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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the intake fan blades are surrounding…” should state “the intake fan blades are surrounded…”; “a plurality guiding blades are mounted…” should state “a plurality of guiding blades are mounted…”; “a plurality of enhancing outlet…” should state “a plurality of enhancing outlets…”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the guiding blade” in line 1, however, the previously recited limitation was a plural version in claim 1. Additionally, the claim switches back to plural (“the guiding blades”) later in the claim.
Claim 7 recites “when the motor operates at a highest speed, and the control board is timed to stop the motor after 12 seconds”. The “when..and” claim construction does not form a complete conditional statement and therefore it’s not clear how the 12 second stop applies; is the 12 second stop only when the motor operates at the highest speed, or does the motor always stop after 12 seconds and operates at the highest speed.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991) and Wang (US 20210259167).
Yang discloses a water blower comprising a blowing section (fan assembly) and a control section(control panel), wherein the blowing section has an intake member (1110), a fan (impeller 1400 with guide vane assembly 1200), a main tube (1100) and an outlet member (2200); the main tube is assembled with the control section, the fan is secured in the main tube, and the outlet member and the intake member are respectively connected to a front section and a rear section of the main tube (see figures, individual members are consecutively connected to one another); the intake member includes an intake base (1110 and the rear portion of 1100); the housing is secured onto the intake base (see figures); the fan has a vortex fan (1400), a fan base (base structure of 1200) and a motor (1300), the fan base has a connecting base at its center (1410), the motor and the vortex fan are respectively mounted at a front and a rear of the fan base (Paragraph 13 and Figure 3), the motor has an axial shaft at an end passing through the connecting base and connected to the vortex fan to drive the vortex fan (Paragraph 25), the vortex fan has a plurality of vortex fan blades see figures of 1400, blades shown), and a plurality guiding blades (1220) are mounted between the fan base (1210) and the connecting base (Figure 2); the outlet member has an outlet base (2120) and an outlet end (2200), the outlet base has a plurality of engaging ribs (2220) assembled with the outlet end and a plurality of enhancing outlet (2210) are formed between the engaging ribs.
Yang fails to teach the control section has a control board for controlling the fan, the intake member has an intake fan with the intake fan has a plurality of intake fan blades, the intake fan blades are surrounding by a housing and a plurality of intaking spaces are formed between the intake fan blades, and the outlet end has a plurality of through apertures.
Yang further discloses a control board that controls parts of the fan (control board 2310). Ojima teaches a fan with a control board that controls the fan (controller 331) with a battery powered control section (battery 340 with handle 3); see Paragraphs 21 and 26.
Wang teaches a fan with intake fan blades (510) arranged at the housing intake (air intake side casing 220) and intaking spaces (open sectors between adjacent members 510 through which the intake airflow passes). Additionally, the housing is secured onto the intake base (Paragraph 37) and the outlet end has a plurality of through apertures (output grille 400 with through apertures being he openings between rings 420, 430, 440 and support ribs 450 and 460).
Yang, Ojima, and Wang all related to handheld air-blowing devices with motor driven fans; it therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the water blower of Yang such that the control section has a control board for controlling the fan as taught by Ojima for the purposes of electronically controlling the fan speed and the intake member has an intake fan with the intake fan has a plurality of intake fan blades, the intake fan blades are surrounding by a housing and a plurality of intaking spaces are formed between the intake fan blades, and the outlet end has a plurality of through apertures as taught by Wang for the purposes of guarding against object intrusion and any central intake component is rigidly connected to the surrounding casing without obstructing the flow.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991) and Wang (US 20210259167), and further in view of Fukuzawa (US 20190081527).
Yang in view of Ojima and Wang teaches the water blower according to claim 1 above.
Yang fails to teach the control board has a cooling fin.
Fukuzawa teaches a blower device that includes a control board (PB) that includes a heat sink (200) thermally connected to the control board (Paragraph 11).
The utilization of fins to remove heat is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Since Fukuzawa teaches that it is known to utilize a heat sink thermally connected to the control board of a blower device, and it is known to utilize fins as heat sink devices themselves or part of the overall heat sink device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the water blower of Yang such that the control board has a cooling fin as taught by Fukuzawa for the purposes of dissipating heat generated by the motor control electronics utilizing airflow in the device.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991) and Wang (US 20210259167), and further in view of Hayamitsu (US 20180235417) and Miner (US 4945604).
Yang in view of Ojima and Wang teaches the water blower according to claim 1 above.
Yang fails to teach the motor is an outer rotor motor, and one end of the motor has a conical surface with at least one cooling hole.
Hayamitsu teaches a blower that is controlled with a motor, and that such types of motors can be either an inner rotor type, or an outer rotor type (Paragraph 121) and it is cooled with cooling holes (25, 26).
Miner teaches a blower with a motor cooling apparatus with one end of the motor has a conical surface with at least one cooling hole (Col. 4, lines 22-64).
Because Yang, Hayamitsu, and Miner are each directed to controlling a blower with a motor, and because Hayamitsu teaches that such motors can be inner or outer rotor type with a cooling hole, and because Miner teaches that one end of the motor has a conical surface with at least one cooling hole, it therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the water blower of Yang such that the motor is an outer rotor motor as taught by Hayamitsu and one end of the motor has a conical surface with at least one cooling hole as taught by Miner for the purposes of compact motor configuration streamlined in the airflow path with an improved heat dissipation.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991) and Wang (US 20210259167), and further in view of Cheah (US 20250049197).
Yang in view of Ojima and Wang teaches the water blower according to claim 1 above.
Yang fails to teach the guiding blade has a first side and a second side, a first angle between 10 degrees and -11.5 degrees is formed between the first side and an axial direction of the fan base, a second angle between 12.5 degrees and -13.50 degrees is formed between the second side and an axial direction of the fan base, a difference between the first angle and the second angle causing the guiding blades to be curved and inclined between the fan base and the connecting base.
Cheah teaches a blower appliance airflow vane with an inclination angle to the central (axial) axis and a cambered (planar-outer/convex-inner) profile. The disclosed vane inclination range encompasses the claimed ranges and orientations (Paragraphs 16-17, 25, 70).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the water blower of Yang such that the guiding blade has a first side and a second side, a first angle between 10 degrees and -11.5 degrees is formed between the first side and an axial direction of the fan base, a second angle between 12.5 degrees and -13.50 degrees is formed between the second side and an axial direction of the fan base, a difference between the first angle and the second angle causing the guiding blades to be curved and inclined between the fan base and the connecting base as taught by Cheah for the purposes of directing and straightening the airflow with reduce turbulence and noise. The combination allows for Cheah to be relied upon for the guiding blade inclination angle and the cambered vane profile; the location (“between the fan base and the connecting base”) is supplied by Yang as the guide vanes (1220) are mounted between the motor fixing seat and air cylinder wall.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991) and Wang (US 20210259167), and further in view of Guo (US 20250198424).
Yang in view of Ojima and Wang teaches the water blower according to claim 1 above. Yang further discloses an indicator an indicator light (Paragraph 93), and Yang as modified by Ojima teaches the controller that controls motor speed (Ojima, paragraph 26).
Yang fails to teach a bottom side of the control section has a screen, and the screen has a power indication region and a mode indication region for displaying a current speed of the motor.
Guo teaches a handheld blower with a display screen that presents the operating state parameters including the current speed of the motor and a power indication region (Paragraph 217), and the display can be disposed on the housing and be configured on different areas of the blower showing that the arrangement/location of the display is a matter of convenience with disclosed alternatives (Paragraph 219).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the water blower of Yang such that a bottom side of the control section has a screen, and the screen has a power indication region and a mode indication region for displaying a current speed of the motor as taught by Guo for the purposes of allowing the display of the current operation state of the blower in order to more conveniently adjust its operating parameters.
Claims 6-7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 20230145011) in view of Ojima (US 20210340991), Wang (US 20210259167) and Guo (US 20250198424), and further in view of Cisneros (US 20230277410).
Yang in view of Ojima, Wang, and Guo teaches the water blower according to claim 5 above.
Yang as modified fails to teach the screen further has a time indicating region for displaying a countdown time, and the control board controls the motor to stop after a predetermined number of seconds to avoid overheating or damage, and when the motor operates at a highest speed, and the control board is timed to stop the motor after 12 seconds.
Cisneros teaches a handheld battery-powered, motor driven device with a control board and screen. The control board stops the motor after a predetermined number of seconds (Paragraphs 169, 213). Cisneros then teaches that it is known to include a stop on the motor after a predetermined amount of time and the utilization of the specific range is a mere design parameter that is selected based on the motor-s thermal characteristics, battery capacity, and intended duration of maximum output operation.
Because Yang as modified by Ojima, Wang, and Guo teaches a handheld device powered by a battery to drive a motor with a display that controls the speed of the motor through a controller, and Cisneros teaches a handheld device powered by a battery to drive a motor with a display that controls the motor through a controller and includes the utilization of a countdown time and stop after a predetermined amount of time, it therefore would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of modify the blower of Yang as modified such that the screen further has a time indicating region for displaying a countdown time, and the control board controls the motor to stop after a predetermined number of seconds to avoid overheating or damage, and when the motor operates at a highest speed, and the control board is timed to stop the motor after 12 seconds as taught by Cisneros for the purposes of prolonging operation of the motor and informing the user of the time remaining; the utilization of 12 seconds is a design parameter that a person of ordinary skill in the art would select based on the motor’s thermal characteristics, battery capacity, and intended duration of maximum output operation.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gindele (US 9737182) and Yoo (US 11213174) teach different handheld axial dryers.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN D SEABE whose telephone number is (571)272-4961. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:00-5:30.
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/JUSTIN D SEABE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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