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 .
Status of Application
Claims 1-7 are pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits. The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) filed on 10/22/2024 & 08/20/2025 have been considered by the Examiner.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
(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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US Patent Number 7,878,586 B2 to Kneller.
A) As per Claim 1, Kneller teaches a method comprising:
sensing a passenger condition in an interior space (Kneller: Col. 5, line 58 – Col. 6, line 16); and
adjusting airflow into the interior space based on the sensed passenger health condition and/or occupancy (Kneller: Col. 5, lines 49-57).
B) As per Claim 2, Kneller teaches that adjusting airflow includes changing an airflow circulation pattern based on the sensed passenger health condition and/or occupancy (Kneller: Col. 5, lines 49-57).
C) As per Claim 3, Kneller teaches that adjusting airflow includes opening and/or closing a valve in a respective duct to increase and/or decrease flow to a respective passenger unit based on the sensed passenger health condition and/or occupancy (Kneller: Col. 5, lines 49-57, valve is gasper valve).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kneller in view of US Patent Publication Number 2021/0107662 A1 to Quartarone.
A) As per Claim 5, Kneller teaches all the limitations except includes at least one of: imaging the interior space at a first time, imaging the space at a second time, and comparing the images to determine an occupancy; and/or sensing a weight distribution of passengers within the interior space to determine an occupancy.
However, Quartarone teaches sensing a weight distribution of passengers within the interior space to determine an occupancy (Quartarone: Paragraph 0065).
At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the teachings of Kneller by adding a weight sensor, as taught by Quartarone, with a reasonable expectation of success of arriving at the claimed invention. At the time the invention was effectively filed, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified Kneller with these aforementioned teachings of Quartarone with the motivation of only controlling the system when an occupant is present, thereby saving energy.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 & 6-7 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLEN SCHULT whose telephone number is (571)272-8511. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, HELENA KOSANOVIC can be reached at 571-272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Allen R. B. Schult/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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