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 .
Drawings
Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. Any such petition must be accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h), one set of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or three sets of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if not submitted via the via USPTO patent electronic filing system, and, unless already present, an amendment to include the following language as the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section of the specification:
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
Color photographs will be accepted if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied. See 37 CFR 1.84(b)(2).
The drawings are submitted as other than black and white line drawings and some of them are blurry and hard to read. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-18 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With respect to claim 1, the applicant claims “a controller for controlling an operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; wherein the controller is configured to make a selection between the heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode based on signals of the at least two air temperature sensors”. It is not clear to the examiner how to accomplish said step. What reference point are the readings from the temperature sensor compared to in order to decide which mode to operate. The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation are vague and ill-defined rendering the claim indefinite.
With respect to claims 1-18, the applicant claims and/or. It is not clear to the examiner which combination of claims to consider in order to properly examiner the claims. The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation are vague and ill-defined rendering the claim indefinite. According to the examiner’s best knowledge, the claim limitation will be treated as “or”.
The term “maximal” in claim 2 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “maximal” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
The term “preferably” in claims 1-5, 8-12, and 17-18 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “preferably” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Claims 2-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being dependent on rejected independent claim 1 and for failing to cure the deficiencies listed above.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-10, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al US 2022/0120464 A1 (hence Xu).
In re claim 1, Xu discloses methods and apparatus for calculating, summarizing and displaying HVAC-related information (Abstract) and teaches the following:
A system for air-conditioning (Abstract), comprising:
a) a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system suitable to air condition a building space, wherein the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system has a heating mode in which heating of the building space is effected, a cooling mode in which cooling of the building space is effected, and a fan mode in which no heating and no cooling of the building space is effected and air is circulated within the building space (Fig.1, #102, #104, Paragraph 0002 “Thermostats are used to control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, such as central air conditioners and central heaters”, and Paragraph 0022 “a heating system 102, a cooling system 104”);
b) a building space to be air conditioned by the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system (Fig.1, #100 and Paragraph 0022 “a structure 100”);
c) at least two air temperature sensors situated in different locations in the building space (Fig.1, #106, and Paragraph 0023 “Thermostat 106 comprises a temperature sensor 508 “ and “thermostat may be configured to receive two or more temperature sensor inputs from temperature sensors located in other parts of structure 100”);
d) at least one occupancy sensor for detecting the presence of at least one person in the building space (Fig.1, #128 and Paragraph 0022 “one or more occupancy sensors, shown in FIG. 1 as having three of such sensors 128”);
e) a controller for controlling an operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system (Fig.5, #500 and Paragraph 0050 “processor 500”); wherein the controller is configured to make a selection between the heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode based on signals of the at least two air temperature sensors (Paragraph 0083 “Processor 500 determines which mode to operate under upon receiving a signal from mode control icon or button 216”)
In re claim 2, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system further has i) an active mode in which the heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode are selectable and in which power consumption is allowed to be maximal; and/or ii) an active preconditioning mode in which the heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode are selectable and in which power consumption is only allowed to be lower than maximal; wherein the controller is configured to make a selection between the active mode and active preconditioning mode based on signals of the occupancy sensor, wherein the controller is preferably configured to i) select the active preconditioning mode at a predetermined time period before at least one person enters the building space, wherein the predetermined time period is more preferably determined based on statistical data analysis regarding an occupation of the building space depending on time; and/or ii) select the active mode if at least one person is detected to be present in the building space by the at least one occupancy sensor (Paragraph 0079 “low/no energy consumption, to yellow (increased energy consumption, to orange (still more energy consumption) to red (maximum energy consumption)”)
In re claim 4, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the at least one occupancy sensor is selected from the group consisting of an image sensor, a video camera, a motion sensor, a time of flight sensor, a milli-meter wave sensor, and combinations thereof, wherein the image sensor and/or video camera are optionally suitable to detect electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength in the visible spectrum and/or infrared spectrum of light, preferably electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength range in the range of 400 to 800 nm and/or a wavelength in the range of 5 to 25 μm (Paragraph 0023 “camera”)
In re claim 5, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the building space comprises a) an air exchange device, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, wherein the air exchange device comprises an actor, preferably a motor, that is suitable for opening and closing the air exchange device, wherein the air exchange device is preferably a vent or window (Paragraph 0022 “one entry door 108 and one window 110” and “additionally provides home automation functionality”); and b) at least one air exchange device status sensor for detecting an opening degree of the air exchange device; wherein the controller is configured to i) receive signals from the air exchange device status sensor; and/or ii) control the actor of the air exchange device to adjust its opening degree based on signals of the at least two air temperature sensors and of the at least one occupancy sensor, preferably also based on signals of at least one air humidity sensor of the building space and/or also based on signals of at least one air velocity sensor of the building space (Paragraphs 0050-0052 “door or window sensors”)
In re claim 6, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the building space comprises at least one air humidity sensor (Fig.5, #510, and Paragraph 0055 “Humidity sensor 510”), wherein the controller is configured to i) control the operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on signals of the air humidity sensor; and/or ii) control an opening degree of an air exchange device for opening and closing an air passage between the building space and outdoors of the building space based on signals of the at least one air humidity sensor (Paragraph 0055 “signals to processor 500 in accordance with ambient humidity conditions surrounding thermostat 106”)
In re claim 7, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the building space comprises at least one air velocity sensor (Paragraph 0064 “processor 500 receives current weather conditions and typically stores the current weather conditions in memory 502. Such current weather conditions comprise temperature, barometric pressure, wind direction and/or speed”), wherein the at least one air velocity sensor is optionally located at an indoors side of the building space or located at an outdoors side of the building space, wherein the controller is configured to i) control the operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on signals of the at least one air velocity sensor; and/or ii) control an opening degree of an air exchange device for opening and closing an air passage between the building space and outdoors of the building space based on signals of the at least one air velocity sensor (Paragraphs 0064-0066)
In re claim 8, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to receive weather data (Fig.1, #112 and Paragraph 0030 “weather server 112”) and is configured to control i) the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on received weather data; and/or ii) an actor of an air exchange device of the system, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, to adjust an opening degree of the air exchange device based on received weather data; wherein the weather data preferably includes data selected from the group consisting of outdoors air temperature, outdoors air humidity, outdoors air velocity, forecast outdoors air temperature, forecast outdoors air humidity, forecast outdoors air velocity, and combinations thereof (Paragraphs 0030-0031)
In re claim 9, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to receive data regarding a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space and is configured to control i) the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on the received data regarding a thermal comfort temperature range; and/or ii) an actor of an air exchange device of the system, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, to adjust an opening degree of the air exchange device based on the received data regarding a thermal comfort temperature range; wherein the control unit is preferably configured to determine a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space from the received data based on a thermal comfort prediction model, optionally a predicted mean vote model and/or an adaptive comfort model (Paragraph 0030 “Thermostat 106 may be programmed by a user with information pertaining to the thermostat's location, typically by entry of a city and state, or the location may be determined by the weather server 112 based on an IP address assigned to thermostat 106.”)
In re claim 10, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to set a) a single temperature setpoint for heating to define a heating mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and b) a single temperature setpoint for cooling to define a cooling mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; wherein the controller is more preferably configured to set the i) single temperature setpoint for heating to a lower value than the single temperature setpoint for cooling; and/or ii) single temperature setpoint for cooling to a lower value in an active mode than in an active preconditioning mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and/or iii) single temperature setpoint for heating to a higher value in an active mode than in an active preconditioning mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and/or iv) single temperature setpoints to a different value if a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space, which is preferably determined by the controller based on a thermal comfort prediction model, optionally a predicted mean vote model and/or an adaptive comfort model, has changed (Paragraph 0024 “Thermostat 106 may be programmed with one or more “setpoints” in the form of desired temperatures and times when the desired temperatures should be achieved”)
In re claim 18, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is i) a local controller of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; ii) a remote controller that has a communicative connection, optionally by cable or wireless, to a local controller of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, wherein the remote controller is preferably a cloud controller (Fig.1, #116, #120 and Paragraph 0033)claim 2, Xu teaches the following:
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3 and 11-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu.
In re claim 3, Xu discloses multiple temperature sensors located in other parts of structure 100 (Paragraph 0023), but doesn’t explicitly teach the following:
wherein the at least two air temperature sensors are situated in locations in the building space which are spaced apart at least 30%, preferably at least 40%, more preferably at least 50%, even more preferably at least 60%, especially at least 70%, optionally at least 80%, of a maximum spatial expansion of the building space
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to arrange the temperature sensors as claimed, since applicant has not disclosed that said specific arrangement solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with any placement of the temperature sensor in said structure.
In re claim 11, Xu discloses the setpoints are recited above but doesn’t explicitly teach the following:
wherein the controller is configured to set a) a lower limit temperature setpoint for heating and an upper limit temperature setpoint for heating to define a heating mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and b) a lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling and an upper limit temperature setpoint for cooling to define a cooling mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; wherein the controller is more preferably configured to set the i) temperature setpoints for cooling lower in an active mode than in an active preconditioning mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and/or ii) temperature setpoints for heating higher in an active mode than in an active preconditioning mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system; and/or iii) temperature setpoints to a different value if a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space, which is preferably determined by the controller based on a thermal comfort prediction model, optionally a predicted mean vote model and/or an adaptive comfort model, has changed
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have set the range of the setpoints as claimed, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art, In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
In re claim 12, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to perform a comparison of each of the set temperature setpoints for heating and each of the set temperature setpoints for cooling with a first temperature obtained from a first of the at least two air temperature sensors of the system and with a second temperature obtained from a second of the at least two air temperature sensors of the system, and wherein the controller is configured to control the operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on said comparison, wherein the controller is preferably configured to, based on said comparison, activate or deactivate a heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system or to switch off the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system (Paragraph 0083)
In re claim 13, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to activate i) a heating mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and close an air exchange device of the building space, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, if a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is below the lower limit temperature setpoint for heating; and/or ii) a cooling mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and close an air exchange device of the building space, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, if a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is above the upper limit temperature setpoint for cooling (Paragraph 0083)
In re claim 14, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to deactivate a heating mode and a cooling mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, to close an air exchange device of the building space, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, and to activate a fan mode of the of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, if i) a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or above the lower limit temperature setpoint for heating and is identical to or below the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating, and if a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is above the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating; and/or ii) a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or below the upper limit temperature setpoint for cooling and is identical to or above the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling, and if a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is below the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling (Paragraph 0083)
In re claim 15, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to switch off the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and to close an air exchange device of the building space, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, if i) a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or above the lower limit temperature setpoint for heating and is identical to or below the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating, and if a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or below the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating; and/or ii) a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or lower than the upper limit temperature setpoint for cooling and is identical to or above the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling, and if a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical or above the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling (Paragraph 0083)
In re claim 16, Xu teaches the following:
herein the controller is configured to switch off the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and to open an air exchange device of the building space, which is suitable for exchanging air between the building space and outdoors, if i) a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is above the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating, and if a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is above an outdoors temperature; and/or ii) a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is below the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling, and if a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is below an outdoors temperature (Paragraph 0083)
In re claim 17, Xu teaches the following:
wherein the controller is configured to set the temperature setpoints to new temperature setpoints if i) a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is above the upper limit temperature setpoint for heating, and if a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or below an outdoors temperature, and if a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space, which is preferably determined by the controller based on a thermal comfort prediction model, optionally a predicted mean vote model and/or an adaptive comfort model, has changed; and/or ii) a maximum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is below the lower limit temperature setpoint for cooling, and if a minimum building space temperature obtained from the at least two air temperature sensors is identical to or above an outdoors temperature, and if a thermal comfort temperature range from at least one person in the building space, which is preferably determined by the controller based on a thermal comfort prediction model, optionally a predicted mean vote model and/or an adaptive comfort model, has changed; wherein the controller is preferably configured to perform a comparison of each of the new temperature setpoints for heating and each of the new temperature setpoints for cooling with a first temperature obtained from a first of the at least two air temperature sensors of the system and with a second temperature obtained from a second of the at least two air temperature sensors of the system, and control the operation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system based on said comparison, wherein the controller is preferably configured to, based on said comparison, activate or deactivate a heating mode, cooling mode and fan mode of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system or to deactivate the whole heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system (Paragraph 0083)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gupta et al US 2024/0068694 A1 discloses methods and systems of determining ventilation rates for an HVAC system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAMI KHATIB whose telephone number is (571)270-1165. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00am-5:30pm.
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, Erin M Piateski can be reached at 571-270 7429. 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.
/RAMI KHATIB/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3669
Prosecution Insights