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 .
This action is in response to the filing made 7/11/2024.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant asserts that claim 1 is generic, and that claims 2-4 and 12 read on the elected species. Claims 3-11 and 13-18 are withdrawn from consideration.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021/014644 to Ishiumura.
Regarding claim 1, Ishimura teaches an air-conditioning apparatus (100) comprising:
a heat medium cycle circuit in which a pump (62) configured to pressurize a heat medium and an indoor heat exchanger (53) configured to allow the heat medium to exchange heat with indoor air are connected by pipes to cause the heat medium to circulate through the heat medium cycle circuit, the heat medium serving as a heat delivery medium, the indoor air being a target to be air-conditioned; and
a heat source side refrigerant cycle circuit in which a compressor (10), a heat source side heat exchanger (12), an expansion device (41), and a heat medium heat exchanger (61) are connected by pipes to cause heat source side refrigerant to circulate through the heat source side refrigerant cycle circuit, the compressor being configured to compress the heat source side refrigerant, the heat source side heat exchanger (12) being configured to allow the heat source side refrigerant to exchange heat with outdoor air, the expansion device (41) being configured to reduce a pressure of the heat source side refrigerant, the heat medium heat exchanger (61) being configured to allow the heat source side refrigerant to exchange heat with the heat medium, wherein
the heat source side refrigerant cycle circuit has a bypass pipe (42) through which the heat source side refrigerant passes to bypass the heat medium heat exchanger (61), a bypass valve (43) configured to allow the heat source side refrigerant to pass through the bypass pipe or block the heat source side refrigerant from passing through the bypass pipe, and a merging portion (see Fig. 1) to which a heat medium heat exchanger side pipe, a compressor side pipe, and the bypass pipe are connected, the heat medium heat exchanger side pipe having one end connected to the heat medium heat exchanger, the compressor side pipe having one end connected to a heat source side refrigerant suction side of the compressor (see Figures), and
Ishimura does not teach,
the heat medium heat exchanger side pipe in the merging portion is connected to the compressor side pipe and the bypass pipe with a pipe axis thereof being upwardly inclined relative to a horizontal direction or being oriented upward in a vertical direction when viewed from the merging portion.
However, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to modify Ishimura to include this limitation, because the mere rearrangement of the working parts of a system is a matter of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04, VI. C. Rearrangement of Parts. In the present case, the overall system layout could impose space constraints that could require the claimed orientation, and there is no apparent reason why the claimed orientation would not work in Ishimura.
Claims 2 and 3.
The claims cover changes in pipe arrangements and dimensions, and are obvious as a mere change in orientations and pipe sizes that are warranted by the end use design.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HENRY T CRENSHAW whose telephone number is (571)270-1550. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ed Landrum can be reached at 571-272-5567. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HENRY T CRENSHAW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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