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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species A, Figures 1-7 in the reply filed on 04/20/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the search and examination of the entire application could be made without serious burden. This is not found persuasive because each species has a distinct arrangement with different numbers of valves, expansion valves and heat exchangers as well as distinct piping arrangements to connect the unique heat pump arrangements that would lead to a serious search and/or examination burden because the species require a different field of search (e.g., searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search strategies or search queries) leading to a divergent search for each of the distinct technical features for each species leading to an examination burden. In addition, these species are not obvious variants of each other based on the current record.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 15-16 and 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 04/20/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 14, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jeong et al. (US Pat. 9,587,865).
Regarding claim 1, Jeong discloses a heat pump, comprising: a compressor (240, Fig. 2) configured to compress a refrigerant; an accumulator (270) configured to supply the refrigerant to the compressor; a receiver (260) connected to the accumulator (Fig. 2); a fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210) configured to exchange heat between a fluid and the refrigerant (indoor unit exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air meeting the limitation of a fluid); an outdoor heat exchanger (220) configured to exchange heat between outdoor air and the refrigerant; a 4-way valve (4-way valve shown but not labeled in Fig. 2) configured to guide the refrigerant, discharged from the compressor (240), to flow into the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210) or the outdoor heat exchanger (220); at least one expansion valve (250) disposed between the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger (Fig. 2); a first valve (261) disposed between the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210) and the receiver (260); a second valve (either of the two valves not labeled in connection lines between 4-way valve and heat exchanger 210 or between heat exchanger 210 and branch line to receiver 260) disposed between the compressor and the receiver; and a third valve (262) disposed between the receiver and the accumulator (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 2, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 1, wherein during a heating operation (column 3, lines 29-37), in response to the first valve (261) and the third valve (262) being opened, a portion of a refrigerant having passed through the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210) flows to the receiver (260), and in response to the second valve (valves not labelled) and the third valve (262) being opened, a refrigerant stored in the receiver (260) flows to the accumulator (270).
Regarding claim 3, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 2, further comprising a controller (290, Fig. 4) configured to control opening and closing of the first to third valves based on a refrigerant amount during operation (column 4, lines 55-67; column 5, lines 43-51; column 6, lines 27-37).
Regarding claim 5, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 3, wherein during the heating operation, the controller is configured to control the 4-way valve (4-way valve shown not labelled) to guide the refrigerant, discharged from the compressor (240), to flow into the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210; column 3, lines 25-37).
Regarding claim 14, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 1, further comprising: a first pipe (pipe including portion between 210 and 230) that connects the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (210) and the expansion valve (250); and a second pipe that is branched from the first pipe to be connected to the receiver (pipe with valve 261), wherein the first valve (261) is located in the second pipe (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 17, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 1, wherein the receiver (260) and the accumulator (270) are integrally formed (Fig. 2), wherein an inner space of receiver and an inner space of the accumulator communicate via a pipe (263), and wherein the third valve (262) is disposed on the pipe (Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jeong et al. (KR 1020140010704).
Regarding claim 1, Jeong discloses a heat pump, comprising: a compressor (110, Fig. 1) configured to compress a refrigerant; an accumulator (220) configured to supply the refrigerant to the compressor; a receiver (210) connected to the accumulator (Fig. 1); a fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (150) configured to exchange heat between a fluid and the refrigerant (indoor unit exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air meeting the limitation of a fluid); an outdoor heat exchanger (130) configured to exchange heat between outdoor air and the refrigerant; a 4-way valve (120) configured to guide the refrigerant, discharged from the compressor (110), to flow into the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (150) or the outdoor heat exchanger (130); at least one expansion valve (135) disposed between the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger (Fig. 1); a first valve (251) disposed between the fluid-refrigerant heat exchanger (150) and the receiver (210); a second valve (155) disposed between the compressor and the receiver; and a third valve (261) disposed between the receiver and the accumulator (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 3, wherein: during the heating operation, in response to a subcooling degree being higher than an upper-limit reference value (via subcooling detection unit 102), the controller is configured to control the first valve and the third valve to be opened (see paragraph 52 of the machine translation); and during the heating operation, in response to the subcooling degree being lower than a lower-limit reference value (via subcooling detection unit 102), the controller is configured to control the second valve and the third valve to be opened (paragraphs 52-53).
Regarding claim 6, Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 1, further comprising a capillary tube (265) disposed between the third valve (261) and the accumulator (220).
Regarding claim 7¸ Jeong discloses the heat pump of claim 1, further comprising a fourth valve (145) disposed between the outdoor heat exchanger (130) and the receiver (Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-13 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not anticipate nor render obvious the combination set forth in the independent claims, and specifically does not show "wherein during a cooling operation, in response to the fourth valve and the third valve being opened, a portion of a refrigerant having passed through the outdoor heat exchanger flows to the receiver, and in response to the second valve and the third valve being opened, a refrigerant stored in the receiver flows to the accumulator." The closest prior art of record (Jeong) discloses a heat pump including many of the limitations claimed, but not further including the third and fourth valves in the configuration as claimed. Although it is well known to provide control valves for controlling the refrigerant through the heat pump system, there is no teaching in the prior art of record that would, reasonably and absent impermissible hindsight, motivate one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of the prior art to incorporate a heat pump including the combination of technical features in the arrangement as claimed. Thus, for at least the foregoing reasons, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor rendered obvious the present invention as set forth in claims 8-13.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cho et al. (US 2021/0131695) heat pump with accumulator connected to receiver.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH F TRPISOVSKY whose telephone number is (571)270-5296. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8AM-4PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at (571) 270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH F TRPISOVSKY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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