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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 25 September 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 3-5, 7, 9-12, and 14 have been amended. Claim 2 has been canceled. Claims 1 and 3-14 are pending.
In response to the amendments to the claims, the rejections of claims 7-11 under 35 USC 112(b) are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 25 September 2025, with respect to the rejections of claims 1 and 14 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. See Remarks, p. 8, bottom. The rejections of the claims have been withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 6, 7, and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1: In line 12, “in butt joint” lacks an article needed for clarity, i.e., “in a butt joint.”
Claim 6: In line 3, “to achieve butt joint” lacks an article needed for clarity, i.e., “to achieve the butt joint.”
Claim 7: In line 3, “used for butt joint” lacks an article needed for clarity, i.e., “use for the butt joint.”
Claim 13: In lines 2-3, “the second sealing member” appears to be a misstatement of “the second sealing element.” See claim 12.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 8 recites that “the flow guide member has a horn structure” (line 4). Referring to the disclosure, [0047] states that “flow guide member 103 specifically has a horn structure, and has a large opening and a small opening,” and Fig. 1 shows the flow guide member as having a flared shape that expands upward toward the first housing 101. Therefore, “horn structure” is interpreted to refer to a flared shape with a large opening and a small opening.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 3-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1: The claim recites, “a plurality of snap-fit members convexly arranged on an inner wall of the second housing” (lines 5-6). It’s unclear what is meant by “convexly arranged.” Merriam-Webster defines “convex” as “curved or rounded outward like the exterior of a sphere or circle,” so it is unclear how the concept of convexity can be applied to an inner wall that has a circumference (lines 7-8). Referring to the disclosure, snap-fit members 208 are shown along an inner wall of second body 2 (Fig. 2) for engagement with buckles 108 (p.7, line 29) which are outwardly facing (Fig. 1), so the snap-fit members 208 appear to be concavely arranged. Therefore, for the purposes of examination only, “convexly” will be interpreted as “concavely.”
In lines 7-8, the claim recites, “a plurality of circumferentially-distributed buckles and a plurality of circumferentially-distributed snap-fit members,” which does not acknowledge “a plurality of buckles . . . and a plurality of snap-fit members” (lines 5-6). It is therefore unclear if lines 7-8 refer to the same or different buckles and snap-fit members. For the purposes of examination only, lines 7-8 will be interpreted as using articles indicating acknowledgment of the antecedents for these terms.
The claim recites, “wherein the first body in butt joint is enabled to rotate relative to the second body, so that the buckles are capable of being hooked with the snap-fit members to connect the first body to the second body.” It is unclear what is meant by “the first body in butt joint is enabled to rotate relative to the second body.” A butt joint is defined as joint between two abutting members lying approximately in the same plane ((2012). Dictionary of Metals - butt joint. ASM International.).
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Butt joints are likewise known in the filtration arts and are represented as joints lying in the same plane. See US 2013/0126021 A1 (Fig. 1A at 128; [0028]) and US 2013/0295303 A1 (Fig. 21 at 2120; [0094]). Therefore, a butt joint requires the formation of a joint. It is unclear how a butt joint formed by snap-fit members and buckles can be can be capable of rotation while despite the formation of a butt joint. Referring to the disclosure, the specification states that “after the buckles 108 are aligned with the snap-fit members 208 to make the buckles 108 hook the snap-fit members 208, the two housings stop rotating relatively . . . fastened connection with each other by using a plurality of sets of buckles 108 and snap-fit members 208 that are hooked with each other” (p. 7, lines 28-32), so the specification appears to recite that rotation is stopped when the buckles and snap-fit members are engaged to form the butt joint. Consequently, it appears that “the first body in butt joint” and “is enabled to rotate” are in tension, so it is unclear what the metes and bounds of “in butt joint” are. For the purposes of examination only, the text will be interpreted as “wherein the first body in a butt joint.”
Claims 3-13 re rejected because of their dependence from claim 1.
Claim 4: The claim recites, “the plurality of filter guides is a plurality of strip-shaped members which are convexly arranged on a circumferential inner wall of the second housing.” Merriam-Webster defines “convex” as “curved or rounded outward like the exterior of a sphere or circle,” so it is unclear how the concept of convexity can be applied to members arranged on a circumferential inner wall. Referring to Fig. 2, guide members 204 are shown on an inner wall of a housing, so for the purposes of examination only, “convexly” will be interpreted as “concavely.”
Claim 8: In line 2, it is unclear what is meant by “a convex ring,” noting that a ring must inherently have a convex side and a concave side. Referring to the specification, protruding members 102 ([0045]) are shown as arc lengths around the opening of the first housing 101 (Fig. 5) rather than as rings. The claim recites, “wherein the protruding members are each a convex ring . . . coaxial with the connection opening,” which is not consistent with “an outer diameter of the convex ring” (lines 2 and 3) since the first phrase refers to plural rings but the second phrase refers to a single ring. The specification does not provide clarification since, as discussed above, the protruding members 102 are shown as arc lengths rather than as multiple rings arranged around a common axis shared with a connection opening. In view of Figs. 5 and 6, the claim will be interpreted as reciting that the protruding members collectively form a ring around the connection opening of the first housing.
Claim 10: The claim recites, “the flow guide member that faces away from the first housing.” This text is narrative and indefinite, noting that “the flow guide member that faces away” implies more than one flow guide member, but only one flow guide member is recited (claim 1, line 2), and there is no antecedent for “the flow guide member that faces away.” Note that claim 9 recites, “the buckles are convexly arranged on a surface of the flow guide member and face away from the first body,” but this refers to buckles (rather than a flow guide member) that face away from the first body (not the first housing), and claim 10 does not depend from claim 9.
Claim 11 is rejected because of its dependence from claim 10.
Claim 12: In line 2, the claim recites, “the bottom wall.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation, noting that the claim does not depend from claim 4 (line 8: “a bottom wall”).
Claim 13 is rejected because of its dependence from claim 12.
An air purifier, comprising:
a first body comprising a first housing and a flow guide member; and
a second body, configured to take in air and filter the incoming air and comprising a second housing, wherein the second body is detachably connected to the first body;
a plurality of buckles arranged on the flow guide member, and a plurality of snap-fit members convexly arranged on an inner wall of the second housing;
a plurality of circumferentially-distributed buckles and a plurality of circumferentially-distributed snap-fit members;
wherein the number of the buckles is greater than the number of the snap-fit members, such that each of the snap-fit members is capable of being connected to one buckle, and all the snap-fit members are connected configured to connect to each of the buckles; and
wherein the first body in butt joint is enabled to rotate relative to the second body, so that the buckles are capable of being hooked with the snap-fit members to connect the first body to the second body, and the buckles are capable of being separated from the snap-fit members to separate the first body from the second body, and;
a plurality of filter guides positioned around an interior surface of the second body, wherein each of the plurality of filter guides vertically spans a filter screen of the second body.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
A thorough search for pertinent prior art did not locate any prior art that discloses or suggests the invention recited in claims 1 and 3-14. The concept of an air purifier, comprising:
a first body comprising a first housing and a flow guide member; and
a second body, configured to take in air and filter the incoming air and comprising a second housing, wherein the second body is detachably connected to the first body;
a plurality of buckles arranged on the flow guide member, and a plurality of snap-fit members convexly arranged on an inner wall of the second housing;
a plurality of circumferentially-distributed buckles and a plurality of circumferentially-distributed snap-fit members;
wherein the number of the buckles is greater than the number of the snap-fit members, such that each of the snap-fit members is capable of being connected to one buckle, and all the snap-fit members are connected configured to connect to each of the buckles; and
wherein the first body in butt joint is enabled to rotate relative to the second body, so that the buckles are capable of being hooked with the snap-fit members to connect the first body to the second body, and the buckles are capable of being separated from the snap-fit members to separate the first body from the second body, and;
a plurality of filter guides positioned around an interior surface of the second body, wherein each of the plurality of filter guides vertically spans a filter screen of the second body (claim 1)
is considered to define patentable subject matter over the prior art.
Likewise, the concept of an air purifier apparatus comprising:
a first body comprising a first housing with a first opening defining a lower circumference;
a flow guide member incorporated into the first opening, and at least one protruding member extending from the lower circumference away from the housing;
the flow guide member comprising a plurality of buckles configured to extend past the at least one protruding member;
a second body comprising a second housing with a second opening defining an upper circumference;
a plurality of snap-fit members at the second opening facing inward of the upper circumference;
wherein the at least one protruding member is configured to extend through the second opening into the second housing;
wherein the number of buckles is greater than the number of the snap-fit members and each of the plurality of snap-fit members is capable of engaging any of the plurality of buckles; and
wherein the plurality of snap-fit members is configured to be releasably connected to at least a portion of the plurality of buckles, thereby releasably connecting the first body to the second body by rotating the first body and the second body relative to each other, and;
a plurality of filter guides positioned around an interior surface of the second body, wherein each of the plurality of filter guides vertically spans a filter screen of the second body (claim 14)
is considered to define patentable subject matter over the prior art.
The closest prior art appears to be Chang et al. (CN212492057U), which discloses an air purifier (Fig. 1) comprising an upper body 30 (i.e., a first body/first housing) detachably connected to a lower body 10 (i.e., a second body) ([0022]) with a filter screen (Fig. 1), wherein the upper body includes a channel assembly 20 ([0022]) (i.e., a flow guide member). Chang further teaches a buckle 32 of the channel assembly that enters a card slot (i.e., a snap fit member) to fix the upper body 30 to the lower body 10 ([0023]). However, Chang does not suggest filter guides positioned around an interior surface of the second/lower body, wherein each of the plurality of filter guides vertically spans the filter screen of the second/lower body.
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 3-13 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GABRIEL E GITMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7934. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:15-5:45pm.
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/GABRIEL E GITMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1772