Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of the election of Species 3 in the reply filed on 5-18-2026 is acknowledged. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 5-18-2026. The traversal appears to be on the grounds that that there is no search burden. Given the distinct features of each species, different search queries would be needed. MPEP 808.02 (C) makes clear that the necessity of employing different search queries establishes search burden. Since applicant has not pointed out any error in this regard, the requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 14-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to nonelected Species 5, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
Claim(s) 1-8, 13, 16-17, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694.
Cholst discloses:
1. (Original) A blower, comprising: a blower tube (102, 1112, 2112, or 3112) for an airflow to pass through; a fan assembly 130 comprising fan blades 134 rotatable about a fan axis of the fan assembly; a motor 142 configured to drive the fan assembly to rotate; a battery pack coupling portion 118 configured to connect a battery pack for powering the blower; and an illumination device 3050 comprising a light-emitting portion 3512.
Cholst does not provide any details of the parameters of the light source and thus does not disclose a total lumen of the light- emitting portion of the illumination device is greater than or equal to 280 lm.
Parsons discloses the use of 500 lumens for a light source light (see e.g. 0013).
Additionally, lumens are a required design parameter of a light source that is a result effective variable that determines the amount of visible light emitted. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to construct the light source of Cholst to have greater than 280 lm or greater since the claimed values are merely an optimum or workable range. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art [In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) see MPEP 2144.05 II - Optimization of Ranges]. It is noted that applicant has not provided unexpected results for the entire claimed range.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize 500 lumens in the flashlight light of Cholst to gain the benefit of utilizing a known lumen parameter for light sources.
Cholst as modified above discloses (all references to Cholst unless noted otherwise):
Regarding claim 2, Cholst does not disclose wherein the illumination device further comprises a light-transmissive portion, and the light-transmissive portion covers at least a part of the light-emitting portion.
However, Parsons discloses a light transmissive portion (lens 20).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize a lens to cover the light source of Cholst as taught by Parsons to gain the benefit of protecting the light source from damage.
3. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device is configured to be detachable from the blower (see e.g. releasably mounted in 0061).
4. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting portion is one or a combination of at least two of a point light source, a surface light source, and a light- emitting diode (LED) light source (see e.g. one or more light emitting elements 3512 in 0063 and Fig 16A).
5. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting portion is configured as a complete ring (see e.g. Fig 15A and ring light in 0057).
Regarding claim 6, Cholst as modified above discloses when viewed downward from directly above the blower, a light-emitting region of the light-emitting portion is substantially in a shape of a cone, and an included angle between a generatrix of the cone and a rotation axis of the cone is B, where B is greater than or equal to 0 deg and less than or equal to 60 deg (see e.g. Fig 14 and 0054 wherein the angle is greater than zero and less than 60 deg and see “ In some embodiments, the light beam 1508 includes a diverting projection defining a light beam axis A1003 where the light beam axis A1003 is co-axial with the axis A1001” in 0054 which is zero degrees). Additionally, the beam angle is a required design parameter of a light source that is a result effective variable that determines the angle of the beam of visible light emitted. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to construct the light source of Cholst to have a beam angle of 0-60 deg since the claimed values are merely an optimum or workable range. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art [In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) see MPEP 2144.05 II - Optimization of Ranges]. It is noted that applicant has not provided unexpected results for the entire claimed range.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize a beam angle of 0-60 deg in the flashlight light of Cholst to gain the benefit of directing the light in a desired bean angle.
7. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device comprises a plurality of light sources, and the plurality of light sources are arranged at intervals in a ring (see e.g. Figs 15-15A and 0057).
8. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the total lumen of the illumination device is less than or equal to 4680 lm (see 500 lumens in 0013 of Parsons).
13. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting portion comprises at least two light sources (see e.g. “and one or more light emitting elements 3512” in 0063 and see 2050 in Figs 15-15A).
16. (Original) The blower according to claim 14, further comprising an illumination power source 3508 for powering the illumination device.
17. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting portion is capable of being off after a preset time following stoppage of the motor (see e.g. 0056).
19. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the illumination device is configured to be capable of transmitting a control signal with a user terminal to adjust light emission parameters of the light-emitting portion (see e.g. “Furthermore, the inputs of the handheld blower 3100 may be used to supplement those contained on the light source 3050 so that the handheld blower 3100 may be able to remotely turn on and off the light source 3050 during use.” in 0064). Additionally, making adjustable has been help obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.04 V. D.)
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to make the parameters of the light of Cholst as modified above adjustable to gain the benefit of adjusting the parameters as desired.
20. (Original) The blower according to claim 1, wherein the blower is a handheld blower (see e.g. the abstract).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694 in further view of Shiau US 20060146526.
Regarding claim 9, Cholst does not disclose the limitations of claim 9.
Shiau discloses: wherein a total rated power of the illumination device is greater than or equal to 1.8 W and less than or equal to 27 W (see e.g. 3 watts in 0030).
Additionally, wattage is a required design parameter of a light source that is a result effective variable that determines the power of the light source. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to construct the light source of Cholst to have a wattage of 1.8-27 watts since the claimed values are merely an optimum or workable range. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art [In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) see MPEP 2144.05 II - Optimization of Ranges]. It is noted that applicant has not provided unexpected results for the entire claimed range.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize a wattage of 3 watts as taught by Shiau in the light source of Cholst as modified above to gain the benefit of using a known power level for flashlights.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694 in further view of Uchida US 20060170379.
Cholst as modified above does not disclose the limitations of claim 10.
Uchida discloses wherein a color temperature of the illumination device is greater than or equal to 3500 K and less than or equal to 6500 K (see e.g. 4,000 to 6,500 K in 0063).
Additionally, Kelvin is a required design parameter of a light source that is a result effective variable that determines the color temperature of the light source. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to construct the light source of Cholst to have a color temperature of greater than or equal to 3500 K and less than or equal to 6500 K since the claimed values are merely an optimum or workable range. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art [In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955) see MPEP 2144.05 II - Optimization of Ranges]. It is noted that applicant has not provided unexpected results for the entire claimed range.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize 4,000 to 6,500 K in the light source of Cholst as modified above to gain the benefit of using a known color temperature for light sources.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694 in further view of Gostelow US 20180299104.
Regarding claim 11, Cholst does not disclose the limitations of claim 11.
Gostelow discloses wherein the illumination device is capable of emitting light of at least two colors (see e.g. 0042).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize multiple colors of light as taught by Gostelow in the system of Cholst as modified above to gain the benefit of enabling changing light color as desired.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694 in further view of DIY FLASHLIGHT PROJECTOR WITH CRICUT | 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY, youtube.com, published 2018, (URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq29XirAXPQ).
Regarding claim 12, Cholst does not disclose the limitations of claim 12.
Youtube discloses: the illumination device is capable of providing a safety indication, a fault indication, and a battery pack power reminder, or the light-emitting portions are capable of projecting images (see image projection in screenshot below).
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Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize an image projection as taught by youtube in the system of Cholst as modified above to gain the benefit of shining the light in a desired shape.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cholst US 20220201946 in view of Parsons US 20190017694 in further view of Yang CN 202252884 U.
Cholst as modified above does not disclose the limitation of claim 18.
Yang discloses wherein the illumination device is configured to be capable of adjusting brightness of the light-emitting portion according to ambient brightness (see e.g. the abstract translation).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to utilize automatic brightness adjustment as taught by Yang in the system of Cholst as modified above to gain the benefit of using the appropriate amount of light given the ambient conditions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS ANDREW FINK whose telephone number is (571) 270-3373. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 9-7.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer can be reached on (571) 272-7118. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-270-4373.
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/Thomas Fink/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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