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 without traverse of Species E (Figure 8) reading on claims 1-2 and 11-12 in the reply filed on 04/09/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 3-10 and 13-20 have been considered withdrawn.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Son et al. (2023/0375202, cited in the IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Son discloses an air conditioner (see figures 1-10) comprising:
a compressor (102);
at least one memory storing one or more instructions (see figure 10); and
at least one processor (200), comprising processing circuitry (see figure 2A), individually and/or collectively, configured to execute the one or more instructions stored in the at least one memory (see figures 2A and 10) and to:
receive an input (the input through the inputter 254; see figure 9) for selecting one of a plurality of cooling capacities (the plurality of cooling capacities which corresponds to the plurality of power saving rates 40%-120% at the corresponding compressor frequencies) of the air conditioner as a maximum cooling capacity capable (the maximum cooling capacity correspond to the maximum power saving rate of the maximum frequency of the compressor 102; see figure 5) of being output by the air conditioner (see figures 2A-2B and 9-10);
obtain a frequency of the compressor (102) corresponding to the maximum cooling capacity (the maximum cooling capacity correspond to the maximum power saving rate of the maximum frequency of the compressor 102; see figure 5), in response to a determination to output the cooling capacity of the air conditioner as the maximum cooling capacity, based on a desired temperature set (target temperature) in the air conditioner and an indoor temperature (room temperature; see steps 1003 of figure 10); and
control the compressor (102), based on the obtained frequency (see step 1007-1008 of figure 10).
Regarding claim 11, Son discloses a method, performed by an air conditioner, of performing cooling according to a cooling capacity (the cooling capacity corresponding to the frequency of the compressor and the power saving rates; see figures 1-10), the method comprising:
receiving an input (the input through the inputter 254; see figure 9) for selecting one of a plurality of cooling capacities (the plurality of the cooling capacities corresponding to the frequencies of the compressor at the plurality of the power saving rates) of the air conditioner, as a maximum cooling capacity (the maximum cooling capacity corresponding the maximum frequency of the compressor 102; see figure 5) capable of being output by the air conditioner (see figures 2A-2B and 9-10);
obtaining a frequency of a compressor (102; see figures 5 and 10), wherein the frequency corresponds to the maximum cooling capacity (the maximum cooling capacity corresponding the maximum frequency of the compressor 102), in response to a determination to output the cooling capacity of the air conditioner as the maximum cooling capacity, based on a desired temperature set (the target temperature) in the air conditioner and an indoor temperature (the room temperature; see figure 10); and
controlling the compressor (102), based on the obtained frequency (see step 1007 of figure 10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 12 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 the indication for allowable subject matter:
The primary reference Son fails to disclose the claimed control feature of determining a target suction superheat and adjusting degree of opening of the expansion valve of the air conditioner as required in claims 2 and 12. Also, the prior art of record fails to provide further teachings or motivations to modify the air conditioner of Son in order to arrive the claim invention. Therefore, claims 2 and 12 are allowable.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KUN KAI MA whose telephone number is (571)-270-3530. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jianying Atkisson can be reached on 5712707740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KUN KAI MA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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