Appeal 2007-2815
Application 10/498,809
nonobviousness is irrelevant for patentability purposes when an invention is
anticipated under section 102.”).
Appellants argue that “claim 29 recites ‘an auxiliary heat exchanger
through which coolant from the vehicle drive system is circulated.’ The
Burk system clearly does not meet this limitation of independent claim 29,
and therefore, the Burk reference cannot anticipate claim 29 or claim 30
under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)” (Br. 6).
We do not agree. As discussed above, the refrigerant circuit of Burk’s
cooling system has a “refrigerant/coolant heat exchanger 15, functioning as
the evaporator” when the system is in “heat pump mode” (Burk [0053]).
Thus, the refrigerant circuit of Burk’s system has “an auxiliary heat
exchanger through which coolant from the “vehicle drive system is
circulated” as recited in claim 29.
Appellants argue that “[i]n the present invention, as defined in claims
29 and 30, the system utilizes ambient air as the main heat source (claim 29,
lines 23-26)” (Br. 7). We do not agree.
The cited portion of claim 29 states that the “inter-connection” of the
nine named components is “provided such that ambient air and coolant
circulated from the vehicle drive system can both partially or fully be used
as a heat source and a heat sink in a heat pump mode and a comfort cooling
mode, respectively.” When given its broadest reasonable interpretation
consistent with the Specification, claim 29 therefore encompasses
heating/cooling systems in which the refrigerant circuit components are
interconnected such that ambient air or coolant can at least partially act as a
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