DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-6, 8, 10-11 and 13-16 are pending.
Claims 7, 9 and 12 are cancelled.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment to the claim 13 has overcome each and every objections previously set forth. The objections of the claim 13 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome 112(f) invocation previously set forth. Accordingly, Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome corresponding 112(b) and 112(a) rejections previously set forth. The corresponding 112(b) and 112(a) rejections previously set forth of the claims have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s cancellation of the claim 12 have overcome 112(b) rejection previously set forth. The 112(b) rejections previously set forth of the claim 12 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s remarks (see Amendment, Pages 11-12, Allowable Subject Matter) that “Claim 12 is implicitly understood as including allowable subject matter as claim 12 is not rejected by any prior art. Without denying allowability of previous independent claims, Applicant submits that amended independent claims 1 and 14, which now include features of previous claim 12, are now in condition for allowance.”
Examiner respectfully submits that the claim 12 cannot be understood implicitly as including allowable subject matter as the claim 12 is not rejected by any prior art. Claim 12 was rejected under 112(b) in the previous rejection (see Non-Final Rejection, Page 5, Item 8). Examiner indicated that for the purposes of examination, no patentable weight has been given to the limitation “when presence and non-presence of a human are mixed in the results of prediction, make a switch from the air-conditioning operation to the first power-saving operation”. Accordingly, incorporating portions of the limitation into the independent claims does not put the amended independent claims in condition for allowance.
Claim Objections
The following claims are objected to for informalities, lack of antecedent support, or for redundancies. The Examiner recommends the following changes:
Claim 1, line 5, replace “the human” with “a human”
Claim 14, lines 4-5, replace “detection by the human detection sensor in past” with “past detection by the human detection sensor”
Appropriate correction is respectfully requested.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) 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.
Claims 1-6, 8, 10-11 and 13-16 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.
Claim 1 recites “the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on a first given time from a time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that no human is present, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the second power-saving operation, and the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on the first given time during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when presence and non-presence of the human are both present in the results of the prediction, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the first power-saving operation”. (emphasis added) It is unclear what Applicant means by “when presence and non-presence are both present in the results of the prediction.” More specifically, it is unclear how, at a given point in time, both presence and non-presence can be predicted. Appropriate clarification through claim amendment is respectfully requested. For purposes of examination, the feature “when presence and non-presence of the human are both present” will be interpreted as when the presence is present.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for the same reason as claim 1 as discussed above.
Claim 2-6, 8, 10-11 and 13 are dependent claims of claim 1. The claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), and therefore, claims 2-6, 8, 10-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Claim 15-16 are dependent claims of claim 14. The claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), and therefore, claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 5 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by CHATWIN et al. (US 2022/0049870 A1) (“Chatwin”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Chatwin teaches:
An air conditioner comprising: (Chatwin: FIGS. 1 and 6) (Chatwin: [0001] “One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the fields of occupancy sensors and climate control systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention enable a climate controller that determines occupancy status from barometric data.”) [The system that controls climate based on occupancy, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, reads on “[a]n air conditioner”.]
a human detection sensor configured to detect whether a human is present in an air conditioning space; (Chatwin: [0008] “One or more embodiments described in the specification are related to a climate controller that determines occupancy status from barometric data. The controller may include or connect to a barometer that measures the air pressure of an indoor space, such as a hotel room. It may include a processor that receives air pressure data from the barometer, and that analyzes this data to determine the occupancy status of the space. This analysis may determine whether fluctuations in air pressure are indicative of one or more persons breathing in the space. The processor may transmit a control signal to a climate control system in or near the space based on the occupancy status determined from the air pressure data.”) (Chatwin: [0029] “In one or more embodiments, additional sensors in or near room 100 may collect data that are transmitted to processor 111 for analysis of room occupancy or other conditions. For example, a gas sensor 114 may analyze the content of the air in the room. This analysis may be used for occupancy detection, since exhaled human breath contains a few thousand volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be detected to determine that a person is present in the room, or to determine the number of people in the room based on the concentration of VOCs. The gas sensor 114 may also be used to monitor air quality and freshness, and to alert occupants or facility staff of unsafe or uncomfortable conditions. Sensors may also include wireless access points or wireless signal detectors 115, which may determine that mobile devices of a user (such as a laptop or phone) are present in the room, which may be correlated with occupancy. Other occupancy sensors such as motion sensors, light sensors, or door switches may also be present and may transmit data to processor 111. Any devices in the room that accept user input, which indicates the presence of a person, may also transmit data to processor 111; these devices could include for example remote controls, a thermostat 102, or any other electronic device.”) [The barometer or any one of other additional sensors to determine the occupancy status reads on “a human detection sensor”.]
a first controller to predict whether the human will be present in the air conditioning space; a second controller to, using results of detection by the human detection sensor and results of prediction by the first controller, make a switch from an air conditioning operation to a power-saving operation of which power consumption is smaller than that of the air conditioning operation, (Chatwin: [0030] “Once processor 111 (possibly in conjunction with remote processor or processors 121) has analyzed sensor data to determine occupancy, it may transmit climate control commands to a climate control system associated with the room. For example, the processor may directly control the PTAC 101 of the room, or it may control a thermostat 102 that may be linked to the PTAC or to other systems. If processor 111 determines that room 100 is unoccupied, it may for example shut off power or reduce power for room climate control systems to obtain energy savings when climate control is not needed.”) (Chatwin: [0038] “FIG. 6 shows illustrative climate control commands that may be generated based on a combination of occupancy status and expected occupancy status. As described above, data from a barometer 112, or from additional sensors such as a gas analyzer 114, a wireless signal detector 115, and user input devices such as thermostat 102, may be input into an analysis system 610 (which may execute on processors 111 or 121) that determines whether a room is unoccupied or occupied. In addition, a property management system 116 or other external system may provide information on whether one or more occupants are expected to be present during particular periods of time. For example, the property management system 116 may be a reservation system that projects time periods when the room may be reserved or rented. The property management system may be a front office system that records when guests check in and out, and the expected occupancy status of a room may be modified to “occupant expected” between a check in and check out. One or more embodiments may use any type of information to determine whether and during what time periods a room is expected to be potentially occupied, and may use any desired criteria to determine when occupancy is expected. For example, expected occupancy status may be determined based on reservation data, rental data, historical trends, models that predict usage of rooms, or any other factors. Expected occupancy status may be defined over any desired period of time; the “occupant expected” status may for example be interpreted as expectation of an occupant within a small time period (such as minutes) or a large time period (such as days or weeks). In one or more embodiments, expected occupancy may be a probabilistic measure of the likelihood that an occupant will occupy a room over or within some period of time. When the room is unoccupied, and no occupant is expected, commands 601 may put the climate control system into a low-power mode for energy savings. When the room is occupied but no occupant is expected, one or more embodiments may generate an alert 603 indicating that an unauthorized or unexpected person has entered the room. When the room is unoccupied but one or more occupants are expected, one or more embodiments may put the climate control system into a standby mode 602; in this mode the power consumption may be reduced, but only to a level where comfortable conditions can be restored quickly when someone enters the room. When the room is occupied and an occupant is expected, system may enable user climate control via command 604, for example by enabling a thermostat that can be set by a user (within limits defined by the facility). These actions are illustrative; one or more embodiments may generate any desired climate control commands based on any of the information from the sensors and from external systems like property management system 116.”) [The property management system or other external system that predicts and provides the expected occupancy status reads on “a first controller”. The processor 111 or 121 or the analysis system 610, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, respectively, reads on “a second controller”. Putting the climate control system into a low-power mode or shut off power mode when no occupant is expected and the room is unoccupied, as well as, putting the climate control system into a standby mode when occupant is expected but the room is unoccupied also reads on “using results of detection … and results of prediction … , make a switch from an air conditioning operation to a power-saving operation”.]
wherein the power-saving operation includes a first power-saving operation of changing a set temperature in the air conditioning operation before the switch to the power-saving operation and of which the power consumption is smaller than that of the air conditioning operation before the switch to the power-saving operation; and (Chatwin: [0038] as discussed above) (Chatwin: [0039] “FIG. 7 illustrates some of the actions shown in FIG. 6 based on a timeline of expected occupancy status 701 and occupied status 702. The setpoint temperature 711 generated by the control system is displayed along with the actual room temperature 712. Initially the room is unoccupied and no occupant is expected, so temperature control is set to a low power level 713. At time 721, expected occupancy status changes, for example due to a guest checking in or because a reservation system predicts imminent arrival of an occupant. The system at this point sets the temperature to a standby level 714. At time 722 a person enters the room, so the occupancy status changes to occupied, and user control of a thermostat is enabled. At time 723, the guest increases the desired temperature to level 715 using the thermostat. The standby level 714 is set so that the lag time 730 for actual temperature 713 to change to reach the guest's set value 715 is within an acceptable limit. This lag time may depend for example on factors such as the type or power of HVAC in the room, and the room's insulation; the standby level may be set based on these factors, which may be configured or learned by the system. The standby level 714 may therefore vary across rooms, based on these individual room characteristics. At time 724, the guest leaves the room, and the setpoint is returned to the standby level 714.”) [Setting the setpoint temperature at the standby level reads on “a first power-saving operation of changing a set temperature”.]
a second power-saving operation of stopping the air conditioning operation, and the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on a first given time from a time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that no human is present, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the second power-saving operation, and (Chatwin: [0030] and [0038] as discussed above) [Shutting off power or reducing power for room climate control systems to obtain energy savings when climate control is not needed reads on “a second power-saving operation. Expected status over the period of time reads on “a first given time from a time at which … no human is present during …”. Detecting that the room is unoccupied, and no occupant is expected, putting the climate control system into a low-power mode reads on “the prediction … that no human is present … and detection indicate that no human is present, make a switch … to the second power-saving operation”.]
the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on the first given time during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when presence and non-presence of the human are both present in the results of the prediction, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the first power-saving operation. (Chatwin: [0039] “FIG. 7 illustrates some of the actions shown in FIG. 6 based on a timeline of expected occupancy status 701 and occupied status 702. The setpoint temperature 711 generated by the control system is displayed along with the actual room temperature 712. Initially the room is unoccupied and no occupant is expected, so temperature control is set to a low power level 713. At time 721, expected occupancy status changes, for example due to a guest checking in or because a reservation system predicts imminent arrival of an occupant. The system at this point sets the temperature to a standby level 714. [Setting the temperature to the standby level when initially no occupant being expected, and then, at a time interval, the occupant is expected reads on “when presence … of human … of the prediction, make a switch … to the first power-saving operation”.]
Regarding claim 2, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 1. Chatwin further teaches:
wherein the second controller is further configured to restart the air conditioning operation when the human detection sensor detects that the human is present during execution of the power-saving operation. (Chatwin: FIG. 6 and [0038] as discussed in claim 1) (Chatwin: [0040] “In one or more embodiments, an event such as event 722 when a room becomes occupied may trigger an automatic adjustment in the setpoint for the room temperature. For example, a property may define a desired “welcome” temperature that is set when a guest enters a room. This temperature may be for example a reasonably comfortable temperature that may be acceptable to most guests. In one or more embodiments, guests may be able to override this welcome temperature using manual control of a thermostat. The standby level 714 may be set such that the lag time to reach the welcome temperature level from the standby level is within a desired time limit. This standby level may vary by room, based for example on characteristics of the room and its HVAC system that affect how quickly temperature of the room responds to climate controls.”) [Going from the standby mode 602 to the enable user control mode 604 or automatic adjustment in the setpoint temperature when occupant is expected and the space becomes occupied, as illustrated in FIG. 6, reads on “restarts the air-conditioning operation when … a human is present”.]
Regarding claim 5, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claims 1-2. Chatwin further teaches:
wherein the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of prediction by the first controller from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during the execution of the air-conditioning operation and, when the results of the prediction indicate that no human is present, make the switch from the air conditioning operation to the power-saving operation. (Chatwin: FIG. 6 and [0038] as discussed in claim 1) [Going from the enable user control 604 to the low-power mode 601, as illustrated in FIG. 6, reads on “the human detection sensor detect that no human is present … and, when the results of the prediction indicate that no human is present, makes a switch … to the power-saving operation”.]
Regarding claim 13, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 1. Chatwin further teaches:
Wherein, when it is kept detected that no human is present during a third given time from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during execution of the first power-saving operation, the second controller is further configured to make the switch from the first power-saving operation to the second power-saving operation. (Chatwin: FIG. 6 and [0038] as discussed in claim 1) [Going from the standby mode to the low-power mode while the occupancy of unoccupied is maintained, at the time when no occupancy expected is predicted, as illustrated in FIG. 6, reads on “when it is kep detected that no human is present during a third given time … switch from the first power-saving operation to the second power-saving operation”.]
Regarding independent claim 14, Chatwin teaches:
An air conditioning system comprising an air conditioner including a human detection sensor configured to detect whether a human is present in an air conditioning space; (Chatwin: FIGS. 1 and 6) (Chatwin: [0001] “One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the fields of occupancy sensors and climate control systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention enable a climate controller that determines occupancy status from barometric data.”) [The system that controls climate based on occupancy, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, reads on “[a]n air conditioning system”.]
a server device configured to generate a plurality of presence/non-presence patterns that are generated using results of detection by the human detection sensor in past and represent a tendency of presence and non-presence of a user in the air conditioning space; and a communication adapter that configured to make communication between the air conditioner and the server device, wherein the air conditioning system comprises: a first controller configured to select a presence/non-presence pattern from the presence/non-presence patterns using results of detection by the human detection sensor and predict whether the human will be present in the air conditioning space using the selected presence/non-presence pattern; and a second controller configured to make a switch from an air conditioning operation to a power-saving operation of which power consumption is smaller than that of the air conditioning operation using results of detection by the human detection sensor and results of prediction by the the first controller, (Chatwin: [0028] “…For example, some or all processing of sensor data may be performed on a cloud-based server 121, with results or control commands sent back from the server 121 to a local processor 111 to be used for climate control of space 100.”) (Chatwin: [0030] “Once processor 111 (possibly in conjunction with remote processor or processors 121) has analyzed sensor data to determine occupancy, it may transmit climate control commands to a climate control system associated with the room. For example, the processor may directly control the PTAC 101 of the room, or it may control a thermostat 102 that may be linked to the PTAC or to other systems. If processor 111 determines that room 100 is unoccupied, it may for example shut off power or reduce power for room climate control systems to obtain energy savings when climate control is not needed.”) (Chatwin: [0038] “FIG. 6 shows illustrative climate control commands that may be generated based on a combination of occupancy status and expected occupancy status. As described above, data from a barometer 112, or from additional sensors such as a gas analyzer 114, a wireless signal detector 115, and user input devices such as thermostat 102, may be input into an analysis system 610 (which may execute on processors 111 or 121) that determines whether a room is unoccupied or occupied. In addition, a property management system 116 or other external system may provide information on whether one or more occupants are expected to be present during particular periods of time. For example, the property management system 116 may be a reservation system that projects time periods when the room may be reserved or rented. The property management system may be a front office system that records when guests check in and out, and the expected occupancy status of a room may be modified to “occupant expected” between a check in and check out. One or more embodiments may use any type of information to determine whether and during what time periods a room is expected to be potentially occupied, and may use any desired criteria to determine when occupancy is expected. For example, expected occupancy status may be determined based on reservation data, rental data, historical trends, models that predict usage of rooms, or any other factors. Expected occupancy status may be defined over any desired period of time; the “occupant expected” status may for example be interpreted as expectation of an occupant within a small time period (such as minutes) or a large time period (such as days or weeks). In one or more embodiments, expected occupancy may be a probabilistic measure of the likelihood that an occupant will occupy a room over or within some period of time. When the room is unoccupied, and no occupant is expected, commands 601 may put the climate control system into a low-power mode for energy savings. When the room is occupied but no occupant is expected, one or more embodiments may generate an alert 603 indicating that an unauthorized or unexpected person has entered the room. When the room is unoccupied but one or more occupants are expected, one or more embodiments may put the climate control system into a standby mode 602; in this mode the power consumption may be reduced, but only to a level where comfortable conditions can be restored quickly when someone enters the room. When the room is occupied and an occupant is expected, system may enable user climate control via command 604, for example by enabling a thermostat that can be set by a user (within limits defined by the facility). These actions are illustrative; one or more embodiments may generate any desired climate control commands based on any of the information from the sensors and from external systems like property management system 116.”) [The trends read on “pattern”. The property management system or other external system that predicts and provides the expected occupancy status reads on “a first controller”. The processor 111 or 121 or the analysis system 610, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6, respectively, reads on “a second controller”. In addition the processor 111 or 121 or the analysis system 610 feature that communicates with the server 121 and the air conditioner 101 reads on “a communication adaptor”. Putting the climate control system into a low-power mode or shut off power mode when no occupant is expected and the room is unoccupied, as well as, putting the climate control system into a standby mode when occupant is expected but the room is unoccupied also reads on “to make a switch from an air conditioning operation to a power-saving operation … using results of detection … and results of prediction …”.]
wherein the power-saving operation includes a first power-saving operation of changing a set temperature in the air conditioning operation before the switch to the power-saving operation and of which the power consumption is smaller than that of the air conditioning operation before the switch to the power-saving operation; and (Chatwin: [0038] as discussed above) (Chatwin: [0039] “FIG. 7 illustrates some of the actions shown in FIG. 6 based on a timeline of expected occupancy status 701 and occupied status 702. The setpoint temperature 711 generated by the control system is displayed along with the actual room temperature 712. Initially the room is unoccupied and no occupant is expected, so temperature control is set to a low power level 713. At time 721, expected occupancy status changes, for example due to a guest checking in or because a reservation system predicts imminent arrival of an occupant. The system at this point sets the temperature to a standby level 714. At time 722 a person enters the room, so the occupancy status changes to occupied, and user control of a thermostat is enabled. At time 723, the guest increases the desired temperature to level 715 using the thermostat. The standby level 714 is set so that the lag time 730 for actual temperature 713 to change to reach the guest's set value 715 is within an acceptable limit. This lag time may depend for example on factors such as the type or power of HVAC in the room, and the room's insulation; the standby level may be set based on these factors, which may be configured or learned by the system. The standby level 714 may therefore vary across rooms, based on these individual room characteristics. At time 724, the guest leaves the room, and the setpoint is returned to the standby level 714.”) [Setting the setpoint temperature at the standby level reads on “a first power-saving operation of changing a set temperature”.]
a second power-saving operation of stopping the air conditioning operation, and the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on a first given time from a time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that no human is present, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the second power-saving operation, and (Chatwin: [0030] and [0038] as discussed above) [Shutting off power or reducing power for room climate control systems to obtain energy savings when climate control is not needed reads on “a second power-saving operation. Expected status over the period of time reads on “a first given time from a time at which … no human is present during …”. Detecting that the room is unoccupied, and no occupant is expected, putting the climate control system into a low-power mode reads on “the prediction … that no human is present … and detection indicate that no human is present, make a switch … to the second power-saving operation”.]
the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on the first given time during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when presence and non-presence of the human are both present in the results of the prediction, make a switch from the air conditioning operation to the first power-saving operation. (Chatwin: [0039] “FIG. 7 illustrates some of the actions shown in FIG. 6 based on a timeline of expected occupancy status 701 and occupied status 702. The setpoint temperature 711 generated by the control system is displayed along with the actual room temperature 712. Initially the room is unoccupied and no occupant is expected, so temperature control is set to a low power level 713. At time 721, expected occupancy status changes, for example due to a guest checking in or because a reservation system predicts imminent arrival of an occupant. The system at this point sets the temperature to a standby level 714. [Setting the temperature to the standby level when initially no occupant being expected, and then, at a time interval, the occupant is expected reads on “when presence … of human … of the prediction, make a switch … to the first power-saving operation”.]
Regarding claim 15, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 14. Chatwin further teaches:
wherein the first controller is in the server device, and the second controller is in the air conditioner. (Chatwin: [0028] and [0038] as discussed in claim 14) [When the analysis system 610 is executed on the server 121.]
Regarding claim 16, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 14. Chatwin further teaches:
wherein the first controller is in the communication adapter, and the second controller is in the air conditioner. (Chatwin: [0028] and [0038] as discussed in claim 14) [When the analysis system 610 is executed on the processor 111.]
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.
Claims 3-4, 6, 8 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatwin, in view of Rosen (US 2010/0019051 A1) (“Rosen”).
Regarding claim 3, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claims 1-2. Chatwin does not expressly teach the recitations of claim 3.
Rosen teaches:
wherein the second controller is configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of the prediction indicate that the human is present, keep the air conditioning operation. (Rosen: [0027] “Determination of occupancy based upon "activity" detection in a conditioned space can rely upon simple algorithms for determining "occupancy" utilizing simple hysteresis periods as described above, but more refined methods may improve the results and also may provide for opportunity to improve the potential for energy saving, or for increased comfort. For example, a level of activity indication which may count the number of movements detected in some recent time period may provide a thermostat control program with information that would allow the temperature setpoint to be adjusted based upon the level of activity. Patterns of activity might also provide clues as to the type of activity or prediction as to the length of occupancy. Specific patterns of activity in a motel room might be exhibited by housecleaning personnel when compared to normal "guests" or maintenance personnel. For example, it might be expected that housecleaning personnel would have a high level of activity for some short period, then they would leave the room and there would be no activity, so a thermostat might more quickly turn off or reduce the requirements to the HVAC system as soon as it determines that housecleaning personnel have left the room.”) (Rosen: [0028] “At night, a different situation might be deemed likely. That is, a person may enter the room, move around for a short while, and then go to bed or sit in a chair and not trigger the activity indication at all, or infrequently, for some period of time. During this time the desired response of the thermostat control unit would be to recognize a pattern of activity that indicates a guest is in the room, and then to not turn off the HVAC just because no activity has been recently detected. This period of "safety" during which occupancy is "maintained" by the program, despite no or infrequent indication of activity would provide for better comfort than what would be achieved by changing the setpoint temperature too quickly because of no detected activity.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Chatwin and Rosen before them, to modify the power-savings mode switching of an air conditioner based on varying combinations of both actual occupancy and expected occupancy, to incorporate a situation when occupancy is expected however the occupant is not detected.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would improve occupant’s comfort from erroneous adjustments to the air conditioner. (Rosen: [0004] In a motel room it is desirable to conserve energy while still providing for comfort throughout the day and night. If a heater or air-conditioner were erroneously turned off, it could possibly cause discomfort to a guest, especially at night when the temperature might become quite uncomfortable before the guest awakes enough to correct it. In a motel room, even just mild discomfort might be something that is quite undesirable to the business.”)
Regarding claim 4, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claims 1-2. Chatwin does not expressly teach the recitations of claim 4.
Rosen teaches:
wherein the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on a given time from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that the human is present, keep the air conditioning operation. (Rosen: FIG. 2) (Rosen: [0011] “As an example of a situation in which an illustrated embodiment of the invention could achieve energy savings while still reducing the chance of erroneously determining a condition of nonoccupancy, the following scenario is described. A motel room is equipped with a thermostat that incorporates an occupancy sensor. In an attempt to be sure that guests are comfortable all night, it is decided to program the thermostat and provide a "safety period" so that the occupancy sensor is disabled from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. each night, meaning that the occupancy sensor is ignored and the room is assumed by the control program to be occupied during that time period. This simplistic approach may waste considerable energy, especially if there is no one in the room at all during most of that "safety" period. To allow for a better possibility of energy savings, a further consideration may be provided in the programming. That is to allow for nonoccupancy to be an assumed condition at the start of the safety period, and then if any activity is detected after the start of the safety period to assume occupancy and "maintain" a condition of occupancy until the end of the safety period. This at least requires that the person be detected briefly before assuming occupancy and would save energy if the room were completely unoccupied. This approach however is also simplistic and likely to waste energy as for example when a person enters the room briefly during the safety period, and then departs for a significant amount of time before returning.”) (Rosen: [0012] “For example, a typical scenario of room usage in a motel might be where a guest enters the room at 6:15 p.m. which is during the exemplary "safety period," changes clothes and then goes out to dinner and a movie at 6:45 p.m. then returning to the room at midnight. If occupancy is assumed throughout that entire period, the room is needlessly heated or cooled from 6:45 p.m. until midnight. An improvement in the illustrated embodiment is to provide an alternative method for occupancy detection once the safety period begins. The method would provide for the thermostat control program to try to predict whether a person is in the room "for the night" or "just passing through". The illustrated embodiment incorporates an exemplary method for this altered occupancy detection during the safety period which samples for occupancy every half hour, and only if the room is occupied for three consecutive samples, is the condition of occupancy "extended" until the end of the safety period. Another possible algorithm is to extend occupancy only if the room is "continuously" occupied for a time period such as one hour. The precise values for the length of the time periods and the exact requirements for triggering the extension of the safety period could be varied as might be determined by one skilled in the art.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Chatwin and Rosen before them, to modify the power-savings mode switching of an air conditioner based on varying combinations of both actual occupancy and expected occupancy, to incorporate a situation when occupancy is expected however the occupant is not detected until a certain time within the predetermined time.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would improve occupant’s comfort from erroneous adjustments to the air conditioner. (Rosen: [0004] In a motel room it is desirable to conserve energy while still providing for comfort throughout the day and night. If a heater or air-conditioner were erroneously turned off, it could possibly cause discomfort to a guest, especially at night when the temperature might become quite uncomfortable before the guest awakes enough to correct it. In a motel room, even just mild discomfort might be something that is quite undesirable to the business.”)
Regarding claim 6, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claims 1-2. Chatwin does not expressly teach the recitations of claim 6.
Rosen teaches:
wherein the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on a given time from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that no human is present, make the switch from the air conditioning operation to the power-saving operation. (Rosen: FIG. 2) (Rosen: [0011] “As an example of a situation in which an illustrated embodiment of the invention could achieve energy savings while still reducing the chance of erroneously determining a condition of nonoccupancy, the following scenario is described. A motel room is equipped with a thermostat that incorporates an occupancy sensor. In an attempt to be sure that guests are comfortable all night, it is decided to program the thermostat and provide a "safety period" so that the occupancy sensor is disabled from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. each night, meaning that the occupancy sensor is ignored and the room is assumed by the control program to be occupied during that time period. This simplistic approach may waste considerable energy, especially if there is no one in the room at all during most of that "safety" period. To allow for a better possibility of energy savings, a further consideration may be provided in the programming. That is to allow for nonoccupancy to be an assumed condition at the start of the safety period, and then if any activity is detected after the start of the safety period to assume occupancy and "maintain" a condition of occupancy until the end of the safety period. This at least requires that the person be detected briefly before assuming occupancy and would save energy if the room were completely unoccupied. This approach however is also simplistic and likely to waste energy as for example when a person enters the room briefly during the safety period, and then departs for a significant amount of time before returning.”) (Rosen: [0012] “For example, a typical scenario of room usage in a motel might be where a guest enters the room at 6:15 p.m. which is during the exemplary "safety period," changes clothes and then goes out to dinner and a movie at 6:45 p.m. then returning to the room at midnight. If occupancy is assumed throughout that entire period, the room is needlessly heated or cooled from 6:45 p.m. until midnight. An improvement in the illustrated embodiment is to provide an alternative method for occupancy detection once the safety period begins. The method would provide for the thermostat control program to try to predict whether a person is in the room "for the night" or "just passing through". The illustrated embodiment incorporates an exemplary method for this altered occupancy detection during the safety period which samples for occupancy every half hour, and only if the room is occupied for three consecutive samples, is the condition of occupancy "extended" until the end of the safety period. Another possible algorithm is to extend occupancy only if the room is "continuously" occupied for a time period such as one hour. The precise values for the length of the time periods and the exact requirements for triggering the extension of the safety period could be varied as might be determined by one skilled in the art.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Chatwin and Rosen before them, to modify the power-savings mode switching of an air conditioner based on varying combinations of both actual occupancy and expected occupancy, to incorporate a situation when occupancy is expected however the occupant is not detected until the time within the predetermined time.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would improve conservation of energy while avoiding occupant’s discomfort from erroneous adjustments to the air conditioner. (Rosen: [0004] In a motel room it is desirable to conserve energy while still providing for comfort throughout the day and night. If a heater or air-conditioner were erroneously turned off, it could possibly cause discomfort to a guest, especially at night when the temperature might become quite uncomfortable before the guest awakes enough to correct it. In a motel room, even just mild discomfort might be something that is quite undesirable to the business.”)
Regarding claim 8, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 1. Chatwin does not expressly teach the recitations of claim 8.
Rosen teaches:
wherein the secondcontroller is further configured to make a switch from the air conditioning operation to any one of the first power-saving operation and the second power-saving operation based on a length of time in which no human is present that is obtained from the results of the prediction by the first controller. (Rosen: FIG. 2) (Rosen: [0013] “It is noted that occupancy sensors typically incorporate or utilize a motion detector, which might be an infrared motion detector. The motion detector provides an "instantaneous" signal of activity, that is, when a person moves, the motion detector is triggered, but when the person stops moving for a brief period, the motion detector may stop signaling motion. A simple condition of occupancy or "recent activity" in the room may require some "smoothing" of a signal from a motion detector such that "occupancy" is maintained for a defined period after any motion is detected. This can be considered a "hysteresis" in which any signal of "instantaneous" activity turns on a condition of occupancy for a period of time which is a hysteresis period. Any subsequent signal of activity restarts the hysteresis period such that nonoccupancy is not determined until activity has not been detected for a period of time greater than the "hysteresis" period. Other approaches for deciding on occupancy or nonoccupancy, such as averaging or integrating a signal of activity and providing for a decay period before switching to nonoccupancy might also be utilized by one skilled in the art.”) [The hysteresis during non-safety period when occupancy is not expected, as illustrated in FIG. 2, reads on “a length of time”.]
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Chatwin and Rosen before them, to modify the power-savings mode switching of an air conditioner based on varying combinations of both actual occupancy and expected occupancy, to incorporate a situation of waiting a period of time before putting the air conditioner into a power savings mode.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would improve occupant’s comfort from erroneous adjustments to the air conditioner. (Rosen: [0004] In a motel room it is desirable to conserve energy while still providing for comfort throughout the day and night. If a heater or air-conditioner were erroneously turned off, it could possibly cause discomfort to a guest, especially at night when the temperature might become quite uncomfortable before the guest awakes enough to correct it. In a motel room, even just mild discomfort might be something that is quite undesirable to the business.”)
Regarding claim 10, Chatwin teaches all the claimed features of claim 1. Chatwin does not expressly teach the recitations of claim 10.
Rosen teaches:
wherein the second controller is further configured to refer to the results of the prediction by the first controller on the first given time during the execution of the air conditioning operation and, when the results of detection indicate that the human is present, keep the air conditioning operation. (Rosen: FIG. 2) (Rosen: [0011] “As an example of a situation in which an illustrated embodiment of the invention could achieve energy savings while still reducing the chance of erroneously determining a condition of nonoccupancy, the following scenario is described. A motel room is equipped with a thermostat that incorporates an occupancy sensor. In an attempt to be sure that guests are comfortable all night, it is decided to program the thermostat and provide a "safety period" so that the occupancy sensor is disabled from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. each night, meaning that the occupancy sensor is ignored and the room is assumed by the control program to be occupied during that time period. This simplistic approach may waste considerable energy, especially if there is no one in the room at all during most of that "safety" period. To allow for a better possibility of energy savings, a further consideration may be provided in the programming. That is to allow for nonoccupancy to be an assumed condition at the start of the safety period, and then if any activity is detected after the start of the safety period to assume occupancy and "maintain" a condition of occupancy until the end of the safety period. This at least requires that the person be detected briefly before assuming occupancy and would save energy if the room were completely unoccupied. This approach however is also simplistic and likely to waste energy as for example when a person enters the room briefly during the safety period, and then departs for a significant amount of time before returning.”) (Rosen: [0012] “For example, a typical scenario of room usage in a motel might be where a guest enters the room at 6:15 p.m. which is during the exemplary "safety period," changes clothes and then goes out to dinner and a movie at 6:45 p.m. then returning to the room at midnight. If occupancy is assumed throughout that entire period, the room is needlessly heated or cooled from 6:45 p.m. until midnight. An improvement in the illustrated embodiment is to provide an alternative method for occupancy detection once the safety period begins. The method would provide for the thermostat control program to try to predict whether a person is in the room "for the night" or "just passing through". The illustrated embodiment incorporates an exemplary method for this altered occupancy detection during the safety period which samples for occupancy every half hour, and only if the room is occupied for three consecutive samples, is the condition of occupancy "extended" until the end of the safety period. Another possible algorithm is to extend occupancy only if the room is "continuously" occupied for a time period such as one hour. The precise values for the length of the time periods and the exact requirements for triggering the extension of the safety period could be varied as might be determined by one skilled in the art.”)
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having the teachings of Chatwin and Rosen before them, to modify the power-savings mode switching of an air conditioner based on varying combinations of both actual occupancy and expected occupancy, to incorporate a situation of waiting a period of time before putting the air conditioner into a power savings mode.
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to do this modification because it would improve occupant’s comfort from erroneous adjustments to the air conditioner. (Rosen: [0004] In a motel room it is desirable to conserve energy while still providing for comfort throughout the day and night. If a heater or air-conditioner were erroneously turned off, it could possibly cause discomfort to a guest, especially at night when the temperature might become quite uncomfortable before the guest awakes enough to correct it. In a motel room, even just mild discomfort might be something that is quite undesirable to the business.”)
Regarding claim 11, Chatwin and Rosen teach all the claimed features of claims 1 and 10. Rosen further teaches:
wherein, when the human detection sensor keeps detecting that no human is present during a second given time from the time at which the human detection sensor detects that no human is present when the air conditioning operation is kept, the second controller is further configured to make the switch from the air conditioning operation to the second power-saving operation. (Rosen: FIG. 2) (Rosen: [0012] “For example, a typical scenario of room usage in a motel might be where a guest enters the room at 6:15 p.m. which is during the exemplary "safety period," changes clothes and then goes out to dinner and a movie at 6:45 p.m. then returning to the room at midnight. If occupancy is assumed throughout that entire period, the room is needlessly heated or cooled from 6:45 p.m. until midnight. An improvement in the illustrated embodiment is to provide an alternative method for occupancy detection once the safety period begins. The method would provide for the thermostat control program to try to predict whether a person is in the room "for the night" or "just passing through". The illustrated embodiment incorporates an exemplary method for this altered occupancy detection during the safety period which samples for occupancy every half hour, and only if the room is occupied for three consecutive samples, is the condition of occupancy "extended" until the end of the safety period. Another possible algorithm is to extend occupancy only if the room is "continuously" occupied for a time period such as one hour. The precise values for the length of the time periods and the exact requirements for triggering the extension of the safety period could be varied as might be determined by one skilled in the art.”) (Rosen: [0013] “It is noted that occupancy sensors typically incorporate or utilize a motion detector, which might be an infrared motion detector. The motion detector provides an "instantaneous" signal of activity, that is, when a person moves, the motion detector is triggered, but when the person stops moving for a brief period, the motion detector may stop signaling motion. A simple condition of occupancy or "recent activity" in the room may require some "smoothing" of a signal from a motion detector such that "occupancy" is maintained for a defined period after any motion is detected. This can be considered a "hysteresis" in which any signal of "instantaneous" activity turns on a condition of occupancy for a period of time which is a hysteresis period. Any subsequent signal of activity restarts the hysteresis period such that nonoccupancy is not determined until activity has not been detected for a period of time greater than the "hysteresis" period. Other approaches for deciding on occupancy or nonoccupancy, such as averaging or integrating a signal of activity and providing for a decay period before switching to nonoccupancy might also be utilized by one skilled in the art.”)
The motivation to combine Chatwin and Rosen as described in claim 10 is incorporated herein.
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 MICHAEL W CHOI whose telephone number is (571)270-5069. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth Lo can be reached at (571) 272-9774. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL W CHOI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
