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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This action is in response to the amendment filed July 27, 2026.
3. Claims 15 and 28 have been amended.
4. Claims 15-31 have been examined and are pending with this action.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant's arguments filed July 27, 2026 with respect to the rejection of claims 15-31, previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) & 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hadzidedic et al. (US 2010/010684 A1), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Litichever et al. (US 2019/0385057 A1), herein referenced Litichever. Litichever has been cited to explicitly teach the newly amended limitations. Please see rejections below.
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.
6. Claims 15-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hadzidedic et al. (US 2010/010684 A1) in view of Litichever et al. (US 2019/0385057 A1).
INDEPENDENT:
As per claim 15, Hadzidedic teaches a method comprising:
performing, by a controller of a refrigeration system, an initialization procedure including executing an initialization process (see Hadzidedic, [0085]: “In various embodiments, initialization of the system 100 includes a commissioning operation in a commissioning state in which the various devices 410 in the subnet are assigned credentials to operate on the subnet.”; and [0120]: “In a step 1610, the system 100 assigns to each UI 240 during a system initialization process a unique address, referred to herein as a UIID.”) which comprises:
providing a prompt signal on a dedicated channel (see Hadzidedic, FIG. 2; [0034]: “The data bus 180 in some embodiments is implemented using the Bosch CAN (Controller Area Network) specification, revision 2, and may be synonymously referred to herein as a residential serial bus (RSBus) 180. The data bus 180 provides communication between or among the aforementioned elements of the network 200.”; [0054]: “Communication between the devices 410 is generally governed by a communication protocol. An example of a suitable protocol is provided by the Bosch CAN network as defined by the Bosch CAN2.0B standard. While it is recognized that any suitable communications standard is contemplated by the disclosure, this description refers without limitation to various example embodiments using the Bosch CAN standard.”; and [0080]: “In some cases, the device 410 may provide textual information to a user in the form of informational, alert and/or alarm strings. Such functionality may be provided, e.g., by the UI 240, but a display may be included on any device 410 as desired.”);
monitoring a CAN bus for a response signal from at least one remote device (see Hadzidedic, [0006]: “The local controller is further configured to send to the first system device, in response to the determining, a message via the data bus updating the specified parameter with the modified value.”; [0034]: “The data bus 180 in some embodiments is implemented using the Bosch CAN (Controller Area Network) specification, revision 2, and may be synonymously referred to herein as a residential serial bus (RSBus) 180. The data bus 180 provides communication between or among the aforementioned elements of the network 200.”; and [0080]: “In some cases, the device 410 may provide textual information to a user in the form of informational, alert and/or alarm strings. Such functionality may be provided, e.g., by the UI 240, but a display may be included on any device 410 as desired.”; and [0035]: “The aSC 230a is responsible for configuring and monitoring the system 100 and for implementation of heating, cooling, humidification, dehumidification, air quality, ventilation or any other functional algorithms therein.”);
detecting on the CAN bus the response signal from at least one remote device (see Hadzidedic, Abstract: “The subnet controller is further configured to send to said first system device, in response to said determining, a message updating said specified parameter with said modified value.”; [0006]: “The local controller is configured to receive messages via the data bus from a first and a second system device, and to determine from the received messages that an initial value of a specified dependent parameter supplied to the first system device by the second system device has been changed to a modified value after the first system device receives the initial value. The local controller is further configured to send to the first system device, in response to the determining, a message via the data bus updating the specified parameter with the modified value.”; and [0045]: “The microprocessor or state machine in the functional block 350 may operate to perform any task for which the device 410 is responsible, including, without limitation, sending and responding to messages via the data bus 180, controlling a motor or actuator, or performing calculations.”); and
assigning a network address to the at least one remote device upon detecting on the CAN bus the response signal from the remote device (see Hadzidedic, [0055]: “However, in various embodiments the SC 230 controls HVAC functionality, stores configurations, and assigns addresses during system auto configuration, e.g.”; [0120]: “In a step 1610, the system 100 assigns to each UI 240 during a system initialization process a unique address, referred to herein as a UIID.”; and [0125]: “When the UI and the CS are not physically located in the same enclosure, the system 100 may assign during subnet startup a unique address and ID to each UI and CS.”).
Hadzidedic does not explicitly teach the dedicated channel being separate from the CAN bus.
Litichever teaches teach the dedicated channel being separate from the CAN bus (see Litichever, [0040]: “A network timing, strobing, synchronization, or clocking information may be carried as a separate signal (e.g., clock signal) over a dedicated channel, such as separate and dedicated wired in a cable, or alternatively may use embedded clocking (a.k.a. self-clocking), where the timing information is encoded with the data signal, commonly used in line codes such as Manchester code, where the clock information occurs at the transition points.”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Hadzidedic in view of Litichever so that the dedicated channel being separate from the CAN bus. One would be motivated to do so because it is well-known, routine, and conventional for dedicated channels to implemented such that important signals can quickly, predictably, or independently delivered from ordinary data traffic.
As per claim 28, Hadzidedic and Litichever teach a refrigeration system comprising:
a controller configured to perform an initialization procedure including executing an initialization process (see Claim 15 rejection above) which includes:
providing a prompt signal on a dedicated channel, the dedicated channel being separate from the CAN bus (see Claim 15 rejection above);
monitoring a CAN bus for a response signal from at least one remote device (see Claim 15 rejection above); and
assigning a network address to the at least one remote device if a response signal from the remote device is detected on the CAN bus (see Claim 15 rejection above).
DEPENDENT:
As per claims 16 and 29, which respectively depend on claims 15 and 28, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the initialization process comprises generating an alert when the response signal from the at least one remote device on the CAN bus is not detected (see Hadzidedic, [0047]: “FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the PLI 310. The PLI 310 includes a CAN-enabled microcontroller 510, a CAN transceiver 520, and a termination and protection circuit 530. The transceiver 520 constantly monitors the RSbus 180, including during the transmission of its own messages. In many cases, this ability of the transceiver 520 to monitor itself is advantageous to determining a corrective action taken by the device 410 when arbitration is lost during a message arbitration phase of bus communication, or when an error condition occurs.”; and [0080]: “In some cases, the device 410 may provide textual information to a user in the form of informational, alert and/or alarm strings.”).
As per claim 17, which depends on claim 1, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the at least one remote device is associated with an evaporator configured for heat exchange with a climate-controlled zone (see Hadzidedic, [0003]: “Climate control systems, also referred to as HVAC systems (the two terms will be used herein interchangeably), are employed to regulate the temperature, humidity and air quality of premises, such as a residence, office, store, warehouse, vehicle, trailer, or commercial or entertainment venue. The most basic climate control systems either move air (typically by means of an air handler having a fan or blower), heat air (typically by means of a furnace) or cool air (typically by means of a compressor-driven refrigerant loop).”; and [0087]: “Generally, it is also desirable to limit the system 100 to include only one outdoor unit per subnet, e.g., the condenser coils/compressor 140, unless a twinning kit is used. Thus, e.g., a system 100 operating with a single subnet may be configured to exclude a configuration that includes a separate air conditioner and a heat pump/air conditioner. The aSC 230a may be configured to register only one of these devices on the subnet, and to optionally do so in the following order: heat pump/air conditioner, stand-alone air conditioner, and dual-fuel interface module.”).
As per claim 18, which depends on claim 1, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the initialization process comprises:
detecting on the CAN bus response signals from a plurality of remote devices (see Claim 1 rejection above);
upon detecting on the CAN bus response signals from the plurality of remote devices, distinguishing between a plurality of remote devices based on a difference between the respective response signals (see Hadzidedic, [0101]: “In the state 1350, the subnet controllers of a plurality of subnets may link the subnets for proper operation. The state diagram 1300 advances from the state 1350 to a normal operation state 1360. In the state 1360, the device 410 operates normally to, e.g., actively control the temperature of the premises in which the system 100 is installed. It is expected that the system 100 will operate in the state 1360 for the vast majority of its operating life.”; and [0103]: “the active subnet controller, e.g., the aSC 230a, may direct all devices 410 via bus messages to publish current values of some or all of their locally stored parameters. The publishing may include an indication of whether the queried device 410 is enabled or disabled. The queries may be generated sequentially, once per queried parameter, and may result in a separate response from the queried device 410 to each query.”); and
assigning a network address to each remote device (see Claim 1 rejection above).
As per claim 19, which depends on claim 18, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein each of the plurality of remote devices is associated with a respective evaporator configured for heat exchange with the same climate-controlled zone (see Claim 17 rejection above).
As per claim 20, which depends on claim 19, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein distinguishing between the plurality of remote devices includes identifying one of the plurality of remote devices as being associated with a primary evaporator of the climate-controlled zone (see Hadzidedic, [0026]: “The communication allows identity, capability, status and operational data to be shared among the components.”; and [0074]: “Each device 410 may be configured to store various data in its NVM 320, including without limitation: parameter values pertaining to that particular device 410; relevant parameters pertaining to features or parameters of other devices 410 on the subnet; a value uniquely identifying the device 410 on the subnet (subnet ID); and a value identifying the equipment type of the device 410.”).
As per claims 21 and 30, which respectively depend on claims 15 and 28, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein performing the initialization procedure includes executing an additional initialization process after executing the initialization process, and wherein the additional initialization process comprises:
providing an additional prompt signal on an additional dedicated channel (see Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step); and
monitoring the CAN bus for an additional response signal from at least one additional remote device (see Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step).
As per claim 22, which depends on claim 21, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the additional initialization process comprises:
detecting on the CAN bus an additional response signal from the additional remote device (see Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step); and
upon detecting on the CAN bust the additional response signal from the additional remote device, assigning a network address to the at least one additional remote device (see Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step).
As per claim 23, which depends on claim 22, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the additional initialization process comprises:
detecting on the CAN bus additional response signals from a plurality of additional remote devices (see Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step);
upon the CAN bus detecting the additional response signals from the plurality of additional remote devices, distinguishing between the plurality of additional remote devices based on a difference between the respective additional response signals (see Claim 18 rejection above); and
assigning a network address to each additional remote device (Claim 1 rejection above, NOTE: repeating previously taught steps does not functionally distinguish the limitation nor add an inventive step).
As per claims 24 and 31, which respectively depend on claims 21 and 30, Hadzidedic further teaches wherein the additional initialization process comprises: terminating performance of the initialization procedure when an additional response signal from an additional remote device is not detected on the CAN bus (see Hadzidedic, [0047]: “FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the PLI 310. The PLI 310 includes a CAN-enabled microcontroller 510, a CAN transceiver 520, and a termination and protection circuit 530. The transceiver 520 constantly monitors the RSbus 180, including during the transmission of its own messages. In many cases, this ability of the transceiver 520 to monitor itself is advantageous to determining a corrective action taken by the device 410 when arbitration is lost during a message arbitration phase of bus communication, or when an error condition occurs.”).
As per claim 25, which depends on claim 15, Hadzidedic teaches further comprising:
assigning at least one network address during the initialization procedure (see Claim 1 rejection above); and
upon assigning the at least one network address during the initialization procedure, performing, by the controller of the refrigeration system, a run procedure, the run procedure including controlling the refrigeration system using the at least one network address (see Hadzidedic, [0101]: “The state diagram 1300 advances from the reset state 1310 to a subnet startup state 1320.”).
As per claim 26, which depends on claim 15, Hadzidedic further teaches a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method (see Hadzidedic, [0038]: “The functional block 350 may include one or more of various components, including without limitation a microprocessor, a state machine, volatile and nonvolatile memory, a power transistor, a monochrome or color display, a touch panel, a button, a keypad and a backup battery. The local controller 290 may be associated with a demand unit 155, and may provide control thereof via the functional block 350, e.g.”).
As per claim 27, Hadzidedic further teaches a computer-readable medium having stored thereon the computer program of claim 26 (see Hadzidedic, [0038]: “The functional block 350 may include one or more of various components, including without limitation a microprocessor, a state machine, volatile and nonvolatile memory, a power transistor, a monochrome or color display, a touch panel, a button, a keypad and a backup battery. The local controller 290 may be associated with a demand unit 155, and may provide control thereof via the functional block 350, e.g.”; and [0071]: “The data may be stored, e.g., in nonvolatile memory located on the system device 410, e.g.”).
Conclusion
7. For the reasons above, claims 15-31 have been rejected and remain pending.
8. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL Y WON whose telephone number is (571)272-3993. The examiner can normally be reached on Wk.1: M-F: 8-5 PST & Wk.2: M-Th: 8-7 PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas R Taylor can be reached on 571-272-3889. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Won/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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