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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 18 December 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 & 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1 & 20, change “opposites side” to –opposite sides--.
In claim 20, line 4, change “travelling” to –traveling--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 (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 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 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yuan (CN 211981665).
Regarding claim 1, Yuan teaches a power head 100, comprising:
a housing assembly (shell) 10, provided with an air inlet 16 and an air outlet 17, the housing assembly comprising a first (fixing) cover 14 and a second (air inlet) cover 13, the first cover and the second cover arranged on two opposites side of the housing assembly 10;
a motor assembly 20, arranged in the housing assembly, the motor assembly comprising a motor 20, one end of an output shaft 211 of the motor extending to outside of the housing assembly; and a first fan 23, arranged at a tail end of the motor; a battery pack (power supply) assembly 30, arranged in the housing assembly, the battery pack assembly supplying power to the motor assembly; and
a first control board 22, arranged between the first fan 23 and the second cover 13, the first control board 22 connected with the battery pack assembly and the motor;
wherein the first fan 23 is configured to be driven to rotate by the motor, in order to suck air to flow into the housing assembly from the air inlet 16 and flow out of the housing assembly from the air outlet 17; wherein the air flow into the housing flows sequentially through the first control board 22 and the motor 20 (Figs.3-4).
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Regarding claim 20, Yuan teaches all the power head elements corresponding to claim 1, including an outdoor power equipment (e.g., gardening tool, e.g., grass cutter or snow sweeping) comprising a main body (machine frame), a working assembly (tool, e.g., cutting blades) connected to the main body, and a traveling assembly connected with the main body (i.e., wheel), the power head 100 mounted on the main body (abstract, p.1-4 English translation).
Claims 1 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mizuguchi et al. (US Pat.Pub.2021/0184535).
Regarding claim 1, Mizuguchi teaches a power head, comprising: a housing assembly (cover) 13, provided with an air inlet and an air outlet (not numbered, arrow R; Fig.3), the housing assembly 13 comprising a first cover 13b and a second cover 13c, the first cover and the second cover arranged on two opposites side of the housing assembly (Fig.2E); a motor assembly, arranged in the housing assembly, the motor assembly comprising a motor 11, one end of an output shaft 11c of the motor extending to outside of the housing assembly; and a first fan 11d, arranged at a tail end of the motor; a battery pack assembly 121, arranged in the housing assembly, the battery pack assembly supplying power to the motor assembly; and a first control board (control unit/PDU) 122, arranged between the first fan 11d and the second cover 13c, the first control board connected with the battery pack 121 assembly and the motor 11 (¶[0039]); wherein the first fan 11d is configured to be driven to rotate by the motor, in order to suck air to flow into the housing assembly 13 from the air inlet and flow out of the housing assembly from the air outlet (arrow R; ¶[0050]; Fig.3).
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Regarding claim 20, Mizuguchi teaches all the power head elements corresponding to claim 1, including an outdoor power equipment (e.g., compactor or lawn mower) comprising a main body 21, a working assembly 22 connected to the main body 21, and a traveling assembly connected with the main body (i.e., wheels, not shown), the power head 10 mounted on the main body 21 (Fig.1; ¶[0026]-¶[0029]).
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 1 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinzelmann et al. (US 11,811,037) in view of Iwata et al. (US 7,330,006).
Regarding claim 1, Heinzelmann generally teaches the invention of a power head, comprising:
a housing assembly 1, provided with an air inlet 7 and an air outlet 9, the housing assembly comprising a first cover and a second cover (not numbered), the first cover and the second cover arranged on two opposites side[s] of the housing assembly (c.3:54-56; Fig.4);
a motor assembly, arranged in the housing assembly 1, the motor assembly comprising a motor 2, one end of an output shaft 21 of the motor extending to outside of the housing assembly; and
a first fan 16, arranged at a tail end of the motor 2;
a battery pack assembly 20, arranged in the housing assembly, the battery pack assembly supplying power to the motor assembly; and
a first control board 15, [arranged between the first fan 16 and the second cover], the first control board connected with the battery pack assembly 20 and the motor 2 (inherent to electronic control system for motor; c.6:61-66);
wherein the first fan 16 is configured to be driven to rotate by the motor, in order to suck air to flow into the housing assembly 1 from the air inlet 7 and flow out of the housing assembly from the air outlet 9 (c.7:6-29; Fig.4).
wherein the air flows into the housing 1 flows sequentially through the first control board 15 and the motor 2 (Fig.4).
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Heinzelmann does not teach the first control board 15 is “arranged between the first fan [16] and the second cover”.
But, Iwata teaches a power tool including a housing 2 with a cover (end portion) 2B and a cooling fan 13, wherein a control board 16 for drive circuit 4 is arranged between the fan 13 and the cover 2B so as to function as a fan guide to define air flow in the housing (c.4:10-13; Fig.2).
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It would have been obvious before the effective filing date to arrange Heinzelmann’s first control board between the first fan and the second cover since Iwata teaches this would have enabled the control board to function as a fan guide to define air flow in the housing.
Regarding claim 20, the combination teaches all the power head elements corresponding to claim 1, including in Heinzelmann an outdoor power equipment (e.g., saw, trimmer) comprising a main body, a working assembly connected to the main body, and a traveling assembly connected with the main body, the power head mounted on the main body (c.5:3-9).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-19 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 2, none of the prior art of record appears to teach the claimed power head including, inter alia, “the air inlet [122] arranged between the first control board [24] and the second cover [14]” (Figs.10-11).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BURTON S MULLINS whose telephone number is (571)272-2029. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5. 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, Tulsidas C Patel can be reached at 571-272-2098. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BURTON S MULLINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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