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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim 8 is 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 8 recites “wherein the air passing through the cooling means and the heating means directly reaches the air passage of the indoor side air conditioning case without any resistance”. It is not clear what constitutes without any resistance because there is always resistance. Examiner will consider a flowpath to meet this claim requirement.
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.
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) 1-5 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO2016186170 to Makimoto et al. (Makimoto) in view of KR20180113820 to Lee et al. (Lee).
Regarding claim 1, Makimoto teaches an air conditioning case having an air passage therein (11 which is the outer structure of the device in Figures 1-2), a cooling means (12, Figures 1-2) and a heating means (13, Figures 1-2) provided in the air passage of the air conditioning case, a blower unit (22, Figures 1-2) for blowing air into the air passage, and doors for adjusting the opening degree of the air passage (23, 15a, 15b, 15c, 14a, and/or 14b, Figures 1-2),
Makimoto is silent on wherein the doors and electronic parts for driving the doors are all provided in the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle.
Lee teaches wherein the doors and electronic parts for driving the doors are all provided in the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle (60, Figure 2, claim 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Lee to provide wherein the doors and electronic parts for driving the doors are all provided in the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle. Doing so would be a simple rearrangement of parts and/or would protect the parts and provide a compact device.
Regarding claim 2, Makimoto teaches an outdoor unit positioned on an outdoor side based on a dash panel of the vehicle (left side of Figures 1 and 2), and an indoor unit positioned on an indoor side based on the dash panel of the vehicle and coupled with the outdoor unit, wherein the doors and the electronic parts are all installed in the indoor unit (indoor unit includes the components on the right side of Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 3, Makimoto teaches wherein the electronic parts include actuators which rotate the doors (actuators are disclosed in the specification to also include motors that drive the doors).
Regarding claim 4, Makimoto teaches wherein the cooling means and the heating means are all positioned in the air conditioning case of the outdoor side of the vehicle (the indoor/outdoor sections can be selected to meet this requirement).
Regarding claim 5, the modified device of Makimoto teaches wherein at least one temperature door is provided in the air passage of the air conditioning case to adjust discharge temperature by adjusting the amount of air passing through the heating means and the amount of air bypassing the heating means (14a and 14b, Figures 1-2 of Makimoto), and wherein the temperature door and the actuator which drives the temperature door are positioned in the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle (indoor section can be selected to include these structures).
Regarding claim 8, Makimoto teaches wherein the doors includes at least one temperature door for controlling the discharge temperature (14a and 14b, Figures 1-2) and at least one mode door for controlling the airflow of each outlet (15aq, 15b, and 15c, Figures 1-2), and the temperature door and the mode door are all positioned in the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle based on the dash panel of the vehicle (shown in Figures 1-2), and wherein the air passing through the cooling means and the heating means directly reaches the air passage of the indoor side air conditioning case without any resistance (shown in Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 9, Makimoto teaches wherein the outdoor unit includes an outdoor unit case, and the cooling means and the heating means are sequentially provided inside the outdoor unit case (shown in Figures 1-2), and wherein a partition which divides the air passage into an upper air passage and a lower air passage is formed between the cooling means and the heating means (partition 11e and/or 11i, Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 10, Makimoto teaches wherein the indoor unit includes an indoor unit case (partition of case can be selected to meet this limitation), and a partition extending from the partition of the outdoor unit is formed inside the indoor unit case (partition 11e and/or 11i, Figures 1-2), and wherein based on the partition of the outdoor unit case, the upper air passage communicates with an upper air outlet, and the lower air passage communicates with a lower air outlet (shown in Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 11, Makimoto teaches wherein the indoor unit includes an indoor unit case (partition of case can be selected to meet this limitation), and a partition extending from the partition of the outdoor unit is formed inside the indoor unit case (partition 11e and/or 11i, Figures 1-2), and wherein a first temperature door which adjusts the amount of air passing through the heating means and the amount of air bypassing the heating means is provided in the upper air passage of the indoor unit case, and a second temperature door which adjusts the amount of air passing through the heating means and the amount of air bypassing the heating means is provided in the lower air passage (14a and 14b, Figures 1-2).
Claim(s) 7 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makimoto in view of Lee and KR20180008978 to Kim et al. (Kim).
Regarding claim 7, Makimoto teaches wherein the cooling means includes an evaporator which cools the air with refrigerant (12, Figures 1-2), and the heating means includes a condenser (12b, Figures 1-2).
Makimoto is silent on a condenser which heats the air with refrigerant and an electric heater which heats the air by electrical heating, and wherein the evaporator, the condenser, and the electric heater are all positioned in the air conditioning case of the outdoor side of the vehicle.
Kim teaches a condenser which heats the air with refrigerant (2, Figure 1 or 102, Figure 8) and an electric heater which heats the air by electrical heating, and wherein the evaporator, the condenser, and the electric heater are all positioned in the air conditioning case of the outdoor side of the vehicle (240, Figure 8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Lee to provide a condenser which heats the air with refrigerant and an electric heater which heats the air by electrical heating, and wherein the evaporator, the condenser, and the electric heater are all positioned in the air conditioning case of the outdoor side of the vehicle. Doing so would increase the efficiency of the device.
Regarding claim 14, Makimoto is silent on wherein the actuator is installed on the exterior of the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle.
Kim teaches wherein the actuator is installed on the exterior of the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle (133, Figure 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Kim to provide wherein the actuator is installed on the exterior of the air conditioning case of the indoor side of the vehicle. Doing so would be a simple rearrangement of parts and even though this is a motor for a blower can be applied to the motors for the doors of Makimoto.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makimoto in view of Lee and KR1020210113793 to Byon et al. (Byon).
Regarding claim 12, Makimoto is silent on wherein the first temperature door and the second temperature door are formed in a dome door type.
Byon teaches wherein the first temperature door and the second temperature door are formed in a dome door type (172, Figure 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Byon to provide wherein the first temperature door and the second temperature door are formed in a dome door type. Doing so would have been a simple substitution of parts.
Claim(s) 6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makimoto in view of Lee and JP2004175231 to Hamamoto et al. (Hamamoto).
Regarding claim 6, Makimoto is silent on wherein the temperature door is positioned downstream of the heating means in an air flow direction.
Hamamoto teaches wherein the temperature door is positioned downstream of the heating means in an air flow direction (17, Figure 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Hamamoto to provide wherein the temperature door is positioned downstream of the heating means in an air flow direction. Doing so would be a simple substitution of parts or a simple rearrangement of parts.
Regarding claim 13, Makimoto teaches wherein the outdoor unit includes an outdoor unit case (part of the case can be considered an outdoor unit case), and the cooling means and the heating means are sequentially provided inside the outdoor unit case (shown in Figures 1-2 and can be considered part of the outdoor unit case), and wherein the indoor unit includes an indoor unit case (part of the case can be considered an indoor unit case), and a temperature door which adjusts the amount of air passing through the heating means and the amount of air bypassing the heating means is provided (14a and 14b, Figures 1-2).
Makimoto is silent on the temperature door in the indoor unit case.
Hamamoto teaches wherein the temperature door is positioned downstream of the heating means in an air flow direction (17, Figure 1) which would place it inside the indoor unit case. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of Makimoto with the teachings of Hamamoto to provide wherein the temperature door in the indoor unit case. Doing so would be a simple substitution of parts or a simple rearrangement of parts.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The cited prior art disclose the general state of the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN S ANDERSON II whose telephone number is (571)272-2055. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Hoang can be reached at 574-272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/STEVEN S ANDERSON II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
Prosecution Insights