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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Species I directed to Claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 12/12/2025 is acknowledged. The restriction requirement is now made FINAL with Claim 15 now withdrawn from further examination.
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by REN et al. (CN208475417U) hereinafter referred to as REN.
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Regarding Claim 1, REN discloses a range hood (see title), comprising:
a housing having an inlet through which air flows (inherent housing with an inlet of a range hood); and
a fan module (figure 1 also reproduced above), arrangeable within the housing, to draw in air through the inlet of the housing (intended use recitation, see figure 1 for capability);
wherein the fan module comprises:
a fan (see impeller, Page 4, Para 2, Line 3 of translation) configured to guide the air drawn in through the inlet (functional language recitation, see figure 1 for capability),
a motor (4, figure 1) to provide a driving force to rotate the fan (intended use recitation, see figure 1 for capability),
a case (3, figure 1) arrangeable adjacent to the motor (see figure 1),
an anti-vibration member (cushion block 1, figure 3 also reproduced/annotated above) in contact with the motor (see figures 2-3) to prevent vibration of the motor from being transmitted to the case while the motor provides the driving force to the fan (intended use recitation, see figures 2-3 for capability) and the case is arranged adjacent to the motor (see figure 1), and
a fixer (61, 62 on left side, figure 4 also reproduced above) positioned between the anti-vibration member and at least one of the case or the motor (see figures 2-3) to prevent movement between the anti-vibration member and the at least one of the case or the motor (intended use recitation, see figures 2-3 for capability).
Regarding Claim 2, REN discloses that the motor is configured to rotate in a rotational direction about a rotating shaft (see annotated figure 3), and
the fixer is positioned between the anti-vibration member and the case (see figures 2-3) to prevent the anti-vibration member from moving relative to the rotational direction (intended use recitation, see figures 2-3 for capability).
Regarding Claim 12, REN discloses that the case comprises:
a case body (see 3, figure 1),
a seated portion (5, figure 3) configured to be recessed to an inside of the case body (see figure 3) so as to accommodate the motor (intended use recitation, see figure 3), and
a motor cover (see annotated figure 3) coupleable to the case body by a fastening member (62 on right side, figure 4) to cover the motor (see figure 3),
wherein the anti-vibration member comprises:
a first anti-vibration member (1, figure 3) between the seated portion and the motor (see figure 3), and
a second anti-vibration member (41, figure 3) between the motor and the motor cover (see figure 3).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 13-14 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 Claims 3-11 and 13-14, the respective claims in combination contain further distinguishing features from the closest prior art of REN. Therefore, it is not known in, nor obvious from the prior art to construct a rang hood as claimed.
Internet/E-mail Communication
In order to permit communication regarding the instant application via email, Applicant is invited to file form PTO/SB/439 (Authorization for Internet Communications) or include the following statement in a filed document or remarks of a filed response (see MPEP 502.03 Il): Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file. If such authorization is provided, please include an email address in the remarks of a filed response. The examiner’s e-mail address is sabbir.hasan@uspto.gov.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CN216199293U discloses vibration reduction components for a fan within a range hood (see figure 3)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sabbir Hasan whose telephone number is (571)270-7651. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 11am-7pm.
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, Nathaniel Wiehe can be reached at 571- 272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Sabbir Hasan/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745