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 .
Status Of The Claims
Claims 1-7 are pending in the application and have been examined on the merits below. Claims 1-7 are rejected.
Claim Interpretation
None of claims 1-7 have been construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). None of the claims use the phrase "means for" or "step for," and none recite a generic placeholder coupled to functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function. Accordingly, no limitation of claims 1-7 has been interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites that "at least one of the Peltier element or the cooling fin is arranged in a positional relation of being overlapped with the cool-air opening in a projection from the cool-air opening directed toward the heat dissipation opening.” The specification, as filed, discloses only that the Peltier element AND the cooling fin — together, as an integrated cooling module — occupy the claimed overlapping position; it does not describe an embodiment in which only one of the two components, to the exclusion of the other, is so positioned. See Specification ¶ 0015 ("the Peltier element and the cooling fin are arranged in a positional relation of being overlapped with the cool-air opening..."); ¶¶ 0062-0063 (describing "the cooling module 10," comprising the Peltier element 11 together with the cooling fins 13 and heat-dissipating fins 14, as "arranged to be held between the first blower port 42 and the second blower port 45"); Figs. 1-5, 7-8 (showing the Peltier element and both fin sets stacked together as a single module between the two ports). Because the genus recited in claim 1 — "at least one of the Peltier element or the cooling fin" — encompasses species in which the cooling fin alone (without the Peltier element) or the Peltier element alone (without the cooling fin) occupies the overlapping position, and because the specification discloses only the narrower species in which both components jointly occupy that position, claim 1 (and claims 2-7 by dependency) contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor had possession of the full scope of the claimed invention as of the filing date. Applicant may overcome this rejection by amending claim 1 to recite that the Peltier element and the cooling fin (rather than "at least one of" the two) are arranged in the claimed overlapping relation, consistent with ¶¶ 0015 and 0062-0063 of the specification, or by pointing to written description support elsewhere in the specification for the broader genus as claimed.
Claims 2-7 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for being dependent upon a rejected claim.
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 3 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.
Claim 3 recites "a reinforcing member to attach the flange to the inner and outer circumferential surfaces” renders the claim indefinite because claim 1 does not recite a flange; "a flange" is first introduced in claim 2 ("the first discharging part has a flange around the cool-air opening, and the flange is detachably joined to an inner-outer circumferential surface of the opening portion of the clothes"). Because claim 3 depends from claim 1 rather than from claim 2, the term "the flange" in claim 3 lacks proper antecedent basis.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshino Shingo et al. (JP 2022-074942 A) in view of Kishioka Takashi (JP 2020-097799 A) and further in view of Deng et al. (US 2023/0270190 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Yoshino teaches a cooling device for clothes (blower device 100, which is combined with a garment to form a textile product 200; claim 14: "A textile product comprising the blower according to any one of claims 1 to 13"), the cooling device comprising:
a housing (case 1) (¶¶ 0011, 0013);
a Peltier element in the housing (Peltier element 3, housed in case 1, arranged facing fan exhaust port 21, and plate-shaped) (¶¶ 0011, 0017);
a cooling fin formed on one surface of the Peltier element (first heat conductive member 4, attached to one surface 31 of Peltier element 3) (¶ 0020);
a heat-dissipating fin formed on the other surface of the Peltier element (second heat conductive member 5, attached to the other surface 32 of Peltier element 3) (¶ 0020), wherein
a blast fan is configured to send air to the cooling fin and the heat-dissipating fin (fan 2, a single fan whose exhaust port 21 is divided by branch portion 13 to send part of the air to first heat conductive member 4 via first passage 71 and the remainder to second heat conductive member 5 via second passage 72) (¶¶ 0011, 0013, 0034);
an air intake port opens in the housing to take in outside air taken from an outside of a piece of clothes by the blast fan (suction port 10, through which blower device 100 "sucks air (outside air)" and which is directed to the opposite side of the human body so that air can be sucked) (¶¶ 0012, 0049);
a cool-air opening through which cool air having passed through the cooling fin is discharged (first outlet 11, through which air cooled after passing first heat conductive member 4 is discharged) (¶¶ 0013, 0021-0022, 0046) and a heat dissipation opening through which hot air having passed through the heat-dissipating fin is discharged (second outlet 12, through which air warmed after passing second heat conductive member 5 is discharged) (¶¶ 0013, 0022, 0046);
at least one of the Peltier element or the cooling fin is arranged in a positional relation of being overlapped with the cool-air opening in a projection from the cool-air opening directed toward the heat dissipation opening (Peltier element 3 is arranged, in the direction fan 2 sends air, both between fan exhaust port 21 and first outlet 11 and between fan exhaust port 21 and second outlet 12 — i.e., at the position common to the paths leading to both outlets — with first heat conductive member 4 positioned directly in first passage 71 leading to first outlet 11) (¶¶ 0017, 0021, 0034; Fig. 3);
the cool-air opening is provided at an end of a first discharging part internally including a path for the cool air (first outlet 11, provided at the end of first passage 71) (¶¶ 0021, 0034);
the heat dissipation opening is provided at an end of a second discharging part internally including a path for the hot air (second outlet 12, provided at the end of second passage 72) (¶¶ 0022, 0034); and
each of the first discharging part and the second discharging part protrudes from a surface of the housing (second outlet 12 exits via a raised, stepped ledge that is part of the same surface of case 1 as suction port 10, visibly protruding from the surrounding surface) (¶ 0014; Fig. 1).
Yoshino does not explicitly teach that the cool-air opening and the heat dissipation opening are opening in exact opposite directions in the housing. Yoshino instead teaches that first outlet 11 and second outlet 12 "are arranged in different directions," illustrating an example in which "the air blowing directions differ by 90 degrees," while expressly stating that "the difference in the blowing direction is not limited to 90 degrees" (¶ 0014; claim 11: "the first outlet and the second outlet are arranged in different directions").
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have positioned first outlet 11 and second outlet 12 of Yoshino in exact opposite directions, because Yoshino itself teaches that the angular difference between the two outlets' blowing directions is a variable expressly not limited to the 90-degree example illustrated, and selecting the specific value of exact opposition (180 degrees) from within that expressly broadened range would have been an obvious matter of routine optimization. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to make this selection because Yoshino already identifies the benefit sought by separating the two directions at all — namely, that "cold air and warm air do not mix" (¶ 0014) — a benefit that is maximized, rather than merely achieved, by placing the two outlets in exact opposition, the configuration furthest apart within the very range Yoshino discloses as available. See MPEP § 2144.05(II).
Yoshino teaches attaching blower device 100 to the clothes by a mounting portion 201 that holds the device on the garment surface, with air from first outlet 11 entering the clothes' interior via a tube connected to the interior or via a notch cut in the fabric (¶¶ 0049-0050), first outlet 11 itself exiting through flush slots formed in an end face of case 1 rather than through any protruding structure (Fig. 1), but does not explicitly teach that the cooling device is mounted in an opening portion formed in the clothes, that the first discharging part is fixed to the clothes by insertion through the opening portion, or that the first discharging part protrudes from a surface of the housing.
However, Takashi teaches mounting a garment-mounted Peltier heat exchange unit (heat exchange unit 1) in an opening portion formed in the clothes, by forming a hole in cloth 101 and fixing a partition plate 16 and a fixing ring 25 to the periphery of that hole (¶¶ 0021-0022, 0033). Further, Deng teaches a first discharging part (cold/hot wind outlet 13) whose sections "expand gradually from inside to outside to form a flare opening" (¶ 0041), the flared outlet thereby protruding from a surface of the housing and being extended into a coat 5 through an opening formed in the coat, so that cold wind or hot wind discharged from cold/hot wind outlet 13 directly enters coat 5 (¶¶ 0011, 0046).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have replaced the flush end-face slots of first outlet 11 in Yoshino with a protruding, flared discharging part, fixed to the clothes by insertion through an opening portion formed in the clothes, mounted in the manner taught by Takashi's hole-and-fixing-ring mounting and shaped in the manner taught by Deng's flared cold/hot wind outlet 13, rather than relying on Yoshino's own flush slots, mounting portion 201, and tube-or-notch connection, in order to more securely and directly deliver the temperature-controlled air from first outlet 11 into the interior of the garment while allowing the whole device to be easily attached and detached for laundering (Takashi, ¶ 0023; Deng, ¶¶ 0041, 0046).
In regard to claim 2, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 1, wherein the first discharging part has a flange around the cool-air opening, and the flange is detachably joined to an inner-outer circumferential surface of the opening portion of the clothes (fixing ring 25, attached to one surface of partition plate 16 and having an open portion 25a; the cloth 101 of the garment is sandwiched between fixing ring 25 and partition plate 16 - i.e., joined to both the inner and outer circumferential surface of the hole formed in the cloth - by a detachable fixing member 26, such as a screw, expressly disclosed as preferably removable "so that the heat exchange unit 1 can be removed from the clothes 100 when the clothes 100 are washed") (Takashi, ¶¶ 0021-0023, 0033).
In regard to claim 3, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 2, further comprising a reinforcing member to attach the flange to the inner and outer circumferential surfaces (fixing member 26, e.g., a screw, mounted through holes 25b of fixing ring 25 (the flange) and corresponding holes 16b of partition plate 16 to clamp the two together, with the cloth 101 of the garment sandwiched between them and thereby attached to both its inner and outer circumferential surfaces) (Takashi, ¶¶ 0021-0023).
In regard to claim 4, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 1, wherein the air intake port is formed on the surface of the housing on the same side with the cool-air opening to take in the air in the piece of clothes. Yoshino's voltage control switch 106 can reverse which of the two conductive layers of Peltier element 3 receives positive voltage, so that when the air blown from first outlet 11 is warmed rather than cooled, cooled air is instead blown from second outlet 12 (Yoshino, ¶ 0046). Because suction port 10 is formed on the same surface of case 1 as second outlet 12 (Yoshino, ¶ 0014), in this operating state suction port 10 is on the same side of the housing as the now-cool-air second outlet 12.
In regard to claim 5, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 1, wherein the air intake port is formed on the surface of the housing on the same side with the heat dissipation opening to take in the outside air. Suction port 10 is formed on the same surface of case 1 as second outlet 12 (Yoshino, ¶ 0014), and in the default operating state in which first outlet 11 blows cooled air, second outlet 12 discharges warmed air and functions as the heat dissipation opening (Yoshino, ¶ 0046); suction port 10 — which draws in outside air (Yoshino, ¶ 0012) — is accordingly on the same side of the housing as the heat dissipation opening.
In regard to claim 6, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 1, including a controller (voltage control switch 106) configured to reverse polarity of direct current that is to be supplied to the Peltier element (Peltier element 3) by the controller, to switch operations of (i) forming the intake port on a surface of the housing on the same side with the cool-air opening to take in the air in the piece of clothes, and (ii) forming the intake port on a surface of the housing on the same side with the heat dissipation opening to take in the outside air (voltage control switch 106 can switch which of the two conductive layers of Peltier element 3 receives positive voltage, so that first outlet 11 blows cooled air while second outlet 12 blows warmed air, or vice versa, with suction port 10 remaining fixed on the same surface as second outlet 12 throughout) (Yoshino, ¶¶ 0043, 0045-0046).
In regard to claim 7, the modified Yoshino teaches the cooling device for clothes of claim 1, wherein Yoshino teaches that the suction port (1) alone, rather than the whole case (1) may optionally be covered with a mesh material, without describing a pocket into which case (1) itself is inserted (¶ 0049). Yoshino does not explicitly teach that the housing is inserted in a pocket formed in the piece of clothes, with the pocket formed with a mesh at least on any one surface of a side of the piece of clothes and a side of the outside air.
However, Deng teaches enclosing its cooling device 100 inside a pocket formed by a mesh bag 51 sewn onto a coat 5 over a cold/hot wind inlet formed in the coat, with air inlet 11 and exhaust port 12 of the cooling device exposed through the mesh bag's net holes (¶¶ 0013, 0049).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have inserted case of Yoshino, as modified above to be mounted at an opening portion of the clothes, into a mesh-covered pocket of the kind taught by Deng, in order to protect the wearer's skin and surrounding fabric from direct contact with the rigid case while still permitting air to reach suction port 10 and the two outlets through the pocket's mesh (Deng, ¶ 0049). One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to make this modification because Yoshino already contemplates covering at least suction port 10 with a mesh material for the purpose of permitting airflow while providing some covering (¶ 0049), and extending that same mesh-covering principle to a full pocket enclosing the entire case, as taught by Deng, would predictably improve wearer comfort and protect the device with a reasonable expectation of success. See KSR, 550 U.S. 398; MPEP § 2143(I)(x).
Conclusion
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/W.M/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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