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 .
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 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.
Examiner’s Note
This Office Action is in response to application and preliminary amendment filed on 6/28/2024, where claims 4 and 15 are amended, and claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if overcome the rejections below.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: regarding independent claims 1 and 12, the primary reason that the claims are allowable over the International Patent Doc. No. 2020203494 (Higashiyama), the Chinese Patent Doc. No. 107218703 (Dong), the US Patent Application Pub. No. 2023/0332795 (Yamaguchi), the US Patent Application Pub. No. 2024/0053042 (Zheng), and the US Patent Application Pub. No. 2024/0085046 (Tanabe), is because the cited prior art teach substantially similar concept of air conditioner system comprising at least one outdoor unit device, one main indoor unit device, and at least one secondary indoor unit device, where each of the outdoor and indoor unit devices are communicatively connected. However, neither alone nor in combination, the cited prior art teach the main indoor unit device receives state information of the secondary indoor unit device from the secondary indoor unit device, and sends the state information of the secondary indoor unit and state information of the main indoor unit device together as indoor unit state summary information to the outdoor unit device to be determined whether there is a fault in the main indoor unit device or the secondary indoor unit device, and the outdoor unit device executes an action corresponding to the fault as currently claimed. As such, the cited prior art do not teach each and every limitation in the specific combination as presented in claims 1 and 12.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim has been amended to recite “The air conditioner control system as claimed in any one of claims 1”. The instant claim is now amended to depend on only one claim, i.e., claim 1, however it includes the language “in any one of claims”, which appears to be depending on multiple claims. This particular language is unnecessary and causes confusion. It is suggested to amend the preamble of the instant claim to recite “The air conditioner control system as claimed in claim 1” to overcome this objection. Appropriate correction is required.
Remarks 35 USC § 112(f)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “secondary indoor unit device is configured to send”, “main indoor unit device is configured to acquire”, and “outdoor unit device is configured to acquire” in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 1-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected to because of the following: each of claims 1-3, 5, 7, 11-14, 16, and 18 recites the language “when it is determined”. It is unclear to one of ordinary skill in the art what the element “it” is referring to. The claims do not include any definition for such element. As such, render the claims indefinite.
All dependent claims are rejected to as having the same deficiencies as the claims they depend from.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
US 2024/0328671 (Tamaki) – discloses multi-split type air conditioning device including an outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units.
US 20240102688 (Yamamoto) – discloses air conditioner comprising multiple indoor units and multiple outdoor units that are in communication with one another.
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/MONG-SHUNE CHUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118
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