vehicle is on charge, as taught by Nemesh, in order to warm the battery if needed while charging the vehicle.
Claims 4 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley in view of FOR1, further in view of Nishiyama (US 2020/0238790, previously cited).
Regarding claim 4, Blatchley as modified teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 2, but does not teach the cabin climate control assembly is configured to run the heater when it is determined that a temperature differential between a desired cabin temperature and an outside air temperature or actual cabin temperature is greater than a threshold temperature differential.
Nishiyama teaches a control apparatus for a vehicle (Nishiyama, Title) wherein when the difference between the set vehicle cabin temperature and the vehicle cabin temperature is greater than a predetermined value (Nishiyama, paragraph [0084]) the heater is operated to run (Nishiyama, paragraph [0084] notes running the heater in response to the difference being greater than a predetermined value).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with running the heater when it is determined that a temperature differential between the actual cabin temperature is greater than a threshold temperature differential, as taught by NIshiyama, in order to prevent the difference from getting larger and thereby making the heating operation take longer to reach the desired temperature.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley in view of FOR1, further in view of Kim (US 2022/0111698, previously cited).
Regarding claim 5, Blatchley teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 2, but does not teach, at start-up of the working vehicle, the cabin climate control assembly is configured to run the heater when it is determined that an outside air temperature is below a threshold air temperature.
Kim teaches a thermal management system for a vehicle (Kim, Title) which features a heater (Kim, 45, paragraph [0212]) that is operated when it is detected that the temperature of outside air is lower than a target temperature (Kim, paragraph [0212]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with running the heater when it is determined that an outside air temperature is below a threshold air temperature, as taught by Kim, in order to prevent the cabin from getting too cold.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blatchley in view of FOR1 and Nemesh, further in view of Srivastavav (US 2020/0223288, previously cited).
Regarding claim 6, Blatchley as modifeid teaches the cabin climate control assembly of claim 3, but does not teach the cabin climate control assembly is configured to turn off the heater when a temperature of the liquid in the second circuit is greater than a threshold liquid temperature,
optionally, wherein the cabin climate control assembly is configured to gradually reduce a heat output of the heater as the temperature of the liquid in the second circuit approaches the threshold liquid temperature.
Srivastava teaches a heater control for e vehicle (Srivastava, Title, Abstract) which features a vehicle heater that is deactivated if the vehicle coolant is higher than a threshold temperature (Srivastava, paragraph [0007], claim 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to provide Blatchley as modified with turning off the heater when a temperature of the liquid in the second circuit is greater than a threshold liquid temperature, as taught by Srivastava, in order to prevent unnecessary energy expenditure of the heater if the coolant temperature is past the desired range.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant Remarks, filed 12/3/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC 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, please see the rejection above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAEL N BABAA whose telephone number is (571)270-3272. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-5 EST.
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/NAEL N BABAA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763