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
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cho (US20230202259A1).
Regarding claim 1, Cho teaches
a vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) (fig. 1-2), comprising:
an air outlet front blade (101) (first wing assembly 200), the air outlet front blade (101) comprising a first vane portion (102) (top portion of first wing assembly 200, including above first through hole 212, fig. 6) and a second vane portion (103) (bottom portion of first wing assembly 200, including below first through hole 212, fig. 6); and
a toggle assembly (104) (knob 500, fig. 2; “The knob 500 includes a knob body 510, a knob pin 520, and a connector 530” [0114]), the toggle assembly (104) comprising a toggle bracket (107) (knob pin 520, fig. 13) and a toggle (106) (knob body 510, fig. 13), the toggle bracket (107) being configured to be mounted in a cavity between the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (first through hole 212), and the toggle (106) extending out of a joint portion of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (extending out of joint front surface of second wing body 220, as shown on fig. 16)
Regarding claim 10, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein:
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a fork bracket (111) (connector 530, fig. 13), the fork bracket (111) being configured to be fixed to the toggle bracket (107) via a snap-in structure arranged on the fork bracket (111) (“The connector 530 may be coupled to each of the knob pin 520” [0120]; snap structure between connector 530 and knob pin 520 shown on knob pin 520 on fig. 13)
Regarding claim 11, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 10, wherein:
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a fork (112) (protruding rib 531, fig. 13), one end of the fork (112) is fixed to the fork bracket (111) (connector 530, fig. 13) and the other end is connected to a rear blade assembly (“A protruding rib 531 may be formed in a portion, which is coupled to the rotation shaft 421” [0121]; rotation shaft 421 of second wing assembly 400 as shown on fig. 11), so that the toggle (106) drives the rear blade to rotate left and right when sliding relative to the air outlet front blade (101) (“When the knob 500 moves left or right in the X direction, the rotation shaft 421 may be rotated along with the part of the knob 500 in conjunction with lateral movement of the part of the knob 500 . When the rotation shaft 421 is rotated, the third wing body 420 is rotated”) [0110]
Regarding claim 12, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein:
the toggle (106) is configured to be toggled up and down so as to drive the air outlet front blade (101) to rotate up and down (“the first wing assembly 200 may be rotated upward or downward by the knob 500 to determine a flow direction of air flowing toward the passenger room”) [0068]
Claim(s) 1-2 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shibata (US20170259649A1).
Regarding claim 1, Shibata teaches
a vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) (fig. 1-5), comprising:
an air outlet front blade (101) (downstream fin 35), the air outlet front blade (101) comprising a first vane portion (102) (top portion of downstream fin 35, including upper tubular portion 42, fig. 3) and a second vane portion (103) (bottom portion of downstream fin 35, including lower tubular portion 42, fig. 3); and
a toggle assembly (104) (fig. 4), the toggle assembly (104) comprising a toggle bracket (107) (shaft portion 76) and a toggle (106) (rotation member 71), the toggle bracket (107) being configured to be mounted in a cavity between the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (within tubular portion 42, as shown on fig. 7), and the toggle (106) extending out of a joint portion of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (extending out of joint front surface of downstream fin 35, as shown on fig. 1)
Regarding claim 2, Shibata teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein:
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a toggle blade (109) (knob body 57), two ends of the toggle blade (109) (rod-shaped arms 64, fig. 4) being each provided with a snap-in portion (113) (“securing grooves (not shown) in the arms 64”) [0063], the snap-in portion (113) being configured to be in snap-in fit with a receiving portion (207) arranged on one of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (securing projections 67, arranged across front surface of downstream fin 35 encompassing both the upper and lower vane portions, thus reading on “arranged on one of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion”), so as to fixedly mount the toggle blade (109) in the air outlet front blade (101) (“The securing projections 67 are engaged with securing grooves (not shown) in the arms 64 , so that the knob body 57 is prevented from falling off the downstream fin 35”) [0063]
Regarding claim 12, Shibata teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein:
the toggle (106) is configured to be toggled up and down so as to drive the air outlet front blade (101) to rotate up and down as shown on figs. 11A-11B)
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US20230202259A1) in view of Zeng (CN107650627A), referring to the English translation dated 06/26/2026.
Regarding claim 2, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein:
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a toggle blade (109) (slide protrusion 213)
Cho does not teach
two ends of the toggle blade (109) being each provided with a snap-in portion (113), the snap-in portion (113) being configured to be in snap-in fit with a receiving portion (207) arranged on one of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103), so as to fixedly mount the toggle blade (109) in the air outlet front blade (101)
Zeng teaches
two ends of the toggle blade (109) (air deflector 1, fig. 1) being each provided with a snap-in portion (113), the snap-in portion (113) being configured to be in snap-in fit with a receiving portion (207) (sweeping blade 4) arranged on one of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) (fig. 1), so as to fixedly mount the toggle blade (109) in the air outlet front blade (101) (“the sweeping blade 4 and the air deflector 1 are integrally formed, or the sweeping blade 4 and the air deflector 1 are detachably connected (preferably by a snap connection)” [0096]; as shown on fig. 1, both ends of air deflector 1 are connected to a sweeping blade 4)
As shown on fig. 15 of Cho, the slide protrusion 213 is integrally formed with the bottom portion of first wing body 210 (associated with the second vane portion regarding claim 1). Zeng teaches air deflector 1 that is either integrally formed or snap fitted with a sweeping blade 4. Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the integral fitting of slide protrusion 213 of Cho, as a snap in fitting as taught as an obvious variant in Zeng in order to provide the two components as separable pieces, thus allowing for replacement of just the slide protrusion 213 in the event of failure instead of an entire first wing body 210.
Regarding claim 4, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 2, wherein:
the toggle bracket (107) comprises a body portion (701) (fig. 14, portion of knob pin 520 upstream of slide groove 521, including slide groove 521) and an extension portion (702) (fig. 14, portion of knob pin 520 downstream of slide groove 521, and upstream of knob body 510)
Cho does not teach
an extension portion (702) extending at an angle from one end of the body portion (701)
While Cho teaches an extension portion, it does not teach an extension portion of knob pin 520 extending at an angle from one end of the body portion. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure knob pin 520 as such as these changes in configuration are a matter of design when the particular configuration result in no change in system performance. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966) (The court held that the configuration of the claimed disposable plastic nursing container was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed container was significant; applicant has not cited mechanical significance of the recited configuration to perform differently than the prior art device in the disclosure (see [0044] of applicant’s 04/26/2024 specification stating “This angle enables the extension portion 702 of the toggle bracket 107 to be approximately parallel to the corresponding surface of the first vane portion 102. As shown in FIG. 8, the toggle 106 extends out of the joint portion of the first vane portion 102 and the second vane portion 103. Since only the U-shaped snap-in slot of the toggle 106 is in contact with the front end of the front blade, and most parts of the front blade are not blocked by other structures, the visual effect that the toggle is suspended above the blade is generated, and the aesthetic feeling of the vent is increased”; aesthetic differences do not provide mechanical distinction). Therefore, the claim is given no distinguishable patentability.
Claim(s) 5-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US20230202259A1) in view of Zeng (CN107650627A), referring to the English translation dated 06/26/2026, in further view of Yang (US20230025043A1).
Regarding claim 5, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 4, wherein:
the body portion (701) of the toggle bracket (107) is provided with a track slot (703) (slide groove 521, fig. 14), wherein the toggle blade (109) is configured to be inserted through the track slot (703) (slide protrusion 213 inserted into slide groove 521, fig. 14), such that the toggle bracket (107) is mounted in the cavity via the toggle blade (109) and is slidable relative to the air outlet front blade (101) along the toggle blade (109) (“The slide groove 521 may be concavely formed in one surface of the knob pin 520 toward an inner portion of the knob pin 520 . The slide groove 521 may be movably supported in the slide protrusion 213 . The knob pin 520 may be moved in the first through hole 212 in the sliding manner in the X direction due to the slide groove 521” [0119]
Cho does not teach
the extension portion (702) is provided with an insertion slot (704)
Yang teaches
the extension portion (702) is provided with an insertion slot (704) (through-hole 116 on front end of knob body 110, fig. 2)
Cho teaches “The knob pin 520 may be coupled to the knob body 510” [0117], but does not teach how the two components are coupled together. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the through-hole 116 and fitting protrusion 141 arrangement of the adjustment knob 100 of Yang to the knob 500 of Cho, in order to provide an easy to assemble fitting between the components.
Regarding claim 6, Cho teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 5, wherein:
the toggle (106) comprises a U-shaped snap-in slot (601) (as shown on annotated fig. 13 below) and a plug-in portion (602) extending outward from one end of the U-shaped snap-in slot (601) (fitting protrusion 141, as modified by Yang), the plug-in portion (602) being inserted into the insertion slot (704) of the toggle bracket (107) (through-hole 116 and fitting protrusion 141 of Yang as applied to Cho)
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Annotated fig. 13 of Cho
Regarding claim 7, Cho, as modified, teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 6, wherein:
when the plug-in portion (602) of the toggle (106) is inserted into the insertion slot (704) of the toggle bracket (107), the front end of one of the first vane portion (102) and the second vane portion (103) is snapped in the U-shaped snap-in slot (601) of the toggle (106) (as shown on fig. 14 of Cho, the U-shaped snap in slot of knob body 510 is fitted to the front end of first wing body 210; thus, the fitting between knob body 510 and first wing body 210 would occur when through-hole 116 and fitting protrusion 141 are fit, as modified by Yang)
Regarding claim 8, Cho, as modified, teaches the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 6, wherein:
the track slot (703) of the toggle bracket (107) is hollow (slide groove 521 is hollow to fit slide protrusion 213, fig. 14), openings at both ends of the track slot (703) are shaped to fit a section of the toggle blade (109) (opening fits slide protrusion 213, fig. 14), and the insertion slot (704) of the toggle bracket (107) is shaped to fit the plug-in portion (602) of the toggle (106) (“knob body 110 has a through-hole 116 through which the fitting protrusion 141 passes” [0075 of Cho]; thus, shaped to fit the plug-in portion of the toggle)
Regarding claim 9, Cho, as modified, does not teach the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 2, wherein:
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a toggle damper (108), the toggle damper (108) being provided between the toggle bracket (107) and the toggle blade (109)
Yang teaches
the toggle assembly (104) further comprises a toggle damper (108) (elastic member 130), the toggle damper (108) being provided between the toggle bracket (107) and the toggle blade (109) (provided between knob body 110 and horizontal vane 220, fig. 2-3; wherein elastic member 130 comprises concave grooves 135 to fit into stepped protrusions 114D of knob body 110)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the elastic member 130 of Yang between the knob 500 and first wing body 210, as taught in Yang, since “the elastic member 130 may impart a frictional resistance to the knob body 110 . Thus, when the passenger in a motor vehicle moves, in the horizontal direction, the knob body 110 having the elastic member 130 , the adjustment knob 100 having the elastic member 130 can impart an enhanced operation feel to the passenger. Further, when the adjustment knob 100 is moved in the horizontal direction, the elastic member 130 can guide the movement of the knob body 110 , and the elastic member 130 can improve the shaking of the knob body 110” [0073 of Yang].
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibata (US20170259649A1) in view of Cho (US20230202259A1).
Regarding claim 3, Shibata does not teach the vehicle air conditioning vent assembly (100) according to claim 2, wherein:
the snap-in portion (113) comprises a plurality of projections, and the receiving portion (207) comprises a plurality of holes
Cho teaches
the snap-in portion (113) comprises a plurality of projections (plurality of first hooking protrusions 221 on both left and right sides of second wing body 220), and the receiving portion (207) comprises a plurality of holes (plurality of second hooking grooves 211 on both left and right sides of first wing body 210)
Shibata teaches securing projections and engaged with securing grooves, however only teaches one projection and one groove on each side of the knob body 57. Therefore, Shibata does not teach the snap-in portion comprises a plurality of projections, and the receiving portion comprises a plurality of holes (claim 3) when two ends of the toggle blade being each provided with a snap-in portion (claim 2). it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to replace the securing projections and securing grooves of Shibata with the first hooking protrusions 221 and second hooking grooves 211 of Cho, in order to effectively increase the number to securement locations of the knob body 57 to ensure the two components remain fixed to one another through long term use.
Conclusion
The prior art of record not relied upon includes:
Kim (US20200122553A1) and Desai (US20230019531A1), which teach similar vehicle air conditioning vent assemblies to that claimed
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRETT P. MALLON whose telephone number is (571)272-4749. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday from 8am to 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MICHAEL HOANG can be reached at (571)272-6460. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRETT P. MALLON/Examiner, Art Unit 3762 /MICHAEL G HOANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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