CTNF 18/931,860 CTNF 88814 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/02/2025 and 10/30/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC §112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 AIA Claim s 1-15 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 1 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 20 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 2 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 7 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 3 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 12 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 4 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 16 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 5 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 7 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 6 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 14 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 7 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 1 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 8 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 7 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 9 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 16 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 10 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 4 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 19 of claim 1. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim 11 calls for the limitation “at least one processor” in line 1 of page 6 which is confusing as it is unclear how it relates to the previous recitation of “at least one processor” above in line 17 of page 5. For examination purposes, the limitation is being considered as -- the at least one processor --. Claim Rejections - 35 USC §103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 r ejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-20-aia AIA 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 depends on may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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. 07-21-fti Claim s 1-2 and 11 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 2022-0178575) in view of Kim (KR 2022-0126121A) . In regards to claim 1 , LEE discloses a ventilation system (100; Fig. 1), comprising: a housing (101) including a first inlet (101a) configured to draw outdoor air (outdoor air) into the housing (101), a second inlet (101c) configured to draw room air (indoor air) into the housing (101), a first outlet (101b) configured to discharge the outdoor air into an indoor space (refer to par. 43), and a second outlet (101d) configured to discharge room air to an outdoor space (refer to par. 43) ; a total heat exchanger (110) configured to perform heat exchange between the outdoor air and the room air (refer to par. 46) ; a first heat exchanger (120) ; a second heat exchanger (130) disposed between the first inlet (101a) and the first heat exchanger (120); a compressor (210) configured to supply a refrigerant to the first heat exchanger (120) and the second heat exchanger (130); a four-way valve (222) configured to switch a flow direction of the refrigerant; a first expansion device (160) comprising a valve (electronic expansion valve (EEV) 161) disposed at an inlet of the first heat exchanger (120) to expand the refrigerant; a second expansion device (170) comprising a valve (a solenoid valve 171; par. 56) disposed between the first heat exchanger (120) and the second heat exchanger (130) to expand the refrigerant; and at least one processor (190), comprising processing circuitry, wherein at least one processor (190) is configured to: determine an operation mode of the ventilation system, based on a first humidity of the outdoor air and a second humidity of the room air (via an indoor humidity sensor 150) detected by a humidity sensor (150), and a first temperature of the outdoor air (via a discharge temperature sensor 141) and a second temperature of the room air (via an indoor temperature sensor 140) detected by a temperature sensor (140/141), and control the compressor (210), the four-way valve (200), the first expansion device (160), and the second expansion device (170) based on the operation mode of the ventilation system (refer to pars. 159). LEE fails to explicitly teach the first heat exchanger is provided between the first inlet port and an enthalpy exchanger. Kim teaches a heat exchanger wherein a fourth heat exchanger module (3240) disposed between an outdoor inlet port (1200) and an enthalpy exchanger module (2000). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Bauer such that the first heat exchanger is provided between the first inlet port and an enthalpy exchanger as taught by Kim in order to control based on temperature uniformity of the indoor space (refer to par. 36 of Kim). In regards to claim 2 , LEE meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 1. Further, LEE teaches wherein at least one processor (190) is configured to: determine, as the operation mode of the ventilation system, a first mode (second dehumidification mode) for drying and cooling (cooled and dehumidified; par. 49) the outdoor air, a second mode for drying and heating the outdoor air, a third mode for heating the outdoor air (heated, cooled and dehumidified; par. 49), or a fourth mode for stopping an operation of the compressor (turning off the compressor 210; par. 159). In regards to claim 11 , LEE discloses a method for controlling a ventilation system (100; Fig. 1) comprising a total heat exchanger (110) configured to perform heat exchange between outdoor air drawn in through a first inlet (101a) of a housing (101) and room air drawn in through a second inlet (101c) of the housing (101), and a first heat exchanger (120) and a second heat exchanger (130) ; the method comprising: detecting, by a humidity sensor (humidity sensor 150) , a first humidity of the outdoor air and a second humidity (via an indoor humidity sensor 150) of the room air; detecting, by a temperature sensor, a first temperature (via a discharge temperature sensor 141) of the outdoor air and a second temperature (via an indoor temperature sensor 140) of the room air; determining, by at least one processor (190), an operation mode of the ventilation system, based on the first humidity of the outdoor air, the second humidity (via an indoor humidity sensor 150) of the room air, the first temperature (via a discharge temperature sensor 141) of the outdoor air, and the second temperature (via an indoor temperature sensor 140) of the room air (refer to pars. 159) ; and controlling, by at least one processor (190), a compressor (210) configured to supply a refrigerant to the first heat exchanger (120) and the second heat exchanger (130), a four-way valve (222) configured to switch a flow direction of the refrigerant (Fig. 7), a first expansion device (160) disposed at an inlet of the first heat exchanger (120) to expand the refrigerant (Fig. 7), and a second expansion device (170) disposed between the first heat exchanger (120) and the second heat exchanger (130), based on the operation mode of the ventilation system (Fig. 7) . LEE fails to explicitly teach the first heat exchanger is provided between the first inlet port and an enthalpy exchanger. Kim teaches a heat exchanger wherein a fourth heat exchanger module (3240) disposed between an outdoor inlet port (1200) and an enthalpy exchanger module (2000). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of LEE such that the first heat exchanger is provided between the first inlet port and an enthalpy exchanger as taught by Kim in order to control based on temperature uniformity of the indoor space (refer to par. 36 of Kim) . . 07-21-fti Claim s 9-10 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 2022-0178575) in view of Kim (KR 2022-0126121A, see attached translation), further in view of SHIN et al. (US 2022/0154965 A1) . In regards to claim 9 , LEE meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 2, but fails to explicitly teach further comprising: a damper disposed between the first inlet and the first outlet and configured to open or close a bypass flow path configured to bypass the total heat exchanger, wherein at least one processor is configured to control the ventilation system to open the damper to open the bypass flow path during an operation of the ventilation system in the first mode. SHIN teaches a ventilation system and a method (Figs. 7A and 7B) further comprising: a damper (420) disposed between the first inlet (outdoor air OA inlet Fig. 7B) and the first outlet (indoor air SA outlet Fig. 7B) and configured to open or close a bypass flow path (without passing through the total heat exchanger 410; par. 114) configured to bypass the total heat exchanger (410), wherein at least one processor (controller 50) is configured to control the ventilation system to open the damper (410) to open the bypass flow path (as can be seen in Fig. 7B) during an operation of the ventilation system in the first mode (refer to pars. 110-111 and 114) . It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of LEE such that further comprising: a damper disposed between the first inlet and the first outlet and configured to open or close a bypass flow path configured to bypass the total heat exchanger, wherein at least one processor is configured to control the ventilation system to open the damper to open the bypass flow path during an operation of the ventilation system in the first mode as taught by SHIN in order to achieve indoor comfort of the entire space (refer to par. 116 of SHIN). In regards to claim 10 , LEE meets the claim limitations as disclosed above in the rejection of claim 9. Further, Kim teaches further comprising: a heat exchange temperature sensor (sensor module 4000; Fig. 4) disposed between the first heat exchanger (first heat exchange module 3210) and the total heat exchanger (heat exchange module 2000), and configured to detect a temperature of air passing through the first heat exchanger (3210) and the second heat exchanger (second heat exchange module 3220; par. 118) , Kim further teaches wherein at least one processor (50) is configured to control the ventilation system to open the damper (1510) based on the second temperature of the room air being higher than a third temperature detected by the heat exchange temperature sensor in the first mode (refer to par. 278). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of LEE such that further comprising: a heat exchange temperature sensor disposed between the first heat exchanger and the total heat exchanger , and configured to detect a temperature of air passing through the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, Kim further teaches wherein at least one processor is configured to control the ventilation system to open the damper based on the second temperature of the room air being higher than a third temperature detected by the heat exchange temperature sensor in the first mode as taught by Kim in order to allowing the air conditioning function of the heat exchanger to be controlled (refer to par. 278 of Kim). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-8 and 12-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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 MARTHA TADESSE whose telephone number is (571)272-0590. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:30am-5:00pm EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Frantz Jules can be reached on 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 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. /M.T/ Examiner, Art Unit 3763 /FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 2 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 3 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 4 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 5 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 6 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 7 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 8 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 9 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 10 Art Unit: 3763 Application/Control Number: 18/931,860 Page 11 Art Unit: 3763
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