Ex Parte MINAMISAKO

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Jun 26, 2019

14338468 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Jun. 26, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
14/338,468 07/23/2014
23400 7590 06/28/2019
POSZ LAW GROUP, PLC
12040 SOUTH LAKES DRIVE
SUITE 101
RESTON, VA 20191
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Hirokazu MINAMISAKO
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.
129F_005 9570
EXAMINER
NAMAY, DANIEL ELLIOT
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
3762
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
06/28/2019 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):
mailbox@poszlaw.com
dposz@poszlaw.com
tvarndell @poszlaw.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte HIROKAZU MINAMISAKO
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
Technology Center 3700
Before: JILL D. HILL, LEE L. STEPINA, and
ARTHUR M. PESLAK, Administrative Patent Judges.
PESLAK, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Hirokazu Minamisako ("Appellant")1 appeals under 35 U.S.C.
§ 134(a) from the Examiner's decision rejecting claims 1-5. We have
jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
We REVERSE.
1 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is the Applicant and is identified as the
real party in interest. Appeal Br. 4.
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
THE CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER
Appellant's invention relates to "a heating and hot water supply
system." Spec., 1 :6. Sole independent claim 1, reproduced below, is
representative of the claimed subject matter:
1. A heating and hot water supply system comprising:
a heater configured to heat a heat medium;
a hot water supply heat exchanger that performs heat
exchange between the heat medium and water;
a hot water storage tank that stores water heated by the hot
water supply heat exchanger;
a heating heat exchanger that heats an inside of a room
using the heat medium;
a heat medium pump that feeds the heat medium;
a circulation pipe that annularly connects a discharge side
of the heat medium pump, the heater, the hot water supply heat
exchanger, the heating heat exchanger, and a suction side of the
heat medium pump in order;
a first bypass pipe that bypasses the hot water supply heat
exchanger from the circulation pipe;
a second bypass pipe that bypasses the heating heat
exchanger from the circulation pipe;
a first flow regulator that is provided at a junction between
the circulation pipe and the first bypass pipe, and is configured
to regulate a first ratio between a flow rate of the heat medium
flowing into the hot water supply heat exchanger and a flow rate
of the heat medium flowing into the first bypass pipe, such that
the first ratio may vary between more than two values between
0% and 100%;
a second flow regulator that is provided at a junction
between the circulation pipe and the second bypass pipe, and is
configured to regulate a second ratio between a flow rate of the
heat medium flowing into the heating heat exchanger and a flow
rate of the heat medium flowing into the second bypass pipe,
such that the second ratio may vary between more than two
values between 0% and 100%; and
a controller configured to control the first flow regulator
and the second flow regulator in accordance with degrees of a
2
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
hot water supply request for heat exchange by the hot water
supply heat exchanger and a heating request for heat exchange
by the heating heat exchanger, wherein
the circulation pipe conveys the heat medium from the
discharge side of the heat medium pump, through the heater,
through the hot water supply heat exchanger, through the heating
heat exchanger, and to the suction side of the heat medium pump,
and
the heating heat exchanger performs heat exchange
between the heat medium provided along the circulation pump
and indoor air to heat the inside of the room and reduce the
temperature of the heat medium.
REJECTION
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as unpatentable over
Kopatschek (DE 201 02 610 Ul, published May 3, 2001)2 and Kamiya (US
2009/0320503 A 1, published Dec. 31, 2009).
DISCUSSION
The Examiner finds that Kopatschek discloses many of the limitations
of claim 1 including a heater 4 configured to heat a heat medium and a
heating heat exchanger 12, 13 that heats an inside of a room using the heat
medium. Final Act. 2-3. The Examiner also finds that Kopatschek
discloses first and second flow regulators, but that Kopatschek's flow
regulators do not vary the flow to values between 0% and 100%. Id. at 4.
The Examiner finds that Kamiya discloses a valve that regulates flow and
considers that it would have been obvious to use that type of valve in the
first and second flow regulators of Kopatschek "for the purpose of providing
2 Reference to the page and line number of DE 201 02 610 are with respect
to the machine translation of this document included in the file wrapper.
3
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
improved efficiency & a higher degree of temperature control of the hot
water & heating water system." Id. at 5.
Appellant argues, inter alia, that "the Examiner conflates
[Kopatschek's] underfloor/inner wall heater 12 and the external wall heater
13" in asserting that the combination of these elements is a heating heat
exchanger that heats the inside of a room, whereas Kopatschek discloses that
they are "two different elements that operate in two different manners and
perform two different functions." Appeal Br. 15. According to Appellant,
only "underfloor/inner wall heater 12 operates to heat a room inside a
building" and "external wall heater 13 operates to heat an outer wall of a
building ... to provide thermal insulation for the building." Id. at 15-16
(citing Kopatschek, 3:10-11 and 8:12). Appellant contends, however, that
Kopatschek describes that "the underfloor/inner wall heater 12 heats the
inside of a room, but does so using hot water from the buffer memory 10
heated by the solar energy exchanger 32, not the brine heated by the solar
collector 4," which the Examiner finds corresponds to the recited heat
medium. Id. at 16 ( citing Kopatschek, Fig. 1 ). Appellant also points to
disclosure in Kopatschek that heater 13 creates "a directed outwards thermal
insulated vertical insulation." Id. ( citing Kopatschek, 3: 10-11 ).
The Examiner responds that Kopatschek teaches that "Heaters # 12
and 13 work as separate components to heat the interior space of the
building." Ans. 6. According to the Examiner, both heaters separately heat
the interior of the building because "Heater # 12 warms interior floors and
walls while Heater #13 provides the interior of the building with 'a constant
temperature protective shield (thermal insulation).'" Id. ( citing Kopatschek,
4
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
8: 17-19). The Examiner concedes that the heated brine from solar collector
4 is not used by heater 12 to heat the interior of the building. Id.
Appellant replies that Kopatschek's "wall heater 13 operates to create
a constant temperature protection shield (thermal insulation) with respect to
the interior of the building ... this is not the same as heating an inside of a
room using a heat medium." Reply Br. 4. Appellant argues that it is
improper to characterize Kopatschek's external wall heater 13 as operating
"to heat the interior space of the building," because although "external wall
heater 13 provides thermal insulation that prevents heat from escaping from
an interior room, it performs no function that actually heats the interior
room." Id. For the following reasons, we do not sustain the rejection of
claim 1.
Claim 1 recites, in part, "a heating heat exchanger that heats an inside
of a room using the heat medium ... the heating heat exchanger performs
heat exchange between the heat medium provided along the circulation
pump and indoor air to heat the inside of the room." Appeal Br. 24-25
(Claims App.). The Specification discloses that "[t]he heat medium is
passed through the heating heat exchangers 31, 32 to heat air in a room ...
heating heat exchangers 31, 32 may include heating heat exchangers such as,
for example, a radiator, a fan coil unit, or a floor heating heater." Spec.
7:20-24. The Specification also discloses that "[t]he heating heat
exchangers 31, 3 2 perform heat exchange between the heat medium and
indoor air to heat the inside of the room and reduce the temperature of the
heat medium." Spec. 10:7-8. The language of claim 1 is, thus, consistent
with the Specification which describes that the heat exchanger heats the
room by an exchange of heat between the heat medium and indoor air.
5
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
As noted above, Kopatschek's heater 12 does not use the heated brine
from solar collector 4 to heat the interior of a room. Heater 13 does use the
brine from solar collector 4 as a heat source. Although we appreciate that
Kopatschek's heater 13 provides "a constant temperature protective shield
(thermal insulation)" (Ans. 6), we agree with Appellant that providing a
protective thermal shield is different than providing for heat exchange
between the heat medium and indoor air to heat the room as required by
claim 1. See Reply Br. 4. Kopatschek's heater 13, is described as an "outer
wall heater" or "external wall heating" element. Kopatschek, 8: 11-18. As
such, Kopatschek's heater 13 provides an exchange of heat between the heat
medium and the external wall to provide "a constant temperature protective
shield (thermal insulation)" that is "directed outwards." In light of this
disclosure in Kopatschek, we determine that the Examiner has not
adequately established that heater 13 "heats an inside of a room" by
performing "heat exchange between the heat medium provided along the
circulation pump and indoor air to heat the inside of the room," as required
by our construction of claim 1.
Accordingly, we determine that the Examiner's finding that
Kopatschek discloses a heating heat exchanger that heats an inside of a room
using the heat medium as required by claim 1 is not supported by the
requisite preponderance of the evidence. The Examiner does not rely on
Kamiya to cure this deficiency in Kopatschek. See Final Act. 4-5.
Consequently, this rejection is based on an erroneous factual finding and the
conclusion of obviousness cannot stand. See In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011,
101 7 ( CCP A 1967) (holding that "[ t ]he legal conclusion of obviousness
must be supported by facts. Where the legal conclusion is not supported by
6
Appeal 2018-007926
Application 14/33 8,468
facts it cannot stand."). Therefore, we do not sustain the rejection of claim 1
and claims 2-5 which depend from claim 1 as unpatentable over Kopatschek
and Kamiya.
DECISION
The Examiner's decision rejecting claims 1-5 is reversed.
REVERSED
7