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 § 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.
Claims 1-7,9,11,17,22,23,31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 109717592 (hereafter CN 592, cited by applicant).
With regard to claims 1,4,22 CN 592 discloses a hair care appliance (see fig. 1) for applying heat to a user's hair, the appliance comprising: an airflow passage (see inner passage) extending from an airflow inlet to an airflow outlet; an air mover 7 for moving airflow along the airflow passage from the airflow inlet to the airflow outlet; a heater arranged to heat air in the airflow passage, the heater comprising a heating element 13,14,15; and a thermal barrier 4 at least partly surrounding the heater (surrounds heating elements 13,14,15, see fig. 1), the thermal barrier comprising an inner wall 3 proximal to the heater, an outer wall 2 distal from the heater, and a sealed evacuated space defined between the inner and outer walls. See fig. 1 and the last paragraph of page 2 of the English translation.
With regard to the limitation in claims 1 and 4 of the heating element extending along a direction of airflow through the airflow passage, it is noted that heating elements 13,14,15 each have a thickness in the direction of airflow through the airflow passage. Thus, the heating elements 13,14,15 appear to meet this limitation, as they extend (thickness wise) along the direction of airflow.
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With regard to claim 2, note that heating elements 13,14,15 extend across the airflow passage such that air in the airflow passage flows across the heating element in use. See fig. 1.
With regard to claims 3 and 5, note that a cross-sectional shape of the airflow passage is complementary to a shape of an outer periphery of the heater so that the heater fits closely within the airflow passage. See how heating elements 13,14,15 fit within the passage of thermal barrier 4.
With regard to claim 4, note how thermal barrier 4 comprises an inner wall proximal the heater, an outer wall distal from the heater, and a sealed evacuated space defined between the inner and outer walls. See below enlarged view of thermal barrier 4.
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Outer wall)]
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Inner wall)]
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With regard to claim 6, note that the thermal barrier 4 is tubular, the airflow passage extending therethrough. See fig. 1.
With regard to claims 7 and 23, note that the thermal barrier 4 comprises a bend along its length such that opposing openings of the thermal barrier are angled with respect to one another, and wherein the thermal barrier and the passage extends along a curved path. See annotated fig. 1 below.
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Rear opening)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Front opening angled with respect to rear opening)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: arrow]
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[AltContent: textbox (Bend, curved path)]
With regard to claim 9, note that the heating elements 13,14,15 are mounted directly to and in direct contact with the inner wall of the thermal barrier 4. See fig. 1.
With regard to claims 11 and 22, note that the inner wall comprises a mounting portion for mounting the heater in the airflow passage, the mounting portion in the form of a recess or protrusion formed in the inner wall. See protrusion in annotated figure below.
With further regard to claim 22, note that the outer wall 2 is thicker than the inner wall 3. See fig. 1.
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (External mounting portion directly opposite)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Inner wall)][AltContent: textbox (Protrusion in inner wall)]
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With regard to claim 17, note that the outer wall of the thermal barrier 4 defines an external wall of the appliance. See figure 1.
With regard to claim 31, note that the outer wall is thicker than the inner wall (see fig. 1), and wherein the thermal barrier is removable from the appliance (the barrier could be removed, if so desired).
Claims 22,27,32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP H01214626A (hereafter referred to as JP 626).
With regard to claim 22, JP 626 discloses a thermal barrier for an appliance, the thermal barrier comprising: concentrically arranged inner 3 and outer 8 tubular walls; a passage 2 defined by the inner tubular wall and extending through the thermal barrier between opposing openings thereof; a sealed evacuated space (see below) defined between the inner 3 and outer 8 tubular walls; and a mounting portion 4 for (capable of) mounting a heater across the passage, the mounting portion 4 in the form of a recess or protrusion formed in the inner tubular wall. See annotated figure below:
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (End of outer tubular wall 8 connected to end of inner tubular wall 3)][AltContent: textbox (Evacuated space)][AltContent: arrow]
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[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Internal mounting portion in the form of a protrusion)][AltContent: textbox (External mounting portion in the form of a recess)]
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With regard to claim 32, note that an end of the outer tubular wall 8 is connected to an end of the inner tubular wall 3 to form the sealed evacuated space. See above annotated figure.
With regard to claim 27, note that the mounting portion is an internal mounting portion and the thermal barrier further comprises an external mounting portion directly opposite the internal mounting portion across the sealed evacuated space.
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 23 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 626 in view of CN 592
With regard to claim 23, JP 626 does not disclose a bend along a length of the thermal barrier such that the opposing openings of the thermal barrier are angled from 45 to 70 degrees with respect to each other, that passage extending along a curved path.
CN 592 discloses a device having a similar vacuum thermal barrier, the thermal barrier having a bend along a length such that opposing openings are angled with respect to each other, such that a passage therein extends along a curved path. See figure 1 and annotated figure above.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to incorporate a bend from 45 to 70 degrees along the length of the thermal barrier device of JP 626, as taught by CN 592, if one wished to incorporate the thermal barrier of JP 626 with a device that requires a non-linear path.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 592 in view of Conrad et al 20210307473.
With regard to claim 19, CN 592 does not disclose wherein an inner surface of the inner wall comprises an electrically insulative coating.
Conrad et al discloses a hair dryer which incorporates a coating (layer) of electrically insulative material 418. See paragraph 934 and fig. 97.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to include an electrically insulative coating on the inner wall of the device of CN 592, in view of the teaching of Conrad et al that it is known to provide an electrically insulative coating on a wall facing a heating element in a hair dryer.
Claim 33 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 592.
With regard to claim 33, CN 592 although CN 592 discloses a bend along a length of the thermal barrier such that the opposing openings of the thermal barrier are angled, CN 592 does not disclose the angle to be from 45 to 70 degrees with respect to each other.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to incorporate a bend from 45 to 70 degrees along the length of the thermal barrier device of CN 592, if one wished for the hair drying device of CN 592 to have a front angled opening within such a range.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12,29,30 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/14/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments are drawn to the newly presented limitations, which have been addressed with modified grounds of rejection above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the modified ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI whose telephone number is (571)272-4977. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 800-430.
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/NICHOLAS D LUCCHESI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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