DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on July 1, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed July 1, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 6, 7, 9 – 12 and 17 – 23 are pending in the application with claims 2 – 5, 8 and 13 – 16 being cancelled. The amendment to the claims has overcome all of the claim objections and some of the 35 USC 112 rejections set forth in the last Final Action mailed April 1, 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 17 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 17 recites the limitation “simultaneously activating both the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly” in line 7. This limitation is a new matter. The originally filed specification does not disclose “both” first and second driving assemblies being activated “simultaneously” (i.e. at the same time). For instance, the filed specification recites (see citations from pg. pub of the instant application provided below for reference) the controller being capable of controlling the first inflation apparatus and the second inflation apparatus. The recited control of the first driving assembly (belong to the first inflation apparatus) and the second inflation apparatus (belong to the second inflation apparatus) by the controller does not provide support for the claimed feature of “simultaneous activation of both the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly”.
[¶70] “In this way, when the apparatus to be inflated is inflated to a preset pressure value, the controller 200 is capable of controlling the first driving assembly 121 and/or the second driving assembly 131 to stop rotating according to a signal feedback from the gas pressure detection apparatus 1431 to achieve the function that the inflation pump 100 is controlled to stop inflating the apparatus to be inflated”;
[¶94] “In the inflation device 1000 as provided in the embodiments of the present application, by electrically connecting the controller 200 to the first driving assembly 121 and the second driving assembly 131, the first driving assembly 121 and the second driving assembly 131 are controlled to be started or stopped, so that the function of starting or stopping inflation of the first inflation apparatus 120 is achieved, and the functions of starting or stopping inflation, or starting or stopping deflation of the second inflation apparatus 130 are achieved. By providing that the power source 300 is electrically connected to the controller 200 and the inflation pump 100, the function of supplying power to the controller 200 and the inflation pump 100 is achieved by the power source 300. By providing the inflation pump 100, the controller 200 and the power source 300 in the outer housing 400, the functions of mounting and protection for the inflation pump 100, the controller 200 and the power source 300 are achieved.”;
Claims 18 – 20 are rejected for being dependent on claim 17.
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.
Claims 1, 6, 7, 9, 12 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Huabin (US 2023/0323870 – herein after Chen) and evidenced by Rogers et al. (US 6,623,249 – herein after Rogers) in view of Hansen, Gary (US 2003/0015200 – herein after Hansen), Meng et al. (CN 218376822U – herein after Meng) and evidenced by Yin, You-lei (CN 218030508U – herein after Yin).
In reference to claim 1, Chen teaches an inflation pump (as per title of Chen: “multipurpose inflation pump”), comprising (see figs. 1-8):
a gas pipe (see fig. A below) comprising a first mounting part (4/21; also labeled “mp1” in fig. A below), a second mounting part (see fig. A below: labelled “mp2”) and a third mounting part (see fig. A below: labelled “mp3”) that are in communication with each other, wherein the first mounting part (“mp1”) is configured to connect to an apparatus to be inflated (bed or boat or tire, see ¶28);
a first inflation apparatus (first pressure air pump 5, see ¶27 and fig. 4) comprising a first driving assembly (second motor 19 + gears 17, 18 + eccentric wheel 16) and a first inflation assembly (first piston 13 + first piston cylinder 11), wherein the first driving assembly is configured to supply power to the first inflation assembly (as discussed in ¶27), and the first inflation assembly is connected to the second mounting part (“mp2”) and configured to provide a first air flow (flow of air discharged by the first inflation assembly) to the first mounting part to inflate the apparatus to be inflated (see ¶27); and
a second inflation apparatus (blower 6; see ¶27 and figs. 3/4) comprising a second driving assembly (first motor 8) and a second inflation assembly (shell 7 + air blade 9), wherein the second driving assembly is configured to supply power to the second inflation assembly (as per disclosure in ¶27), and the second inflation assembly (7+9) is connected to the third mounting part (“mp3”), and connected to the first inflation assembly (13+11) [two inflation assemblies are connected to one another as evident from fig. 4 via a structure that defines inflation conduit 4] through the gas pipe (labeled in fig. A below); and the second inflation assembly is configured to provide a second air flow (flow of air discharged by the second inflation assembly) to the first mounting part (4/21) to inflate the apparatus to be inflated (see ¶27);
wherein the first inflation assembly (13+11) comprises a first cylinder (11), the second inflation assembly (7+9) comprises a blower housing (7); and
wherein an end (bottom end) of the blower housing (7) away from the first mounting part (4 or “mp1”) is provided with a fourth mounting part (see fig. B below) that is configured for gas intake (as depicted by intake arrow in fig. B below; gas intake occurs during inflation mode) or connection with an apparatus to be deflated (see ¶7: “When the inflatable bed or the inflatable boat needs to be deflated, an inlet of the blower is put to an outlet of the inflatable bed or the inflatable boat, and the blower may accelerate deflation of the inflatable bed or the inflatable boat”),
wherein the inflation pump is configured (see ¶28) to provide selective activation control of the first inflation apparatus (5) and the second inflation apparatus (6), wherein the selective activation control of the first inflation apparatus and the second inflation apparatus comprises: activating the first inflation apparatus, activating the second inflation apparatus,
in a unit time, a volume of gas provided by the first inflation apparatus (first pressure air pump 5) to the first mounting part (4/21) is less than a volume of gas provided by the second inflation apparatus (blower 6) to the first mounting part (4/21) [claimed feature is implicitly present in Chen; in view of Chen’s disclosure in ¶27: asserted first inflation apparatus 5 is a positive-displacement pump in a form of a reciprocating pump and the second inflation apparatus 6 is a non-positive displacement pump in a form of a blower/impeller; Chen states (see ¶7) “The blower and the first pressure air pump may operate in cooperation, and the blower may provide a large flow of air with less pressure to rapidly inflate in an initial inflation, saving a preliminary blowing time. When inflating for a period of time, the blower may stop operation, and the first pressure air pump may be switched to operate to continue to provide airflow with a certain pressure, ensuring that an inflated object is filled up”; by explicit definition and operation in Chen (see ¶28), the blower delivers a higher volume flow rate per unit time than the reciprocating piston pump; this is further evidenced by Rogers where “15” is referred as a relatively high air volume relatively low pressure fan pump (see col. 2, lines 15-16) and “20” is referred as low air volume relatively high pressure diaphragm pump (see col. 2, lines 23-24)].
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Fig. A: Edited fig. 4 of Chen to show claim interpretation.
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Fig. B: Edited fig. 4 of Chen to show claim interpretation.
Chen teaches the inflation pump, comprising a rotation axis of the first cylinder (horizontal axis of the cylinder 11 which is a cylindrical body of revolution, in view of Chen’s fig. 4) and a rotation axis of the blower housing (vertical axis of the blower housing 7 which is a cylindrical body of revolution, in view of Chen’s fig. 4).
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump wherein the second mounting part (“mp2”, in fig. A above) and the third mounting part (“mp3”, in fig. A above) “are coaxially arranged”, wherein the rotation axis of the first cylinder “is collinear” with the rotation axis of the blower housing, and wherein the first mounting part is not coaxial with the blower housing and the first cylinder.
However, Hansen teaches a pump system (see fig. 2 and ¶26: “The positive relative pressure gas supply 204 and the negative relative pressure gas supply 206 may be motors turning associated impellers or fans (e.g., blowers). Alternatively, the gas supplies may be any form of bellows, piston, pump, fan, impeller or other device that is capable of providing a gas at an elevated relative pressure”) wherein a first fluid transfer apparatus (204; equivalent in structure to claimed “first inflation apparatus”) having a first housing (conduit 214 which is a cylindrical body; equivalent in structure to claimed “first cylinder”) and a second fluid transfer apparatus (206; equivalent in structure to claimed “second inflation apparatus”) having a second housing (conduit 214 which is a cylindrical body; equivalent in structure to claimed “blower housing”) are coaxially arranged and connected to a fluid pipe (211, see fig. 2/3; equivalent in structure to claimed “gas pipe”). The first housing is connected to its corresponding mounting part (303; equivalent in structure to claimed “second mounting part”) on the fluid pipe, the second housing is connected to its corresponding mounting part (305; equivalent in structure to claimed “third mounting part”) on the fluid pipe, wherein the second mounting part (303) is coaxially arranged (see fig. 3) with the third mounting part (305) and an additional mounting part (309; equivalent in structure to claimed “first mounting part”) of the fluid pipe is not coaxial (see fig. 2) with the first housing and the second housing.
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chen’s inflation pump for having the second and third mounting parts coaxially arranged as taught by Hansen since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Thus, Chen, as modified, makes obvious the inflation pump, wherein the second mounting part (“mp2”; of Chen) and the third mounting part (“mp3”; of Chen) are coaxially arranged (utilizing the teaching of Hansen), and wherein a rotation axis of the first cylinder (of Chen) is collinear with a rotation axis of the blower housing (of Chen), and the first mounting part (of Chen) is not coaxial with the blower housing (of Chen) and the first cylinder (of Chen) [note that the features “a rotation axis of the first cylinder is collinear with a rotation axis of the blower housing” and “the first mounting part is not coaxial with the blower housing and the first cylinder” would naturally flow the proposed modification of coaxially arranging the second and third mounting parts in Chen].
Chen further remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein the end of the blower housing (bottom end) away from the first mounting part (7) is further provided with at least one first through hole that is configured for preventing the blower housing from damage due to overheating when the apparatus to be deflated is connected to the fourth mounting part and deflation of the apparatus to be deflated is completed.
However, Meng teaches the inflation pump wherein at least one first through hole (heat dissipation hole 20; see ¶59 of translation) is provided at the end (end corresponding to side 16 seen in fig. 2 or right end of 222 in view of fig. 4) of the blower housing (222) away from the first mounting part (213, see fig. 2 or 2222, see fig. 5), for preventing the blower housing from damage due to overheating when the apparatus to be deflated is connected to the fourth mounting part and deflation of the apparatus to be deflated is completed (see ¶57 and ¶59 of translation: when deflation process takes place and is completed, the heat dissipation hole prevents the blower apparatus 22 from accumulating a large amount of heat and causing damage).
Yin further evidences the second inflation apparatus (i.e. blower) similar to that taught by Chen. However, Yin’s second inflation apparatus additionally has “at least one hole” (based on presented drawing in fig. 1) on the blower housing (see fig. B1 below). It is further to be noted that Yin’s second inflation apparatus is similar to that disclosed by applicant in the instant application (see Yin’s fig. 1 and applicant’s fig. 1), wherein holes are present in similar fashion at one end of the blower housing.
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Fig. B1: Edited fig. 1 of Yin to show claim interpretation.
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide “at least one first through hole” as taught by Meng at the end of the blower housing (see fig. B above), as evidenced by Yin, in the inflation pump of Chen for the purpose of preventing the blower apparatus from accumulating heat, as recognized by Meng above.
In reference to claim 6, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation pump (see Chen), further comprising a gas pressure detection apparatus (pressure sensor, see ¶28) and a fifth mounting part (mounting hole 28, see ¶28), wherein the fifth mounting part (28) is provided (see fig. 4), close to the first mounting part (4/21), at the inflation pump, and the gas pressure detection apparatus (pressure sensor) is provided at the fifth mounting part (28) and is configured to detect a gas pressure of the apparatus to be inflated (pressure sensor is capable of detecting “a gas pressure” in view of disclosure in ¶28).
In reference to claim 7, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation pump (see Chen), wherein a first check valve (second one-way outlet valve 12, see ¶27 and fig. 4) for unidirectionally passing through the first air flow is provided (in partial manner) between the first inflation assembly (13+11) and the second mounting part (“mp2”, in fig. A above), and the first check valve (12, see fig. 4) is provided on the first inflation assembly (13+11).
In reference to claim 9, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation pump (see Chen), wherein a second check valve (first one-way outlet valve 10, see ¶27 and fig. 4) for unidirectionally passing through the second air flow is provided (in partial manner) between the second inflation assembly (7+9) and the third mounting part (“mp3”, in fig. A above).
In reference to claim 12, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation pump (see Chen), wherein the first driving assembly (16+17+18+19) comprises a first motor (19) and a first support (see fig. C below: wall labelled “W” forming a support) for mounting the first motor (19), and the first inflation assembly (13+11) comprises a first cylinder (11) connected (indirectly) to the first support (as evident from fig. 4).
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Fig. C: Edited figs. 3 and 4 of Chen to show claim interpretation.
In reference to claim 22, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation pump (see Chen), wherein the first driving assembly (second motor 19 + gears 17, 18 + eccentric wheel 16; see ¶27 and fig. 4) further comprises a first motor gear (17) and a first protection cover (labelled “cover” in fig. C above), the first inflation assembly further comprises a first big gear (18, see fig. 4 and referred as “large gear” in ¶27) which is rotatably connected to the first support and is engaged with the first motor gear, and (as evident from fig. C above) the first protection cover (labelled “cover”) is connected to the first support (labelled wall “W” in fig. C above) and is used for protecting the first big gear.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Rogers (evidentiary reference) in view of Hansen, Meng, Yin (evidentiary reference) and Miller et al. (US 10,228,067 – herein after Miller).
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein a third check valve, for unidirectionally passing through the first air flow or the second air flow to inflate the apparatus to be inflated, is provided at the first mounting part of the inflation pump.
However, Miller teaches a check valve (duck-bill valve 902) is provided at a mounting part (at end 900 of mounting part 704, see fig. 11) for unidirectionally passing through the air flow to inflate the apparatus (102, in fig. 1) to be inflated.
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide another check valve in an apparatus to be inflated as taught by Miller such that the check valve is at the first mounting part of Chen when Chen’s inflation pump is coupled to the apparatus to be inflated for the purpose of inhibiting the air flow from the inflated apparatus, as recognized by Miller (see col. 4, lines 62-67 and col. 5, lines 1-2).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Rogers (evidentiary reference) in view of Hansen, Meng, Yin (evidentiary reference) and Pololu (“Dealing with Motor Noise” – herein after Pololu).
Chen teaches the inflation pump, wherein the first driving assembly (16+17+18+19) comprises a first motor (19, see ¶27 and fig. 4).
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein the first motor is electrically connected with a capacitor.
However, Pololu teaches (see point 1 on page 1 of provided copy) a use of capacitors by electrically connecting them to the motor for suppressing motor noise.
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have Chen’s first motor electrically connected with capacitor as taught by Pololu for the purpose of suppressing motor noise, as recognized by Pololu above.
Claims 21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Rogers (evidentiary reference) in view of Hansen, Meng, Yin (evidentiary reference) and Peng et al. (CN 221053884U – herein after Peng).
Regarding claim 21,
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein the first cylinder has a first surface, a center of the first surface is provided with a sixth mounting part for mounting the first check valve, and the first surface is provided with a plurality of first vent holes.
However, Peng teaches a similar inflation pump, wherein (see fig. 3) the first cylinder (30) has a first surface (surface of exhaust plate 38), a center of the first surface is provided with a sixth mounting part (portion on which valve assembly 391+392 is mounted) for mounting the first check valve (391+392), and the first surface is provided with a plurality of first vent holes (referred as “exhaust holes”; see ¶50 of translation).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen’s cylinder for substituting Chen’s first check valve assembly for a specific check valve assembly that is mounted on a first surface of the cylinder as taught by Peng in order to obtain the predictable result of ensuring unidirectional flow of air from the first inflations assembly. KSR Int’l v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S. Ct. 1727, 1740-41, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007).
Regarding claim 23,
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein the second inflation assembly further includes a blower support provided in the blower housing, a protection member for filtering gas from the fourth mounting part is provided between the blower housing and an end of the blower support close to the fourth mounting part.
However, Peng teaches a similar inflation pump, wherein a second inflation assembly (impeller pump 20 seen in fig. 1) includes a blower support (“support” element present in the blower is considered to be a blower support; in Peng: “support member 25” is a claimed blower support) provided in the blower housing (housing of impeller pump 20 seen in fig. 1; referred as “shell” in ¶45 of translation), a protection member (filtering piece 26, see fig. 2) for filtering gas from the fourth mounting part (21) is provided between the blower housing (between left end of blower housing 7 in view of fig. 2) and an end (left end in view of fig. 2) of the blower support (25) close to the fourth mounting part (21) [see ¶47 of translation: “support member 25 is provided in the shell between the first air inlet 21 and the second air inlet, and a filter member 26 is provided on one side of the support member 25 close to the first air inlet 21”].
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to provide a blower support and a protection member as taught by Peng in the second inflation assembly of Chen for the purpose of filtering the air, as recognized by Peng (see ¶48 of translation).
Claims 17 – 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Rogers (evidentiary reference) in view of Hansen, Meng, Yin (evidentiary reference) and Liu, Ying-An (CN 119103056A – herein after Liu).
In reference to claim 17, Chen, as modified, teaches an inflation device (see fig. 1/2; in Chen), comprising:
the inflation pump according to claim 1 (as discussed above);
a controller (29, see fig. 1 and ¶27; in Chen), electrically connected to the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly (controller 29 is connected to second motor 19 of the asserted first driving assembly and first motor 8 which is the asserted second driving assembly), wherein the controller is configured (see ¶28; in Chen) to provide selective activation control of the first driving assembly (motor 19) and the second driving assembly (motor 8), wherein the selective activation control comprises: activating the first driving assembly, activating the second driving assembly;
a power source for supplying power, electrically connected to the controller and the inflation pump (power source is inherently present); and
an outer housing (1, see fig. 1/2 in Chen) in which the inflation pump, the controller and the power source are provided.
Chen remains silent on the inflation pump, wherein the selective activation control comprises: “simultaneously activating both the first inflation apparatus and the second inflation apparatus”.
However, Liu teaches an inflation pump (see ¶91 of translation) wherein the inflation pump is configured to provide selective activation control of the first inflation apparatus (apparatus with motor component 17; motor component 17 being “first driving assembly”) and the second inflation apparatus (apparatus with motor component 18; motor component 18 being “second driving assembly”), wherein the selective activation control of the first inflation apparatus and the second inflation apparatus comprises (see ¶91 of translation): activating the first driving assembly, activating the second driving assembly; and simultaneously activating both the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly.
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chen’s inflation pump for also having the selective activation control of the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly to be also comprised of simultaneously activating both the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly as taught by Liu for the purpose of satisfying the consumer needs, as recognized by Liu (see ¶91 of translation).
In reference to claim 18, Chen teaches the inflation device, further comprising:
a third inflation apparatus (second pressure air pump 23, see fig. 2 and ¶27) provided in the outer housing (1), wherein
the third inflation apparatus comprises a third driving assembly (third motor 39 + gears 37, 38 + rod 36, see figs. 5/6 and ¶27) and a third inflation assembly (second piston cylinder 33 + second piston 34, see figs. 5/6 and ¶27), the third driving assembly is connected to the third inflation assembly and is used for supplying power to the third inflation assembly (as evident from ¶27), and an end (end proximate outlet nozzle 41) of the third inflation assembly (33+34) away from the third driving assembly (36+37+38+39) is used for connecting the apparatus (automobile tire, see ¶28) to be inflated; and
the third driving assembly is electrically connected to the power source and the controller (inherent feature).
In reference to claim 19, Chen, as modified, teaches the inflation device (see Chen), wherein in a unit time, a volume of gas provided by the third inflation apparatus (second pressure air pump 23, see fig. 2 and ¶27) to the apparatus (automobile tire, see ¶28) to be inflated is less than a volume of gas provided by the second inflation apparatus (blower 6) to the apparatus to be inflated [claimed feature is implicitly present in Chen; in view of disclosure in ¶27: asserted third inflation apparatus 23 is a positive-displacement pump in a form of a reciprocating pump and the second inflation apparatus 6 is a non-positive displacement pump in a form of a blower/impeller; Chen states (see ¶7) “The blower and the first pressure air pump may operate in cooperation, and the blower may provide a large flow of air with less pressure to rapidly inflate in an initial inflation, saving a preliminary blowing time. When inflating for a period of time, the blower may stop operation, and the first pressure air pump may be switched to operate to continue to provide airflow with a certain pressure, ensuring that an inflated object is filled up”; by explicit definition and operation in Chen (see ¶27-¶28), the blower provides a larger airflow rate at low pressure for rapid initial filling/blowing, whereas the high-pressure piston pump is designed specifically for inflating high-pressure items like automobile tires that require much higher pressures (exceeding 20 psi) at comparatively lower volumetric flow rates; this is further evidenced by Rogers which confirms that in dual-stage inflator art, a non-positive displacement blower/fan “15” (referred as a relatively high air volume relatively low pressure fan pump; see col. 2, lines 15-16) provides a larger volumetric flow per unit time than a high-pressure reciprocating piston or positive displacement pump “20” (referred as low air volume relatively high pressure diaphragm pump; see col. 2, lines 23-24)].
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Rogers (evidentiary reference) in view of Hansen, Meng, Yin (evidentiary reference), Liu and Liao, Yuefei (US 2024/0035461 – herein after Liao).
Chen remains silent on the inflation device, further comprising a pair of output terminals, wherein the pair of output terminals are electrically connected to the power source and are configured to output a current for starting an engine of a vehicle.
However, Liao teaches the inflation device, comprising a pair of output terminals (at power transmission port 700), wherein the pair of output terminals are electrically connected to the power source (battery 300, see ¶69) and are configured to output a current for starting an engine of a vehicle (see ¶70).
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen’s inflation apparatus for providing a pair of output terminals as taught by Liao for the purpose of providing added feature of starting the car in emergency situations, as recognized by Liao (see ¶70).
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed July 1, 2026 have been fully considered:
Arguments with respect to “claim rejections under 35 USC 112(a)” (page 6): The arguments are partially persuasive. It is acknowledged that claim 1 was amended to overcome the set forth 35 USC 112(a) rejection. While the language was removed from claim 1, claim 17 (method claim dependent on claim 1) still explicitly recites “simultaneously activating both the first driving assembly and the second driving assembly”. Thus, claim 17 remains rejected under 35 USC 112(a) along with its dependent claims.
Arguments with respect to “collinear rotational-axis arrangement” (page 7):
The arguments are not persuasive. Hansen explicitly teaches a fluid transfer system wherein a first fluid apparatus (204) and a second fluid apparatus (206) are coaxially connected to opposing, coaxially aligned mounting parts (303, 305) along a common fluid/gas pipe (211). When modifying Chen’s pump to arrange the second and third mounting parts coaxially along the gas pipe as taught by Hansen, the longitudinal/rotational central axes of the cylinder bodies (the first cylinder 11 and the blower housing 7) naturally and necessarily become collinear with one another along that shared straight axis. Such collinear alignment is the direct, predictable physical result of rearranging and mounting the components coaxially along the gas pipe.
Arguments with respect to “gas volume relationship” (page 7):
The arguments are not persuasive. Chen explicitly discloses (see ¶7, ¶27-¶28) the operational methodology of the two stages, stating that the blower (6) operates during the initial stage to provide a large flow of air with less pressure to rapidly inflate, after which the piston air pump (5) operated to achieve the higher target pressure. Thus, Chen’s own disclosure establishes that the blower provides a greater volume of gas per unit time than the reciprocating piston pump during their intended operations. This operational relationship is standard in two-stage inflators, as further evidenced by Rogers (see col. 2, lines 17-31), which shows a low-pressure fan pump outputting up to 600 L/min while a high-pressure positive-displacement pump outputs up to 300 L/min.
Arguments with respect to “dependent claims” (pages 8-9):
The arguments are not persuasive for same reasons as discussed above. It is to be noted that applicant has not presented any separate or new arguments.
Conclusion
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/CHIRAG JARIWALA/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/BRYAN M LETTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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