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 Objections
Claims 1, 12, and 21 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1, 12, and 21, lines 3 and 5 the word, “position” should be replaced with the word, “positioned”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR20190088884 to Won, hereinafter referred to as Won, (see English language translation provided herewith).
In reference to claim 1, Won discloses the claimed invention including:
An air conditioning unit (see figure 5) for use in an opening of a building, the air conditioning unit comprising:
an indoor portion (110) configured to be positioned within an internal portion of the building and having an indoor heat exchanging coil (141);
an outdoor portion (142) configured to be position about an external portion of the building and having an outdoor heat exchanging coil (180); and
a water dispensing mechanism (430) comprising a nozzle (see page 10) configured to externally disperse condensate from within the outdoor portion (see figure 5 and 7).
In reference to claim 2, Won discloses the claimed invention including:
the outdoor portion comprises a fan (5) configured to provide external airflow out of the outdoor portion (inferred from the drawings of figures 5 and 7), and
wherein the nozzle is configured to spray the condensate such that the fan disperses the condensate in the external airflow out of the outdoor portion.
In reference to claim 3, Won discloses the claimed invention including:
the nozzle (at 430) is disposed about the outdoor heat exchanging coil (180), see figures 5 and 7.
In reference to claim 5, Won discloses the claimed invention including:
the outdoor portion includes a catch (222) configured to collect the condensate, and
wherein the water dispensing mechanism comprises a pump (451) configured to pump the condensate to the nozzle (430), see figure 5.
In reference to claim 11, Won discloses the claimed invention including:
the water dispensing mechanism (430) is disposed within the outdoor portion (142).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 4,884,416 to Hwang hereinafter referred to as Hwang.
In reference to claim 21, Hwang discloses the claimed invention including:
An air conditioning unit (1) for use in an opening of a building (w), the air conditioning unit comprising:
an indoor portion (11) configured to be positioned within an internal portion of the building and having an indoor heat exchanging coil (15); and
an outdoor portion (12) configured to be positioned about an external portion of the building and having an outdoor heat exchanging coil (17),
wherein the outdoor portion comprises an air inlet (121) comprising downward facing louvers (see figure 3) configured to prevent ingress of debris into the outdoor portion, and
wherein an interior of the outdoor portion comprises a filter (6) disposed about the downward facing louvers (21), see figure 1.
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.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Won in view of US 2004/0168461 to Park et al., hereinafter referred to as Park.
In reference to claim 4, Won and Park disclose the claimed invention.
Won fails to disclose the fan comprises a slinging ring. However, Park teaches that in the art of air conditioners, that the use of a fan slinger is known to improve the cooling efficiency of the unit [0095]. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Won by Park such that the fan comprises a slinging ring, since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of improving the cooling efficiency.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Won in view of US 5,461,880 to Bolton et al., hereinafter referred to as Bolton.
In reference to claim 8, Won and Bolton disclose the claimed invention.
Won fails to disclose the outdoor portion comprises downward facing louvers configured to prevent ingress of debris into the outdoor portion. However, Bolton teaches that providing an outdoor portion of an air conditioning unit with downward facing louvers (38) is known, see figure 1. This is strong evidence that modifying Won as claimed would produce predictable results (i.e., direct warm air exiting the outside section downwardly and away from the air intake to prevent short cycling), see column 4 lies 38-43. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Won by Bolton such that the outdoor portion comprises downward facing louvers configured to prevent ingress of debris into the outdoor portion, since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of directing warm air exiting the outside section downwardly an away from the air intake to prevent short cycling.
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Won in view of CN108800347 to Guo, hereinafter referred to as Guo, (see English language translation provided herewith).
In reference to claim 10, Won and Guo disclose the claimed invention.
Won fails to disclose the nozzle comprises an atomizer. However, Guo teaches that generating atomized water through spray nozzles, then by spraying to the condenser surface, the evaporating and cooling, effectively improves the working environment of the condenser, improves the operation efficiency of the air conditioner, and reduce energy consumption model structure, see abstract. This is strong evidence that modifying Won as claimed would produce predictable results. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Won by Guo such that the nozzle comprises an atomizer in order to effectively improve the working environment of the condenser, improve the operation efficiency of the air conditioner, and reduce energy consumption model structure.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 7 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.
Claims 12-20 are allowed.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record, when considered as a whole, alone or in combination fails to teach nor render obvious the particular combination of the instant claims including: the water dispensing mechanism comprises a heat source and a fan, and wherein the heat source is configured to heat air that the fan blows about the condensate in the base pan as required by instant claims 6 and 12. Won, teaches many of the features of claims 1 and 12 as outlined in the rejection of claim 1 supra, but fails to disclose the water dispensing mechanism comprises a heat source and a fan, and wherein the heat source is configured to heat air that the fan blows about the condensate in the base pan. Without some teaching, suggestion, or motivation, one skilled in the art would not be motivated to modify the base reference as claimed without improper hindsight reasoning.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASSEY D BAUER whose telephone number is (571)270-7113. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs: 10AM-8PM (ET).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Frantz Jules can be reached at 571-272-6681. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CASSEY D BAUER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/FRANTZ F JULES/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights