Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/888,611

AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS, METHOD AND DEVICE FOR OPERATING AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 18, 2024
Priority
Sep 20, 2023 — CN 202311223575.5
Examiner
ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ, CARLOS R
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Midea Group Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 0m
Est. Remaining
88%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
560 granted / 730 resolved
+16.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+10.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 1m
Avg Prosecution
20 currently pending
Career history
770
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.3%
-32.7% vs TC avg
§103
38.6%
-1.4% vs TC avg
§102
32.4%
-7.6% vs TC avg
§112
18.5%
-21.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 730 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-20 are pending. 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 § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mueller et al., US Patent No. 7,775,454 (hereinafter Mueller). Regarding claims 1-20, Mueller discloses all the claimed limitations, as outlined below: 1. A method for operating an air conditioning apparatus comprising: receiving a start signal transmitted by a controller; determining a correction value based on a current indoor temperature and a historical indoor temperature, the current indoor temperature being an indoor temperature at where the air conditioning apparatus is currently located, and the historical indoor temperature being an indoor temperature when the air conditioning apparatus last received a shutdown signal transmitted by the controller; correcting the current indoor temperature using the correction value to obtain a corrected temperature value; and controlling the air conditioning apparatus to operate using the corrected temperature value as an operating temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the correction value includes: calculating an initial correction value based on a difference between the current indoor temperature and the historical indoor temperature; in response to the initial correction value being smaller than a correction limit value, determining the initial correction value as the correction value, the correction limit value being determined based on a geographical area where the air conditioning apparatus is located; and in response to the initial correction value being larger than or equal to the correction limit value, determining the correction limit value as the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein correcting the current indoor temperature includes: in response to the air conditioning apparatus being currently in a cooling mode, performing temperature reduction correction on the current indoor temperature using the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein correcting the current indoor temperature includes: in response to the air conditioning apparatus being currently in a heating mode, performing temperature rise correction on the current indoor temperature using the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the correction value is a first correction value and the corrected temperature is a first corrected temperature; the method further comprising: detecting that the air condition apparatus has operated using the first corrected temperature value as the operating temperature for a preset duration; receiving a temperature adjustment signal transmitted by the controller and obtaining a second correction value associated with the air conditioning apparatus; and correcting the first corrected temperature value using the second correction value to obtain a second corrected temperature value; and controlling the air conditioning apparatus to operate using the second corrected temperature value as the operating temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein receiving the temperature adjustment signal and obtaining the second correction value includes: detecting that the air conditioning apparatus is currently in a cooling mode, receiving a cooling signal transmitted by the controller for reducing the indoor temperature, and obtaining the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein receiving the cooling signal and obtaining the second correction value includes: monitoring whether the cooling signal is received while the start signal is continuously received; and detecting that the start signal and the cooling signal are continuously received simultaneously, and obtaining the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: in response to determining that the cooling signal is continuously received, performing temperature reduction correction on the operating temperature using the second correction value every other preset period of time (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein receiving the temperature adjustment signal and obtaining the second correction value includes: detecting that the air conditioning apparatus is currently in a heating mode, receiving a heating signal transmitted by the controller for raising the indoor temperature, and obtaining the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein receiving the heating signal and obtaining the second correction value includes: detecting that the heating signal corresponds to a signal indicating that a heating power exceeds a preset power, and obtaining the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: in response to determining that the heating signal is continuously received, performing temperature rise correction on the operating temperature using the second correction value every other preset period of time (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a shutdown signal transmitted by the controller and determining the current indoor temperature value as the historical indoor temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 13. An air conditioning apparatus comprising: a memory storing executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions to: receive a start signal transmitted by a controller; determine a correction value based on a current indoor temperature and a historical indoor temperature, the current indoor temperature being an indoor temperature at where the air conditioning apparatus is currently located, and the historical indoor temperature being an indoor temperature when the air conditioning apparatus last received a shutdown signal transmitted by the controller; correct the current indoor temperature using the correction value to obtain a corrected temperature value; and control the air conditioning apparatus to operate using the corrected temperature value as an operating temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 14. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to, when determining the correction value: calculate an initial correction value based on a difference between the current indoor temperature and the historical indoor temperature; in response to the initial correction value being smaller than a correction limit value, determine the initial correction value as the correction value, the correction limit value being determined based on a geographical area where the air conditioning apparatus is located; and in response to the initial correction value being larger than or equal to the correction limit value, determine the correction limit value as the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 15. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to, when correcting the current indoor temperature: in response to the air conditioning apparatus being currently in a cooling mode, perform temperature reduction correction on the current indoor temperature using the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 16. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to, when correcting the current indoor temperature: in response to the air conditioning apparatus being currently in a heating mode, perform temperature rise correction on the current indoor temperature using the correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 17. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: the correction value is a first correction value and the corrected temperature is a first corrected temperature; and the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to: detect that the air condition apparatus has operated using the first corrected temperature value as the operating temperature for a preset duration; receive a temperature adjustment signal transmitted by the controller and obtain a second correction value associated with the air conditioning apparatus; and correct the first corrected temperature value using the second correction value to obtain a second corrected temperature value; and control the air conditioning apparatus to operate using the second corrected temperature value as the operating temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 18. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to, when receiving the temperature adjustment signal and obtaining the second correction value: detect that the air conditioning apparatus is currently in a cooling mode, receive a cooling signal transmitted by the controller for reducing the indoor temperature, and obtain the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 19. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the executable instructions to, when receiving the temperature adjustment signal and obtaining the second correction value: detect that the air conditioning apparatus is currently in a heating mode, receive a heating signal transmitted by the controller for raising the indoor temperature, and obtain the second correction value (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). 20. A non-transitory computing device readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to: receive a start signal transmitted by a controller; determine a correction value based on a current indoor temperature and a historical indoor temperature, the current indoor temperature being an indoor temperature at where an air conditioning apparatus is currently located, and the historical indoor temperature being an indoor temperature when the air conditioning apparatus last received a shutdown signal transmitted by the controller; correct the current indoor temperature using the correction value to obtain a corrected temperature value; and control the air conditioning apparatus to operate using the corrected temperature value as an operating temperature (C2 L46-67 and C3 L1-27 - - utilizing the “Hold” temperature mode and utilizing two or more programmed set-point temperature settings that correspond to specific time periods of operation). Citation of Pertinent Prior Art The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Wedekind et al., US Patent No. 5,197,666 – relates to methos and apparatus for estimation of thermal parameter for climate control. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-3766. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 10:00 am- 6:30 pm. 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, Mohammad Ali can be reached on 571-272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CARLOS R ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
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Prosecution Timeline

Sep 18, 2024
Application Filed
Aug 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
88%
With Interview (+10.9%)
3y 1m (~1y 0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 730 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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