Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/732,827

HEATING VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR GENERATING FIRE ALERTS AND METHOD THEREOF

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 04, 2024
Priority
Jun 16, 2023 — provisional 63/508,715
Examiner
SURYAWANSHI, SURESH
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Carrier Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
88%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 88% — above average
88%
Career Allowance Rate
962 granted / 1088 resolved
+28.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
1098
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
9.6%
-30.4% vs TC avg
§103
30.3%
-9.7% vs TC avg
§102
35.6%
-4.4% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1088 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
CTNF 18/732,827 CTNF 79197 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 Claims 1-14 are presented for examination. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Feng et al (CN 113048623; hereinafter Feng) . As per claim 1, Feng discloses a method of generating fire alerts for an indoor environment having a plurality of zones and a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system [Abstract; air conditioner control method with a fire risk early warning based on the indoor environment temperature and the outdoor environment temperature; pages 1-9; invention is disclosed with respect to an indoor environment (i.e., a zone) and it is inherent (or obvious) to have multiple zones (i.e., more than one indoor environment)] , the method comprising: receiving, from an outside air temperature (OAT) sensor of the HVAC system, a current outside temperature value for an outdoor environment [Abstract; page 6; an outdoor temperature detecting module] ; receiving, from a zone sensor associated with the HVAC system, a current zone temperature value associated with a corresponding zone, from among the plurality of zones, in the indoor environment [Abstract; page 6; an indoor temperature detection module] ; determining whether the current zone temperature value is greater than the current outside temperature value [pages 3, 5; determining if the temperature difference between the indoor environment and the outdoor environment is greater than the temperature difference threshold value] ; detecting, when the current zone temperature value is greater than the current outside temperature value, whether a rate of change of the current zone temperature value is greater than a predefined threshold value [page 6; a calculating module is used to detect a temperature rising rate; pages 2-3; detecting when the indoor ambient temperature greater than a first temperature threshold, indoor ambient temperature is greater than the temperature rise threshold and when the temperature difference between the indoor environment and the outdoor environment is greater than the temperature difference threshold value, judging that the indoor environment has fire hazard situation and sending a fire risk early warning] ; and generating a fire alert for the zone when the rate of change of the current zone temperature value is detected to be greater than the predefined threshold value [Abstract; pages 1-9; generating a fire early warning (i.e., a fire alert) for the indoor environment] . As per claim 8, Feng discloses a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system to generate fire alerts for an indoor environment having a plurality of zones [Abstract; air conditioner control method with a fire risk early warning based on the indoor environment temperature and the outdoor environment temperature; pages 1-9; invention is disclosed with respect to an indoor environment (i.e., a zone) and it is inherent (or obvious) to have multiple zones (i.e., more than one indoor environment)] , the HVAC system comprising: at least one HVAC equipment [Abstract; pages 1-9; air conditioner] , and at least one control device communicatively connected with the at least one HVAC equipment, the at least one control device comprising a processor configured to [pages 3, 6; the control module; the control system] , for each of the plurality of zones: receive, from an outside air temperature (OAT) sensor of the HVAC equipment, a current outside temperature value for an outdoor environment [Abstract; page 6; an outdoor temperature detection module] ; receive, from a corresponding zone sensor associated with the HVAC equipment, a current zone temperature value associated with a corresponding zone, from among the plurality of zones, in the indoor environment [Abstract; page 6; an indoor temperature detection module] ; determine whether the current zone temperature value is greater than the current outside temperature value [pages 3, 5; determining if the temperature difference between the indoor environment and the outdoor environment is greater than the temperature difference threshold value] ; detect, when the current zone temperature value is greater than the current outside temperature value, whether a rate of change of the current zone temperature value is greater than a predefined threshold value [page 6; a calculating module is used to detect a temperature rising rate; pages 2-3; detecting when the indoor ambient temperature greater than a first temperature threshold, indoor ambient temperature is greater than the temperature rise threshold and when the temperature difference between the indoor environment and the outdoor environment is greater than the temperature difference threshold value, judging that the indoor environment has fire hazard situation and sending a fire risk early warning] ; and generate a fire alert for the zone when the rate of change of the current zone temperature value is detected to be greater than the predefined threshold value [Abstract; pages 1-9; generating a fire early warning (i.e., a fire alert) for the indoor environment] . As per claims 2 and 9, Feng discloses wherein generating the fire alert comprises generating a first alert notification for one of a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the HVAC system or a third-party fire safety control system, wherein the first alert notification is indicative of fire within the zone [page 5; user’s cell-phone through cell-phone app (i.e., graphical user interface)] . As per claims 3 and 10, Feng discloses further comprising: triggering a first control action associated with controlling a movement of a damper associated with at least one zone, from among the plurality of zones, of the HVAC system [pages 3, 5-6; controlling the fresh air system (i.e., damper)] . As per claims 4 and 11, Feng discloses wherein triggering the first control action comprises closing a damper associated with at least one zone other than the zone, from among the plurality of zones, thereby minimizing flow of smoke from the zone to the at least one other zone [pages 3, 5-6; controlling the fresh air system (i.e., damper)] . As per claims 5 and 12, Feng discloses wherein triggering the first control action comprises closing a damper associated with the zone, from among the plurality of zones, thereby minimizing flow of smoke from the zone to the at least one other zone [pages 3, 5-6; controlling the fresh air system (i.e., damper)] . As per claims 6 and 13, Feng discloses further comprising: triggering a second control action associated with the HVAC system, wherein the second control action comprises supplying fresh air from the outdoor environment to at least one zone, from among the plurality of zones, while operating the HVAC system [pages 3, 5-6; controlling the fresh air system (i.e., damper)] . As per claims 7 and 14, Feng discloses wherein the detecting comprises iteratively detecting, over a period of time, that the rate of change of the current zone temperature value is greater than the predefined threshold value when the current zone temperature value is detected to be greater than the current outside temperature value [page 6; a calculating module is used to detect a temperature rising rate; pages 2-3; detecting when the indoor ambient temperature greater than a first temperature threshold, indoor ambient temperature is greater than the temperature rise threshold and when the temperature difference between the indoor environment and the outdoor environment is greater than the temperature difference threshold value, judging that the indoor environment has fire hazard situation and sending a fire risk early warning] , and wherein the generating comprises generating the fire alert for the zone in response to detecting, over the period of time, a predefined number of times that the rate of change of the current zone temperature value is greater than the predefined threshold value [Abstract; pages 1-9; generating a fire early warning (i.e., a fire alert) for the indoor environment] . 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A . US-20030126869 discloses a window air conditioner with a fire alarm and smoke-exhausting device includes a body, a front room in said body, a wind-releasing gate and a smoke-exhausting gate provided at a side of the front room, an alarm in the body, a sensor positioned outside and connected to the body. B . US-20200217550 discloses a HVAC system to individually control the climate conditions in different zones or areas of a building and communicating with a fire alarm system. O . WO-2023274228 discloses a fire detection and control method for an air conditioner. P . CN-214469210 discloses an air conditioner control system for detecting and controlling the air conditioner system main body and a fire early warning system for fire early warning. Q . KR-20160010196 discloses an air-conditioner system wherein a building controller activates a warning device when a fire occurs, outputs a warning, and inputs a fire signal to a controller. R . CN-116045448 discloses fire situation pre-judging method for an air conditioning system based on indoor and outdoor temperature difference . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SURESH K SURYAWANSHI whose telephone number is (571)272-3668. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00 PM. 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, Kenneth M Lo can be reached at 5712729774. 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. /SURESH SURYAWANSHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 2 Art Unit: 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 3 Art Unit: 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 4 Art Unit: 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 5 Art Unit: 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 6 Art Unit: 2116 Application/Control Number: 18/732,827 Page 7 Art Unit: 2116
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 04, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
88%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+12.6%)
2y 5m (~1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1088 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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