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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/08/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the published application on 06/20/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
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 non-obviousness.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kentaro (WO 2019193625 A1, hereinafter Kentaro) in view of Zhang (US 20220196281 A1, hereinafter Zhang) and Ota (JP 2005140380 A, hereinafter Ota).
Regarding claim 1, Kentaro teaches an outdoor unit (outdoor unit 100) of a refrigeration cycle device (figure 1) comprising: a fan motor (fan motor 32) having a rotation shaft (figure 8), of which a rotation axis that extends in a front-rear direction (figure 8) is a center thereof (figure 8); a rotating blade (propeller fan 31) that is fixed to the rotation shaft (figures 3-4 and 9); a pair of support column members (support column 41a) that extend in a vertical direction (figure 8), and that align in a left- right direction (figure 8), and a motor support plate (motor support portion 50) that is fixed to each support column member (figure 8) out of the pair of support column members at a support column fixing portion provided on each end in the left-right direction (as shown on figure 8), and that supports the fan motor between the pair of support column members (figures 8-9), wherein the motor support plate (motor support portion 50) has a first plate (front portion of portion 50, figure 8) that extends along a plane that is orthogonal with the front-rear direction (as shown on figure 8), the first plate has a motor insertion hole (insertion portion 52) which has the fan motor disposed on an inside thereof (figure 8), a plurality of motor fixing portions (screw 53) that are arranged along an inside edge of the motor insertion hole (figure 8), and that fix the fan motor (fan motor 32 is attached to the motor mounting portion 51 by inserting the fan motor 32 into the insertion portion 52 and screwing the male screw (not shown) inserted into the fan motor 32 into the female screw 53).
Kentaro teaches the invention as described above but fail to teach a protrusion that protrudes to one side of the front-rear direction, provided thereon, the protrusion has an annular protrusion that extends along the inside edge of the motor insertion hole, and that has each motor fixing portion of the plurality of motor fixing portions disposed thereon.
However, Zhang teaches a protrusion (protrusion rib 1315) that protrudes to one side of the front-rear direction (front rear direction, as shown on figure 4), provided thereon, the protrusion (protrusion rib 1315) has an annular protrusion (clamp space 13a, figure 4) that extends along the inside edge of the motor insertion hole (as shown on figure 4), and that has each motor fixing portion (mounting holes 1313a) of the plurality of motor fixing portions disposed thereon (as shown on figures 4-5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the unit in the teachings of Kentaro to include a protrusion that protrudes to one side of the front-rear direction, provided thereon, the protrusion has an annular protrusion that extends along the inside edge of the motor insertion hole, and that has each motor fixing portion of the plurality of motor fixing portions disposed thereon in view of the teachings of Zhang in order to yield the predictable result of realizing material savings in case of the guaranteed strength.
The combined teachings teach the invention as described above but fail to teach a reinforcement protrusion that extends towards the support column fixing portion, from the annular protrusion, a first imaginary line and a second imaginary line which extend in directions that differ from one another towards the support column fixing portion, from the motor fixing portion of the plurality of motor fixing portions, as seen from the front-rear direction, are assumed, and a side surface of the reinforcement protrusion has a first side surface that extends along the first imaginary line, and a second side surface that extends along the second imaginary line.
However, Ota teaches a reinforcement protrusion (cut-and-raised portion 2f) that extends towards the support column fixing portion (figure 1), from the annular protrusion (bent portion 2g), a first imaginary line (as illustrated below on figure 2a) and a second imaginary line (as illustrated below on figure 2a) which extend in directions that differ from one another (as illustrated below on figure 2a) towards the support column fixing portion (towards columns, figure 1), from the motor fixing portion of the plurality of motor fixing portions (from mounting hole 2d, figures 1-2), as seen from the front-rear direction (figure 1), are assumed, and a side surface of the reinforcement protrusion has a first side surface that extends along the first imaginary line (as illustrated below on figure 2a), and a second side surface that extends along the second imaginary line (as illustrated below on figure 2a).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the unit in the combined teachings to include a reinforcement protrusion that extends towards the support column fixing portion, from the annular protrusion, a first imaginary line and a second imaginary line which extend in directions that differ from one another towards the support column fixing portion, from the motor fixing portion of the plurality of motor fixing portions, as seen from the front-rear direction, are assumed, and a side surface of the reinforcement protrusion has a first side surface that extends along the first imaginary line, and a second side surface that extends along the second imaginary line in view of the teachings of Ota in order to yield the predictable result of providing an outdoor unit for an air conditioner that can easily cope with the demand for noise reduction.
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Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach wherein the support column fixing portion (fan motor mounting member 2 of Ota) has a first fixing portion that is screw-fixed (via holes 2a, as shown on figure 1 of Ota) to a support column member out of the pair of support column members (towards columns 1, as shown on figure 1 of Ota), and the first imaginary line passes (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota) through the first fixing portion (as shown on above on figure 2a), as seen from the front-rear direction (figure 1 of Ota).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach wherein the first imaginary line (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota) extends parallel to the left-right direction (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota).
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach wherein the support column fixing portion (fan motor mounting member 2 of Ota) has two second fixing portions (lower holes 2a, figure 2 of Ota) that are screw-fixed to the support column member (as shown on figure 1 of Ota), and the second imaginary line (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota) passes between the two second fixing portions (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota), as seen from the front-rear direction (figures 1-2 of Ota).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach wherein the plurality of motor fixing portions (figures 1-2 of Ota) include a first motor fixing portion (upper mounting hole 2d, figure 2a of Ota) and a second motor fixing portion (lower mounting hole 2d, figure 2a of Ota) that are disposed so as to align in the vertical direction (figure 2a of Ota), two second imaginary lines (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota), one that extends from the first motor fixing portion (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota) and another that extends from the second motor fixing portion (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota), intersect one another between the pair of second fixing portions (intersecting between holes 2a, figure 2a of Ota), and the side surface of the reinforcement protrusion (side portion of cut-and-raised portion 2f, figures 1-2 of Ota) has two second side surfaces that extend along each of the two second imaginary lines (two side surfaces of cut-and-raised portion 2f, as shown on figure 1 of Ota, extend along the front rear portion of the second imaginary lines, as shown on figure 2 of Ota).
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach wherein the support column fixing portion (fan motor mounting member 2 of Ota) has a second fixing portion that is screw-fixed to the support column member (lower holes 2a screwed to column 1, as shown on figure 1 of Ota), and the second imaginary line passes through the second fixing portion (as illustrated above on figure 2a of Ota), as seen from the front-rear direction (figure 1 of Ota).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach wherein a dimension in the vertical direction of the annular protrusion (vertical dimension of clamp space 13a, figure 4 of Zhang), is smaller than a dimension in the vertical direction of the support column fixing portion (smaller than the vertical dimension of fan motor mounting member 2 of Ota).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach wherein the first plate (front portion of portion 50, figure 8 of Kentaro) has the front-rear direction as a plate thickness direction thereof (as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro), the motor support plate (motor support portion 50 of Kentaro) has - a second plate (pair of leg portions 55 of Kentaro) that is provided on each end on the left-right direction of the first plate (as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro), and has the left-right direction as a plate thickness direction thereof (as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro), a second fixing portion (screw 53 of Kentaro) of the two second fixing portions (figure 8 of Kentaro) is provided on the first plate (front portion of portion 50, figure 8 of Kentaro), and the first fixing portion (hole 59 of Kentaro) is provided on the second plate (figure 8 of Kentaro).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach wherein the motor support plate (motor support portion 50 of Kentaro) has a bent plate (plate below screw 53, as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro) that is bent in the front-rear direction (as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro), from the inside edge of the motor insertion hole (inside portion of insertion portion 52, as shown on figure 8 of Kentaro).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach a refrigeration cycle device (figure 1) further comprising: the outdoor unit (outdoor unit 100) according to claim 1, and a circulation path having a refrigerant flow therein (it is interpreted that outdoor unit 100 will include an circulation path with refrigerant for cooling purposes).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARIO DELEON whose telephone number is (571)272-8687. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jerry Daryl Fletcher can be reached at 571-270-5054. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DARIO ANTONIO DELEON/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/JERRY-DARYL FLETCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763