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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in regards to application # 19/150,775 that was filed on 07/24/2025. Claims 1-7 are currently pending and are under examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The mathematical expression recited on line 3 of claim 6 do not contain a variable ‘z’, but in line 18 of the claim the variable ‘z’ is defined as the number of the plurality of blades. It is not clear to the examiner how the variable is relevant and applied to the mathematical expression of line 3. Therefore, the claim is considered vague and indefinite. Appropriate correction/clarification 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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2)as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 2017/0305542).
Regarding Claim 1, Zhang discloses a propulsion device comprising:
a motor (100, Fig. 1A-1B, Fig. 2).;
a rotation shaft driven by the motor (331, Fig. 2, 6, para. [0073]); and
a fan (200, Fig. 2) attached to the rotation shaft, wherein
the fan includes a hub portion (210, Fig. 2-3) attached to the rotation shaft and a plurality of blades (220, Fig. 2) provided at equal intervals on an outer periphery of the hub portion (Fig. 3),
the hub portion (210, Fig. 2-3) has a plurality of hole portions arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction of the hub portion (see annotated Fig. 2 below), and
at least a part of side surfaces of the plurality of hole portions is sloped with respect to a center axis of the rotation shaft (see annotated Fig. 2 below).
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Regarding Claim 2, Zhang discloses a propulsion device wherein at least a part of side surfaces of the plurality of hole portions is sloped toward a rotation direction of the fan with respect to the center axis of the rotation shaft (clearly shown in the annotate Fig. 2 above)
Regarding Claim 3, Zhang discloses a propulsion device wherein a cross-sectional area of a beam portion (321, Fig. 2 above), which is a portion of the hub portion sandwiched between two adjacent hole portions among the plurality of hole portions, in the circumferential direction of the hub portion is set such that a stress generated in the beam portion is smaller than a stress generated in the plurality of blades (the stress at the plurality of the blades would clearly be greater than the stress at 321 due to the rotation and centrifugal forces; and the plurality of the blades are placed on the side surface of 210, see Fig. 2 above).
Regarding Claim 4, Zhang discloses a propulsion device wherein the number of the plurality of hole portions is an integral multiple of the number of the plurality of blades (number of holes is 3 and number of blades is 3; 3 is an integral multiple of 3 by 1, see Fig. 2 above).
Regarding Claim 5, Zhang discloses a propulsion device wherein the number of the plurality of blades (number of blades 3, see Fig. 2) and the number of the plurality of hole portions are the same (number of hole portion is also 3, Fig. 2), and one entire blade among the plurality of blades and an entire beam portion which is a portion of the hub portion sandwiched between two adjacent hole portions among the plurality of hole portions are accommodated in a region obtained by equally dividing the fan by the number of the plurality of blades (see Fig. 2 above).
Regarding Claim 7, Zhang discloses a propulsion device wherein when the fan (200, Fig. 2) is projected onto a plane perpendicular to the rotation shaft(331, Fig. 2), projection planes of two adjacent blades among the plurality of blades do not overlap each other (220, Fig. 2-3).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Zhang et al. (US 11,420,734) discloses a propeller, a propeller kit, a power assembly, a power kit and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The propeller includes a hub and at least two blades connected to the hub. The hub is detachably mounted on a corresponding drive apparatus by a mounting member corresponding to the hub, so that the propeller is mounted on the corresponding drive apparatus. A surface, facing the mounting member, of the hub is provided with a first fitting portion. A surface, facing the hub, of the mounting member is provided with a second fitting portion corresponding to the first fitting portion. The first fitting portion matches the second fitting portion. In the foregoing manner, a user can be prevented from incorrectly mounting a forward propeller and a counter-rotating propeller during the use of a quick-detachable propeller in the embodiments of the present application. Zhang also discloses a plurality of propellers and the hub with a plurality of hole portions (see Figs 5a-5b, 6a, 6b).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM whose telephone number is (571)272-6607. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Huson can be reached at 571-270-5301. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Assres H. Woldemaryam
Primary Examiner (Aeronautics and Astronautics)
Art Unit 3642
/ASSRES H WOLDEMARYAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642
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