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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-11 are pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. The Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 05/22/2024 has been considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 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.
A) In Claim 1, lines 1-9, limitations directed toward the vehicle air conditioner are stated but it is not clear if they are positively recited by the claims or not since they are only present in the preamble. For the purposes of examination, the vehicle air conditioner has been construed to comprise all of the limitations in the preamble in addition to the driving unit and rotating means.
B) In Claim 2, line 3-4, “the first gear part” and “second gear part” render the claim indefinite because it is unclear if they are in addition to the gear part of the driving unit or are further details of the gear part of the driving unit. For the purposes of examination, the first and second gear parts are construed to be components of the gear part of the driving unit.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Patent Number 11,529,841 B2 to Laux.
A) As per Claim 1, Laux teaches a vehicle air conditioner (Laux: Figure 1), which includes an air conditioning case having an air inflow port formed on one side thereof and an air discharge port formed on the other side to discharge air to an interior space of a vehicle (Laux: Figure 1, Item 1 with inlet 2 and outlet 25-26), a cooling heat exchanger (Laux: Figure 1, Item 7) and a heating heat exchanger (Laux: Figure 1, Item 11) provided on an inner air flow path of the air-conditioning case, and a temperature door (Laux: Figure 1, Item 14) rotatably provided between the cooling heat exchanger and the heating heat exchanger to control the discharge temperature of the air, the vehicle air conditioner comprising:
a driving unit for rotating the temperature door, wherein the driving unit includes a gear part (Laux: Figure 2, Item 18) and an actuator (Laux: Figure 2, Item 16); and a rotating means (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20) provided on the gear part to prevent noise caused by a sudden angle change of the temperature door.
B) As per Claim 2, Laux teaches that the rotating means comprises: a first gear part (Laux: Figure 2, item 19) which is coupled to a driving shaft (Laux: Figure 2, Item 17); and a second gear part (Laux: Figure 2, Item 20) which meshes with the first gear part and is coupled to a rotary shaft of the temperature door (Laux: Figure 2, Item 15).
C) As per Claim 3, Laux teaches that the first gear part and the second gear part are formed in an asymmetric shape (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
D) As per Claim 4, Laux teaches that the rotating means continuously drives a rotational angle of the temperature door, which rotates between a cooling area and a heating area, in all sections (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
E) As per Claim 5, Laux teaches that at least one of the first gear part and the second gear part is formed such that the distance from the rotary shaft to the gear end varies in the circumferential direction (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20, R1 & R2).
F) As per Claim 6, Laux teaches that at least one of the first gear part and the second gear part is formed such that the distance from the rotary shaft to the gear end either gradually increases or decreases in the circumferential direction (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
G) As per Claim 7, Laux teaches that the first gear part is formed such that the distance from the rotary shaft to the gear end gradually decreases when rotating in one direction, and the second gear part is formed such that the distance from the rotary shaft to the gear end gradually increases when rotating in one direction (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
H) As per Claim 8, Laux teaches that in a cooling area, the distance from the rotary shaft of the second gear part to the gear end is formed to be longer than that of the first gear part, and wherein in a heating area, the distance from the rotary shaft of the first gear part to the gear end is formed to be longer than that of the second gear part (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
I) As per Claim 9, Laux teaches that in the cooling area, the second gear part is formed longer so that the gear ratio between the first gear part and the second gear part becomes 1:1+a, and wherein in the heating area, the first gear part is formed longer so that the gear ratio between the first gear part and the second gear part becomes 1+a:1 (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
J) As per Claim 10, Laux teaches that in a cooling area, the rotational angle of the second gear part is controlled to be greater than that of the first gear part, and in a heating area, the rotational angle of the second gear part is controlled to be smaller than that of the first gear part, such that the air temperature control in the heating area is more precise than the air temperature control in the cooling area (Laux: Figure 2, Items 19-20; Col. 8-34).
K) As per Claim 11, Laux teaches that when the temperature door opens a warm air flow path in the heating area, the wind pressure of the air passing through the cooling heat exchanger and heading upwards is greater than the wind pressure acting on the temperature door in the cooling area (Laux: Figure 5, more airflow going up from Item 12 than right through Item 8 to 9).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
A) US Patent Number 7,108,599 to Kachi, drawn to a asymmetric gear mechanism for a temperature control door
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN SCHULT whose telephone number is (571)272-8511. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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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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/Allen R. B. Schult/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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