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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
1. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
2. Claims 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamaoka (2016/0278288 A1), provided with the IDS filed on 08/05/2024. Regarding claim 1, Yamaoka discloses a string trimmer 100, comprising: a string trimmer head 50 (Fig. 1); a drive device comprising a motor 30 for driving the string trimmer head 50 to rotate about a first axis; an operating device 20 comprising a first housing 22 for connecting a power supply device 40 to supply power to the motor 30; and a connecting device 60 for connecting the drive device to the operating device 20; wherein the first housing 22 is formed with a coupling portion 222 for coupling the power supply device 40, and a connecting portion (defined by the end section of the first housing 22 that the connected to the end of the rod 61b of the coupling device 60; Fig. 7) connected to the connecting device 60; an air inlet 221 is further provided between the coupling portion 222 and the connecting portion (Fig. 6); and the air inlet communicates with an inside of the first housing 22, wherein the air inlet opens towards a rear direction, as away from the connecting device 60, and towards a left side. It should be noted that the inlet opening 221 is partially open toward both the left and right sides of a central line passing through first housing 22, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. Furthermore, the claim does not explicitly define the “left side.” In this context, the left side may reasonably correspond to the lower portion of first housing 22, while the right side corresponds to the upper portion. Under this interpretation, the inlet opening is located on the left side (i.e., the lower portion) of first housing 22. See Figs. 1-10 in Yamaoka.
Regarding claim 11, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the connecting device 60 comprises a connecting rod (61a, 61b), the first housing is provided with a protrusion portion (protrudes from the first housing 22; Fig. 6) protruding out of an extension direction of the connecting rod (61a, 61b), and the air inlet 221 (Fig. 6) is disposed on the protrusion portion.
Regarding claim 12, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the air inlet is disposed on a side of the protrusion portion facing the coupling portion (of the battery). See Fig. 6 in Yamaoka.
Regarding claim 13, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the connecting rod connects the driving device to the operating device 20, and the connecting rod (61a, 61b) is hollow (and having an air passage channel 60a) and communicates with drive device and the operating device.
Regarding claim 14, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the motor 30 is connected to a fan 31, and, when the motor drives the fan to rotate, air flows in a heat dissipation air path that is formed from the air inlet 221, through the connecting rod (61a, 61b) to the drive device, and out from the drive device.
Regarding claim 15, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the air inlet is disposed on the rear side of the protrusion portion (Fig. 6) and the front side of the coupling portion.
Regarding claim 16, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the air inlet opens in a direction away from the connecting device (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that a control circuit board 87 (paragraph [0071]); wherein the control circuit board is disposed at a front end the end of the air inlet 221. The front end of the inlet 221 is defined by the are in front of the inlet 221 towards the free end of the housing where the circuit board 87 is located. See Fig. 7 in Yamaoka.
Regarding claim 18, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the connecting device comprises a connecting rod (60b), the first housing 22 is provided with a protrusion portion (defined by the longitudinal protrusion that houses the circuit board 87; Fig. 7) protruding out of an extension direction of the connecting rod (61a, 61b), the air inlet 221 is disposed on the protrusion portion (as being supported on the protrusion), and the control circuit board 87 is accommodated in an accommodation space formed by the protrusion portion. See Figs. 6-7 in Yamaoka.
3. Claims 19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Racov et al. (9,517,555 B2), hereinafter Racov. Regarding claim 19, Racov discloses a string trimmer 1, comprising: a string trimmer head 20 (Fig. 1); a drive device comprising a motor 21 for driving the string trimmer head to rotate about a first axis; an operating device 10 (Fig. 1) comprising a first housing 12 for connecting a power supply device 13 to supply power to the motor; and a connecting device comprising a connecting rod 30 for connecting the drive device to the operating device 10; and a control circuit board 15 (which includes PCB), wherein the first housing 12 is formed with an arm rest portion (defined by the front upper portion of the housing that could be used for on arm of a user to rest on; Fig. 1) for an arm to rest on, a coupling portion (defined by the portion of the housing 12 that receives the battery pack 13; Fig. 1) for coupling the power supply device 13, and a connecting portion 40 connected to the connecting device, and
wherein the first housing 12 is provided with a protrusion portion (defend by the lower portion of the housing 12, which accommodates inlet 18, and protrudes from the longitudinal axis of the connected rod 30; Fig. 2) protruding out of an extension direction of the connecting rod 30, an air inlet 18 is disposed on the protrusion portion, the control circuit board 15 (which includes PCB) is accommodated in an accommodation space formed by the protrusion portion so that the air inlet 18 is close to the control circuit board. See Figs. 1-2 in Racov.
Regarding claim 21, Racov, teaches everything noted above including that in a direction that is perpendicular to an extension direction of the connecting rod 30 and perpendicular to a left-right direction of the string trimmer, the control circuit board 15 and the air inlet 18 are located on a same side of the connecting portion. As shown in Fig. 2, the circuit board 15 at least partially and the air inlet 18 completely are on the same side relative to a line perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting rod 30.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaoka in view of Miller and in further view of Racov. Regarding claim 1, Yamaoka discloses a string trimmer 100, comprising: a string trimmer head 50 (Fig. 1); a drive device comprising a motor 30 for driving the string trimmer head 50 to rotate about a first axis; an operating device 20 comprising a first housing 22 for connecting a power supply device 40 to supply power to the motor 30; a connecting device 60 comprising a connecting rod (61a, 61b) for connecting the drive device to the operating device 20; and a control circuit board 87, wherein the first housing 22 is formed with an arm rest portion 223 (Fig. 7 and paragraph [0066]) for an arm to rest on, a coupling portion 222 for coupling the power supply device 40, and a connecting portion (defined by the end section of the first housing 22 that the connected to the end of the second portion 61b of the coupling device 60; Fig. 7), connected to the connecting device 60; the arm rest portion 223 is disposed behind the connecting portion; an air inlet 221 is disposed between the coupling portion 222 and the connecting portion (Fig. 6); and the air inlet communicates with an inside of the first housing 22, and wherein the first housing 22 is provided with a protrusion portion (defied by the protrusion that extending downwards and laterally from the connecting portion; Fig. 6) that protrudes laterally out of an extension direction of the connecting rod (61a, 61b), the air inlet 221 is disposed on the protrusion portion. See Figs. 1-10 in Yamaoka.
Yamaoka does not explicitly teach that the arm rest portion is configured to be squeezable by the arm and elastically deformable when the string trimmer is operated. However, Miller discloses a string trimmer 10 including a first housing 20 having an arm rest portion (30a in Fig. 3 or 132 in Fig. 11B). Miller further discloses that the arm rest portion is configured to be squeezable (being formed from a composite rubber that provides cushioning to the user’s arm during use; col. 4, lines 31-40) and elastically deformable when the string trimmer is operated. See Figs. 1-11B of Miller. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to form Yamaoka’s arm rest portion from an elastic material, as taught by Miller, in order to provide comfort and cushioning support for the user’s forearm and to absorb impact if the trimmer is dropped. See col. 4, lines 32-40 of Miller.
Yamaoka also does not explicitly teach an arrangement wherein the control circuit board 87 is accommodated in an accommodation space formed by the protrusion portion, the control circuit board is disposed at a front end of the air inlet 221, and the air inlet is disposed between the control circuit board and the coupling portion in a front-rear direction along the extension direction of the connecting rod. However, Racoy teaches a string trimmer including a circuit board 15 (defined as a control unit including a PCB) placed in an accommodation space formed by a protrusion portion (defined by the lower portion of the housing 12, which accommodates inlet 18 and protrudes from the longitudinal axis of the connecting rod 30; Fig. 2) of a first housing 12. Racoy further teaches that the control circuit board 15 is disposed at a front end of an air inlet 18 (Fig. 2). See Figs. 1-5B of Racoy.
It should be noted that when the circuit board 87 of Yamaoka is arranged in front of the air inlet, as taught by Racoy, the air inlet 221 of Yamaoka would be disposed between the control circuit board (positioned in front of the inlet) and the coupling portion 222 (Fig. 6 of Yamaoka) in a front-rear direction along the extension direction of the connecting rod. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to rearrange the placement of the circuit board of Yamaoka’s string trimmer, as modified by Miller, to position the circuit board in front of the air inlet, as taught by Racoy, in order to ensure sufficient cooling air is provided to the control circuit.
Regarding claim 2, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the air inlet 221 opens in a direction away from the connecting device 60. See Fig. 6 in Yamaoka.
Regarding claim 3, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the connecting rod (61a, 61b) is hollow (by having an air passage channel 60a) and communicates with the drive device and the operating device 20.
Regarding claim 4, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the motor 30 is connected to a fan 31, and, when the motor drives the fan to rotate, air flows in a heat dissipation air path that is formed from the air inlet 221, through the connecting rod (through the channel 60a) to the drive device, and out from the drive device.
Regarding claim 5, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including that the control circuit board 87 is disposed between the coupling portion 222 and the connecting portion and on the heat dissipation air path.
Regarding claim 6, Yamaoka teaches everything noted above including an extension direction of the arm rest portion 223 obliquely intersects an extension direction of the connecting rod (61a, 61b) at an acute angle greater than or equal to 10° and less than or equal to 60°. It should be noted that the angle β (Fig. 7) is the range of 100° to 170° (paragraph [0065]). The angel of the arm rest 223 is measured from the front end of the first housing 22 with respect to the extension direction of the connecting rod. However, similar to Fig. 2 of the current application, if the angle of the arm rest 223 is measured from the rear end of the first housing 22 with respect to the extension direction of the connecting rod, then the angle would be in a range of 10° to 80°.
Regarding claim 7, Miller teaches all of the features noted above; however, Miller does not explicitly disclose that, when the arm rest portion is squeezed, the amount of deformation of the arm rest portion in a direction perpendicular to its surface is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm and less than or equal to 25 mm.
Miller explicitly may not disclose the amount of the deformation of the arm rest. However, Miller teaches that the arm rest 130 (Fig. 11A) includes hollow cushion members 195, and that the pad is compressed by a user’s arm. A composite rubber structure with cushion holes would naturally provide at least 0.5 mm of deformation when compressed by the user’s arm. Furthermore, the amount of deformation of the pad depends on the force applied to it; therefore, the pad could be pressed sufficiently to deform within the range specified above. Moreover, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to provide the pad with deformability within the range specified above, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result-effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Regarding claim 8, Yamaoka, as modified by Miller, teaches everything noted above including that arm rest portion (30a in Fig. 3 or 132 in Fig. 11B ) comprises a pad (33a in Fig. 3 or 130 in Fig. 11B) covering at least part of the arm rest portion. See Figs. 3 and 11B in Miller. Yamaoka in view of Miller does not explicitly teach that an average thickness of the pad is greater than or equal to 1.5 mm and less than or equal to 30 mm. However, Official Notice is taken that the use of a pad with an average thickness of greater than or equal to 1.5 mm and less than or equal to 30 mm is old and well known in the art.
Regarding claim 9, Yamaoka, as modified by Miller, teaches everything noted above including that the pad (33a in Fig. 3 or 130 in Fig. 11B) comprises a first material layer. Yamaoka, as modified by Miller, does not explicitly teach that the pad also includes a second material layer, and the first material layer has greater hardness than the second material layer. However, Official Notice is taken that the use of a pad having a first material layer with a greater hardness than a hardness of a second material layer is old and well known in the art.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant’s argument that Yamaoka does not teach an inlet opening on a left side is not persuasive. As discussed above, inlet opening 221 is partially open toward both the left and right sides of a central line passing through first housing 22, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. Furthermore, the claim does not explicitly define the “left side.” In this context, the left side may reasonably correspond to the lower portion of first housing 22, while the right side corresponds to the upper portion. Under this interpretation, the inlet opening is located on the left side (i.e., the lower portion) of first housing 22.
Applicant’s argument that Yamaoka does not teach the amended portion of claim 1 is moot, as Yamoaka, in combination with Racov, now teaches the amended subject matter of claim 1, as set forth above.
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant’s disclosure.
Heinzelmann et al. (8,757,288 B2) and Mang et al. (2010/0218385 A1) teach a cooling arrangement for a circuit board.
8. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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.
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/GHASSEM ALIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724 April 1, 2026
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