DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 11-13, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Helbling (US 3744149 A) in view of Yu (CN 209884733 U).
Regarding claim 1, Helbling discloses an air-flow apparatus which is arranged for treating air and for drying an object, in particular a human hand, the air-flow apparatus comprising:
a housing having an interior space (5) into which the object to be dried is insertable via an opening, and having a base opposite the opening (bottom portion of the housing);
a suction pump (14) which is connected on an inlet side to the interior space in such a way that, by means of a pumping action of the pump, a negative pressure is generated in the interior space and a first air flow directed from the opening exclusively into the interior space, is generated for drying the object, the pump being designed for discharging on an outlet side an outlet air flow passing through the pump (col. 1, lines 58-63); and
a flow arrangement which has a controllable overpressure generating device (2), an inflow pipe (4 alone, or 4+11+12) and at least one nozzle (downstream end of the inflow pipe and opening into space 5), the controllable overpressure generating device being connected on its outlet side via the inflow pipe and the at least one nozzle to the interior space and being adapted to form an overpressure in the inflow pipe and to generate via the at least one nozzle a second air flow directed into the interior space for drying the object.
Helbling fails to disclose:
a partially opened lid of the housing
Yu teaches a foot cleaning device comprising two openings for a user to insert their feet, and where each opening is formed by a partially opened lid (6) (see pg. 3, the lid 6 is provided with a pull rope to adjust the size of the opening). The purpose of the adjustable lid is prevent loss of heat (see bottom of pg. 3)
It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the time of effective filing of the application to modify Helbling to include an adjustable partially opened lid of the housing. The motivation to combine is so that once a user sticks their hand into the interior space, the lid can partially close around the wrist of the user, thereby reducing the loss of heat (note: Helbling discloses a heater 3). The result of reduced heat loss is faster drying.
Regarding claim 9, modified Yu discloses the air-flow apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first air flow is greater than the second air flow and the negative pressure in the interior space generated by the pump is greater in amount than a positive pressure in the interior space generated by the overpressure generating device (Yu; col. 1, lines 58-63).
Regarding claim 11, modified Yu discloses the air-flow apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a unit for discharging and/or decontaminating (Yu, filter 18) the outlet air flow, in particular the outlet air flow contaminated with germs, is fitted to an inlet pipe and/or to an outlet pipe of the pump.
Regarding claim 12, modified Yu discloses the air-flow apparatus according to claim 1, except wherein the overpressure generating device is formed by a further pump. However, a mere duplication of the pump has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B).
Regarding claim 13, modified Yu discloses the air-flow apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a filter system (Yu, filter 18) for purifying ambient air drawn in by the further pump via an inlet.
Regarding claim 17, modified Yu discloses (see Yu for citations) the air-flow apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of suction zones (11, 12) are provided in the base and/or on side walls of the interior space;
the pump (14) is additionally connected (fluidly connected) to the interior space on its inlet side via at least one suction line (air space downstream the exhaust holes 13 and upstream the pump 14); and
the at least one suction line opens (via exhaust holes 13) into the interior space (5) near the partially opened lid (the inlet into space 5 is modified to have a lid) in such a way that an air flow parallel or substantially parallel to the lid is generated (the figure shows a bend at each of the lines 11 and 12, where the air flow is approximately parallel to the inlet into the space 5.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 10, 14-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/JASON LAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762