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 § 103
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 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.
Claims 1 & 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Patent Application Publication # 2018/0020575) in view of Zou (US Patent # 10,153,226).
Regarding Claim 1, Zhang discloses a dust-proof filter structure for a power supply panel (i.e. node 102/202/ node enclosure 104 w/ fan module 108/ power supply unit 208), mounted to a front (i.e. exterior face 116) of a panel of a power supply, the panel having at least one air inlet hole (i.e. air intake 114), the dust-proof filter structure comprising:
two retaining plates (i.e. surfaces of exterior face 116 of module 108 w/ holes for fasteners 130 aligned with enclosure fastener holes 128/228 and/or mounting surfaces 126 of peripheral to air filter receiving frame 122), locked on left and right two sides of the front of the panel respectively, wherein the retaining plates each have an engaging piece (i.e. holes for fasteners 130 aligned with enclosure fastener holes 128/228) on an inner side thereof;
a frame (i.e. air filter enclosure 112/212 w/ top slot 118/218 & air filter receiving frame 122), located on the front of the panel, two sides of the frame having engaging holes (i.e. enclosure fastener holes 128/228) corresponding to the engaging pieces of the respective retaining plates, the engaging pieces of the retaining plates being engaged in the respective engaging holes so that the frame is combined with the retaining plates and secured to the front of the panel, wherein the frame has at least one window (i.e. aperture formed by aligned apertures 124) corresponding in position to the air inlet hole, and the window corresponds in shape to the air inlet hole;
at least one filter mesh (i.e. replaceable air filter 120/220), corresponding in shape to the window and being disposed in the window (i.e. inserted through top slot 118/218);
wherein two sides of the panel have a plurality of locking holes (i.e. holes on node enclosure 104 for elongated fasteners 130), a plurality of bolts (i.e. fasteners 130) pass through the locking holes for locking the power supply to a rack, the retaining plates are formed with a plurality of horizontal elongate holes (i.e. holes on fan module 108 for fasteners 130 aligned with enclosure fastener holes 128/228) corresponding to the respective locking holes for the bolts to lock the retaining plates to the panel; and
wherein that the elongate holes each have an open outer end (Fig. 1-10; Abstract; Paragraphs 0026-0034).
Zhang does not explicitly disclose that the filter mesh is a cotton mesh.
Zou teaches that the filter mesh is a cotton mesh (i.e. filter element such as a primary cotton air filter) (Abstract; Column 5, line 7-42).
Zou teaches that it is well known in the art of heat dissipating device using a fan to draw air into a housing in order to cool the internal components to use a filter element made of cotton at the air inlet in order to prevent dust from accumulating inside the housing. Zhang is silent on the specific material used to make the air filter used in the disclosed invention. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to use cotton as the material for the air filter in Zhang, as taught by Zou, in order to provide an inexpensive, easily replaceable, and washable filter. It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416. Furthermore, Zhang states that fasteners 130 can be made longer to further attach air filter enclosure 112 and fan module 108 to the node enclosure 104. Therefore, fastener holes must also be present on node enclosure 104. Fastener holes 128 are shown to be horizontally elongated. The drawings show that the holes are open on each face.
Regarding Claim 4, Zhang discloses that a surface of the frame has a stop edge protruding from a periphery of the window, so that the filter cotton mesh is confined by the stop edge to be secured in the window (Fig. 1-2; Paragraphs 0027-0028). Fig. 1, in particular, shows that there is a raised edge where apertures 124 end which help hold air filter 120 when it is inserted through top slot 118.
Regarding Claim 5, Zhang discloses that the inner side of the retaining plate (i.e. surfaces of exterior face 116 of module 108 w/ holes for fasteners 130 aligned with enclosure fastener holes 128/228 and/or mounting surfaces 126 of peripheral to air filter receiving frame 122) is bent to form a vertical shoulder portion, two sides of a bottom of the frame extend outwardly to from vertical extension plates corresponding to the shoulder portions of the retaining plates, and the extension plates are inserted into and restricted by the shoulder portions of the retaining plates, respectively (Fig. 1-5; Paragraphs 0026-0034). Alternatively, Zhang also shows an embodiment in which a shroud 338 comprises an indented side wall 336 through which it is attached to device 308 at through side tab 340.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that the claimed cotton filter mesh performs a function not served by the cited references because it is flexible. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., the flexibility of the filter) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Furthermore, the Applicant misrepresents Zhang by stating that the reference uses a retention mechanism that purportedly requires a rigid air filter in order to slide into the slot. Nowhere does the reference state that a rigid air filter is necessary. If the Applicant is suggesting that using a “rigid” air filter retention structure inherently means that the air filter must also be rigid, then the argument fails since the Applicant’s own air filter retention structure is “rigid” while the air filter is flexible. Regarding the Applicant’s arguments about the limitation requiring elongate holes with an open outer end, the language of the claim does not describe a hole that must have an “interruption of the perimeter boundary” as the Applicant argues. Again, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. An “open outer end” can be reasonably interpreted by one of skill in the art to mean that the hole is in fact a through hole that is open at both ends and not a blind hole which is open at only one end.
Conclusion
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
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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/RJA/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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