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 without traverse of Species I: claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 08/17/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 5, 10 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: “being being” in line 7 of claim 5 is grammatically incorrect; “flame sense” in line 1 of claim 10 should be --the flame sense--; and “means for sending” in line 1 of claim 11 should be --the means for sending--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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) 1-6 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2022/0082288 (hereinafter Revilla).
Regarding claim 1, Revilla discloses a heater for a pool system, the heater comprising a fluid inlet sensor (106) for detecting a water inlet temperature of fluid flowing through an inlet of the heater; a fluid outlet sensor (108) for detecting a water outlet temperature of the fluid flowing out of an outlet of a heat exchanger of the heater; and a controller (122) configured to (i) determine a flow rate condition based on information from the fluid inlet sensor and the fluid outlet sensor (see para. [0023], lines 14-28) and (ii) communicate the determined flow rate condition (see para. [0023], lines 6-14).
Regarding claim 2, the heater of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine a temperature rise as the flow rate condition based on a difference between the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature (see para. [0024], lines 8-12).
Regarding claim 3, the heater of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to estimate a system flow based on a difference between the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature (see para. [0024], lines 13-19).
Regarding claim 4, the heater of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate a controlled response based on the determined condition being a predefined condition (see para. [0023], lines 6-28: “preprogrammed with operating parameters”), and wherein the controlled response comprises generating response signal (see para. [0023], lines 6-28: “control system 122 can receive operating parameters of the water heater 100 from a user”).
Regarding claim 5, the heater of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the heater is in a good condition based on the a difference between the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature being within a predefined range; and determine that the heater is in one of a plurality of problem conditions based on the a difference between the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature being outside of the predefined range (see paras. [0037]-[0044]).
Regarding claim 6, the heater of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the heater is in a low flow problem condition based on the temperature rise being above the predefined water range and the vent temperature being within the predefined vent range (see para. [0046]); a sooting problem condition or scaling problem condition based on the temperature rise being within the predefined water range and the vent temperature being above the predefined vent range (see para. [0043]); and a longer duration low flow problem condition or a scaling problem condition based on the temperature rise being above the predefined water range and the vent temperature being above the predefined vent range (see paras. [0044]-[0047]).
Regarding claims 12-14, the methods as claimed are fully met the heater of Revilla, discussed above, during normal use.
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, 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.
Claim(s) 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Revilla in view of US 2008/0023461 (hereinafter Anderson).
Regarding claim 7, Revilla teaches the heater of claim 1 as discussed above except for a circuit including a flame sense, means for detecting a polarity of the circuit, and means for sending a signal relating to a condition of the polarity.
Revilla teaches the water heater 100 including burner 114 but remains silent as to the specific of the circuit for controlling the burner. Anderson teaches an analogous water heater comprising a circuit (see Fig. 12) including a flame sense (146), means for detecting a polarity of the circuit (see para. [0082]), and means for sending a signal relating to a condition of the polarity (see Fig. 2: controller outputs) for controlling the burner of the water heater. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the burner circuit of Revilla with the burner circuit as taught by Anderson, wherein doing so would merely be substituting equivalents known for the same purpose. An express suggestion to substitute one equivalent component or process for another is not necessary to render such substitution obvious. In re Fout, 675 F.2d 297, 213 USPQ 532 (CCPA 1982). See MPEP 2144.06.
Regarding claim 8, the heater of claim 7, wherein Revilla teaches the means for sending the signal comprises a wireless communication module or a wired communication module (see para. [0023] of Revilla).
Regarding claim 9, the heater of claim 7, wherein Anderson teaches the means for detecting the polarity of the circuit comprises means for comparing a line voltage input to a ground input for the circuit and/or means for comparing a neutral voltage input to the ground input for the circuit (see para. [0082] of Anderson).
Regarding claim 10, the heater of claim 7, wherein Anderson teaches the flame sense comprises a flame sense rod (see para. [0030]: “flame rod”) of the heater configured to detect a presence of a flame.
Regarding claim 11, the heater of claim 7, wherein Revilla teaches the means for sending the signal comprises means for generating a notification on an application or generating a notification on an on-board user interface of the heater.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2022/0390924 (Roy et al.) teaches a pool heater system being control by the change in temperature.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN N NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4892. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-4.
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, David Angwin can be reached at (571) 270-3735. 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.
/TUAN N NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3754
Prosecution Insights