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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-4, in the reply filed on 8/7/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is novelty over the prior art. This is not found persuasive as evidenced in the rejection in claim 1 below.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1/13/2025 was/were in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/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.
Claims 1 and 2 recite “air”. It is unclear if this is “air” (which is a specific substance of oxygen, nitrogen, etc…) or a vapor/gas form of the refrigerant in the vapor compression system. For purposes of examination “air” will be considered - - gas - - .
Claim 1 recites “the bottom of the outdoor heat exchanger”. It is unclear what “bottom” is being referred to because there is a lack of antecedent basis for a “bottom”. For purposes of examination “the bottom of the outdoor heat exchanger” will be considered - - a bottom of the outdoor heat exchanger - - .
Claim(s) 2-4 are rejected to as being dependent from a rejected claim.
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tashiro et al. (US 20200116374) in view of Koda et al. (US 20190056160) and Healy et al. (US 2005120733).
Per claim 1, Tashiro teaches an air-conditioning apparatus comprising:
a compressor (10);
a four-way valve (291) connected to the compressor (10) through a first refrigerant branch (see annotated figure below);
a first control valve (204) arranged on the first refrigerant branch (see annotated figure below);
an indoor heat exchanger (20) connected to the four-way valve (291);
an outdoor heat exchanger (40a) connected to the four-way valve (291);
a second refrigerant branch (see annotated figure below) connected in parallel to the first refrigerant branch (see annotated figure below);
a second control valve (202) and a hot-gas bypass pipe (40b),
wherein the second control valve (202) and the hot-gas bypass pipe (40b) are arranged on the second refrigerant branch (see annotated figure below) but fails to explicitly teach the second control valve and the hot-gas bypass pipe located at a bottom of the outdoor heat exchanger and
a flash evaporator, having a first refrigerant port connected to the outdoor heat exchanger, a second refrigerant port connected to the indoor heat exchanger, and a gas outlet connected to the compressor.
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Regarding the location of the second control valve and the hot-gas bypass pipe, Koda teaches an air conditioning system wherein a second control valve (4) and hot-gas bypass pipe (6a) is located at a bottom of an outdoor heat exchanger (3a) (“the bypass 6a is provided to extend through the lower part of the heat-source-side heat exchanger 3a”, para. 0031) for improved defrosting efficiency (para. 0007). Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a second control valve and a hot-gas bypass pipe located at a bottom of an outdoor heat exchanger, as taught by Koda in the invention of Tashiro, in order to advantageously improve defrosting efficiency (para. 0007).
Regarding the flash evaporator, Healy teaches a cooling system including a flash evaporator (56e), having a first refrigerant port (60a) connected to an outdoor heat exchanger (24), a second refrigerant port (64) connected to an indoor heat exchanger (26), and a gas outlet (62) connected to a compressor (28e) for improved system efficiency (para. 0033). Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to provide a flash evaporator, having a first refrigerant port connected to an outdoor heat exchanger, a second refrigerant port connected to an indoor heat exchanger, and a gas outlet connected to a compressor, as taught by Healy in the combined teachings, in order to advantageously improve system efficiency (para. 0033).
Per claim 2, Tashiro, as modified, meets the claim limitations as disclosed in the above rejection of claim 1. Further, Tashiro, as modified, fails to explicitly teach wherein the gas outlet of the flash evaporator is connected to the compressor through a third control valve.
However, Healy teaches a cooling system wherein a gas outlet (62) of a flash evaporator (56e) is connected to a compressor (28e) through a third control valve (“a solenoid valve”, para. 0033) for improved system efficiency (para. 0033). Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have a gas outlet of a flash evaporator be connected to a compressor through a third control valve, as taught by Healy in the invention of Tashiro, as modified, in order to advantageously improve system efficiency (para. 0033).
Per claim 3, Tashiro, as modified, meets the claim limitations as disclosed in the above rejection of claim 1. Further, Tashiro, as modified, fails to explicitly teach wherein a capillary component is arranged between the first refrigerant port and the outdoor heat exchanger.
However, Healy teaches a cooling system wherein a capillary component (170) is arranged between a first refrigerant port (60a) and an outdoor heat exchanger (24) for improved system efficiency (para. 0033). Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have a capillary component arranged between a first refrigerant port and an outdoor heat exchanger, as taught by Healy in the invention of Tashiro, as modified, in order to advantageously improve system efficiency (para. 0033).
Per claim 4, Tashiro, as modified, meets the claim limitations as disclosed in the above rejection of claim 1. Further, Tashiro, as modified, fails to explicitly teach wherein an expansion valve is arranged between the second refrigerant port and the indoor heat exchanger.
However, Healy teaches a cooling system wherein an expansion valve (176) is arranged between a second refrigerant port (64) and an indoor heat exchanger (26) for improved system efficiency (para. 0033). Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have an expansion valve arranged between a second refrigerant port and an indoor heat exchanger, as taught by Healy in the invention of Tashiro, as modified, in order to advantageously improve system efficiency (para. 0033).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Hollister et al. (US 202310003331) teaches a flash evaporator.
Lammert (US 5050400) teaches a hot-gas pipe at a lower end of an outdoor heat exchanger.
Kapeker (US 3071935) teaches a hot-gas pipe bypass at a lower end of an outdoor heat exchanger.
Xie et al. (US 20220048366) teaches a hot-gas pipe bypass at a lower end of an outdoor heat exchanger.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID J TEITELBAUM whose telephone number is (571)270-5142. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FRANTZ JULES can be reached on (571) 272-66816681. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID J TEITELBAUM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
