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 action is responsive to the claim amendment filed on 11/19/2025. Claims 1-5 are pending in this application. Claims 1 and 3 have been amended.
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 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yumiba (JP2012013363A).
Regarding claim 1, Yumiba discloses an air conditioner, comprising:
a refrigerant circuit including a compressor (75), an outdoor heat exchanger (73 or 731-734), an indoor heat exchanger (33), an expansion valve (74a-74d) that is disposed between the outdoor heat exchanger (73) and the indoor heat exchanger (33), and a four-way valve (72) that switches a flow direction of a refrigerant discharged from the compressor (75; see figures 1-3);
an outdoor fan (631) that blows the air to the outdoor heat exchanger (73; see figures 1-3); and
a processor (10; see figures 1-3) that sets an instructed rotational frequency which is a rotational frequency (rotational speed of the outdoor fan 631) for driving the outdoor fan (631; see figures 1-3), wherein
the processor (10) performs, in a case where it is determined that a predetermined defrosting start condition (the defrost operation during heating operation) is satisfied during a heating operation (the defrosting/heating operation; see paragraph 3 of page 12 to paragraph 3 of page 13),
processing of switching a flow direction of the refrigerant from the indoor heat exchanger (33) to the outdoor heat exchanger (73; the reverse cycle defrosting operation by switching the four-way valve; see paragraph 3 of page 12 to paragraph 3 of page 13), and
processing of stopping the outdoor fan (631) while gradually reducing the instructed rotational frequency (reducing the rotational speed of the outdoor fan 631; see paragraph 3 of page 12 to paragraph 3 of page 13; see figures 1-3).
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 Yumiba.
Regarding claim 5, Yumiba discloses the processing of stopping the outdoor fan (361) reduces the instructed rotational frequency (see paragraph 3 of page 12 to paragraph 3 of page 13; see figures 1-3).
Though Yumiba fails to explicitly disclose the reduction of the instructed rotational frequency is continuously, stepwisely, or at a constant rate since Yumiba discloses the processing of stopping the outdoor fan (361) reduces the instructed rotational frequency (paragraph 3 of page 12 to paragraph 3 of page 13; see figures 1-3) there is finite number of reductions of the instructed rotational frequency. First option is to reduce the frequency continuously; second option is to reduce the frequency stepwisely; and the third option is to reduce the frequency at constant rate. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to try to reduce the rotational frequency of the outdoor fan of Yumiba in continuously, stepwisely, or at a constant rate way (see MPEP 2143 section E).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yumiba in view of Aoki (previously cited and applied).
Regarding claim 2, Yumiba fails to disclose the air conditioner further comprising an external casing fitted in an opening of a building wall that partitions an indoor space and an outdoor space, wherein the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor fan are disposed in the external casing.
Aoki teaches an air conditioner comprising an external casing fitted in an opening of a building wall that partitions an indoor space and an outdoor space, wherein the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor fan are disposed in the external casing (abstract; see figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the air conditioner of Yumiba to incorporate the claimed placement of the outdoor unit as taught by Aoki in order to reduce the length of pipeline connection between the indoor and outdoor unit.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
The primary reference Yumiba fails to disclose the claimed control operation relationship between the outdoor fan and the compressor during defrost and heating operation as required in claims 3-4. Also, the prior art of record fails to provide further teachings or motivation to modify the air conditioner of Yumiba in order to arrive the claim invention. Therefore, claims 3-4 are allowable.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments on the Remarks filed on 11/19/2025 with respect to claim(s) 1-5 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 KUN KAI MA whose telephone number is (571)-270-3530. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
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/KUN KAI MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763