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 .
Status of the Application
2. Claim 1-18 have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits.
Drawings
3. The drawings filed on 6/18/24 are acceptable for examination proceedings.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3, and 12 recites the similar subject matter, and Claim 7 and 16 recites the similar subject matter and 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.
For claim 3, and 12, none of the prior art on record disclose alone or in obvious condition “wherein determining the weighted average comprises: increasing a weight of the primary temperature over a predetermined interval of time; and decreasing a weight of the secondary temperature over the predetermined interval of time.”
For claim 7 and 16, none of the prior art on record disclose alone or in obvious condition “ determining the adjusted temperature is equal to the primary temperature; and in response to determining that the adjusted temperature is equal to the primary temperature, inhibiting a subsequent determination of the adjusted temperature and directing the AC unit based on the primary temperature.”
Claim 4-5, and 13-14 are objected due to their direct/indirect dependency over the claim 3 and 12 respectively.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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 –
(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.
5. Claims 1, 6, 10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Goodjohn (Pub: 2017/0102157).
6. Regarding claim 1, Goodjohn discloses:
A method for directing AC unit functions based on sensor readings in an AC unit (e.g., Accordingly, units 10 and methods 100 in accordance with the present disclosure advantageously provide improved accuracy of indoor temperature readings. Such improvement is advantageously provided by offsetting sensed indoor temperatures by the second temperature sensor 94 using sensed temperatures by the first temperature sensor 92 in situations wherein biasing of the sensed indoor temperature may occur. Improved resulting temperature readings and resulting operation of the unit 10 may result) (Para. [0043], Fig. 1), the method comprising: obtaining a primary temperature from a primary sensor group, wherein the primary sensor group comprises one or more primary sensors (e.g., Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a first temperature sensor 92 and a second temperature sensor 94 may be disposed within the indoor portion 12. Each temperature sensor may be configured to sense the temperature of its surroundings. The temperature sensors 92, 94 may be in communication with the controller 85, and may transmit temperatures sensed thereby to the controller 85) (Para. [0033]);
directing the AC unit based on the primary sensor group (e.g., Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a first temperature sensor 92 and a second temperature sensor 94 may be disposed within the indoor portion 12. Each temperature sensor may be configured to sense the temperature of its surroundings. The temperature sensors 92, 94 may be in communication with the controller 85, and may transmit temperatures sensed thereby to the controller 85) (Para. [0033], also refer to Para. [0031] where “The operation of air conditioner unit 10 including compressor 32 (and thus the thermodynamic assembly generally) blower fan 42, heating unit 44, and other suitable components may be controlled by a processing device such as a controller 85. Controller 85 may be in communication (via for example a suitable wired or wireless connection) to such components of the air conditioner unit 10”);
obtaining a secondary temperature from a secondary sensor group, wherein the secondary sensor group comprises one or more secondary sensors (e.g., Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a first temperature sensor 92 and a second temperature sensor 94 may be disposed within the indoor portion 12. Each temperature sensor may be configured to sense the temperature of its surroundings. The temperature sensors 92, 94 may be in communication with the controller 85, and may transmit temperatures sensed thereby to the controller 85) (Para. [0033]);
directing the AC unit based on the secondary temperature (e.g., Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, a first temperature sensor 92 and a second temperature sensor 94 may be disposed within the indoor portion 12. Each temperature sensor may be configured to sense the temperature of its surroundings. The temperature sensors 92, 94 may be in communication with the controller 85, and may transmit temperatures sensed thereby to the controller 85) (Para. [0033], also refer to Para. [0031] where “The operation of air conditioner unit 10 including compressor 32 (and thus the thermodynamic assembly generally) blower fan 42, heating unit 44, and other suitable components may be controlled by a processing device such as a controller 85. Controller 85 may be in communication (via for example a suitable wired or wireless connection) to such components of the air conditioner unit 10”);
detecting an adjustment event, the adjustment event corresponding to a fan speed adjustment (e.g., Such step may occur, for example, when the blower fan 42 is not operating, such as immediately after heating or cooling operations (i.e. immediately after active operation of the thermodynamic assembly). In some embodiments, such step may occur only when the blower fan 42 is not operating. In these embodiments, for example, the second temperature 104 may be the output temperature when the blower fan 42 is operating) (Para. [0037]);
determining an adjusted temperature (Refer to Para. [0040]-[0042] for corrected temperature determination in detail) between the primary temperature and the secondary temperature using the primary sensor group and the secondary sensor group (e.g., Method 100 may further include, for example, the step 120 of calculating a difference 122 between a first temperature 102 received from the first temperature sensor 92 and a second temperature 104 received from the second temperature sensor 94. The received temperatures 102, 104 may be temperatures sensed by the sensors 92, 94 at the same time) (Para. [0037], [0040]-[0042]);
and directing the AC unit based on the adjusted temperature (e.g., Method 100 may further include, for example, the step 150 of outputting the corrected temperature 142. The corrected temperature 142 may, for example, be output to the display 88. Further, the corrected temperature 142 may be output for use in other functions of the unit 10, such as in determining when to activate the thermodynamic assembly for further heating or cooling) (Para. [0042]).
7. Regarding claim 6, Goodjohn discloses:
The method of claim 1, the secondary temperature comprises an offset value added to a temperature measured by the secondary sensor group (e.g., In other words, the difference 122 (or corrected difference 132) may be added to the second temperature 104 to obtain the corrected temperature 142) (Para. [0041]).
8. Regarding claim 10, Claim 10 recites an air conditioner (AC) unit that implement the method of claim 1, with substantially the same limitations. Therefore the rejection applied to claim 1 also applies to claim 10 respectively.
9. Regarding claim 15, as to claim 15, applicant is directed to the citation of claim 6, above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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.
11. Claim 2, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goodjohn in view of Heintzelman (Pub: 2020/0116381).
12. Regarding claim 2, Goodjohn discloses the method of claim 1 but does not specifically teach wherein determining the adjusted temperature comprises determining a weighted average between a contemporary temperature at the primary sensor group and a contemporary temperature at the secondary sensor group.
Heintzelman teaches wherein determining the adjusted temperature comprises determining a weighted average between a contemporary temperature at the primary sensor group and a contemporary temperature at the secondary sensor group (e.g., In some cases, the controller 118 is configured to control the HVAC system using a control temperature that is a weighted combination of two or more of the current temperatures being reported by the plurality of sensors. In some instances, the weighted combination is a weighted average of two or more of the current temperatures being reported by the plurality of sensors) (Para. [0063]).
Because Heintzelman is also directed to a cooling system, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having teachings of Goodjohn and Heintzelman before him/her, to modify the teachings of Goodjohn to include the teaching of Heintzelman in order to utilize the updated current temperatures to produce an updated control temperature (Para. [0063]).
13. Regarding claim 12, as to claim 12, applicant is directed to the citation of claim 2, respectively above.
14. Claim 8-9, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goodjohn in view of Jensen (Pub: 2012/0078420).
15. Regarding claim 8, Goodjohn discloses the method of claim 1 but does not specifically teach wherein the fan speed adjustment comprises an increase in a fan speed.
Jensen teaches wherein the fan speed adjustment comprises an increase in a fan speed (e.g., The control signal applies a control effort to the system of the fan motor. The control effort may be an increase in speed or a decrease in speed) (Para. [0055]).
Because Jensen is also directed to a cooling system, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, having teachings of Goodjohn and Jensen before him/her, to modify the teachings of Goodjohn to include the teaching of Jensen in order to provide a control system for operating a cooling fan at a target speed (Para. [0009]).
16. Regarding claim 9, the combination of Goodjohn and Jensen discloses the method of claim 8, wherein Jensen further comprising: determining the increase in the fan speed, wherein determining the increase in the fan speed comprises determining that a measured fan speed is above a threshold fan speed (e.g., The closed loop control system includes a proportional control. When a measured cooling fan speed is below a threshold speed the proportional control generates the control signal based on a constant. When the measured cooling fan speed is above the threshold speed, the proportion control generates the control signal based on a variable with a varying value) (Para. [0010]).
17. Regarding claim 17-18, as to claim 17-18, applicant is directed to the citation of claim 8-9, respectively above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Paez (Pub: 2020/0025405) disclose air conditioning appliances, and more particularly to air conditioner units and methods for varying the personality settings on a control board thereof (Para. [0001]).
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/JIGNESHKUMAR C PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
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