Ex Parte Hyakuda et alDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardMay 31, 201914380247 - (D) (P.T.A.B. May. 31, 2019) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 14/380,247 08/21/2014 78198 7590 Studebaker & Brackett PC 8255 Greensboro Drive Suite 300 Tysons, VA 22102 06/04/2019 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Kazutoshi Hyakuda UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 740819-002296 7714 EXAMINER MARTIN, ELIZABETH J ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3763 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 06/04/2019 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): info@sbpatentlaw.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte KAZUTOSHI HY AKUDA, YOSUKE HARADA, KAZUHIRO Y AMAOTO, and KOJI ASO Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 Technology Center 3700 Before CYNTHIA L. MURPHY, BRADLEY B. BAY AT, and AMEE A. SHAH, Administrative Patent Judges. MURPHY, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL The Appellants 1 appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the Examiner's rejections of claims 1--4. We have jurisdiction over this appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE. 1 The Appellants identify "JAPAN CLIMATE SYSTEMS CORPORATION" as the real party in interest. (Appeal Br. 3.) Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 STATEMENT OF THE CASE The Appellants' invention relates to a "vehicle air conditioner to be installed in a passenger compartment" and "a seal" that seals a space between "a casing" (that "accommodates a heat exchanger") and the "periphery of an opening" in the vehicle's "dash panel." (Spec., Abstract.) Sole Independent Claim on Appeal 1. A vehicle air conditioner to be installed in a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a passenger compartment, the vehicle air conditioner comprising: a casing accommodating a heat exchanger; a piping component supplying a heating medium to the heat exchanger or exhausting the heating medium from the heat exchanger; and a seal sealing a portion between the casing and a periphery of an opening of a partition of a vehicle, wherein the partition separates the passenger compartment from an area outside of the passenger compartment, the piping component is inserted into the opening, the seal has a surface facing the partition and including a notch, the notch is positioned outside the periphery of the opening, and the seal includes a passenger compartment outer layer made of plate elastic material and being in contact with the partition and a passenger compartment inner layer made of plate elastic material and being in contact with the casing. Kujirai Shibata Seryi References2 us 5,555,739 US 2006/0230774 Al US 2011/0127730 Al Sept. 17, 1996 Oct. 19, 2006 June 2, 2011 2 Our quotations from these references will omit, where applicable, bolding and/ or italicization of reference numerals. 2 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 Rejections The Examiner rejects claims 1-2 and 4 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Kujirai and Seryi. (Final Action 2.) The Examiner rejects claim 3 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over Kujirai, Seryi, and Shibata. (Final Action 4.) ANALYSIS Independent claim 1 is drawn to a "vehicle air conditioner to be installed in a vehicle." (Appeal Br., Claims App.) The Examiner determines that the claimed vehicle air conditioner would have been obvious over the combination of Kujirai and Seryi (see Final Action 2); and the Appellants argue that this determination is not sufficiently supported by the record (see Appeal Br. 6-13). We are persuaded by the Appellants' position. Independent claim 1 requires the vehicle air condition to comprise "a casing" that "accommodat[ es] a heat exchanger," "a partition" that "separates the passenger compartment from an area outside of the passenger compartment," and "a seal" that "seal[ s] a portion between the casing and a periphery of an opening of [the] partition." (Appeal Br., Claims App.) The Examiner finds that Kujirai discloses a vehicle air conditioner comprising a casing (housing 12) accommodating a heat exchanger (evaporator 14), a partition (dashboard 100) separating the passenger compartment (passenger room PR) from an area outside of the passenger compartment ( engine room ER), and a seal (grommet 40A) situated between the casing (housing 12) and the periphery of an opening ( opening 112) of the partition (dashboard 100). (See Final Action 2-3.) These components are shown in Kujirai's Figure 4, reproduced below. 3 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 ER 112 l /., IOC ...... 12 , PR 20a 112a Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the "piping arrangement" of an "automotive air conditioner." (Kujirai, col. 2, 11. 21-31.) It may be noted that Kujirai's grommet 40A has a "unitary construction." (Appeal Br 12.) It may also be noted that a "second pipe joint 24" is "located in the opening 112 of the dashboard 100" (Kujirai, col. 3, 13-16), and the second pipe joint 24 is not in contact with the housing 12. Independent claim 1 requires the seal to include an "outer layer" that is "in contact with the partition," and an "inner layer" that is "in contact with the casing." (Appeal Br., Claims App.) As noted above, Kujirai's grommet 40A has a unitary, rather than multi-layer construction. 4 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 The Examiner finds that Seryi teaches a two-component seal 10 having an outer seal component 12 that is in contact with a partition 30, and an inner seal component that is in contact with "housing for pipes 16." (Final Action 3.) These inner and outer seal components are shown in Seryi's Figure 2, reproduced below. Figure 2 is a "cross-section" of a seal 10 installed in an opening in a front wall 30 of the vehicle. (Seryi ,r 29.) It may be noted that Seryi's outer seal component 12 is "fastened" to the periphery in an opening in the vehicle's front wall 30, while Seryi's inner seal component 14 has a "folded bellows formation which completely encompasses the opening." (Id. ,r,r 31, 34.) It may also be noted that "passage openings 16" for pipes 26 are "formed in the area of the inner seal component 14." (Id. ,r 33.) 5 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 The Examiner determines that it would have been obvious "to modify [Kuj irai' s] grommet 40a with a two-component seal body of Seryi" to achieve the benefits ( e.g., installation simplicity, noise insulation, tightness, etc.) taught by Seryi. (Answer 7.) We agree with the Examiner that both Kujirai and Seryi "are concerned with air conditioning mounting structure for motor vehicles," and one of ordinary skill in the art would look to teachings in both of these references when seeking to "improve sealing performances." (Answer 12.) And we do not necessarily disagree with the Examiner that a person of ordinary skill in the art might be "able to fit the teachings together like pieces of puzzle." (Id. at 6.) The problem is that, here, the Examiner provides us with little or no description of the completed puzzle. As such, we unable to ascertain whether one of ordinary skill would "arrive at the structure of the claimed invention" when "putting" Kujirai and Seryi "together." (Appeal Br. 11.) As noted above, Kujirai's piping arrangement includes a second pipe joint 24 that is located in the opening 112 of the dashboard 100. (See Kujirai, col. 3, 11. 13-16.) But, as also noted above, Seryi teaches a bellowed inner seal component which spans across such a dashboard opening. (See Seryi ,r 34.) If Kujirai's piping arrangement was modified to include a bellowed inner seal component, it would be competing with the second pipe joint 24 for the space defined by the opening 112 of the dashboard. The Examiner does not explain how one of ordinary skill in the art would resolve this dilemma when modifying Kujirai's grommet 40A "with a two- component seal body of Seryi." (Answer 7 .) 6 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 Insofar as one of ordinary skill in the art could resolve this dilemma by eliminating the second pipe joint 24 and replacing it with a bellowed inner seal component, this resolution does not align with the rest of the record. The Examiner expressly clarifies that Kujirai "is the primary reference" showing the overall configuration of the vehicle air conditioner, and Seryi is "relied upon for making it obvious to modify the seal of Kujirai to have one feature." (Answer 8-9.) The elimination of a non-seal structure from Kujirai's piping arrangement ( e.g., the second pipe joint 24) would contradict this clarification advanced by the Examiner. Moreover, arguments can be made that such a modification (i.e., eliminating the second pipe joint 24 and replacing it with a bellowed inner seal component) would not result in "the structure of the claimed invention." (Appeal Br. 11.) As indicated above, independent claim 1 requires the seal's inner layer to be "in contact with the casing." (Id., Claims App.) Thus, inasmuch as a bellowed inner seal component can be considered a seal's inner "layer," this inner seal component must be in contact with the casing to satisfy independent claim 1. But, as noted above, the second pipe joint 24 is not in contact with the casing (housing 12), and it follows that a bellowed inner seal component replacing the second pipe joint 24 would likewise not be in contact with the casing (housing 12). The Examiner maintains that the pipe-guiding passages 16 extending through Seryi' s inner seal component 14 would have "a back side in contact with a casing for a heat exchanger." (Answer 7.) Seryi does disclose that, during installation, its "entire seal body 1 O" can be "pushed onto" pipes 26 associated with an "air-conditioning module." (Seryi ,r 36.) But this installation can be accomplished without the inner seal component 14 7 Appeal2017-009208 Application 14/380,247 contacting a casing for the air-conditioning module. In any event, and more importantly, the key inquiry is whether such a bellowed inner seal component would be in contact with the casing (housing 12) in Kujirai's modified piping arrangement. And, as discussed above, the record supports a finding that it would not. Thus, on the record before us, the Examiner fails to establish that a combination of the prior art would result in a vehicle air conditioner having all of the features required by independent claim 1. The Examiner's further findings and determinations with respect to dependent claims 2--4 do not compensate for this shortcoming. We do not, therefore, sustain the Examiner's rejections of claims 1--4 under 35 U.S.C. § 103. DECISION We REVERSE the Examiner's rejections of claims 1--4. REVERSED 8 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation