Appeal No. 2006-1228
Application No. 09/802,982
The appellant argues that Echigoya’s accumulator is not
common to both the air-conditioning and heat-pump loops (brief,
page 18). The appellant does not argue that the references lack
a refrigerant fluid accumulator in the air-conditioning loop as
required by claim 8. The appellant’s argument pertains only to
claim 9. Echigoya’s disclosure that the accumulator prevents
liquid from entering the compressor would have fairly suggested,
to one of ordinary skill in the art, an accumulator at the inlet
to the compressor that is common to the heating and air-
conditioning loops in Enomoto’s system (compressor 10, figure 1).
Regardless, Enomoto’s evaporator/accumulator (15) is common to
the heating and air-conditioning loops (figure 1).
We therefore affirm the rejection of claims 8 and 9 under
35 U.S.C. § 103 over Noda in view of Enomoto and Echigoya.
Rejection of claims 12, 15 and 17-23
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 over Noda in view of
Enomoto and Whalen, Momose or Patry
Whalen discloses a heating and cooling system for a multi-
story building (col. 1, lines 4-5).
Momose discloses a calorimeter for an air conditioner
(page 1).
Patry discloses a heat pump for air conditioning the
interior of a building (page 1).
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