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 .
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)(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 10- 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wong (US 2019/0136724 – provided by Applicant in the IDS).
Regarding claim 10, Wong teaches a four-way valve (see Title), characterized in that the four-way valve comprises comprising:
a housing (see Fig. 1); and a valve body (Fig. 2),
wherein the valve body is disposed in the housing (Figs. 1-2);
wherein: the valve body has comprises a central axis and is configured to move relative to the housing around the central axis (103, Fig. 2, paragraph [0013]), and the valve body is provided with comprises a first channel chamber and a second channel chamber independent of each other (see the dividing walls (110, 118, in Fig. 2),
the housing is provided with comprises a first communication port, a second communication port, a third communication port, and a fourth communication port (see the 4 ports in Fig. 3 at least); and wherein the fourth communication port is configured to be in communication with at least one of the first communication port, the second communication port, and the third communication port through the second channel chamber (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 11, Wong teaches the four-way valve according to of claim 10,wherein: characterized in that the housing is cylindrical, and the first communication port, the second communication port, and the third communication port are disposed on the housing along a circumferential direction (see at least Fig. 1), and the fourth communication port is disposed along the central axis (see Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 are allowed.
Claims 12-16 are 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of record is FOR1 (CN216618646U) in view of Wong (US 2019/0136724).
The prior art of record when considered as a whole, either alone or in combination, does not anticipate or render obvious:
A heat pump system, characterized in that wherein the heat pump system comprises: a compressor, wherein the compressor comprises a suction port and an exhaust port; a first flow path, wherein the first flow path has comprising a first end of the first flow path and a second end of the first flow path; a second flow path, wherein the second flow path has comprising a first end of the second flow path and a second end of the second flow path; a third flow path, wherein the third flow path has comprising a first end of the third flow path and a second end of the third flow path; a first heat exchanger, wherein the first heat exchanger is disposed in the first flow path; a second heat exchanger, wherein the second heat exchanger is disposed in the second flow path; a third heat exchanger, wherein the third heat exchanger is disposed in the third flow path; and a four-way valve, wherein the four-way valve has comprising four communication ports, wherein the second end of the first flow path, the second end of the second flow path1 and the second end of the third flow path are in communication with a common path converging point, the first end of the second flow path is in communication with the suction port, the first end of the first flow path, the exhaust port, the suction port, and the first end of the third flow path are connected to the four communication ports, respectively, and the first end of the first flow path, the exhaust port, the suction port, and the first end of the third flow path are configured to be in controllable communication through the four-way valve; wherein the heat pump system has at least one of comprises a complete cooling and partial heating mode and a complete heating and partial cooling mode, and the heat pump system is configured to: when during operation of the heat pump system in the complete cooling and partial heating mode, the exhaust port can is configured to be in communication with the first end of the first flow path and the first end of the third flow path through the four- way valve and the heat pump system is configured to be able to adjust flow rates of fluids flowing through the first flow path and the third flow path by adjusting via adjustment of the four-way valve; and when during operation of the heat pump system in the complete heating and partial cooling mode, the exhaust port can is configured to be in communication with the first end of the first flow path through the four-way valve, the first end of the third flow path is configured to be in communication with the suction port through the four-way valve, and the heat pump system is configured to be able to adjust flow rates of fluids flowing through the second flow path and the third flow path by adjusting via adjustment of the four-way valve.
FOR1 as modified by Wong teaches the heat pump and four-way valve, however, the specifics of the claim with regard to how the modes are operated is not met by the prior art. Further, the specifics of how the paths of four-way valve connect are not met by the prior art. In the Examiner’s opinion, it would not be obvious to further modify the prior art structures to arrive at the claimed invention, absent impermissible hindsight. Therefore, rendering independent claim 1, with dependent claims therefrom are considered allowable.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAEL N BABAA whose telephone number is (571)270-3272. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at (571)-270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NAEL N BABAA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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