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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, species B, sub-species 1, sub-sub-species G, Figures 2a-j, 5a and 5r, claims 1-7 in the reply filed on June 2, 2026 is acknowledged. However, claim 2 (and the buffering component thereof) is not part of the elected species, it is instead part of at least non-elected species D. Claims 2 and 8-24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 5 line 1, “the blade spacing” would be clearer if written as --a blade spacing--.
In claim 5 line 3, “component; Each” would be clearer if written as --assembly, each--.
In claim 5 line 5, “edge. The thickness” would be clearer if written as --edge, a thickness--.
In claim 5 line 6, “blade edge direction” would be clearer if written as --blade edge--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U. S. Patent Publication 2021/0277914 to Lu.
Referring to claim 1, Lu discloses a fan module comprising:
a fan housing (150); a connecting piece (120, 130), arranged inside the fan housing (150) and provided with a fan channel (between 122, 123, 130 and 150); and a fan assembly (110), sleeved on the connecting piece (120, 130) and connected to the connecting piece (120, 130) through a rotating shaft (141) (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Referring to claim 3, Lu discloses a fan module comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and further discloses a fan module wherein:
the connecting piece (120, 130) comprises a connecting ring (122) and multiple connecting plates (123), wherein the multiple connecting plates (123) are arranged around the connecting ring (122), one end of each connecting plate (123) of the multiple connecting plates (123) is connected to an inner surface of the fan housing (150), and another end of each connecting plate (123) is connected to the connecting ring (122); the fan assembly comprises a motor assembly (140) and a fan blade assembly (112), an end of each connecting plate (123) facing the fan blade assembly (112) is curved and extended towards the fan blade assembly (112) to form multiple air guide plates (comprised of 123), a gap is defined between the air guide plates and the fan assembly, and a curvature direction in which an end of the multiple air guide plates curves is opposite to a rotation direction of the fan blade assembly (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
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.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2021/0277914 to Lu, in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2014/0050600 to Kodato.
Referring to claim 4, Lu teaches a fan module comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and further teaches a fan module wherein:
an end of the motor assembly (140) is connected to the connecting piece (120, 130), and the fan blade assembly (112) is sleeved on the motor assembly (140); the fan blade assembly (112) comprises a hub (111) and multiple fan blades (112), wherein the multiple fan blades (112) are arranged around an outer surface of the hub (111) in a circumferential direction of the hub (111) (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Lu is silent as top what the fan housing is attached to. Kodato teaches a module comprising:
a flexible housing (3), wherein a fan housing (11) is arranged inside the flexible housing (3) (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0030]-[0035], wherein resin is flexible).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the module taught by Lu with the flexible housing taught by Kodato in order to use the module in a portable blower system (Kodato Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0030]-[0035]).
Referring to claim 5, Lu and Kodato teach a fan module comprising all the limitations of claim 4, as detailed above, and Lu further teaches a fan module wherein:
a blade (112) spacing between adjacent two blades (112) in the multiple blades (112) gradually increases along the air outlet direction of the fan assembly; each of the multiple blades (112) comprises a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the length of the first end is greater than the length of the second end, and each blade (112) is provided with a blade edge (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Lu does not teach the thickness of each blade changing. However, Lu teaches the
the thickness of each connecting plate (123) gradually increases from the first end to the blade edge, and gradually decreases from the blade edge to the second end direction (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the module taught by Lu to make to blade in an airfoil shape like tike the connecting plates are, in order to change and control the flow through the fan blade assembly.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2021/0277914 to Lu, in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2014/0050600 to Kodato and U. S. Patent Publication 2020/0072232 to Alstad.
Referring to claim 6, Lu and Kodato teach a fan module comprising all the limitations of claim 4, as detailed above, and Lu further teaches a fan module wherein:
the fan housing (150) is in a cylindrical shape; the hub (111) comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and a side surface, a cross-sectional area of the bottom surface is larger than that of the top surface, and a transition between the top surface and the side surface is smooth (Figures 1-10; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Lu and Kodato are silent as to the ratio of an inner diameter of the fan housing to a maximum diameter of the fan blade assembly. Alstad teaches a module wherein:
a ratio of an inner diameter of a fan housing to a maximum diameter of a fan blade assembly ranges from 1.01 to 1.15 (paragraph [0024]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the module taught by Lu with ratio taught by Alstad in order to create the appropriate gap between the blade assembly and the fan housing (Alstad paragraph [0024]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2021/0277914 to Lu, in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2014/0086761 to Abe and U. S. Patent Publication 2023/0163661 to Tang.
Referring to claim 7, Lu teaches a fan module comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and Lu further teaches a fan module comprising an assembly base (1221), but does not teach an assembly base comprising a connection column and is silent as to the details of the motor. Abe teaches a module wherein an assembly base comprises:
a base (109) and a connecting column (108), wherein the base (109) is connected to a connecting piece (110), the connecting column (108) is connected to the base (109), and a fan assembly (101) is sleeved on and connected to the connecting column (108); the connecting column (108) is provided with a connecting hole, and two ends of the connecting hole are respectively provided with a first bearing (107) and a second bearing (106), a rotating shaft (105) is inserted into and passes through the first bearing (107) and the second bearing (106) (Fig. 1; paragraphs [0018]-[0019]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the module taught by Lu with the assembly base taught by Abe in order to rotatably support the fan assembly in the fan housing.
Abe appears to teach an end of the rotating shaft (105) passing through the second bearing (106) is provided with a securing slot and a circlip connected to the securing slot (Fig. 1), but is otherwise silent as the details of this connection. Tang teaches a module wherein:
an end of a rotating shaft (32) passing through a second bearing (14) is provided with a securing slot and a circlip (163) is connected to the securing slot (Fig. 3; paragraphs [0010] and [0039]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the module taught by Lu with the circlip taught by Tang in order to secure the shaft to the bearing.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhou and Zhong teach similar modules as the claimed fan module.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN MATTHEW LETTMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7860. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRYAN M LETTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
Prosecution Insights