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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No.202410339121.2, filed on 03/22/2024 in China.
Oath/Declaration
The oath/declaration filed on 03/20/2025 is acceptable.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “a flexible part” as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
in claim 1, line 9, there is no antecedent basic for “the remaining movable parts”; and
in claim 8, line 3, there is no antecedent basic for “the second direction”.
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.
Claims 1-3, 7-8, 10-12 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. [US 2006/0034051].
Regarding claim 1, Wang et al., disclose a housing (100, figures 1-18) comprising:
a housing body (702 & 706, figure 14) including an airflow channel (a channel from an inlet 714 to 716, figure 14) extending along a first direction (a horizontal direction, figure 14), the airflow channel including an accommodation position for accommodating an electronic element (730 & 732, figure 14), an air inlet of the airflow channel (714, figure 14) being formed on an end of the housing body along the first direction, and a gap (a right top portion, figure 14) being formed on at least one side of the housing body parallel to the first direction; and
a movable assembly (704 & 710, figure 14) arranged at the gap and including at least one movable part (704/710, figure 14), one movable part of the at least one movable part being connected to the housing body (704, figure 14), the remaining movable parts of the at least one movable part being movably connected in sequence (figure 14), and at least some movable parts moving toward or away from the housing body to change a flow area of the air inlet (a part 704 or 710 can move upward 724 and/or 728, figure 14).
Regarding claim 2, Wang et al., disclose wherein two neighboring movable parts are hinged (718/720, figure 14).
Regarding claim 3, Wang et al., further disclose wherein the movable part further includes a rotation shaft (718 or 720, figure 14), the two neighboring movable parts are hinged through the rotation shaft, and the rotation shaft is a damping rotation shaft.
Regarding claim 7, Wang et al., further disclose a drive part (722, figure 14) connected to the housing body; and wherein an output shaft of the drive part is configured to transmission connect the movable part to drive the corresponding movable part to move relative to the housing (figure 14).
Regarding claim 8, Wang et al., further disclose wherein a plurality of airflow channels (762, figure 15) are provided, each airflow channel includes the movable assembly, or the movable assembly (764, figure 15) extends along “the second direction” to two sides of the gap to cover the plurality of airflow channels; and the second direction (a perpendicular direction to a first direction from an inlet 756 to an outlet 758, figure 15) and the first direction have an angle (figure 15).
Regarding claim 10, Wang et al., disclose an electronic device (figures 1-18), comprising:
a housing (100, figures 1-18) including:
a housing body (702 & 706, figure 14) including an airflow channel (a channel from an inlet 714 to 716, figure 14) extending along a first direction (a horizontal direction, figure 14), the airflow channel including an accommodation position for accommodating an electronic element (730 & 732, figure 14), an air inlet of the airflow channel (714, figure 14) being formed on an end of the housing body along the first direction, and a gap (a right top portion, figure 14) being formed on at least one side of the housing body parallel to the first direction; and
a movable assembly (704 & 710, figure 14) arranged at the gap and including at least one movable part (704/710, figure 14), one movable part of the at least one movable part being connected to the housing body (704, figure 14), the remaining movable parts of the at least one movable part being movably connected in sequence (figure 14), and at least some movable parts moving toward or away from the housing body to change a flow area of the air inlet (a part 704 or 710 can move upward 724 and/or 728, figure 14);
the electronic element arranged inside the airflow channel of the housing (figure 14); and
an airflow generator connected to the housing and configured to generate airflow
within the airflow channel (figure 14).
Regarding claim 11, Wang et al., disclose wherein two neighboring movable parts are hinged (718/720, figure 14).
Regarding claim 12, Wang et al., further disclose wherein the movable part further includes a rotation shaft (718 or 720, figure 14), the two neighboring movable parts are hinged through the rotation shaft, and the rotation shaft is a damping rotation shaft.
Regarding claim 16, Wang et al., further disclose a drive part (722, figure 14) connected to the housing body; and wherein an output shaft of the drive part is configured to transmission connect the movable part to drive the corresponding movable part to move relative to the housing (figure 14).
Regarding claim 17, Wang et al., further disclose wherein a plurality of airflow channels (762, figure 15) are provided, each airflow channel includes the movable assembly, or the movable assembly (764, figure 15) extends along “the second direction” to two sides of the gap to cover the plurality of airflow channels; and the second direction (a perpendicular direction to a first direction from an inlet 756 to an outlet 758, figure 15) and the first direction have an angle (figure 15).
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 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al., in view of Schmitt [US 6,005,770].
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Wang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein one movable part of the two neighboring movable parts is connected to the rotation shaft; the other one movable part of the two neighboring movable parts includes a snap-fit slot; and the rotation shaft is connected inside the snap-fit slot and passes through a notch of the snap-fit slot.
Schmitt discloses a computer (10, figures 1-4) comprising a coupled assembly (figures 2-4), at least one movable part (46/48/50, figures 2-4) of the coupled assembly is connected to a rotation shaft (52/54/56, figure 4); the other one part of the coupled assembly includes a snap-fit slot (60/62/64, figures 2 and 4); and the rotation shaft is connected inside the snap-fit slot and passes through a notch of the snap-fit slot (figures 2 and 4).
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a coupled assembly design of Schmitt to a rotation shaft of Wang et al., for the purpose of facilitating the installation of removable parts into a removable assembly within an airflow housing.
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al., in view of Hileman et al. [US 5,734,551].
Regarding claims 9 and 18, Wang et al., disclose the claimed invention except for wherein a clearance groove corresponding to each accommodation position is arranged at the movable part and is configured to avoid the electronic element.
Hileman et al., disclose a housing (10, figures 1-2) comprising a housing body (one side of a chassis 12 and a wall 44, figure 1) including an airflow channel extending along a first direction (a direction is along a mounting card 18, figure 1), the airflow channel including an accommodation position for accommodating an electronic element (18, figure 1), and at least one movable part (24, figure 1) is connected to the housing body (figure 1), and wherein a clearance groove (34, figure 2) corresponding to each accommodation position is arranged at the movable part and is configured to avoid the electronic element.
It would have been to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add clearance grooves in a movable part of a housing of Wang et al., as suggested by Hileman et al., in order to improve heat dissipation in a device housing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 14-15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claim 5 discloses the combination features of “Wherein the movable part includes a first baffle and a second baffle; the second baffle is connected to at least one side of the first baffle along a second direction and parallel to the first direction; the second direction and the first direction have an angle; and the second baffle and the housing overlap at least partially along the second direction.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 1, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 6 depends on the allowed claim 5.
The claim 14 discloses the combination features of “Wherein the movable part includes a first baffle and a second baffle; the second baffle is connected to at least one side of the first baffle along a second direction and parallel to the first direction; the second direction and the first direction have an angle; and the second baffle and the housing overlap at least partially along the second direction.” These features, in conjunction with other features, as claimed in the claim 10, were neither found to be disclosed, nor suggested by the prior art of records. Claim 15 depends on the allowed claim 14.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Liang et al. [US 2019/0239393] disclose wind shroud and server using the same; and
Thompson et al. [US 2022/0252298] disclose damper for HVAC system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hung S. Bui whose telephone number is (571)272-2102. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allen L. Parker can be reached on (303) 297-4722. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HUNG S. BUI/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2841
/HUNG S. BUI/Primary Patent Examiner, 2841/2800
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