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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 19 January 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 19 January 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that there would be no motivation for one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the required voltages and power. The applicant then argues that the desktop fan would not need such modifications by making many assumptions that “based on common knowledge, is usually connected to an external power source” and that “any ordinary skilled artisan would have no motivation to modify the electrical parameters for the desktop fan to achieve the ultra-long battery life and the wind noise reduction”. The examiner disagrees with these assumptions. Battery operated desktop fans are common and the benefits of a long battery life would be clearly beneficial for such a fan. Further, noise reduction is beneficial for any commercial fan, as consumers often would prefer an effective fan with reduced noise. The examiner does not agree that these benefits would be irrelevant to a desktop fan. Further, these arguments are not directed towards limitations required in the claims.
The applicant then argues that the energy savings are an unexpected technical effect provided by the electrical parameters. However, a showing of unexpected results must be based on evidence, not argument or speculation (MPEP 2145). Simply pointing out that reduced energy consumption and increased battery life is provided by motor specifications is not sufficient to provide an unexpected technical effect and the arguments are not found to be convincing.
The applicant has amended the claims to remove a single “and/or” and change them to an “and”, which was already addressed in the previous rejections. As such, the claims are patentably indistinct from claims in the previous submission and the claim limitations have already been rejected in their current form in the previous Final Rejection dated 23 October 2025. As such, the rejections are maintained.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6, and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi (US 20230032935) in view of Kern (US 8368334).
Regarding claim 1, Bi discloses A portable fan (Figure 1, item 110 shows a portable fan), the portable fan comprising: a control module (Par. 0004), a drive module (Par. 0004 describes that the controller communicates with the motor),
the control module is configured to control, via the drive module and based on the operating voltage, the operating current, and/or the rated operating power, a rated operating rotation speed of the high-speed three-phase motor to reduce noise generated due to a high rotation speed of the motor and to control an air speed to be within a preset air speed range (Par. 0004 describes that the controller can adjust the speed based on the position of the target, par. 0005 describes that the sensors determine the speed, and paragraph 0077 describes that the controller adjusts the speed of the air flow to a desired speed by adjusting the speed of the motor, which must be based on the voltage and current of the motor).
However, Bi does not describe the specific motor to be used for the fan and as such does not explicitly disclose the fan configured with a high-speed three-phase motor, wherein the high-speed three-phase motor has an operating voltage of 2V to 18 V and an operating current of 0.1 to 10 A, and has a rated operating power of 0.5 to 100 W.
Bi and Kern are analogous prior art because both describe portable fans that use motors to control the rotation speed. Kern teaches a three-phase motor (column 3, lines 47-50) for a fan that can help reduce noise for the structure (column 2, lines 2-17). Bi describes that the fan can be driven by various rotational motors (Par. 0052) but does not choose a specific motor type so one of ordinary skill in the art would have to choose a suitable motor for the fan. Further, as Kern describes a three-phase motor being suitable for a portable fan, the three-phase motor described in Kern would provide predictable results in the fan of Bi. Thereby, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a three-phase motor as described in Kern because the three-phase motor can help reduce noise for the structure (column 2, lines 2-17) and combining prior art elements according to known methods is obvious with predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
However, Bi in view of Kern does not explicitly teach that the motor has an operating voltage of 2V to 18 V and an operating current of 0.1 to 10 A, and has a rated operating power of 0.5 to 100 W. However the Applicant has not disclosed that having an operating voltage of 2V to 18V, or a an operating current of 0.1 to 10A, or a rated operating power of 0.5 to 100W solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose. Moreover, it appears that the fan and three-phase motor would perform equally well with the operating voltage, operating current, rated operating power to operate the motor being at different values than claimed (higher or lower). Accordingly, it would have been a matter of obvious design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the maximum output of the motor has an operating voltage of 2V to 18 V and an operating current of 0.1 to 10 A, and has a rated operating power of 0.5 to 100 W because the specific values of operating voltage, operating current, rated operating power to operate the motor do not appear to provide any unexpected results.
Regarding claim 2, Bi in view of Kern teaches that the air speed is controlled to reach 10 to 100 speed values. Each of the paragraph limitations in claim 2 is provided with an “or” statement so only one of the limitations must be met. The claim does not describe what specific scale or measurement unit the term “speed values” relies upon and the specification of the instant application does not clarify the unit a “speed value” is or give the term “speed values” a special definition. As such, the term is being interpreted broadly as any possible air speed value. As this now encompasses any possible air speed value, the limitations are met by Bi in view of Kern as Bi in view of Kern creates an air speed value from the activation of the fan.
Regarding claim 6, Bi in view of Kern teaches that the portable fan comprises at least: a handheld fan to be used by being held in a hand, a desktop fan that is portable and is used by standing on a desktop, or a neck fan worn to a neck of a user; and the portable fan is arranged with a battery to supply power to the high-speed three-phase motor when the portable fan is being carried by a user. Bi Figure 1 shows the fan being a desktop fan that is portable and standing on a desktop and paragraph 0033 describes that a battery can be used as part of the fan.
Regarding claim 10, Bi in view of Kern teaches A control method of the portable fan according to claim 1, wherein the portable fan comprises at least: a handheld fan to be used by being held in a hand, a desktop fan that is portable and is used by standing on a desktop, or a neck fan worn to a neck of a user (Bi Figure 1 shows the fan being a desktop fan that is portable and standing on a desktop and paragraph 0033 describes that a battery can be used as part of the fan.); and the method comprising:
controlling the operating voltage of the high-speed three-phase motor to be in a range of 2 to 18 V, controlling the operating current of the high-speed three-phase motor to be in a range of 0.1 to 10 A, and controlling the rated operating power of the high-speed three-phase motor to be in a range of 0.5 to 100 W (See rejection of claim 1 above); and
controlling, by the drive module based on the operating voltage, the operating current, and/or the rated operating power, the rated operating rotation speed of the high-speed three-phase motor to reduce noise generated due to the high rotation speed and to control the air speed to be in the predetermined air speed range (Bi Par. 0077 describes that the fan speed is controlled by a module that serves as the drive module. No baseline is given for the reduction in noise, so as the three-phase motor provides reduced noise compared to a baseline the reduced noise is provided);
wherein the portable fan is arranged with a battery to supply power to the high-speed three-phase motor when the portable fan is being carried by a user (Bi Par. 0033 describes that a battery can be applied to the fan).
Regarding claim 11, Bi in view of Kern teaches that the air speed is controlled to reach 10 to 100 speed values. The claim does not describe what specific scale or measurement unit the term “speed values” relies upon and the specification of the instant application does not clarify the unit a “speed value” is or give the term “speed values” a special definition. As such, the term is being interpreted broadly as any possible air speed value. As this now encompasses any possible air speed value, the limitations are met by Bi in view of Kern as Bi in view of Kern creates an air speed value from the activation of the fan.
Claim(s) 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi (US 20230032935) in view of Kern (US 8368334) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Xu (CN 116352661).
Regarding claim 3, Bi in view of Kern teaches the limitations of claim 1 in the above 103 rejection and an input module (Bi Par. 0075 describes a processing unit to deliver the instructions), and the input module is configured to output a switch signal according to the user instruction (Par. 0077 describes user instruction passing through the processor to the fan); the control module is configured to generate a switch control signal according to the switch signal and control, through the switch control signal (Par. 0077 describes changing operations in response to the signal). However, Bi in view of Kern does not explicitly disclose that the drive module comprises a first bridge arm, a second bridge arm, and a third bridge arm; each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm comprises: an upper bridge arm transistor switch located at a side of a center point of the bridge arm; and a lower bridge arm transistor switch located at the other side of the center point of the bridge arm; the center point of each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm is connected to a coil of one phase of the high-speed three-phase motor or that each transistor switch of each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm to drive the high-speed three-phase motor to start operating or stop operating.
Bi in view of Kern and Xu are analogous prior art because both describe portable rotating machinery with three-phase motors. Xu teaches a drive module with the drive module comprises a first bridge arm, a second bridge arm, and a third bridge arm (Annotated Figure 15 shows three bridge arms); each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm comprises: an upper bridge arm transistor switch located at a side of a center point of the bridge arm; and a lower bridge arm transistor switch located at the other side of the center point of the bridge arm (Annotated Figure 15 shows two transistor switches of Q1-Q6 on either side of the midpoints of the three bridge arms); the center point of each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm is connected to a coil of one phase of the high-speed three-phase motor (Annotated Figure 15, item 40 shows each bridge arm connected to the motor which has coils as described in page 4, lines 52-58) or that each transistor switch of each of the first bridge arm, the second bridge arm, and the third bridge arm to drive the high-speed three-phase motor to start operating or stop operating (As described in page 9, lines 5-22, the switches and circuit drives the phase windings of the stator and the activates the motor).
Bi in view of Kern teaches the use of a brushless three-phase motor and the motor being controlled by a processor but does not show the wiring or interface between the motor and the processor so one of ordinary skill in the art would have to select a suitable drive module construction for the motor. As Bi in view of Kern and Xu both describe supplying power to a three-phase brushless motor of a portable machine and Xu page 9, lines 5-22 describes that the drive circuit is suitable for providing the power and control to a three-phase motor, the drive circuit of Xu would provide predictable results in the motor control connection of Bi in view of Kern. Thereby, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the drive module of Xu in the fan system of Bi in view of Kern because combining prior art elements according to known methods is obvious with predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(A).
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Annotated Figure 5
Regarding claim 4, Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu teaches that when the input module is a voice module, the input module is configured to capture a voice signal of a user and convert the voice signal into the switch signal and the air speed adjustment control signal (Bi paragraph 0077 describes the voice module can change the fan speed of the fan system).
Regarding claim 5, Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu teaches that the voice module comprises a voice capture module, a voice recognition module, and a voice output module, the voice recognition module is connected to the voice capture module, the voice output module, and the control module; the voice module is configured to capture the voice signal of the user, the voice recognition module is configured to convert the voice signal into the switch signal and the air speed adjustment control signal and send the switch signal and the air speed adjustment control signal to the control module; the voice recognition module is configured to control the voice output module to output or not output an execution result according to a feedback from the control module. Bi Paragraphs 0077-0081 describes that the system can detect voices and noise commands. As described, the system intakes the voice control signal and converts it to one of a few signals to the fan by changing the fan speed or moving the fan. As described in Bi, as the voice module responds to specific commands it can either output or not output a signal based on what the voice sensor receives as an input.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi (US 20230032935) in view of Kern (US 8368334) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen (US 20180187689).
Regarding claim 7, Bi in view of Kern teaches the limitations of claim 1 as set forth in the above 103 rejection but does not explicitly teach that when the control module detecting a change in the operating voltage, the control module is configured to maintain the operating voltage within a constant voltage range by boosting or bucking the operating voltage; or
when the control module detecting a change in the operating current, the control module is configured to maintain the operating current within a constant current range by adjusting a PWM control signal; or
when the control module detecting a change in the operating power, the control module is configured to stabilize the operating power by adjusting the operating voltage or the operating current; or
the portable fan further comprises a rotation speed measurement module, connected to the high- speed three-phase motor and the control module; and
the rotation speed measurement module is configured to measure an actual rotation speed of the motor and send the actual rotation speed to the control module; the control module obtains a rotation- speed change amount based on the actual rotation speed and a target rotation speed, adjusts a duty cycle of a PWM signal according to the rotation-speed change amount, and outputs an adjusted PWM control signal to the drive module.
Bi in view of Kern and Chen are analogous prior art because both describe fan control systems. Chen teaches a rotation speed measurement module, connected to the high- speed three-phase motor and the control module (Par. 0048 describes a speed detector to measure and record the speed of the fan); and
the rotation speed measurement module is configured to measure an actual rotation speed of the motor and send the actual rotation speed to the control module (Par, 0048 describes the sensor data being sent to the processor and the motor driver); the control module obtains a rotation- speed change amount based on the actual rotation speed and a target rotation speed (Claim 25 describes adjusting the control of the motor based on the speed detector signal), adjusts a duty cycle of a PWM signal according to the rotation-speed change amount, and outputs an adjusted PWM control signal to the drive module (Par. 0044 describes that a PWM signal serves to determine the speed of the motor and transmit the signal to the drive module as described in paragraph 0040). Bi already describes changing the speed of the fan in response to outside commands (Par. 0077) and a control system that modulates the speed (Par. 0075) but does not describe how that speed is measured or guaranteed. The sensor system of Chen allows for more accurate control of the fan by determining the exact fan speed (Par. 0040) and allowing the fan system of Bi in view of Kern to reach an exact desired fan speed for the commands given. Thereby, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the speed detector and signal relaying of Chen in the fan of Bi in view of Kern because the addition of the sensor allows for control and confirmation of the exact speed of the fan (Par. 0040) and allows for more precise control to achieve the exact desired fan speed.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bi (US 20230032935) in view of Kern (US 8368334) and further in view of Xu (CN 116352661) as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Wang (CN 110107522) and further in view of Xie (CN 114087218).
Regarding claim 8, Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu teaches the limitations of claim 3 as set forth in the above 103 rejection and that the input module and the control module are connected to each other by in a wired or wireless manner (Bi Paragraph 0077 describes that the input module passes data to the control module. In order for data to be passed, the two must be connected in some manner and either wired or wireless covers every known way of data being passed, so the limitations have been taught), the input module is arranged on a shell of the portable fan or on another electronic device (Bi Paragraph 0035 describes that the sensors can be arranged on item 118 which is a shell of the portable fan), and the portable fan further comprises a swinging module connected to the control module (Bi paragraphs 0039-0040 describe motors in the base to rotate and adjust the direction of the fan, which provides a module for swinging the direction of the fan). However, Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu does not explicitly teach an atomization module, a refrigeration module, a heating module, and a lighting module.
Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu and Wang are analogous prior art because both describe portable fan units. Wang teaches a portable fan with an illumination lamp (Figure 6A, described in page 4, lines 16-20) on the front to allow for the device to supply both air and lighting (Pg. 2, lines 7-13) and can be used as a lamp (pg. 4, lines 16-20). The various parts of the fan of Bi in view of Kern and Wang already supply power to various points on the fan so supplying the light with power would provide no new issues. Thereby, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the additional flashlight of Wang in the fan of Bi in view of Kern and further in view of Xu because it could allow for better illumination of the area and allow the camera of Bi (Par. 0006) to operate more efficiently with the elimination of low light. However, Bi in view of Kern further in view of Xu and further in view of Wang does not explicitly teach an atomization module, a refrigeration module, and a heating module.
Bi in view of Kern further in view of Xu and further in view of Wang and Xie are analogous prior art because both describe portable fans. Xie teaches a fan with a water compartment and an atomizing sheet for spraying water out of the center of the fan (pg. 11, lines 7-33) which allows for added humidifying of the spray (pg. 10, lines 38-59), a refrigeration module (pg. 4, lines 11-24) to reduce the temperature of the portable fan when the user carries it and it is hot, and a heating module (pg. 4, lines 11-24) to increase the temperature of the portable fan when the user desires to carry it and it is cold. Thereby, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fan of Bi in view of Kern further in view of Xu and further in view of Wang to include the atomizing sheet because it allows for added humidifying of the spray (pg. 10, lines 38-59) and extra cooling of the user in hot days and the heating and refrigerating elements to reduce the temperature of the portable fan when the user carries it and it is hot and to increase the temperature of the portable fan when the user desires to carry it and it is cold (pg. 4, lines 11-24).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is 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.
No prior art was found that provided the exact coil and transistor switch arrangement that was required in claim 9 or the preset order required between the transistor switches and the control module. No other prior art was found that provided that such an arrangement might have been obvious.
Conclusion
All claims are identical to or patentably indistinct from, or have unity of invention with claims in the application prior to the entry of the submission under 37 CFR 1.114 (that is, restriction (including a lack of unity of invention) would not be proper) and all claims could have been finally rejected on the grounds and art of record in the next Office action if they had been entered in the application prior to entry under 37 CFR 1.114. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL even though it is a first action after the filing of a request for continued examination and the submission under 37 CFR 1.114. See MPEP § 706.07(b). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE C RIBADENEYRA whose telephone number is (469)295-9164. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-5:00 (CT).
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/THEODORE C RIBADENEYRA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3745
/NATHANIEL E WIEHE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3745