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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 01/15/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 7 ¶3-Page 8 ¶2, Page 9 ¶1-Page 10 ¶1, and Page 11 ¶2-¶4, filed 01/15/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3 & 6-10 not being obvious under Fang US 2021/0140440 in view of Kafuku JP 2003-300483 and Bouchez JP4737479 - because the art does not teach the feature “blades of the impeller overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along the axial direction” recited in amended claim(s) 1, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Fang US 2021/0140440 in view of Kafuku JP 2003-300483, Bouchez JP4737479, and Franz US 2005/0233688. In the new rejection, the examiner notes that the prior art of Franz US 2005/0233688 teaches blades 130 of the impeller which overlap circuit board 108 when viewed along the axial direction as claimed.
Applicant's arguments (Page 7 ¶3-Page 8 ¶2, Page 9 ¶1-¶2, Page 10 ¶2-Page 11 ¶4) filed 01/15/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-4 not being obvious under Uchino US 2021/0095693 in view of Kafuku JP 2003-300483 and Bouchez JP4737479 because the art does not teach the feature “blades of the impeller overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along the axial direction” recited in amended claim(s) 1 & 15, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant's arguments (Page 8 ¶3 & Page 10 ¶2) against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Furthermore, with respect to Applicants' assertion that “the prior art of Uchino specifically teaches that all portions of the substrate 13 of Uchino are located radially inward relative to and spaced away from the impeller 2 of Uchino such that no blades 21 of the impeller of Uchino overlap a portion of the substrate 13 of Uchino when viewed along an axial direction extending parallel to a shaft 10 of the motor 1 of Uchino.” at (Page 10 ¶3-Page 11 Line 1), Applicant has provided no evidence to support this assertion. Additionally, the examiner finds no specific teachings in Uchida which could be construed to support the assertion made by Applicant. Because this assertion lacks support in the record, the examiner gives the assertion little weight. See, e.g., In re Pearson, 494 F.2d 1399, 1405 (CCPA 1974) (“Attorney’s argument in a brief cannot take the place of evidence.”).
Claim Objections
Claims 16-17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 16 Line 1-5 currently states:
“wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion penetrating vertically; the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion; a conductive pin electrically connecting a coil located on the stator and the circuit board extends from the stator and through the through hole of the bottom plate.”.
Should be changed to state:
--wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion penetrating vertically; the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion; a conductive pin electrically connecting a coil located on the stator and the circuit board extends from the stator and through the through hole portion of the bottom plate.--.
Claim 17 Line 1-5 currently states:
“wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion penetrating vertically; the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion; a conductive pin electrically connecting a coil located on the stator and the circuit board extends from the stator and through the through hole of the bottom plate.”.
Should be changed to state:
--wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion penetrating vertically; the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion; a conductive pin electrically connecting a coil located on the stator and the circuit board extends from the stator and through the through hole portion of the bottom plate.--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s previous election without traverse of Species 1 is noted.
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) 1-3, and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang US 2021/0140440 in view of JP 2003300483, JP 4737479, and Franz US 2005/0233688. Examiners Note: For the purposes of examining the instant application, the examiners English translation of JP 2003300483 & JP 4737479, is referenced hereinafter.
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Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure A)
Regarding Claim 1: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: A blower (the blower is defined by the sum of its parts) comprising:
a motor (21, ¶0032, Fig 2); and
an impeller (22, ¶0032) rotatable by the motor (¶0032); wherein
the motor (the motor is defined by the sum of its parts) comprising:
a rotor (23, Fig 2, ¶0032) rotatable about a central axis extending vertically (central axis = axis extending through element 250 in Fig 5, ¶0032);
a stator (24, ¶0032) radially opposed to the rotor (Fig 2, Fig 5, ¶0032);
a circuit board (26, ¶0032) located below the stator in an axial direction (see Figs 2-3 & Figs 5-6);
a housing 20 in which the impeller, the rotor, the stator, and the circuit board are accommodated (as seen in Fig 5, ¶0032); and
a resin portion (27, ¶0032, ¶0037, Fig 5 – element 27 is disclosed as being made of either epoxy or polyurethane which are both known resins) located on an upper surface of a bottom plate of the housing (bottom plate of the housing = 283 – see Fig 4, upper surface of bottom plate = surface generally indicated by element 283b in Fig 5 & Fig 6; as seen in Fig 6 the resin portion 27 is located on the identified upper surface as claimed) and covering at least a portion of the stator and the circuit board (element 27 is disclosed as enclosing both the stator 24 and the circuit board 26 - ¶0032);
the bottom plate of the housing 283 includes a processed portion (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure A) above) that is covered with at least a portion of the resin portion (as seen in Attached Figure A the processed portion is completely covered by the resin portion 27 (e.g. covered by a portion of the resin portion)); the processed portion corresponding to a portion of the housing (as seen in Attached Figure A the identified processed portion corresponds to a portion of the housing 20 as claimed); and
the blower is operable to take air into the housing (rotation of the impeller 22 would inherently cause air to be drawn into the housing as claimed) and discharge compressed air by rotation of the impeller (rotation of the motor causes rotation of the impeller and thus inherently moves air with the fan (¶0031-¶0032), it should be noted that every impeller inherently causes an increase in pressure of the fluid moved by the impeller, otherwise flow of the air would not occur; additionally or in the alternate it is noted that rotation of the impeller inherently creates a suction (i.e. negative) pressure at the inlet of the fan and creates a discharge (i.e. positive) pressure at the outlet of the fan, thus the air at the outlet of the fan is inherently compressed (i.e. at a greater pressure) than the pressure at the inlet of the fan). Fang US 2021/0140440 does not disclose the limitations: the housing being made of a fiber-reinforced resin; and a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin. The prior art of JP 2003300483 which is directed to a cooling fan (Line 117-120) like Fang, is noted.
However JP 2003300483 does disclose the limitations: wherein the housing (i.e. housing 12, Figs 1-2, Line 108-116) being made of a fiber-reinforced resin (Line 112-116); and a fiber portion (i.e. glass fibers, Line 112-116) of the fiber-reinforced resin (the glass fibers are inherently part of the fiber-reinforced resin that forms the housing, see Line 112-116).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the material used to form the housing 20 and bottom plate 283 of Fang US 2021/0140440 with the fiber reinforced resin taught by of JP 2003300483 in order to reinforce the mechanical strength of the housing with the fiber reinforced material (Line 112-116).
Fang US 2021/0140440 is silent regarding the limitations: the processed portion corresponding to a portion of the housing which has had an outer surface removed so as to expose a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin; and a surface of the processed portion has a surface roughness that is higher than a surface roughness of remaining portions of the bottom plate excluding the processed portion due to the exposed fiber portion. The prior art of JP 4737479 which is directed to coating a surface of a device with resin (Line 14-21) like the device of Fang is noted.
Wherein JP 4737479 teaches: treating the surface of the substrate by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate, thus obviating the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to process the processed portion by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate as taught by JP 4737479 in the device of Fang US 2021/0140440 as modified by JP 2003300483, in light of the teachings of JP 4737479, so as to obviate the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that roughening of surfaces to be bonded enhances the bond between the two surfaces.
Accordingly the combination of Fang US 2021/0140440 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 discloses the limitations: the processed portion (Fang – Attached Figure A) corresponding to a portion of the housing which has had an outer surface removed (as taught by JP ‘479) so as to expose a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin (the processing taught by JP ‘479 would inherently expose a fiber portion of the fiber reinforced resin of JP ‘483); and a surface of the processed portion has a surface roughness that is higher (as taught by JP ‘479 the surface of the processed portion is higher than untreated surfaces, since the processed surface is roughened) than a surface roughness of remaining portions of the bottom plate excluding the processed portion (as explained above untreated areas would inherently be smoother/ have a lower roughness) due to the exposed fiber portion (i.e. due to the roughened area which would inherently include the exposed fiber portion).
Fang US 2021/0140440 is silent regarding the limitations: blades of the impeller overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along the axial direction. The prior art of Franz US 2005/0233688 which is directed to an outer rotor motor axial flow fan like Fang US 2021/0140440, is noted.
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Annotated Figure 1C of Franz US 2005/0233688 (Attached Figure E)
However, Franz US 2005/0233688 discloses the limitations: blades of the impeller (the impeller = 104,124, ¶0020; blades of the impeller = 130, since elements 130 generate airflow when rotated as explained in ¶0021-¶0023, elements 130 are impeller blades) overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along the axial direction (the circuit board = 108; the axial direction = see Annotated Figure 1C of Franz US 2005/0233688 (Attached Figure E) above, as seen in Attached Figure E blades 130 overlap a portion of the circuit board (Attached Figure E) when viewed along the axial direction (Attached Figure E) as claimed).
Hence it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the impeller 22 of Fang US 2021/0140440 with the blades 130 of Franz US 2005/0233688 in order to increase cooling of the motor inside the impeller (¶0017, ¶0022-¶0024).
Regarding Claim 2: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion (251, Fig 4, ¶0036) penetrating vertically (as seen in Fig 4 & Attached Figure A); and the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion (Attached Figure A).
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Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure B)
Regarding Claim 3: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein an area of an upper-side opening of the through hole portion (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure B) above) is smaller than an area of a lower-side opening of the through hole portion (Attached Figure B, as seen in Attached Figure B the upper side opening has a smaller area than the lower side opening; also see Fig 2, Fig 4, and Fig 8).
Regarding Claim 6: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the upper surface of the bottom plate (surface generally indicated by element 283b in Fig 5 & Fig 6) of the housing includes a circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure B) vertically opposed to the circuit board (Attached Figure B, the identified circuit board placement portion is vertically opposed to circuit board 26); and the processed portion is provided in at least a portion of the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure A & Attached Figure B, as seen in Attached Figure A & Attached Figure B the processed portion is provided in a portion of the circuit board placement portion).
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Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C)
Regarding Claim 7: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the processed portion has an annular shape (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C) above, also as seen in Fig 4 concave parts 283a are circular, thus the edge of 283a would be an annular shape) defined in an outer edge portion of the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure C, as seen in Attached Figure C the annular shape (AS) is defined in an outer edge portion of the circuit board placement portion).
Regarding Claim 8: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the upper surface of the bottom plate (surface generally indicated by element 283b in Fig 5 & Fig 6) of the housing includes a circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure B & Attached Figure C) vertically opposed to the circuit board (Attached Figure B, the identified circuit board placement portion is vertically opposed to circuit board 26); and the processed portion is in an annular shape (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C) above, also as seen in Fig 4 concave parts 283a are circular, thus the edge of 283a would be an annular shape) and is also defined in an outer edge portion of the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure C, as seen in Attached Figure C the annular shape (AS) is defined in an outer edge portion of the circuit board placement portion).
Regarding Claim 9: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the bottom plate 283 includes a peripheral wall surface (Attached Figure C) that extends upward (Attached Figure C) and surrounds an outer edge of the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure C, as seen in Attached Figure C the identified peripheral wall surface surrounds the circuit board placement portion, thus the peripheral wall surface would inherently surround an outer edge of the circuit board placement portion as claimed).
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Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C2)
Regarding Claims 9 & 10: Fang US 2021/0140440 does disclose the limitations: wherein the bottom plate 283 includes a peripheral wall surface (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C2) above) that extends upward and surrounds an outer edge of the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure C2, as seen in Attached Figure C2 the identified peripheral wall surface surrounds the circuit board placement portion, thus the peripheral wall surface would inherently surround an outer edge of the circuit board placement portion as claimed); and
wherein the circuit board placement portion (Attached Figure C2) is provided on a bottom surface of a recess (Attached Figure C2, 283a) that is recessed downward from the upper surface of the bottom plate (element 283a is recessed from the surface generally indicated by element 283b in Fig 5 & Fig 6 as seen in Attached Figure C2).
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fang US 2021/0140440 in view of JP 2003300483, JP 4737479, and Franz US 2005/0233688 as applied to claim 9 above, & further in view of CN 217240427. Examiners Note: For the purposes of examining the instant application, the examiners submitted English translation of CN 217240427 is referenced hereinafter. --It is noted the rejection of claim 11 below uses a slightly different version of Attached Figure C [Wingdings font/0xE0] Attached Figure C1 provided below.--.
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Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C1)
Regarding Claim 11: Fang US 2021/0140440 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 discloses in the above mentioned Figures and Specifications the limitations set forth in claim 9. Additionally, Fang US 2021/0140440 discloses that the peripheral wall surface (see Annotated Figure 5 of Fang US 2021/0140440 (Attached Figure C1) above) is included in the processed portion (Attached Figure C1). However Fang US 2021/0140440 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 is silent regarding a roughness of the peripheral wall surface. The prior art of CN 217240427 which is directed to a resin formed motor (Line 169-174) like Fang, is noted.
However CN 217240427 does disclose the limitations: wherein the peripheral wall surface (i.e. the side wall surface of cavity 11 in Fig 5) has a rough surface (Line 159-168).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the peripheral wall surface (Attached Figure C1) of Fang US 2021/0140440 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 with the rough surface as taught by CN 217240427 in order to enhance the adhesive force of the resin with the surface, increase the contact area between the surface and the resin, and/or improve the thermal conductivity between the surface & the resin (CN ‘427 – Line 159-168).
Claim(s) 1-4, & 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchino US 2021/0095693 in view of JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479.
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Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure D)
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Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure G)
Regarding Claim 1: Uchino US 2021/0095693 discloses the limitations: A blower (Uchino - 100, ¶0011) comprising:
a motor (1, ¶0019); and
an impeller (Uchino - 2, Fig 2, ¶0017) rotatable by the motor (Uchino - Fig 2, ¶0019); wherein
the motor includes:
a rotor 11 rotatable about a central axis CA extending vertically (Fig 2, ¶0019-¶0020);
a stator 12 radially opposed to the rotor (Fig 2);
a circuit board located below the stator in an axial direction (circuit board = substrate 13, since substrate 13 is described in ¶0030 as being equipped with a drive circuit and as electrically connecting the motor to the lead wire 14 powering the fan 100 – element 13 is a circuit board as claimed; also ¶0030 & Fig 2 disclose element 13 below the stator 12);
a housing 3 in which the impeller 2, the rotor 11, the stator 12, and the circuit board 13 are accommodated (as shown in Fig 2); and
a resin portion (4, ¶0048-¶0049, Fig 2) located on an upper surface of a bottom plate of the housing (see Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure D) above which identifies both a bottom plate of the housing and an upper surface of a bottom plate of the housing, as seen in Attached Figure D the resin portion covers an upper surface of the bottom plate as claimed) and covering at least a portion of the stator and the circuit board (Fig 2, ¶0049);
the bottom plate of the housing includes a portion (portion = surfaces of the bottom plate which are covered with resin in Fig 2) that is covered with at least a portion of the resin portion (as seen in Attached Figure D the resin portion 4 covers a portion of the bottom plate as claimed);
blades of the impeller (as seen in Figs 1-2, the impeller 2 has several blades which are arranged in the circumferential direction, further Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure G) above identifies one of the blades of the impeller and shows how it extends in the radial direction) overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along the axial direction (as seen in Attached Figure G each impeller blade has a part which overlaps a portion of the circuit board 13 when viewed along the axial direction as claimed); and
the blower is operable to take air into the housing (Uchino - via intake port 320, ¶0018, Fig 2) and discharge compressed air by rotation of the impeller (Uchino - via discharge port 30, ¶0018; rotation of the motor causes rotation of the impeller and thus inherently moves air with the fan (¶0018-¶0021), it should be noted that every impeller inherently causes an increase in pressure of the fluid moved by the impeller, otherwise flow of the air would not occur; additionally or in the alternate it is noted that the fan of Uchino has the same structure as the fan of the instant application, thus the prior art of Uchino would discharge compressed air in the same manner as the instant application).
Uchino US 2021/0095693 does not disclose the limitations: the housing being made of a fiber-reinforced resin; and a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin. The prior art of JP 2003300483 which is directed to a cooling fan (Line 117-120) like Uchino, is noted.
However JP 2003300483 does disclose the limitations: wherein the housing (i.e. housing 12, Figs 1-2, Line 108-116) being made of a fiber-reinforced resin (Line 112-116); and a fiber portion (i.e. glass fibers, Line 112-116) of the fiber-reinforced resin (the glass fibers are inherently part of the fiber-reinforced resin that forms the housing, see Line 112-116).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the fiber reinforced resin material taught by of JP 2003300483 as the material used to form the housing and the bottom plate of Uchino US 2021/0095693, in light of the teachings of JP 2003300483, in order to reinforce the mechanical strength of the housing with the fiber reinforced material (Line 112-116).
Uchino US 2021/0095693 is silent regarding the limitations: a processed portion; the processed portion corresponding to a portion of the housing which has had an outer surface removed so as to expose a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin; and a surface of the processed portion has a surface roughness that is higher than a surface roughness of remaining portions of the bottom plate excluding the processed portion due to the exposed fiber portion. The prior art of JP 4737479 which is directed to coating a surface of a device with resin (Line 14-21) like the device of Uchino is noted.
Wherein JP 4737479 teaches: a processed portion formed by treating the surface of the substrate by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate, thus obviating the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to process the portion (of Uchino) by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate as taught by JP 4737479 in the device of Uchino US 2021/0095693 as modified by JP 2003300483, in light of the teachings of JP 4737479, so as to obviate the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that roughening of surfaces to be bonded enhances the bond between the two surfaces.
Additionally the combination of Uchino US 2021/0095693 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 discloses the limitations: a processed portion (i.e. surfaces of the bottom plate of Uchino which are roughened as taught by JP ‘479); the processed portion corresponding to a portion of the housing which has had an outer surface removed (as taught by JP ‘479) so as to expose a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin (the processing taught by JP ‘479 would inherently expose a fiber portion of the fiber reinforced resin of JP ‘483); and a surface of the processed portion has a surface roughness that is higher (as taught by JP ‘479 the surface of the processed portion is higher than untreated surfaces, since the processed surface is roughened) than a surface roughness of remaining portions of the bottom plate excluding the processed portion (as explained above untreated areas would inherently be smoother/ have a lower roughness) due to the exposed fiber portion (i.e. due to the roughened area which would inherently include the exposed fiber portion).
Regarding Claim 2: Uchino US 2021/0095693 does disclose the limitations: wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion (Uchino - Attached Figure D) penetrating vertically (Uchino - Attached Figure D); and the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion (Attached Figure D illustrates the peripheral portion of the through hole portion; additionally since the identified vertical walls in Attached Figure D surround the identified peripheral portion of the through hole in Attached Figure D of Uchino and are understood to form part of the housing recess 3110 (Uchino - ¶0038, ¶0044, and ¶0049) which is filled with resin (Uchino - ¶0049), it follows that in the combination of prior art the processed portion located on the identified vertical walls in Attached Figure D of Uchino would surround the peripheral portion of the through hole portion as claimed).
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Annotated Detail view of Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure F)
Regarding Claim 3: Uchino US 2021/0095693 does disclose the limitations: wherein an area of an upper-side opening of the through hole portion (upper side opening of the through hole portion = 2nd through hole in the Annotated Detail view of Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure F) above, also see Attached Figure D; an area of the upper side opening = the cross sectional area of the 2nd through hole in Attached Figure F) is smaller (i.e. has a smaller width in the drawing plane as seen in Attached Figure F) than an area of a lower-side opening of the through hole portion (lower side opening of the through hole portion = 1st through hole in Attached Figure F; an area of the lower side opening = the cross sectional area of the 1st through hole in Attached Figure F; as seen in Attached Figure F the width of the 2nd area is smaller than the width of the 1st area in the drawing plane, thus an area of an upper-side opening of the through hole portion is smaller than an area of a lower-side opening of the through hole portion as claimed).
Regarding Claim 4: Uchino US 2021/0095693 does disclose the limitations: a conductive pin (124, Attached Figure D, ¶0025, ¶0028-¶0030) electrically connecting a coil 123 located on the stator 12 and the circuit board (¶0025, ¶0028-¶0030); wherein the through hole portion (Attached Figure D & Attached Figure F) includes a first through hole (Attached Figure D & Attached Figure F) and a second through hole (Attached Figure D & Attached Figure F) with different cross-sectional areas (as seen in Attached Figure F the 1st and 2nd through holes have different cross-sectional areas in the drawing plane of Attached Figure F); the first through hole has a larger cross-sectional area than that of the second through hole (as seen in Attached Figure F & Attached Figure D the 1st through hole has a larger width than the 2nd through hole in the drawing plane, thus the 1st through hole has a larger cross-sectional area than that of the 2nd through hole in the width dimension of the drawing plane of Attached Figure F) and overlaps the conductive pin in the axial direction (as seen in Attached Figure D & Attached Figure F the 1st through hole overlaps pin 124 in the axial direction); and a tip of the conductive pin (Attached Figure D) is located inside the first through hole (Attached Figure D and Attached Figure F).
Regarding Claim 15: Uchino US 2021/0095693 discloses the limitations: A method of manufacturing a blower (i.e. method of manufacturing the blower in Figs 1-4 of Uchino, MPEP §2112.02 I Under the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device. When the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device will inherently perform the claimed process. In re King, 801 F.2d 1324, 231 USPQ 136 (Fed. Cir. 1986)) including an impeller (2, Fig 2, ¶0017) and a motor (1, ¶0019) in which a rotor 11, a stator 12, and a circuit board (circuit board = substrate 13, since substrate 13 is described in ¶0030 as being equipped with a drive circuit and as electrically connecting the motor to the lead wire 14 powering the fan 100 – element 13 is a circuit board as claimed; also ¶0030 & Fig 2 disclose element 13 below the stator 12) are accommodated in a housing (i.e. are accommodated in housing 3 as shown in Fig 2), the method comprising:
making the housing from a material (housing 3 in Fig 2 would inherently be made from a material);
forming a portion (portion = surfaces of the bottom plate which are covered with resin in Fig 2; the portion would inherently be formed when manufacturing the device of Uchino) at an upper surface of a bottom plate of the housing (see Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure D) above which identifies both a bottom plate of the housing and an upper surface of a bottom plate of the housing, since resin portion 4 is filled in the housing recess 3110 (¶0049) which is defined in part by the identified upper surface of the bottom plate – the structure of the bottom plate and the articulated portion, would inherently have to be provided before the resin is used to fill recess 3110); and
providing a resin (i.e. providing the resin of resin section 4, ¶0048-¶0049) in contact with the portion (as seen in Fig 2) and covering at least a portion of the stator and the circuit board with the resin (¶0049, Fig 2); wherein
the impeller is provided inside the housing (as shown in Fig 2) and rotatable by the motor (Fig 2, ¶0019);
blades of the impeller (as seen in Figs 1-2, the impeller 2 has several blades which are arranged in the circumferential direction, further Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure G) above identifies one of the blades of the impeller and shows how it extends in the radial direction) overlap a portion of the circuit board when viewed along an axial direction (as seen in Attached Figure G each impeller blade has a part which overlaps a portion of the circuit board 13 when viewed along the axial direction as claimed) extending in parallel to a shaft of the motor (as seen in Attached Figure G the axial direction extends parallel to shaft 10 of the motor as claimed); and
the blower is operable to take air into the housing (Uchino - via intake port 320, ¶0018, Fig 2) and discharge compressed air by rotation of the impeller (Uchino - via discharge port 30, ¶0018; rotation of the motor causes rotation of the impeller and thus inherently moves air with the fan (¶0018-¶0021), it should be noted that every impeller inherently causes an increase in pressure of the fluid moved by the impeller, otherwise flow of the air would not occur; additionally or in the alternate it is noted that the fan of Uchino has the same structure as the fan of the instant application, thus the prior art of Uchino would discharge compressed air in the same manner as the instant application). Uchino US 2021/0095693 does not disclose the limitations: making the housing from a fiber-reinforced resin; and a fiber portion of the fiber-reinforced resin. The prior art of JP 2003300483 which is directed to a cooling fan (Line 117-120) like Uchino, is noted.
However JP 2003300483 does disclose the limitations: wherein the housing (i.e. housing 12, Figs 1-2, Line 108-116) being made of a fiber-reinforced resin (Line 112-116); and a fiber portion (i.e. glass fibers, Line 112-116) of the fiber-reinforced resin (the glass fibers are inherently part of the fiber-reinforced resin that forms the housing, see Line 112-116).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the fiber reinforced resin material taught by of JP 2003300483 as the material used to form the housing and the bottom plate of Uchino US 2021/0095693, in light of the teachings of JP 2003300483, in order to reinforce the mechanical strength of the housing with the fiber reinforced material (Line 112-116).
Uchino US 2021/0095693 is silent regarding the limitations: forming a processed portion at a predetermined position, by removing an outer layer of the upper surface to expose a fiber portion of the fiber reinforced resin, the processed portion having a surface roughness higher than a surface roughness of another portion due to the exposed fiber portion; and providing a resin in contact with the exposed portion of the processed portion. The prior art of JP 4737479 which is directed to coating a surface of a device with resin (Line 14-21) like Uchino, is noted.
Wherein JP 4737479 teaches: a processed portion formed at a predetermined position by treating the surface of the substrate by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate, thus obviating the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80).
Hence it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to process the portion (of Uchino) by removing a surface of the substrate to increase the roughness of the substrate as taught by JP 4737479 in the device of Uchino US 2021/0095693 as modified by JP 2003300483, in light of the teachings of JP 4737479, so as to obviate the need for an adhesive, since the resin material covering the substrate can be directly mechanically anchored by the rough treated surface of the substrate (JP ‘479 – Line 48-80). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that roughening of surfaces to be bonded enhances the bond between the two surfaces.
Additionally the combination of Uchino US 2021/0095693 as modified by JP 2003300483 and JP 4737479 discloses the limitations: forming a processed portion (i.e. roughening surfaces of the bottom plate of Uchino as taught by JP ‘479) at a predetermined position (the roughened surfaces would inherently be located at predetermined positions), by removing an outer layer of the upper surface (as taught by JP ‘479) to expose a fiber portion of the fiber reinforced resin (the processing taught by JP ‘479 would inherently expose a fiber portion of the fiber reinforced resin of JP ‘483), the processed portion having a surface roughness higher (as taught by JP ‘479 the surface of the processed portion is higher than untreated surfaces, since the processed surface is roughened) than a surface roughness of another portion (as explained above untreated areas would inherently be smoother/ have a lower roughness) due to the exposed fiber portion (i.e. due to the roughened area which would inherently include the exposed fiber portion); and providing a resin in contact with the exposed portion of the processed portion (as taught by Uchino and JP ‘479 the resin would inherently contact the exposed portion of the processed portion).
--It is noted the rejection of claims 16-17 below uses a slightly different version of Attached Figure D [Wingdings font/0xE0] Attached Figure D1 provided below.--.
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Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure D1)
Regarding Claims 16 & 17: Uchino US 2021/0095693 does disclose the limitations: wherein the bottom plate of the housing includes a through hole portion (see Annotated Figure 2 of Uchino US 2021/0095693 (Attached Figure D1) above) penetrating vertically (Attached Figure D1); the processed portion surrounds a peripheral portion of the through hole portion (Attached Figure D1 illustrates the peripheral portion of the through hole portion; additionally since the identified vertical walls in Attached Figure D1 surround the identified peripheral portion of the through hole in Attached Figure D1 of Uchino and are understood to form part of the housing recess 3110 (Uchino - ¶0038, ¶0044, and ¶0049) which is filled with resin (Uchino - ¶0049), it follows that in the combination of prior art the processed portion located on the identified vertical walls in Attached Figure D1 of Uchino would surround the peripheral portion of the through hole portion as claimed); a conductive pin (124, Attached Figure D1, ¶0025, ¶0028-¶0030) electrically connecting a coil 123 located on the stator 12 and the circuit board (¶0025, ¶0028-¶0030) extends from the stator (Attached Figure D1) and through the through hole portion of the bottom plate (Attached Figure D1).
Examiner's Note: The Examiner respectfully requests of the Applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the entirety of the references as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention.
It is noted, REFERENCES ARE RELEVANT AS PRIOR ART FOR ALL THEY CONTAIN. “The use of patents as references is not limited to what the patentees describe as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain.” In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). A reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill the art, including nonpreferred embodiments (see MPEP § 2123).
Additionally the origin of the drawing is immaterial. For instance, drawings in a design patent can anticipate or make obvious the claimed invention, as can drawings in utility patents. When the reference is a utility patent, it does not matter that the feature shown is unintended or unexplained in the specification. The drawings must be evaluated for what they reasonably disclose and suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art. In re Aslanian, 590 F.2d 911, 200 USPQ 500 (CCPA 1979). (See MPEP § 2125).
The Examiner has cited particular locations in the reference(s) as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claims, typically other passages and figures will apply as well.
Furthermore: with respect to the prior art and the determination of obviousness, it has been held that Prior art is not limited just to the references being applied, but includes the understanding of one of ordinary skill in the art. The "mere existence of differences (i.e. a gap) between the prior art and an invention DOES NOT ESTABLISH the inventions nonobviousness." Dann v. Johnston, 425 U.S. 219, 230, 189 USPQ 257, 261 (1976). Rather, in determining obviousness the proper analysis is whether the claimed invention would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art after consideration of all the facts. And factors other than the disclosures of the cited prior art may provide a basis for concluding that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to bridge the gap. (See MPEP § 2141).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen US 2019/0078580 – discloses an outer rotor motor mixed flow fan.
Fukushima US 2020/0309191 – discloses an outer rotor motor axial fan.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH S HERRMANN whose telephone number is (571)270-3291. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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/CHARLES G FREAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/JOSEPH S. HERRMANN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3746