DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is in response to the claims and remarks filed 12/08/2025.
Claims 1-12 are presented in their original form. New claims 13-17 are added. Claims 1-17 are presented for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/8/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has argued that because Tinker (US4508468) discloses a sheet metal layer 44 between the equivalent ventilation passage and noise reducing material 48a, 48b, Tinker does not disclose “a porous member having a plurality of air bubbles opened to the ventilation passage”. However, that sheet metal layer, as acknowledged by Applicant, comprises a plurality of holes 46 (as seen in Fig. 4) such that the noise reducing material 48a, 48b (which is disclosed as being a porous foam) is in fluid communication with the ventilation passage (or fluid flow path). Thus, Tinker discloses a porous member (foam elements 48a, 48a) having a plurality of air bubbles (its porous foam) opened to the ventilation passage (through holes 46 in sheet metal layer 44).
Claim Objections
Claim 13 objected to because of the following informalities: the last word of the claim is misspelled. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-10 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1 as being anticipated by Tinker in US Patent US4508486 (hereinafter “Tinker”).
Regarding claim 1, Tinker discloses a blower comprising: a rotor blade body 36 rotatable about a central axis extending in an axial direction (Fig. 2 and 3); a motor 26 that rotates the rotor blade body 36; a housing 12 including a ventilation passage and surrounding the rotor blade body and the motor (Fig. 2 and 3); and a noise reducing member 48a, 48b located in the ventilation passage, wherein the noise reducing member is a porous member having a plurality of air bubbles opened to the ventilation passage on a surface side of the noise reducing member (column 3 lines 13-37; a porous foam comprises air bubbles; this structure is open to the ventilation passage through holes 46 in sheet metal 44).
Regarding claim 2, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of air bubbles are spaced apart from each other (polyurethan foam, disclosed by Tinker, may be said to comprise air bubbles spaced apart from one another).
Regarding claim 3, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein among the plurality of air bubbles, an air bubble is connected to another air bubble at least in part (this is an inherent structure feature of an open cell foam like polyurethane foam).
Regarding claim 4, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the noise reducing member is located on at least a part of an inner surface of the housing, and is located to face at least a part of the rotor blade body in a radial direction of the central axis (see layer 48a surrounding blades 36 in Fig. 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 5, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the housing further includes: a cylindrical portion extending along the axial direction (the main flow passage; Fig. 2 and 3); and an inclined portion connected to another end in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion and inclined outward in the radial direction from one side to the other side in the axial direction (see inlet 18 in Fig. 3 which is equated to the claimed inclined surface), and the noise reducing member is located on at least a part of an inner surface of the cylindrical portion (in the main cylindrical housing; Fig. 2 and 3).
Regarding claim 6, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the housing further includes: a cylindrical portion extending along the axial direction (the main housing is cylindrical); and a support portion that is located on one side in the axial direction of the rotor blade body and supports the rotor blade body and the motor with respect to the cylindrical portion (see stators 42 in Fig. 3 which may be equated to the claimed support portion; the stators support the motor and impeller/blades), and the noise reducing member 48a, 48b is located on at least either a part of an inner surface of the cylindrical portion located on one side in the axial direction with respect to the rotor blade body or a surface of the support portion (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 7, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 6, wherein the support portion includes a stator vane (Fig. 3; elements 42 are stator vanes that support the motor and impeller (column 3 line 10).
Regarding claim 8, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the noise reducing member is located on a part of an inner surface of the housing located on another side in the axial direction of the rotor blade body (Fig. 3; noise reducing member 48b is aft of the blade body 34 with blades 36).
Regarding claim 9, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the noise reducing member is a porous member in which a flow of gas in a thickness direction does not permeate (column 3 line 35 discloses noise reducing member 48a, 48b is a polyurethane foam, which is porous and air moving through the fan cannot penetrate it in the radial direction).
Regarding claim 10, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 2, wherein the noise reducing member is a synthetic resin member (polyurethane foam is formed from a chemical reaction of two synthetic resins).
Regarding claim 16, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 15, further comprising a stator vane offset from the rotor blade body in a direction parallel to the rotation axis (see guide vanes 42 axially offset from the rotor 36 in Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 17, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 16, wherein the porous member 48a is radially outside the rotor blade body 36, and the second porous member 48b is radially outside the stator vane 42 (Fig. 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 11, 12, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tinker as applied above in view of Quinlan US Patent 5601410 (hereinafter “Quinlan”).
Regarding claim 11, Tinker discloses the blower according to claim 1, wherein the rotor blade body includes a curved surface that is convex toward one side in a blade thickness direction with respect to a chord connecting a leading edge and a trailing edge in an airfoil of the rotor blade body (these are simply inherent aspects of any fan blade). However, Tinker fails to disclose the noise reducing member is located on at least a part of the curved surface. Quinlan teaches an analogous axial flow fan device notably also directed to noise abatement measures. Specifically, Quinlan teaches that it is desirable to place noise reducing material around the trailing edge of fan blades, including the convex low pressure side of the blade, because doing such helps reduce the noise emitted from the fan during operation (column 2 lines 46-67). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the fan of Tinker by further placing sound absorbing foam on the convex low pressure surface of the blade because doing such helps reduce noise emitted by the fan, as taught by Quinlan, and the result would have been predictable.
Regarding claim 12, Tinker as modified by Quinlan comprises the blower according to claim 11, wherein the curved surface includes a maximum blade thickness portion located at a position at which a blade thickness of the airfoil is maximum (necessarily so, even in a blade of constant thickness), and the noise reducing member includes, in a chord length direction in which the chord extends: an inlet portion located upstream of the maximum blade thickness portion and into which gas flows; and an outlet portion located downstream of the inlet portion and through which the gas flowing into the inlet portion flows out (see Fig. 3 of Tinker, noise reducing material 48a, 48b in the casing extends upstream and downstream of the impeller which is also in a chordwise direction and thus has an inlet and outlet axially spaced from the blade’s inherent maximum thickness; essentially, in the combination of art, the equivalent “noise reducing member” is the foam which is located in the casing and on the impeller blades).
It is noted that as this claim is drafted, the noise absorbing material in the casing of the combination of art can be mapped to the claim language so as to be upstream and downstream of a maximum blade thickness. Applicant might consider refining language to encompass the spirit of the structure seen in the instant disclosure Figure 7 to overcome the rejection based on Tinker and Quinlan).
Regarding claim 15, Tinker as modified by Quinlan comprises the blower according to claim 1, wherein the noise reducing member further comprises a second porous member (on the rotor blades based on the teaching of Quinlan), and a first distance from a rotation axis of the motor to the porous member is different from a second distance from the rotation axis to the second porous member (because one porous member is in the casing and the second porous member is on the rotor blades).
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tinker as applied above in view of Care in US Patent Publication 2004/0022625 (hereinafter “Care”).
Regarding claim 13, Tinker is silent to the noise reducing member comprising a plurality of closed cells, instead just disclosing a foam. Care is analogous art directed to employing foam in a fan casing for noise abatement. Specifically, Care teaches that such foams can either be open cell or closed cell foams, but preferably closed cell to help with noise abatement (paragraph [0064]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the blower of Tinker by using a closed cell for the foam noise reducing member because it helps reduce noise during operation, as taught by Care, and the result would have been predictable.
Regarding claim 14, Tinker as modified by Care comprises the blower according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of air bubbles opened to the ventilation passage is among the plurality of closed cells (see Fig. 2-4 of Tinker; in the combination of art, the foam members 48a and 48b are replaced with closed cell foam based on the teaching of Care; the foam is open to the ventilation passage through the holes 46 in sheet metal member 44).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ELDON T BROCKMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3263. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST.
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/ELDON T BROCKMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799