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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claims 4-6, the claim verbiage “capable of” followed by a functional language renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. Being capable of a particular function implies that a structure is able to do said function; however, it does not disclose that the structure is definitively performing said function.
Claims 7-8 are rejected as being dependent on rejected claim(s).
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “fastening assembly” in claim 1 .
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the Applicant’s Original Disclosure shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the Applicant’s Original Disclosure for the 35 U.S.C 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C 112, sixth paragraph limitation:
In the Applicant’s Original Disclosure of Claim 3, the Applicant defines the fastening assembly as “the fastening assembly comprises a fastening base fixedly connected to the first turntable, a fastener fixedly connected to the control cable, and a spring sleeved outside the fastener, and the fastener is configured to pass through the fastening base and limit the spring between the fastener and the fastening base”.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, and 9-15 are allowed.
Claims 4-8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Shumaker et al. (US 20170112071, hereinafter: “Shumaker”) discloses an on-vehicle axial flow blower, comprising:
a housing assembly (overall housing shown in Fig. 9); a blowing assembly, comprising an air inlet assembly, an air outlet assembly (101), and a duct assembly connected between the air inlet assembly and the air outlet assembly, wherein the duct assembly comprises a motor (123), a guiding cone (103) mounted at a first end of the motor, and an axial fan mounted at a second end of the motor; and
a rotating assembly, comprising a control handle (“the tensioning cable can be manually adjusted or controlled by an actuator, lanyard or cable to allow the nozzle 107 to reciprocate upwardly or downwardly relative to the ground,” [0026]), a first turntable (116), a fastening assembly (teeth of gear 116) penetrating through the first turntable, a control cable (131) connecting the control handle with the fastening assembly, and a second turntable (121) arranged below the first turntable, an end of the first turntable is rotatably connected to the second turntable, a plurality of fastening grooves (grooves between the teeth of pinion 121) is disposed on the second turntable, and the control handle is configured as follows: when the control handle is pressed, the control cable drives the fastening assembly to detach from the fastening hole; and after the control handle is released, the fastening assembly drives the control cable to automatically reset, and then the fastening assembly is reinserted into the fastening groove. [0023-0036] (Fig. 1-9).
Shumaker is silent on a first end of the first turntable is fixedly connected to the housing assembly and the blowing assembly, a second end of the first turntable is rotatably connected to the second turntable and the control handle is configured as follows: when the control handle is pressed, the control cable drives the fastening assembly to detach from the fastening hole; and after the control handle is released, the fastening assembly drives the control cable to automatically reset, and then the fastening assembly is reinserted into the fastening hole, wherein the fastening assembly comprises a fastening base fixedly connected to the first turntable, a fastener fixedly connected to the control cable, and a spring sleeved outside the fastener, and the fastener is configured to pass through the fastening base and limit the spring between the fastener and the fastening base
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Street et al. (US 20210114673), Wooden et al. (US 20200331037), Hall et al. (US 20200120881), Kawaguchi et al. (US 6226833), and Yasuda (US 3959846)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYE SU MON HTAY whose telephone number is (571)270-5958. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm PST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathan Wiehe can be reached at 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AYE S HTAY/Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745
Prosecution Insights