CTNF 18/684,952 CTNF 92192 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-8 and 11-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2018/0233788 (Goldman hereinafter) in view of US 2017/0164709 (Laveni hereinafter) and further in view of KR 10-2031366 (Jang hereinafter) . Regarding claim 1 , Goldman teaches a hair dryer (Figure 1) that discloses a main body including an air outlet through which air is discharged outside (Main body 105 with an outlet at 145c in Figure 1); a handle formed to extend downward from the main body and configured to include an air inlet through which air is introduced from the outside (Handle 110 with air inlet 110a); an airflow path including a first airflow path connected to the air inlet and disposed in the handle (First airflow path 145b in Figure 1), and a second airflow path extending from the first airflow path to the air outlet and disposed in the main body (Second airflow path from 14b to the outlet at 145c); a battery module mounted in the handle (Battery module 130 in Figures 1, 2, and 7-10); a power terminal configured to supply power to the battery module (Power terminal 175 per ¶ 38 and 41). Goldman is silent with respect to a temperature control unit disposed in the second airflow path. However, Laveni teaches a hair dryer that discloses a temperature control unit disposed in the second airflow path (¶ 40-41 with PCB 75 and temperature setting button 64 per ¶ 49). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the hair dryer of Goldman with the temperature control of Goldman is silent with respect to a controller configured to switch from a direct current (DC) mode to an alternating current (AC) mode when power is supplied to the power terminal. However, Jang teaches a hair dryer that discloses the alternate operation of the hair dryer between DC and AC (“In addition, when the portable hybrid power adapter 100 is connected, the power switching control board 250 supplies AC power to the hybrid device 220 and DC power to the DC device 230. When the portable hybrid power adapter 100 is separated, a power switching operation of supplying DC power to the hybrid device 220 and the DC device 230 may be performed using the internal power battery 240.”) The resultant combination would be such that the controller of Goldman/Laveni is configured to switch from a direct current (DC) mode to an alternating current (AC) mode when power is supplied to the power terminal. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the operation of Goldman’s hair dryer with the AC and DC power switch of Jang to allow for the hair dryer to be used in both a plugged in and battery operated scenario. Regarding claim 2 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the temperature control unit includes a DC heater and an AC heater (Jang Figure 4 with “As shown in the figure, the circuit diagram shown in FIG. 4 shows the heating wires operating for each of ac and dc for the heater unit 220a constituting the hybrid device, and the circuit diagram shown in FIG. It shows that the heating wire which comprises the part 220b was used simultaneously in ac and dc area | region, and it turns out that the structure except the heater parts 220a and 220b is the same.”); and the controller supplies power to the DC heater in the DC mode and supplies power to the AC heater in the AC mode (Resultant combination of Goldman and Jang). Regarding claim 3 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang is silent with respect that the DC heater is disposed closer to the air outlet than the AC heater so as not to overlap the AC heater. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to place the DC heater is disposed closer to the air outlet than the AC heater so as not to overlap the AC heater, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention only involves routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Regarding claim 4 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the AC heater includes a coil heater wound while forming a first spiral (Figure 4a of Laveni with coils 82). Regarding claim 5 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 4 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the second airflow path has a ring shape formed along a circumferential surface of a cylindrical housing of the main body (Second airflow path leading towards 145c of Figure 1 of Goldman with the heater and the housing creating a ring shaped airflow); and the AC heater is wound along a ring shape of the second airflow path (Resultant combination of Goldman’s airflow and the heater of Laveni shown in Figure 4a). Regarding claim 6 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 5 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the AC heater is wound several times while forming a second spiral along a circumferential surface of the second airflow path (Evident from Figure 4a of Laveni), wherein the AC heaters wound several times are spaced apart from each other along the second airflow path so as not to overlap each other (Figure 4a of Laveni). Regarding claim 7 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 6 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the coil heater is wound along the second airflow path while forming circles of different sizes (The resultant combination of Goldman showing the heater 115 in Figure 1 within a conical area and the winding teachings of Laveni Figure 4a). Regarding claim 8 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the main body includes an insulating material (Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the housing of Goldman will perform some sort of insulation to protect a user from the heaters inside). Regarding claim 11 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that each of the DC heater and the AC heater includes an overcurrent control device (Jang Figure 3 with AC switch 251 and DC fuse at 256). Regarding claim 12 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 11 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the overcurrent control device includes at least one of a bimetal or a fuse (Fuse 2256 of Jang). Regarding claim 13 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 11 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang are silent with respect that the overcurrent control device is disposed closer to the air outlet than the DC heater and the AC heater. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to place the overcurrent control device is disposed closer to the air outlet than the DC heater and the AC heater, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention only involves routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Regarding claim 14 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 1 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose a fan unit provided in the handle and disposed in the airflow path through which air moves (Fan 70 in Figure 2 of Laveni), wherein the first airflow path includes: a lower passage configured to form a separation space between a handle case and the battery module (Area below the fan and around the battery); an upper passage configured to pass through the fan unit (Passage above the fan leading towards the main body of Goldman); and a pressure compensation passage configured to connect the lower passage and the upper passage to each other, and disposed between the battery module and the fan unit (Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the passage inside the fan reads on this pressure compensation passage). Regarding claim 15 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 14 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, and Jang would further disclose that the air inlet is formed at a position corresponding to the lower passage (Air inlet 110a of Goldman will lead to the lower passage of claim 14) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2018/0233788 (Goldman) in view of US 2017/0164709 (Laveni) in view of KR 10-2031366 (Jang) and further in view of JP H07-313237 (Endo hereinafter) . Regarding claim 9 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 2 but are silent with respect that the DC heater includes a ribbon heating wire that has a larger cross-sectional area and a larger surface area than the AC heater while being arranged in a zigzag shape. However, Endo teaches a hair dryer with a DC heater that discloses a ribbon heating wire that is arranged in a zigzag shape (Figure 2 with heater 34). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the DC heater of Goldman/Jang with the teachings of Endo to increase the heating area therefore allowing more air to be heated. Goldman, per Endo, is silent with respect to the surface area of the DC heater being larger than the AC heater. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the DC heater larger in surface area than the AC heater, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. Regarding claim 10 , Goldman’s modified teachings are described above in claim 9 where the combination of Goldman, Laveni, Jang, and Endo would further disclose that the ribbon heating wire extends in a direction of an outer circumferential surface of a cylindrical housing of the main body or is bent inward (Evident from Figure 2 of Endo). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CONNOR J. TREMARCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-2175. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 0700-1700 Eastern. 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, 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. 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. /CONNOR J TREMARCHE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 2 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 3 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 4 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 5 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 6 Art Unit: 3762 Application/Control Number: 18/684,952 Page 7 Art Unit: 3762
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