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 7 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation of “the filter element segments” should be “the multitude of filter element segments” to be consistent with claim 5 to avoid unnecessary confusion. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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 1–16 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.
Claims 1, 3, 11, 13 are indefinite because the term “clean” is subjective and the published Spec. (hereinafter “Spec.”) does not define a standard for the term “clean”. Claim 1 is also indefinite because the term “the upper front end” “the filter medium body” “the first lateral frame element” “the filter element” lacks antecedent basis because claim 1 recites “at least one” of each of those term.
Claims 2–16 are indefinite because they depend on claim 1.
Claim 4 is indefinite because the term “the upper front end” “the lower front end” “the filter medium” lacks antecedent basis.
Claims 6 and 8 are indefinite because the term “the first lateral frame element” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 7 is indefinite because the term “the upper front end”, “the first lateral frame element” lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 12 is indefinite because the term “essentially” is a term of approximations and the Spec. does not disclose a standard to ascertain a degree of the term “essentially.” MPEP 2173.05(b)(III)(B).
Claim 16 is indefinite because the term “the flow outlet” lacks antecedent basis.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The claims are rejected as follows:
Claims 1–13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Campbell et al., US 2016/0045848 A1 (“Campbell”) in view of Crabtree et al., US 2010/0313760 A1 (“Crabtree”).
Regarding claim 1:
Campbell discloses that an ambient air purifier (Campbell’s air cleaner 1001, Campbell Fig. 50, [0361]) comprising:
a housing (Campbell’s housing 1002, Campbell Fig. 50, [0361]) comprising at least a housing cover (Campbell’s cover 1009, Campbell Fig. 50, [0365]) and a mounting base (Campbell’s housing base 1008, Campbell Fig. 50, [0365]), wherein the housing (1002 of Campbell) has at least one flow inlet (Campbell’s flow inlet 1005, Campbell Fig. 50, [0362]) for ambient air to be purified and at least one flow outlet (Campbell’s flow outlet 1006, Campbell Fig. 50, [0362]) for cleaned air;
and
at least one filter element (Campbell’s filter cartridge 1004, Campbell Fig. 51, [0367]),
wherein the at least one filter element (1004 of Campbell) comprises at least one filter medium body (Campbell’s filter media 1015, Campbell Fig. 51, [0372]),
wherein at least a first lateral frame element (Campbell’s housing seal arrangement 1020, Campbell Fig. 51, [0375]) is provided on at least an upper front end of the at least one filter medium body (1015 of Campbell) of the at least one filter element (1004 of Campbell), having a larger cross section than the upper front end (as shown in Campbell Fig. 51) and protruding beyond the upper front end of the filter medium body with a protruding segment (where label 1020 points in Campbell’s Fig. 53a), and
wherein the protruding segment of the first lateral frame element provides a sealing area between the filter element and the housing exterior to the upper front end and is pinched between a support structure of the mounting base (Campbell’s housing seal arrangement 1020 is pinched between Campbell’s pressure flange 1022 and Campbell’s shelf 1023 on Campbell’s housing base 1008, Campbell Fig. 53a, [0386]) when the housing is in a closed state (as shown in Fig,. 53a of Campbell).
Campbell does not disclose a fan arranged within the housing.
In the analogous art of air purifiers, Crabtree discloses an air filter (Crabtree’s outdoor housing 302, Crabtree Fig. 3, [0050]). Crabtree discloses a fan 314 pulls air into housing 302, Crabtree Fig. 3, [0050]. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to include Crabtree’s fan 314 in Campbell to facilitate air into Campbell’s housing.
Regarding claim 2:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the fan has a standing rotational axis (Crabtree’s rotation shaft of its fan 314, Crabtree Fig. 3),
wherein the at least one flow inlet is arranged radially with regards to the standing rotational axis of the fan (modified Campbell would have its fan blade parallel to its filter element the same way as shown in Crabtree’s Fig. 3, rendering Campbell’s inlet arranged radially with regards to the standing rotational axis of the fan because Campbell’s inlet is a located on a side of the housing, Campbell Fig. 53),
and wherein the at least one flow outlet (1006 of Campbell) is arranged axially with regards to the standing rotational axis of the fan (modified Campbell would have its fan blade parallel to its filter element the same way as shown in Crabtree’s Fig. 3, rendering Campbell’s outlet 1006 arranged axially with regarding to the standing rotational axis of the fan in modified Campbell).
Regarding claim 3:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the at least one filter element at least partially surrounds an inner clean air space (space below Campbell’s filter 1004 is the claimed “inner clean air space” and it is “partially surrounded by the filter element 1004 from top, Campbell Fig. 53) of the housing.
Regarding claim 4:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein a second lateral frame element (Campbell’s bottom part of shell 1016 and bottom grid 1016g, Campbell Fig. 62a, [0407]) is provided on at least a lower front end of the at least one filter element (1004 of Campbell) opposing the upper front end (as shown in Fig. 62a), having a larger cross section than the lower front end (Campbell’s bottom part of shell 1016 has a larger cross section of the filter media 1015 to accommodate the filter medium inside, Campbell Fig. 62a) and protruding beyond the lower front end of the filter medium body with a protruding segment (the larger cross section area read on the claimed “protruding portion”).
Regarding claim 5:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising a multitude of filter element segments of the at least one filter element(Campbell’s straight sides and curved ends of its filter 1004, Campbell Fig. 51a), neighboring each other circumferentially (as shown in Campbell Fig. 51a), wherein the multitude of filter element segments is arranged in a polygonal or circular shape around a rotational axis of the fan (although shown in obround shaped, Campbell discloses coiled media is typically circular shaped, Campbell [0186], It would therefore have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing for Campbell’s filter to be circular shaped, and coiled media would be around a rotational axis of the fan because the modification in claim 1 would have the rotational axis being parallel with the longitudinal axis of the media pack and therefore read on the limitation of “wherein the multitude of filter element segments is arranged in a polygonal or circular shape around a rotational axis of the fan”).
Regarding claim 6:
Modified Campbell does not disclose that the ambient air purifier according to claim 5, wherein the protruding segment of the first lateral frame element is pinched along a circumferential pinching line (where Campbell’s seal arrangement engaged with Campbell’s filter 1015 is the claimed “circumferential pinching line, Campbell Fig. 51a) of each of the multitude of filter element segments.
Regarding claim 7:
Modified Campbell does not disclose that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the housing cover is provided with an axially protruding groove structure (Campbell’s groove structure shown in Fig. 53a on the left side of label 1009, Campbell Fig. 53a) for accommodating the upper front end of the at least one filter element and/or the filter element segments with the first lateral frame element (intended use, and Campbell’s groove structure is capable of accommodating the upper front end of the at least one filter element).
Regarding claim 8:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the first lateral frame element is a sideband or a headband of the at least one filter element (Campbell’s housing seal arrangement a headband and/or sideband, Campbell Fig. 51, [0375]).
Regarding claim 9:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising filter element segments of the at least one filter element (straight sides of Campbell’s filter 1004, where label 1015b points in Campbell Fig. 51),
wherein the filter element segments are arranged in parallel on opposing sides of a rotational axis of the fan (Campbell’s straight sides are parallel to each other and are on opposite sides of a rotational axis of the fan as modified in claim 1, because the fan axial passing through a central of Campbell’s filter 1004, Campbell’s Fig. 51).
Regarding claim 10:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein a longitudinal extension of pleats of the filter medium body is arranged in parallel to a rotational axis of the fan (similar to that shown in Campbell’s Fig. 6, where flutes run in the direction of longitudinal direction, which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the filter and such axis is parallel with the fan rotational axis as modified in claim 1, Campbell Fig. 6, [0222]).
Regarding claim 11:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the at least one filter element in total covers an angular portion of at least 270° of a circumference of an inner clean air space (Campbell discloses an alternative embodiment of Fig. 8B, the claimed inner clean air space could be the space between Campbell’s filter 252, in which case, the at least one filter element in total covers an angular portion of at least 270° of a circumference of an inner clean air space, ° of a circumference of an inner clean air space Fig. 8B, [0205]).
Regarding claim 12:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least one filter element is arranged essentially coaxial to a rotational axis of the fan (Campbell discloses an alternative embodiment of Fig. 6, where the at least filter element is arranged essentially coaxial to a rotational axis of the fan as modified in claim 1).
Regarding claim 13:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one filter element is arranged concentrically around a center of an inner clean air space (Campbell discloses an alternative embodiment of Fig. 8, where the at least filter element is arranged essentially coaxial to a rotational axis of the fan as modified in claim 1, the space 253 read on the claimed “clean air space” Campbell Fig. 8), and
wherein the center of the inner clean air space is defined by a rotational axis of the fan (as modified in claim 1, the rotational axis of the fan would pass through the center of the inner clean air space 253, (Campbell discloses an alternative embodiment of Fig. 8B, where the at least filter element is arranged essentially coaxial to a rotational axis of the fan as modified in claim 1 Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 16:
Modified Campbell discloses that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein a top cover wall comprises at least one opening (Campbell’s aperture 1025 located on Campbell’s cover 1009, Campbell Fig. 51, [0377]) that acts as the flow outlet (intended use, and Campbell’s aperture is capable of functioning as flow outlet).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14–15 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.
Regarding claim 14:
Modified Campbell does not disclose that the ambient air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the fan is held by the support structure attached to the mounting base. It would not have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to further modify Campbell for such limitation because none of the prior art shows or renders such limitation as being obvious.
Claim 15 would be allowable because it depends on claim 14.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QIANPING HE whose telephone number is (571)272-8385. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:30-5:00 M-F.
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/Qianping He/Examiner, Art Unit 1776
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