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 .
Status
This Office Action is in response to the remarks and amendments filed on 10/10/2025. The previous 35 USC 112 rejections have been withdrawn. Claims 1, 3-9, 11-15, and 17 remain pending for consideration.
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.
Claim 4 is 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 4 recites the limitation " mounting opening" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For examination purposes, the phrase “through mounting opening” will be interpreted as -- through the mounting opening --
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3-4, 9, 11-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et al. (CN110657492A, herein after referred to as You), in view of Liu et al. (CN109489123A, herein after referred to as Liu), in view of Zhang et al. (CN103388867A, herein after referred to as Zhang), and in further view of Hammes et al. (US 20190105458 A1, herein after referred to as Hammes)
Regarding claim 1, You teaches a fresh air module (disclosed “fresh air device” in paragraph [22] and Fig. 1) comprising: a housing (understood to be formed by sealing cover 60 and volute 100 Fig. 2), a fresh air inlet (first air inlet 11 Fig. 1) and a fresh air outlet (first air outlet 13 Fig. 1), a fresh air duct (a person skilled in the art would recognize that the area formed between sealing cover 60 and volute 100 Fig. 2 constitutes a duct) being formed in the housing (Fig. 2) and communicating the fresh air inlet with the fresh air outlet (Fig. 2); a fan assembly (air blade 80 and second motor 90 Fig. 2) mounted in the fresh air duct (Fig. 2); a middle partition plate (volute cover 70 Fig. 2) disposed in the fresh air duct (Fig. 2) and located at an air inlet end (left end of air blade 80 Fig. 2) of the fan assembly; and a purification assembly (fixing member 40 and filter member 20 Fig. 2) disposed in the fresh air duct (Fig. 2) and located at one end of the fan assembly (left end of air blade 80 Fig. 2) in a rotation axis of the fan assembly (corresponds to the rotation axis of motor 90 Fig. 2), wherein the middle partition plate being provided with a ventilation hole (see below annotated Fig. 3 of You), wherein the middle partition plate and a first portion of the housing (sealing cover 60 Fig. 2) cooperate to form an air inlet cavity (corresponds to the cavity formed by sealing cover 60 and volute cover 70 Fig. 2) in which the purification assembly is disposed (Fig. 2), the air inlet cavity being communicated with the fresh air inlet (Figs. 1-2), wherein the middle partition plate and a second portion of the housing (volute 100 Fig. 2) cooperate to form an air outlet cavity (corresponds to the cavity formed by volute 100 and volute cover 70 Fig. 2) in which the fan assembly is disposed (Fig. 2), the air outlet cavity being communicated with the fresh air outlet (Figs. 1-2), wherein the air inlet cavity is communicated with the air outlet cavity through the ventilation hole (Fig. 2), wherein the middle partition plate being provided with a guide groove (see below annotated Fig. 3 of You) at a periphery of the ventilation hole (see below annotated Fig. 3 of You), where the first portion of the housing, the purification assembly, the middle partition plate, the fan assembly and the second portion of the housing are arranged in this order along the rotation axis of the fan assembly (Fig. 2); and wherein the guide groove of the middle partition plate is provided with a guide wall (see below annotated Fig. 3 of You) surrounding a portion of the ventilation hole (see below annotated Fig. 3 of You).
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You teaches the invention as described above but fails to explicitly teach “the housing provided with the fresh air inlet and the fresh air outlet”.
However, Liu teaches a housing (casing 1 Fig. 6 corresponds to the housing of You) provided with a fresh air inlet (Fig. 1 where fresh air inlet b corresponds to the fresh air inlet of You) and a fresh air outlet (Fig. 1 where fresh air outlet c corresponds to the fresh air outlet of You) as a designer option to provide a different arrangement between the parts.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of You to include “the housing provided with the fresh air inlet and the fresh air outlet” in view of the teachings of Liu as a designer option to provide a different arrangement between the parts.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the guide groove being configured to guide movement of the purification assembly in a radial direction of the fan assembly from a first position farther from the rotation axis of the fan assembly to a second position closer to the rotation axis of the fan assembly”.
However, Zhang teaches a guide groove (box body slide rails 316 Fig. 6 correspond to the guide groove of You) being configured to guide movement of a purification assembly (paragraph [0072] and Fig. 6 where filtering module 32 corresponds to the purification assembly of You) in a radial direction of a fan assembly (radial direction of electric motor 40 Figs. 3 and 6 where electric motor 40 corresponds to the fan assembly of You) from a first position (corresponds to the position of filtering module 32 in Fig. 3) farther from a rotation axis of the fan assembly (Fig. 3 where the rotation axis of electric motor 40 corresponds to the rotation axis of the fan assembly of You) to a second position (corresponds to the position of filtering module 32 in Fig. 1) closer to the rotation axis of the fan assembly (Fig. 1) to improve and secure the installation process of the purification assembly (paragraph [0072]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the guide groove being configured to guide movement of the purification assembly in a radial direction of the fan assembly from a first position farther from the rotation axis of the fan assembly to a second position closer to the rotation axis of the fan assembly” in view of the teachings of Zhang to improve and secure the installation process of the purification assembly.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the guide wall is an arc-shaped guide wall, where a radially exterior surface of the arc-shaped guide wall and an interior surface of the housing form an arc-shaped passage along a length of the arc-shaped guide wall, and where the arc-shaped passage is configured to guide fresh air from the fresh air inlet circumferentially around the rotation axis of the fan assembly before being passed through the purification assembly towards the ventilation hole”.
However, Hammes teaches a guide wall (barrier wall 14 Fig. 6 corresponds to the guide wall of You) is an arc-shaped guide wall (Fig. 6), where a radially exterior surface of the arc-shaped guide wall (corresponds to the radially exterior surface of barrier wall 14 Fig. 6) and an interior surface of a housing (corresponds to the interior surfaces of half-shells 20 Fig. 6 where half-shells 20 correspond to the housing of You) form an arc-shaped passage (air intake area 3 Figs. 14 and 16-17) along a length of the arc-shaped guide wall (Figs. 14 and 16-17), and where the arc-shaped passage is configured to guide fresh air (disclosed “sucked-in air” in paragraph [0127]) from a fresh air inlet (Fig. 16 where the inlet of air intake area 3 corresponds to the fresh air inlet of You) circumferentially around a rotation axis (Fig. 16 where fan rotation axis 5 corresponds to the rotation axis of You) of a fan assembly (fan wheel 6 corresponds to the fan assembly of You) before being passed through a purification assembly (Fig. 16 where intake air filter 7 corresponds to the purification assembly of You) towards a ventilation hole (Figs. 6 and 16 with paragraph [0127] where the circular hole of air guide housing 38 corresponds to the ventilation hole of You) to provide a specific airflow for the air entering through the fresh air inlet (paragraph [0127]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the guide wall is an arc-shaped guide wall, where a radially exterior surface of the arc-shaped guide wall and an interior surface of the housing form an arc-shaped passage along a length of the arc-shaped guide wall, and where the arc-shaped passage is configured to guide fresh air from the fresh air inlet circumferentially around the rotation axis of the fan assembly before being passed through the purification assembly towards the ventilation hole” in view of the teachings of Hammes to provide a specific airflow for the air entering through the fresh air inlet.
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach wherein: the fresh air outlet is provided on a front side wall of the housing (front wall of casing 1 Fig. 6 and paragraph [46] of Liu); a mounting opening (mounting port d Fig. 1 of Liu) is provided on the front side wall of the housing adjacent to the fresh air outlet (Figs. 1 and 6 of Liu); and the purification assembly is configured to be drawn through the mounting opening (Figs. 6 and 15 along with paragraph [0072] of Zhang where the side opening of housing 10 corresponds to the mounting opening of Liu) as the purification assembly is guided by the guide groove from the first position to the second position (Figs. 6-7 of Zhang).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach wherein: a mounting opening (the side opening of housing 10 Fig. 15 of Zhang) is provided on the housing (Fig. 15 of Zhang where housing 10 corresponds to the housing of You); and the guide groove has an opening (opening of slideway 311 Fig. 6 of Zhang) facing the mounting opening of the housing (Figs. 14-15 of Zhang) to allow the purification assembly to be guided by the guide groove through the mounting opening from the first position to the second position (Figs. 6-7 of Zhang).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach wherein: the purification assembly comprises a mounting frame (fixing member 40 Fig. 2 of You) and a purifying member (filter member 20 Fig. 2 of You) mounted on the mounting frame (paragraph [29] of You), the purifying member comprising a conventional filter screen (paragraph [30] of You); and a ventilation area of the purifying member (entire area of filter member 20 Fig. 2 of You) is greater than a ventilation area of the ventilation hole (grilled area of volute cover 70 Fig. 2 of You).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach wherein: the fan assembly comprises a centrifugal wind wheel (wind blade 80 Fig. 2 of You) and a motor (second motor 90 Fig. 2 of You), an air inlet end of the centrifugal wind wheel (left end of air blade 80 Fig. 2 of You) faces the ventilation hole of the middle partition plate (Fig. 2 of You); and the motor is connected to another end of the centrifugal wind wheel (right end of air blade 80 Fig. 2 of You).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach wherein the second portion of the housing (first housing 14 Fig. 1 of Liu corresponds to the second portion of the housing of You) comprises a bottom housing (corresponds to the space between cleaning assembly 3 and the bottom wall of second installation space 1b Figs. 1 and 3 of Liu); and the first portion of the housing (second housing 15 Fig. 1 of Liu corresponds to the first portion of the housing of You) comprises a cover (corresponds to the bottom portion of second housing 15 Fig, 1 of Liu) configured to be fitted with the bottom housing and to cover the bottom housing (Figs. 1 and 3 of Liu).
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach an air conditioner (Fig. 5 of You) comprising: an air conditioner housing (unit casing 50 Fig. 5 of You) provided with an air inlet (second air inlet portion 52 Fig. 5 of You), a first air outlet (second air outlet portion 53 Fig. 5 of You) and a second air outlet (opening 51 Fig. 5 of You), wherein the air inlet is in communication with the first air outlet (paragraph [42] of You); wherein the fresh air module is mounted in the air conditioner housing (paragraph [41] of You), the fresh air inlet of the fresh air module (fresh air module 100 Fig. 1 of Liu corresponds to the fresh air module of You) is configured to communicate with outdoors (paragraph [50] of Liu) through a fresh air tube (fresh air duct 4 Fig. 1 of Liu), and the fresh air outlet of the fresh air module is configured to communicate with the second air outlet (paragraph [42] of You).
Regarding claim 14, the combined teachings teach wherein the air conditioner (air conditioner indoor unit 1000 Fig. 8 of Liu corresponds to the air conditioner of You) comprises an indoor unit (air conditioner indoor unit 1000 Fig. 8 of Liu) of a wall-mounted air conditioner (paragraph [87] of Liu).
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach wherein: the air conditioner comprises the indoor unit of the wall-mounted air conditioner (Fig. 8 of Liu); the housing of the indoor unit (casing 200 Fig. 8 of Liu corresponds to the housing of You) of the wall-mounted air conditioner comprises a chassis (chassis 201 Fig. 11 of Liu), a frame (outer frame of casing 200 Fig. 8 of Liu) and a panel (front face of air conditioning unit 1000 Fig. 8 of Liu), and the fresh air module (fresh air module 100 Fig. 8 of Liu which corresponds to the fresh air module of You) is mounted at an end of the chassis (disclosed “fourth installation space” in paragraph [86] of Liu), a fresh air outlet (fresh air outlet c Fig. 6 of Liu) of the fresh air module faces towards the panel (Fig. 9 and paragraph [85] of Liu), and the panel is provided with the second air outlet (second air outlet 204 Fig. 9 of Liu which corresponds to the second air outlet of You) corresponding to the fresh air outlet (Figs. 8-9 and paragraph [85] of Liu).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach wherein the arc-shaped guide wall configured to direct at least a portion of airflow (corresponds to the air entering through the inlet of air intake area 3 Figs. 16-18 of Hammes) from the fresh air inlet at least a quarter of the way (Figs. 15-16 of Hammes) around a perimeter of the ventilation hole (perimeter of the circular hole of air guide housing Fig. 6 of Hammes) before entering the ventilation hole (Figs. 16-18 and paragraph [0127] of Hammes.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You, Liu, Zhang, and Hammes as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Junwu et al. (CN209310169U, herein after referred to as Junwu).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach wherein: a shape of the guide groove (Fig. 2 of You) is configured to match a shape of the purification assembly (Fig. 2 of You).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “an inner wall surface of the guide groove is configured to contact an outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly to seal a gap between the inner wall surface of the guide groove and the outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly”.
However, Junwu teaches an inner wall surface of the guide groove (inner wall of plug interface 3 Fig. 1 where plug interface 3 corresponds to the guide groove of You) is configured to contact an outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly (outer frame 5 Fig. 2 where the formaldehyde removal device corresponds to the purification assembly of You) to seal a gap (paragraph [23]) between the inner wall surface of the guide groove and the outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly (paragraph [23]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “an inner wall surface of the guide groove is configured to contact an outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly to seal a gap between the inner wall surface of the guide groove and the outer peripheral wall of the purification assembly” in view of the teachings of Junwu to avoid reducing the air purification effect.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You, Liu, Zhang, and Hammes as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ming et al. (CN106288608A, herein after referred to as Ming).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach wherein: a mounting opening (the side opening of housing 10 Fig. 15 of Zhang) is provided on the housing (Fig. 15 of Zhang where housing 10 corresponds to the housing of You).
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to explicitly teach “the guide groove comprises: the arc-shaped guide wall; and the guide groove has two strip-shaped guide walls respectively extending from two ends of the arc- shaped guide wall along a linear line towards the mounting opening, wherein the two strip-shaped guide walls and the arc-shaped guide wall cooperate to form a semi-racetrack shape, and wherein the strip-shaped guide walls are configured to guide movement of the purification assembly towards the arc-shaped guide wall as the purification assembly moves from the first position to the second position”.
However, Ming teaches a guide groove (connecting portions 14 and the outer rounded wall of fan casing 12 Fig. 4 correspond to the guide groove of You) comprises: an arc-shaped guide wall (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming); and the guide groove has two strip-shaped guide walls (guide surfaces 141 Fig. 4) respectively extending from two ends of the arc-shaped guide wall (Fig. 4) along a linear line (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming) towards a mounting opening (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming), wherein the two strip-shaped guide walls and the arc-shaped guide wall cooperate to form a semi-racetrack shape (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming), and wherein the strip-shaped guide walls are configured to guide movement of a purification assembly (paragraph [28] and Fig. 2 where filter assembly 2 corresponds to the purification assembly of You) towards the arc-shaped guide wall (Fig. 2) as the purification assembly moves from a first position (the position of filter assembly in Fig. 2 corresponds to the first position of Zhang) to a second position (the position of filter assembly in Fig. 5 corresponds to the second position of Zhang) to greatly facilitates the user's installation (paragraph [28]).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effectively filed date to modify the apparatus of the combined teachings to include “the guide groove comprises: the arc-shaped guide wall; and the guide groove has two strip-shaped guide walls respectively extending from two ends of the arc- shaped guide wall along a linear line towards the mounting opening, wherein the two strip-shaped guide walls and the arc-shaped guide wall cooperate to form a semi-racetrack shape, and wherein the strip-shaped guide walls are configured to guide movement of the purification assembly towards the arc-shaped guide wall as the purification assembly moves from the first position to the second position” in view of the teachings of Ming to greatly facilitates the user's installation.
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach wherein: the purification assembly comprises elastic buckles (hooks 23 and unlocking portions 24 Fig. 3 of Ming) extending from two opposite sides of the purification assembly (rails 22 Fig. 3 of Ming); the two strip-shaped guide walls of the guide groove are recessed to form positioning grooves (receiving slots 13 Fig. 4 of Ming) corresponding to the elastic buckles (paragraph [29] of Ming), and the positioning grooves are configured to clamp the elastic buckles correspondingly (paragraph [29] of Ming) and position the purification assembly in the guide groove (paragraph [29] of Ming).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach wherein a height of each of the strip-shaped guide walls (height of connection portions 14 Fig. 4 of Ming) from a surface of the middle partition plate (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming) is greater than a height of the arc-shaped guide wall (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming) from the surface of the middle partition plate (see below annotated Fig. 4 of Ming).
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Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMBA NMN GAYE whose telephone number is (571)272-8809. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 4:30AM to 2:30PM.
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/SAMBA NMN GAYE/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763