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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/07/2026 was filed after the filing date of the instant application. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered 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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozu (US 2017/0284706) in view of Saunders (US 11,460,224).
Regarding claims 1-2, Ozu discloses a climate-control system comprising:
a first compressor (10) including a first shell and a first compression mechanism (11), the first shell including a first suction inlet (14a) through which refrigerant is drawn into the first compressor for compression in the first compression mechanism;
a second compressor (20) including a second shell and a second compression mechanism (21), the second shell including a second suction inlet (24c) through which refrigerant is drawn into the second compressor for compression in the second compression mechanism;
a suction manifold (including low-pressure gas discharge pipe 62a and a low-pressure gas discharge pipe 62b) having a first arm (62a) and a second arm (62b), wherein the first arm (62a) is coupled to the first suction inlet (14a) and is configured to provide refrigerant to the first suction inlet, wherein the second arm (62b) is coupled to the second suction inlet (24a) and is configured to provide refrigerant to the second suction inlet; and
a pressure-control flow path (15) coupled to a discharge-pressure region of the climate-control system (refer to fig. 1) and to a suction-pressure region of the second compressor (refer to fig. 1), wherein the pressure-control flow path (15) includes a conduit that provide refrigerant to the suction-pressure region of the second compressor (20) at a pressure that is higher than pressure of refrigerant in the first arm of the suction manifold (in the instant case, the first arm of the suction manifold 62a is considered a low-pressure gas discharge pipe, and the refrigerant flowing through the pressure-control flow path has been compressed by the first compressor).
While Ozu discloses the pressure control flow path including the conduit and providing refrigerant to the suction-pressure region of the second compressor at a pressure that is higher than pressure of refrigerant in the first arm of the suction manifold, Ozu fails to explicitly disclose a valve movable between a first position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is prevented and a second position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is allowed.
However, Saunders teaches that it is known in the art of refrigeration, to provide a pressure-control flow path (41) including a valve (43) movable between a first position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is prevented and a second position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is allowed (refer to col. 8, lines 63-67 and col. 9, lines 1-6).
One having ordinary skill in the art of refrigeration would recognize that by providing the pressure control flow path including the valve, it will facilitate the control of refrigerant from the discharge-pressure region of the climate-control system to the suction-pressure region of the second compressor.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Ozu by providing a valve movable between a first position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is prevented and a second position in which fluid flow through the pressure-control flow path is allowed, in order to facilitate the control of refrigerant from the discharge-pressure region of the climate-control system to the suction-pressure region of the second compressor in view of the teachings by Saunders along with the knowledge generally available to one having ordinary skill in the art of refrigeration.
Regarding claim 3, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 2. Further, Ozu as modified discloses wherein the pressure-control flow path includes an expansion device (refer to col. 9, lines 3-5 by Saunders, wherein the valve could be an electronic expansion valve).
Regarding claim 4, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 2. Further, Ozu as modified discloses a control module (23 by Saunders) in communication with the valve (43 by Saunders) and controlling a position of the valve to control lubricant levels in the first and second shells (refer to col. 11, lines 35-41 by Saunders, wherein the control module can open and close valve 43 based on lubricant levels within a first and second compressor).
Regarding claim 5, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 4. Further, Ozu as modified discloses wherein the control module (23 by Saunders) controls the position of the valve (43 by Saunders) based on which of the first and second compressors are operating and which are in a shutdown state (refer to col. 12, lines 1-15 by Saunders, wherein the control module 23 moves the valve 43 based in an OFF-mode or ON-mode of the compressors).
Regarding claim 6, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 5. Further, Ozu as modified discloses wherein the control module controls the position of the valve based on capacity levels of the first and second compressors (refer to par. 83, wherein both compressors have different capacities, therefore, the control module having the capability of controlling the position of the valve based on capacity levels of the first and second compressors). Note: the recitation “controls the position of the valve based on capacity levels of the first and second compressors” has been considered a recitation of intended use. It has been held that the recitation with respect to the matter in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations.
Regarding claim 9, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, Ozu as modified discloses wherein the first shell includes a first discharge outlet (refer to fig. 1 below) through which refrigerant from the first compression mechanism is discharged from the first compressor (10), the second shell includes a second discharge outlet (refer to fig. 1 below) through which refrigerant from the second compression mechanism is discharged from the second compressor (20), and the climate-control system includes a discharge conduit (refer to fig. 1 below) in fluid communication with the first and second discharge outlets and is configured to receive refrigerant discharged from the first and second compressors.
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Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozu (US 2017/0284706), Saunders (US 11,460,224), and further in view of Raskar (US 2019/0323497).
Regarding claim 7, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 6. Further, Ozu as modified discloses the control module controlling the position of the valve, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the control module controls the position of the valve based on data received from a high-side sensor and a low-side sensor.
However, Raskar further teaches that it is known in the art of refrigeration, to provide a multiple-compressor system and method of controlling a suction valve, wherein a control module controls a position of a suction valve based on data received from a high-side sensor (e.g., a high-side temperature sensor or a high-side pressure sensor) and a low-side sensor (e.g., a low-side temperature sensor or a low-side pressure sensor) (refer to par. 12), in order to receive information regarding the capacity levels of the compressors (refer to claims 3-4, page 7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to further modify Ozu such that the control module controls the position of the valve based on data received from a high-side sensor and a low-side sensor in view of the teachings of Raskar, in order to receive information regarding the capacity levels of the compressors.
Regarding claim 8, Ozu as modified meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 7. Further, Ozu as modified discloses wherein the position of the valve is determined based on a predefined operating-envelope map (refer to claim 11, page 7 by Raskar).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11, 14 and 17 are 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pp.6-7, filed on 05/07/2026, with respect to claims 1-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claims 1-20 has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly amended claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANA M VAZQUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0611. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Len Tran can be reached at 571-272-1184. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANA M VAZQUEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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