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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/01/2025 was filed on or after the mailing date of the Application. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract includes phrases which can be implied, such as “A rooftop air conditioning unit (RTU) is disclosed,”. The phrase does not aid in understanding the invention and said phrasing is expressly discouraged in order to clearly and concisely describe the invention. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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 6-11, 14-15 and 20 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 the limitation "the predefined values" in line 3 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the predefined values" in line 3 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the predefined values" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the predefined values" in line 2 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the AOI" in line 3 of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding Claim 11, the recitation of “...a second predefined desiccant temperature…,” renders the claim unclear. Specifically, it is unclear as to how a second predefined desiccant temperature may exist without the existence of a first predefined desiccant temperature. Accordingly, this discrepancy makes the claim difficult to interpret and does not meet the threshold requirements of clarity and precision as outlined in MPEP 2173.02.II. Therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
Regarding Claims 6-11, 14 and 20, the recitation of “…predefined values…” renders the claims unclear. For example, it is unclear as to what structure performs the recited function of measuring or determining said predefined values. MPEP 2173.05(g) requires the particular structure, materials or steps that accomplish a function be recited to indicate the scope of the subject matter claimed. Specifically, it is unclear as to how the system may operate in a manner to reach the claimed predefined values, without any means to measure or at least receive input of these values of the system. Furthermore it is unclear as to what structure performs control over the apparatus to achieve said values. Therefore, the claim and all claims depending therefrom are indefinite and are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vandermeulen (US 20150338140 A1), and further in view of Moffitt et al. (US 20230349566 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Vandermeulen teaches a rooftop air conditioning unit (RTU) [See Figs. 1, 6-7, 10-11, 16] comprising:
an absorber [1002] configured in a supply airstream [1001] [¶ 0065; at least Fig. 10];
a desorber [1012] configured in a regeneration airstream [1010], wherein the desorber is fluidically connected to the absorber via a liquid desiccant system [at least 1030, 1031] and an interchange heat exchanger [1029] [¶ 0067-0068]; and
a first heat exchanger [1007];
a second heat exchanger [1016], wherein the first heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second heat exchanger via a vapor compression system [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; apparent from inspection of path with compressor 1018].
one or more secondary heat exchangers [1020, 1026] configured between the vapor compression system and the liquid desiccant system [Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1026 and 1020 are disposed between the compression system and the desiccant system], wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to control temperature of a desiccant associated with the liquid desiccant system into the absorber and/or into the desorber [¶ 0067-0069; heat exchangers may exchange heat with desiccant and vapor compression system] [also see ¶ 0030; heat pump 116 may provide heating and cooling to the liquid desiccant].
Vandermeulen does explicitly teach wherein the first heat exchanger is configured upstream of the absorber in the supply air stream; and wherein the second heat exchanger is configured upstream of the desorber in the regeneration airstream.
However, Moffitt teaches an air dehumidifier [Fig. 2] comprising an absorber [142, 152; in air stream 105 to conditioned space] in a supply air stream [105] [¶ 0030-0032], and a desorber [144, 154; in air stream coming from ambient environment 104] in a regeneration air stream [104], wherein the absorber and desorber are separate parts of the same desiccant disk system [¶ 0053-0054]. Moffitt further teaches a chiller system [180] comprising a refrigerant circuit [182], wherein the refrigerant circuit further comprises a plurality of heat exchangers [130, 132, 162] wherein said heat exchangers are disposed upstream of their respective desiccant systems in their respective air pathways [¶ 0033, 0045; Fig. 2; apparent from inspection; heat exchangers 130, 132 are upstream of desiccant systems 142 and 152 in the upper tunnel; heat exchanger 162A is upstream of the desiccant systems in the lower tunnel] [¶ 0035; Moffitt discloses that 162A may be a condenser of the refrigerant circuit 182, as in Fig. 1, instead of using a separate hot water system]. Moffitt discloses that disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thereby improving the dehumidification of the system [¶ 0062]. One of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the heat exchangers as claimed by known methods and that in combination, the heat exchangers would perform the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skills would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable i.e. disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thus improving the dehumidification of the system [¶ 0062].
Therefore, it is a simple mechanical expedient that would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of Vandermeulen to have a first heat exchanger configured upstream of the absorber in the supply air stream; a second heat exchanger configured upstream of the desorber in the regeneration airstream, wherein the first heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second heat exchanger via a vapor compression system, in view of the teachings of Moffitt where the elements could have been combined by known methods with no change in their respective function and the combination would have yielded predictable results i.e. disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thus improving the dehumidification of the system.
Regarding Claim 2, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above [Fig. 10] and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchanger [1020, 1026] comprise a third heat exchanger [1026] configured in a desiccant upstream of the absorber [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1026 is upstream of dehumidifying conditioner 1002 in desiccant path 1030].
Regarding Claim 3, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 2 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchanger comprise a fourth heat exchanger [1020] configured in a desiccant upstream of the desorber [¶ 0065-0067; Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1020 is upstream of regenerator 1012 in desiccant path 1031].
Regarding Claim 4, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 3 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the first heat exchanger, and a refrigerant side of the third heat exchanger are fluidically coupled to the second heat exchanger, and a refrigerant side of the fourth heat exchanger via the vapor compression system [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; apparent from inspection that heat exchangers 1007 and 1026 are in fluid communication with heat exchanger 1016 and 1020 via at least paths 1019, 1021, 1022, etc. from compressor 1018].
Regarding Claim 5, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 4 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein a desiccant side of the third heat exchanger is fluidically coupled to a desiccant side of the fourth heat exchanger via the interchange heat exchanger and the liquid desiccant system [¶ 0067-0069; Fig. 10; heat exchangers 1026 and 1020 are in thermal communication with each other within the desiccant system via at least heat exchanger 1029].
Regarding Claim 6, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to control the temperature of the desiccant supplied to the absorber to adjust the temperature and humidity of the supply airstream downstream of the absorber to predefined values [¶ 0029; desiccant is pre-cooled and pre-heated before entering the heat and mass exchangers].
Regarding Claim 7, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 6 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the predefined value of the temperature of the airstream downstream of the absorber is in a range of 70oF to 75oF [¶ 0059; Fig. 8 demonstrates the known effects of the system utilizing a psychometric chart, wherein it is demonstrated that known parameters may control the system in a predetermined fashion. Furthermore, Fig. 8 discloses the claimed temperature ranges within the chart’s typical range of operation. Therefore, the limitations requiring the end result of an air stream being within a certain value range may also be considered an obvious design choice regarding routine optimization [MPEP 2144.04 II], as the temperature of the air stream is known to be reliant on a plurality of experimental factors (i.e. outside temperature/humidity, refrigerant temperature, desiccant temperature, blower power, etc), wherein modification of controllable factors are dependent on uncontrollable factors at the location/time of desired use. Therefore, where the general conditions of the claims are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum workable ranges by routine experimentation].
Regarding Claim 8, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 3 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the third heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator when the desiccant supplied to the absorber is to be cooled for adjusting the temperature and the humidity of the supply airstream downstream of the absorber to the predefined values [¶ 0067; heat exchanger 1026 may operate as an evaporator].
Regarding Claim 10, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to control the temperature of the desiccant flowing into the absorber to a first predefined desiccant temperature to control mass transfer potential from the desiccant to the regeneration airstream at the absorber [¶ 0065-0067; heat is removed from liquid desiccant via heat exchanger 1026, then circulated through conditioner 1002].
Regarding Claim 11, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to increase the temperature of the desiccant flowing into the desorber to a second predefined desiccant temperature to control mass transfer potential from the desiccant to the regeneration airstream at the desorber [¶ 0065-0067; hot refrigerant is conducted through heat exchanger 1020 to raise the temperature of the desiccant to flow through regenerator 1012].
Regarding Claim 12, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchanger is a brazed-plate heat exchanger [¶ 0038, 0050-0051; Fig. 2; Vandermeulen discloses that plate-type heat exchangers and well-known in the art and may serve as 3-way heat and mass heat exchangers in the system].
Regarding Claim 13, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers further comprise an upstream metering device or an expansion device [1023] for a refrigerant when the corresponding secondary heat exchanger is operated as an evaporator [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; expansion valve 1023 is in line 1024/1022, upstream of the secondary heat exchangers in the refrigerant flow path].
Regarding Claim 14, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the RTU is adapted to be configured at an area of interest (AOI) [An area of interest may be any rooftop the system is capable of operating on] to supply the airstream having the predefined values of the temperature and humidity at the AOI, and further receive the return airstream from the AOI [Abstract; the system is configured to cool and dehumidify a space in a building or heat and humidify a space in a building].
Regarding Claim 15, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 1 above and Moffitt teaches wherein the RTU comprises a controller [190] that is configured to:
receive a set of instructions pertaining to the predefined values of the airstream to be supplied at the AOI [¶ 0036; controller 190 may control the entire HVACR system and chiller unit, so that discharged conditioned air has the desired conditioning, information being utilized and stored in a processor and memory]; and
control operation of one or more of the heat exchangers associated with the system to supply the airstream having the predefined values of the temperature and humidity to the AOI [¶ 0036; the controller may control the temperature and flow rate of chilled liquid flowing through the heat exchangers within the airflow path].
Regarding Claim 16, Vandermeulen teaches a liquid desiccant based outdoor air system [See Figs. 1, 6-7, 10-11, 16; Abstract] comprising:
an absorber [1002] configured in a supply airstream [1001] [¶ 0065; at least Fig. 10];
a desorber [1012] configured in a regeneration airstream [1010], wherein the desorber is fluidically connected to the absorber via a liquid desiccant system [at least 1030, 1031] and an interchange heat exchanger [1029] [¶ 0067-0068]; and
a first heat exchanger [1007];
a second heat exchanger [1016], wherein the first heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second heat exchanger via a vapor compression system [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; apparent from inspection of path with compressor 1018].
one or more secondary heat exchangers [1020, 1026] configured between the vapor compression system and the liquid desiccant system [Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1026 and 1020 are disposed between the compression system and the desiccant system], wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable to control temperature of a desiccant associated with the liquid desiccant system into the absorber and/or into the desorber [¶ 0067-0069; heat exchangers may exchange heat with desiccant and vapor compression system] [also see ¶ 0030; heat pump 116 may provide heating and cooling to the liquid desiccant].
Vandermeulen does explicitly teach wherein the first heat exchanger is configured upstream of the absorber in the supply air stream; and wherein the second heat exchanger is configured upstream of the desorber in the regeneration airstream.
However, Moffitt teaches an air dehumidifier [Fig. 2] comprising an absorber [142, 152; in air stream 105 to conditioned space] in a supply air stream [105] [¶ 0030-0032], and a desorber [144, 154; in air stream coming from ambient environment 104] in a regeneration air stream [104], wherein the absorber and desorber are separate parts of the same desiccant disk system [¶ 0053-0054]. Moffitt further teaches a chiller system [180] comprising a refrigerant circuit [182], wherein the refrigerant circuit further comprises a plurality of heat exchangers [130, 132, 162] wherein said heat exchangers are disposed upstream of their respective desiccant systems in their respective air pathways [¶ 0033, 0045; Fig. 2; apparent from inspection; heat exchangers 130, 132 are upstream of desiccant systems 142 and 152 in the upper tunnel; heat exchanger 162A is upstream of the desiccant systems in the lower tunnel] [¶ 0035; Moffitt discloses that 162A may be a condenser of the refrigerant circuit 182, as in Fig. 1, instead of using a separate hot water system]. Moffitt discloses that disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thereby improving the dehumidification of the system [¶ 0062]. One of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the heat exchangers as claimed by known methods and that in combination, the heat exchangers would perform the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skills would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable i.e. disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thus improving the dehumidification of the system [¶ 0062].
Therefore, it is a simple mechanical expedient that would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of Vandermeulen to have a first heat exchanger configured upstream of the absorber in the supply air stream; a second heat exchanger configured upstream of the desorber in the regeneration airstream, wherein the first heat exchanger is fluidically connected to the second heat exchanger via a vapor compression system, in view of the teachings of Moffitt where the elements could have been combined by known methods with no change in their respective function and the combination would have yielded predictable results i.e. disposing a heat exchanger upstream of the desiccant system may further aid in dehumidifying the airflow, as the act of cooling is known to create condensation, thereby also providing some dehumidification before the desiccant wheel, thus improving the dehumidification of the system.
Regarding Claim 17, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the system of claim 16 above [Fig. 10] and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchanger [1020, 1026] comprise: a third heat exchanger [1026] configured in a desiccant upstream of the absorber [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1026 is upstream of dehumidifying conditioner 1002 in desiccant path 1030]; and a fourth heat exchanger [1020] configured in a desiccant upstream of the desorber [¶ 0065-0067; Fig. 10; heat exchanger 1020 is upstream of regenerator 1012 in desiccant path 1031].
Regarding Claim 18, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the system of claim 17 above and Vandermeulen wherein the first heat exchanger, and a refrigerant side of the third heat exchanger are fluidically coupled to the second heat exchanger, and a refrigerant side of the fourth heat exchanger via the vapor compression system [¶ 0067; Fig. 10; apparent from inspection that heat exchangers 1007 and 1026 are in fluid communication with heat exchanger 1016 and 1020 via at least paths 1019, 1021, 1022, etc. from compressor 1018].
Regarding Claim 19, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the system of claim 16 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein a desiccant side of the third heat exchanger is fluidically coupled to a desiccant side of the fourth heat exchanger via the interchange heat exchanger and the liquid desiccant system [¶ 0067-0069; Fig. 10; heat exchangers 1026 and 1020 are in thermal communication with each other within the desiccant system via at least heat exchanger 1029].
Regarding Claim 20, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the system of claim 16 above and Vandermeulen teaches wherein the one or more secondary heat exchangers are operable as a condenser and/or an evaporator to control the temperature of the desiccant supplied to the absorber to adjust the temperature and humidity of the supply airstream downstream of the absorber to predefined values [¶ 0065-0067; heat is removed from liquid desiccant via heat exchanger 1026, then circulated through conditioner 1002, while hot refrigerant is conducted through heat exchanger 1020 to raise the temperature of the desiccant to flow through regenerator 1012].
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vandermeulen and Moffitt, as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Levy et al. (US 20120266618 A1, hereinafter “Levy”).
Regarding Claim 9, Vandermeulen, as modified, teaches the RTU of claim 3 above but Vandermeulen does not explicitly teach wherein the third heat exchanger is operated as a condenser when the desiccant supplied to the absorber is to be heated for adjusting the temperature and the humidity of the supply airstream downstream of the absorber to the predefined values.
However, Levy teaches an air cooled absorption cooling system [Figs. 7A-7C], wherein a compressor [R4, R6] is in fluid communication with a plurality of heat exchangers [R1, R2] and a plurality of valves [V24, V26, V27], such to enable the system so that it may operate in at least two modes, cooling and heating [Figs. 7B-7C; ¶ 0080-0084]. This process necessarily swaps the respective operations of heat exchangers R1 and R2 depending on the desired operation mode, thereby providing a means for advanced control of the system, such that the COP is as high as possible [¶ 0085]. One of ordinary skill in the art could have combined the reversible system as claimed by known methods and that in combination, the reversible system would perform the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skills would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable i.e. to provide a means for advanced control of the system, such that the COP is as high as possible, dependent upon environmental factors, thus improving the system [¶ 0085].
Therefore, it is a simple mechanical expedient that would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the assembly of Vandermeulen, to have wherein the third heat exchanger is operated as a condenser when the desiccant supplied to the absorber is to be heated for adjusting the temperature and the humidity of the supply airstream downstream of the absorber to the predefined values, in view of the teachings of Levy, where the elements could have been combined by known methods with no change in their respective function and the combination would have yielded predictable results i.e. to provide a means for advanced control of the system, such that the COP is as high as possible, dependent upon environmental factors, thus improving the system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEITH S MYERS whose telephone number is (571)272-5102. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:00.
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/KEITH STANLEY MYERS/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763