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 .
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 rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “heat exchanger of the fluid conditioning system” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
2. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 17; the limitation, “a heat exchanger of the fluid conditioning system” appears to lack support in the application as originally filed. The present disclosure does not provide details of what constitutes the “heat exchanger” or how it defers from the first heat exchanger, or the second heat exchanger, or the cascade heat exchanger.
Claims 18-20 are rejected based upon their dependency from claim 17.
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 8-10 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 8, line 3, recites the limitation of “the compressor” which is confusing as it is unclear which of the compressors previously recited in claims 7 is being reference. As such the claim limitation is indefinite.
Claim 9, lines 1-2, recites the limitation “the compressor” which is confusing as it is unclear which of the compressors previously recited in claims 7 and 8 is being reference. As such the claim limitation is indefinite.
Claim 10 is rejected based upon their dependency from claim 8
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
Claims 1-8 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamada et al (U.S. PG Pub No.: 2022/0316767 A1), hereinafter referred to as Yamada et al ‘767.
Regarding claim 1, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose an assembly comprising: a heat pump (100) {see Fig. 1: ¶ [0026]}; a cascade module (30), the cascade module being fluidly couplable to the heat pump{as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0026-0027]}; and wherein the cascade module is fluidly connected to the heat pump during a first mode of operation to increase a capacity of the heat pump {see ¶¶ [0051-0053]} and the cascade module is not fluidly connected to the heat pump during a second mode of operation {see Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0030-0034] and [0052-0053], wherein valves 18 and 19 are shutoff}.
Regarding claim 2, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 1, wherein the heat pump includes an indoor unit (50) and an outdoor unit (10){as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0026], [0028],[0031-0032], [0043-0044], [0048], [0058], [0101], [0103] and [0113]}.
Regarding claim 3, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 2, wherein the cascade module is a separate module (30), removably (21, 22) mounted at the outdoor unit {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0034], [0042], [0046] and [0106 - 0108]}.
Regarding claim 4, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 2, wherein the cascade module is a separate module (30), removably mounted at the indoor unit {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0048], [0060], [0081] and [0111-0112]}.
Regarding claim 5, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 2, wherein the cascade module (30) is a separate module, positioned remotely from both the indoor unit (50) and the outdoor unit (10) {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶ [0101]}.
Regarding claim 6, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 1, wherein the cascade module (30) is integral with the heat pump (100){as shown in Fig. 1: ¶ [0052]}.
Regarding claim 7, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 1, wherein the heat pump further comprises a compressor (11), a first heat exchanger (13), at least one expansion device (31), and a second heat exchanger (51) and the cascade module further comprises a second compressor (33) and a cascade heat exchanger (35) {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0031], [0037] and [0044]}.
Regarding claim 8, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 7, wherein when the cascade module is fluidly connected to the heat pump during the first mode of operation, the assembly includes a first vapor compression loop (VC1) associated with the compressor and a second vapor compression loop (VC2) associated with the second compressor and the first vapor compression loop and the second vapor compression loop are thermally coupled at the cascade heat exchanger {as shown in annotated Fig. 1}.
Regarding claim 11, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 7, wherein during the second mode of operation, the assembly includes a single vapor compression loop (VC1) defined by the heat pump {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0052-0053], wherein loop (11-12-13-14-15-16-12) constitutes a single vapor compression loop}.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
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.
Claims 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada et al ‘767, in view of Katikala et al (U.S. PG Pub No.: 2022/0333835 A1), hereinafter referred to as Katikala et al ‘835.
Regarding claim 12, Yamada et al ‘767 disclose the assembly of claim 6, EXCEPT for the limitations for further comprising a controller operably coupled to the compressor and the second compressor, and at least one valve, the controller being configured to: identify a mode of operation associated with a demand on the fluid conditioning system; and operate the at least one valve to initiate operation in the identified mode.
Katikala et al ‘835 teach: the concept of a controller (120)operably coupled to the compressor (114) and the second compressor (115), and at least one valve (102), the controller being configured to: identify a mode of operation associated with a demand on the fluid conditioning system; and operate the at least one valve to initiate operation in the identified mode {as shown in Fig. 1: ¶¶ [0004], [0007], [0041], [0046-0047], [0053-0056], [0060-0062], and [0093]}.
Since all claimed elements were known in the art at the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify Yamada et al ‘767 in view of Katikala et al ‘835 to include the use of a controller operably coupled to the compressor and the second compressor, and at least one valve, the controller being configured to: identify a mode of operation associated with a demand on the fluid conditioning system; and operate the at least one valve to initiate operation in the identified mode, in order to facilitate operation of multiple modes {Katikala et al ‘835 – ¶ [0089]}.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the Yamada et al ‘767 in view of Katikala et al ‘835 to obtain the invention as specified in claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Yamada et al ‘767 and Katikala et al ‘835 disclose and teach the assembly of claim 12, Yamada et al ‘767 as modified by Katikala et al ‘835 further teach the limitations comprising at least one sensor operably coupled to the controller, the at least one sensor being configured to monitor at least one parameter or operating condition associated with the heat pump {see ¶ [0084]}.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by BELLEMO et al (English Translated WO Pub No.: 2024094865 A1), hereinafter referred to as BELLEMO et al ‘865.
Regarding claim 14, BELLEMO et al ‘865 disclose a method (100) of operating a heat pump (1), the method comprising: receive a demand on the heat pump {see Page 3, Summary}; determine a mode of operation in response to the demand by comparing the demand with a heating capacity of the heat pump{see Page 6, ¶5 and Page 13, ¶3}; and wherein if the demand is greater than the heating capacity of the heat pump, fluidly connecting a cascade module to the heat pump {see Page 6, ¶5, Page 13, ¶3, and Page 15, ¶¶ 2-3}.
Regarding claim 15, BELLEMO et al ‘865 the disclose method of claim 14, wherein fluidly connecting the cascade module to the heat pump further comprises operating at least one valve (4) to control a flow of refrigerant to the cascade module {see Page 22, ¶4}.
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Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claim 16 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
6. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US-20240125519-A1 to Taras; Michael F.
US-20210140693-A1 to Hung; Der-Kai.
US-20160320105-A1 to OKAZAKI; Takashi.
US-20160146522-A1 to Hung; Der-Kai.
JP-2020201007-A to KUMAKURA EIJI
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMMANUEL E DUKE whose telephone number is (571)270-5290. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday; 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday thru Friday; 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
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.
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/EMMANUEL E DUKE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
09/22/2026
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