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 § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
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.
Claims 8-19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claims 8-19, the claims recite that the energy storage device is located remotely from the flow of air. However, the claims depend from claim 1 which recites that the energy storage device includes a housing having a flow channel formed therein for receiving the flow of air. The only embodiments disclosed with housing air flow channels are configured for direct cooling, not remote cooling, of the energy storage device (see paragraph 152 of the specification). Therefore the claimed embodiment of a housing with air flow channels, wherein the energy storage device is located remotely from the flow of air, is considered to be a presentation of new matter.
As to claim 21, the claim recites that the energy storage device is both upstream from a heat exchanger relative to a flow of air and also remotely located from the flow path of air. The disclosed embodiments appear to show a storage device that is either upstream of the exchanger in regards to the flow of air (see Fig. 22 of the instant application) OR located remotely from the flow of air (Figs. 23-25), but not both. The claimed embodiment is therefore considered to be a presentation of new matter.
Claims 8-19 and 21 are 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.
Regarding claims 8-19, the claims recite that the energy storage device is located remotely from the flow of air. However, the claims depend from claim 1 which recites that the energy storage device includes a housing having a flow channel formed therein for receiving the flow of air. Thus the limitation is indefinite as it is unclear whether the claimed storage device is in the flow of air or not.
As to claim 21, the claim recites that the energy storage device is both upstream from a heat exchanger relative to a flow of air and also remotely located from the flow path of air. It is unclear how this configuration is to be achieved, and thus the claim is indefinite.
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.
Claims 1-2, 20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi (US 2015/0295285).
As to claim 1, Takeuchi teaches an air conditioning system comprising:
a vapor compression cycle having a heat transfer fluid circulating between a compressor 11, an expansion device 21, and at least one heat exchanger 15, the heat transfer fluid being conditioned by a flow of air (Fig. 1); and
an energy storage device 55;
wherein the flow of air provided to the exchanger 15 to condition the heat transfer fluid is also provided to the energy storage device 55, wherein the energy storage device 55 includes a housing 50/51 having a flow channel formed for receiving the flow of air, the energy storage device 55 being arranged upstream from the exchanger 15 relative to the flow of air (Fig. 1; paragraph 73).
Takeuchi does not explicitly teach that the energy storage device 55 is selectively operable to supply power to the compressor 11. However, Official Notice is taken that using the vehicle battery to power the vehicle air conditioning compressor is a common and typical feature of the art that would have been obvious to use in conjunction with the battery 55 and compressor 11 of Takeuchi for the purpose of providing reliable air conditioning operations.
As to claim 2, Takeuchi teaches the energy storage device 55 arranged within a flow path of the flow of air such that the flow of air is configured to directedly cool the device 55 (Fig. 1).
As to claim 20, Takeuchi discloses the device 55 as a battery.
As to claim 22, Takeuchi teaches most of the limitations of the claims as discussed in the rejections above, and also teaches the exchanger 15 capable of both heat absorption and heat rejection (Figs. 1, 3-4, and 6).
Examiner Note
In regards to claims 8-19 and 21, Ishizeki (US 2022/0363110) appears to teach what is intended to be claimed, wherein battery 55 is remote from a flow of air and is cooled by a coolant loop (the disclosure of Ishizeki appears to show a refrigeration circuit constructed in the manner as disclosed at Figs. 23-25 of the instant application). However, it is unclear what exactly is required by the claims as noted in the 112 rejections above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-9, filed 6/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) under 35 U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Takeuchi (US 2015/0295285) as discussed above.
Conclusion
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/JONATHAN BRADFORD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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