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 Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 6 at line 1 recites “the inlet air outlet opening”, which has no antecedent basis. Based on a review of the claims and specification, the Examiner believes the Applicant meant for the claim to recite “the inside air outlet opening”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funada (EP 2918925 A1) in view of Douglas (US 20230103453 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Funada teaches a circulating air module (FIG. 7, cooling device 3) with fresh air intake (FIG. 7, outside air inlet 8), which can be introduced into a building wall (paragraph 5, the assembly may be installed on a building roof, which is a kind of wall) of an interior space (paragraph 5, the interior of the building whose roof the assembly may be installed on) or secured to the building wall of the interior space, comprising; a housing (FIG. 7, the housing of the cooling device 3) with a front side (FIG. 7, the rightmost wall of the cooling device 3) facing the interior space and an opposing rear side (FIG. 7, the wall containing the inside air outlet 7), and with a fresh air inlet (FIG. 7, the opening of the outside air inlet 8), an inside air inlet opening (FIG. 7, inside air inlet 6) and an inside air outlet opening (FIG. 7, inside air outlet 7), a heat exchanger (FIG. 7, the assembly of heat exchange element 11 and the chamber it releases into) arranged in the housing, an inside air radial fan (FIG. 7, air fan 17) arranged in the housing and having an axially arranged air inlet facing the heat exchanger (FIG. 7, the air fan 17 has an inlet that faces the chamber that is a part of the heat exchanger assembly), such that inside air flowing in through the inside air inlet opening as circulating air can be drawn through the heat exchanger (FIG. 7, the air fan 17 draws air through the heat exchange element 11 through the inside air outlet 7); and a fresh air fan (FIG. 7, air fan 14) supplying fresh air and arranged in the housing, which is arranged laterally adjacent to the inside air radial fan between the front side and the rear side of the housing (FIG. 7, air fans 14 and 17 are laterally arranged between the front and rear sides of the housing).
Funada fails to teach that the circulating air module is designed such that the fresh air is supplied to the circulating air in the housing and the circulating air flows out of the inside air outlet opening as supply air along with the fresh air taken in.
However, Douglas teaches that the circulating air module is designed such that the fresh air is supplied to the circulating air in the housing and the circulating air flows out of the inside air outlet opening as supply air along with the fresh air taken in (FIG. 4, the mixed air 418 is a mixture of return air and outdoor air).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Funada by making it so outdoor air and inside air of Funada is mixed rather than going into opposite sides of a heat exchanger, as taught by Douglas, with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Funada with these aforementioned teachings of Douglas with the motivation of making the assembly easier to repair.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches the circulating air module according to which is designed in such a manner that the fresh air can be drawn through the heat exchanger and mixes with the circulating air in the housing, in particular in the inside air radial fan (Funada, FIG. 7, the air fan 17 draws inside air through the heat exchange element 11 through the inside air outlet 7, and the two types of air mix at least partially at the air fan 17).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches the circulating air module according to wherein the housing has opposing longitudinal sides (Funada, FIG. 7, the top and bottom sides of the assembly at the perspective displayed) and opposing transverse sides (FIG. 7, side closest to the viewer and the side furthest from the viewer of the assembly at the perspective displayed) and the fresh air fan is arranged laterally adjacent to the inside air radial fan (FIG. 7), such that the fresh air fan and the inside air radial fan are arranged offset from one another along a longitudinal direction (FIG. 7).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the heat exchanger is arranged between one side of the front and rear sides and the inside air radial fan (Funada, FIG. 3B, the heat exchange elements 11 are disposed partially between the air fan 17, which is not totally flush against the wall, and the rear (in this perspective, upper) portion of the assembly), the air inlet of which faces this side (FIG. 3B, the inside air inlet 6 is on the rear (from this perspective, upper) side of the assembly).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the inside air radial fan is one of a plurality of inside air radial fans which are arranged side by side between the front side and the rear side of the housing, in particular offset from one another along a longitudinal direction (Funada, FIG. 6, the air fans 17), such that the axially arranged air inlets of the inside air radial fans face the heat exchanger (FIG. 7, the air fan 17 has an inlet that faces the chamber that is a part of the heat exchanger assembly).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the inside air inlet opening and the inlet air outlet opening are arranged on a longitudinal side of the housing (Funada, FIG. 6, the inlet 6 and the outlet 7 are both placed at least partially on the same (i.e., upper or downer) side of the housing), and wherein the inside air inlet opening is arranged adjacent to the front side (FIG. 7, the inlet 8 is placed adjacent to the front side of the assembly (as are all components of this thin assembly)), to which the heat exchanger is adjacent, and wherein the inside air outlet opening is arranged adjacent to the rear side, to which the inside air radial fan(s) are adjacent (FIG. 7, the inlet 8 is placed adjacent to the front side of the assembly (as are all components of this thin assembly)).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the plurality of inside air radial fans and the fresh air fan are arranged side by side between opposing transverse sides of the housing along a longitudinal direction (Funada, FIG. 7, the fans 14 and 17 are located next to one another longitudinally) and wherein the fresh air fan is arranged as an external fan adjacent to one of the transverse sides (FIG. 7, air fan 14 is external to the housing of the heat exchanger elements 11 and pulls in external air).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that an axially arranged air inlet (Funada, FIG. 7, the left inlet of the air fan 14) of the fresh air fan designed as a radial fan faces the fresh air inlet designed as a recess in the rear side (FIG. 7, the left inlet of the air fan 14 is a recess in the rear side of the assembly).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches a flow duct which is designed to guide the supplied fresh air from the fresh air fan to the heat exchanger (Funada, FIG. 7, the duct area above the air fan 14).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the flow duct extends between the heat exchanger, through which the fresh air can be drawn with the inside air radial fan(s), and a longitudinal side of the housing (Funada, FIG. 7, the duct above the fan 14 is disposed diagonally between the top wall of the housing and the heat exchange elements 11).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that a fresh air flow deflector (Funada, FIG. 7, the walls of the housing at the bottom right of the figure surrounding the air fan 14) extends around the fresh air fan and is designed to direct fresh air flowing out of the fresh air fan into the flow duct, and/or wherein an inside air flow deflector extends around the inside air radial fan and is designed to direct air flowing out of the inside air radial fan to the inside air outlet opening.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches that the circulating air module is configured to be used in a ceiling region or secured to a ceiling (Funada, paragraph 5, the assembly may be used in a roof, which is within the same region as a ceiling).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Funada and Douglas teaches a mounting frame (FIG. 1, cabinet 1) which can be integrated into the building wall (Funada, paragraph 5, the cabinet may be attached to a roof) and into which the circulating air module can be inserted and secured therein (FIG. 7, the cooling device 3 may have its components (i.e., fasteners) inserted into the cabinet 1 to attach the assemblies).
Claim(s) 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Funada and Douglas as applied to claims 1-13 above, and further in view of Pichler (US 20090091089 A1).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Funada and Douglas fails to teach that the mounting frame can be installed in a roller shutter box such that the rear side of the inserted circulating air module faces the interior of the roller shutter box.
However, Pichler teaches that the mounting frame can be installed in a roller shutter box (paragraph 32, the roller shutter box) such that the rear side of the inserted circulating air module faces the interior of the roller shutter box (paragraph 66, a testing apparatus including a fan can be slid into the roller shutter box such that one side faces the interior).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Funada by making it so he assembly of Funada may be installed into the roller shutter box of a window, as taught by Pichler, with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Funada with these aforementioned teachings of Pichler with the motivation of allowing the communication devices of Funada to be discreetly stored near windows of buildings to make connections better in indoor public spaces.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Funada, Douglas, and Pichler teaches that the mounting frame can be installed in the roller shutter box such that the inside air inlet opening and the inside air outlet opening are on a lower longitudinal side of the housing (Funada, FIG. 7, the inlet 6 and outlet 7 may be oriented to be near the bottom of the assembly), which at least partially forms an upper side of a window opening (in the combination above, the housing is a part of a shutter box of a window, making is a part of the top edge of the window).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM C. WEINERT whose telephone number is (571)272-6988. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-5:00 ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM C WEINERT/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/Allen R. B. Schult/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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