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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chang et al. (US Patent Application Publication # 2022/0381253).
Regarding Claim 1, Chang discloses a connecting mechanism, comprising:
at least two fan housings (i.e. fan frames 11/21 of fans 10/20) juxtaposed to each other; wherein:
each of the at least two fan housings has an outside provided with two magnetically attractive elements (i.e. fixing members 14/24 which are either magnets 141/241 or corresponding metal members 142/242 which join together the fans through magnetic attraction) arranged symmetrically;
the two magnetically attractive elements elements have the same structure;
the two magnetically attractive elements are secured to and distributed horizontally on each of the at least two fan housings; and
a first one of the two magnetically attractive elements of one of the at least two fan housings is magnetically attracted by and connected with a second one of the two magnetically attractive elements of an adjacent one of the at least two fan housings (Fig. 2-8, 10-17; Abstract; Paragraphs 0034-0046).
Regarding Claim 2, Chang discloses that the first one of the two magnetically attractive elements of one of the at least two fan housings is a magnet S pole (i.e. magnet 141), and the second one of the two magnetically attractive elements of the adjacent one of the at least two fan housings is a magnet N pole (i.e. magnet 241) (Fig. 6; Paragraph 0036).
Regarding Claim 3, Chang discloses that the first one of the two magnetically attractive elements of one of the at least two fan housings is a magnet S pole or a magnet N pole (i.e. magnet 141/241), and the second one of the two magnetically attractive elements of the adjacent one of the at least two fan housings is a magnetic patch (i.e. corresponding metal members 142/242) (Fig. 7; Paragraph 0036, 0039).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-8 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. The Examiner suggests that the Applicant add the limitations of claims 4 & 7 to independent claim 1 in order to fully encompass the Applicant’s invention since the magnetic features are the essential elements of the Applicant’s inventive concept.
Relevant Cited Art
The cited art in PTO-892 was found during the examiner's search, but was not relied upon for this office action. However, it is still considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RHADAMES J ALONZO MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-7829. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am-6pm PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Thompson can be reached at (571) 272-2342. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RJA/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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