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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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.
Claims 1-4, 8-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wellig, US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0277851.
Regarding claim 1, Wellig discloses a quarantine air-conditioning system for preventing a spread of airborne infectious diseases, the system comprising:
an air quality detection unit detecting an air quality of a quarantine air-conditioning target space [occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors, paragraphs 0025 and 0032];
a quarantine air-conditioning central control unit issuing a quarantine countermeasure instruction by calculating an airborne infectious disease-infection risk based on air quality information detected by the air quality detection unit [a controller receives air quality related information from sensors and controls building components based on an ascertained current risk of airborne infections within a building to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission among occupants of the building, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039]; and
a quarantine air-conditioner operated based on the instruction issued by the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit [controllable building components include HVAC heating, cooling, ventilation, humidifying, dehumidifying and disinfecting components, paragraph 0028],
wherein the air quality detection unit includes a complex environmental sensor detecting information on a temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, a total volatile organic compound (TVOC), particulate matter (PM), or an occupant [occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors (including environmental sensors), paragraphs 0025 and 0032], and
a pathogen sensor detecting airborne infectious pathogens [airborne pathogen sensors, paragraph 0025].
Regarding claim 2, Wellig further discloses that the pathogen sensor detects the bacteria, fungi, or viruses floating in indoor air, and transmits a detection result to the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit [testing equipment detects and reports information related to the presence of actual bacteria and viruses in the building air, paragraph 0039].
Regarding claim 3, Wellig further discloses that the one or more air quality detection units are disposed in the quarantine air-conditioning target space, collect the air quality information at a predetermined time interval, and transmit the collected information to the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit [occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors (including environmental sensors) provide sensed information over time in order to ascertain trends, paragraphs 0025, 0032 and 0043].
Regarding claim 4, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit includes an information processing unit calculating the infection risk for each airborne infectious disease based on the air quality information detected by the complex environmental sensor and the pathogen sensor [the controller receives air quality related information from sensors and controls building components based on an ascertained current risk of airborne infections within a building to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission among occupants of the building, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039].
Regarding claim 8, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit includes a receiver receiving the air quality information detected by the complex environmental sensor and pathogen sensor of the air quality detection unit [the controller receives information from occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors, paragraphs 0025 and 0032].
Regarding claim 9, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit includes a controller designed to instruct the quarantine air-conditioner to perform an enhanced quarantine air-conditioning operation when the airborne infectious disease-infection risk is a predetermined reference or higher [the controller controls building components based on an ascertained current risk of airborne infections within a building to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission among occupants of the building, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039].
Regarding claim 10, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioner receives the instruction from the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit to execute one or more of capture of the infectious particles, inactivation of the captured particles, dehumidification, and a temperature control [the controller controls operation of controllable building components including HVAC heating, cooling, ventilation, humidifying, dehumidifying and disinfecting components, paragraphs 0028 and 0032].
Regarding claim 11, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioner is a fixed or mobile type, and includes the air quality detection unit [the building air conditioning system includes the controller, occupancy and indoor air quality parameter sensors, and controllable building components, paragraphs 0025, 0028 and 0032].
Regarding claim 12, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioner is installed by analyzing the distribution and residence time of the particle spread under a building air-conditioning condition provided by air-conditioning equipment already installed in a building [controlling building components to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission among occupants of the building based on detected presence of bacteria and virus, occupancy, recency of cleaning and known building HVAC idiosyncrasies, paragraphs 0032 and 0039-0040].
Regarding claim 13, Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit displays quarantine status notification in real time [a dashboard may display the determined risk infection score, paragraph 0041].
Regarding claim 14, Wellig further discloses a method including:
operating a complex environmental sensor and a pathogen sensor [detecting using occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors including airborne pathogen sensors, paragraphs 0025 and 0032];
analyzing, by a quarantine air-conditioning central control unit, air quality information detected by the complex environmental sensor [analyzing information received from occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors to ascertain current risk of airborne infections, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039];
analyzing, by the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit, a detection result of pathogens detected by the pathogen sensor [analyzing information received from occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors (including airborne pathogen sensors) to ascertain current risk of airborne infections, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039];
calculating, by the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit, an airborne infectious disease-infection risk based on analysis results of steps ii) and iii) [analyzing information received from occupancy sensors and indoor air quality parameter sensors (including airborne pathogen sensors) to ascertain current risk of airborne infections, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039];
instructing, by the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit, a quarantine air-conditioner to perform an enhanced operation when the calculated airborne infectious disease-infection risk is a predetermined reference or higher [controlling building components based on the ascertained current risk of airborne infections within a building to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission among occupants of the building, paragraphs 0028 and 0031-0039]; and
notifying, by the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit, the airborne infectious disease-infection risk [displaying the determined risk infection score, paragraph 0041].
Regarding claim 16, Wellig, as described above, discloses a quarantine air-conditioning system for preventing a spread of airborne infectious diseases. Wellig further discloses that the quarantine air-conditioning central control unit predicts the airborne infectious disease-infection risk by an indoor air quality prediction algorithm based on time series analysis [determining airborne infection risk and what-if scenarios by applying sensed parameter values to a risk model that tracks sensed parameter values over time to identify trends, paragraphs 0038 and 0043-0044].
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.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wellig, US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0277851, in view of Hastings et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2023/0402165 [Hastings].
Regarding claim 17, Wellig, as described above, discloses predicting airborne infection risk by using an air quality prediction algorithm that is based on time series analysis. Wellig does not disclose that the algorithm is based on autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). Like Wellig, Hastings discloses a system for managing air quality in a building space using predictive time series models. Hastings discloses that the predictive time series models may include ARIMA time series analysis [paragraphs 0079-0080]. Since it was known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use ARIMA time series analysis in air quality predictive time series models, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use known ARIMA time series analysis in the Wellig prediction algorithm to perform the predictive time series analysis.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 15 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art of record, as described above, teaches determining an infection risk for airborne infectious diseases in a building, but does not teach or suggest using the specific calculations/formulas described in claims 5-7 and 15 to determine the infection risk for airborne infectious diseases in the building.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jenkins et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0268464 discloses analyzing time series air quality information to control air treatment components.
Bonzani, Jr., US Patent Application Publication no. 2022/0170661 discloses an air treatment system that controls air treatment functions based on information from environmental and pathogen sensors.
Maheshwari et al., US Patent Application Publication no. 2021/0404693 discloses a control unit that determines one or more pathogen alert responses based on detections of pathogens from one or more smart filters in an air conditioning system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL B YANCHUS III whose telephone number is (571)272-3678. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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/PAUL B YANCHUS III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2115 July 24, 2026
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