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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were filed on 09/22/2025, 10/06/2025, and 12/23/2025. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kaga (JP2005240749A).
Regarding Claim 1: Kaga discloses a fan unit, comprising an axial fan (Figures 7-8, No. 1); and a bell mouth (13), the axial fan including a hub (2) attached to a rotation shaft, a blade (3) arranged on the hub (Figures 7-8), and a turbulent-flow interference portion, the turbulent-flow interference portion including an overlapping part where the blade overlaps the bell mouth in a radial direction of the axial fan (Figure 8), and an extension part located at two opposite sides of the overlapping part in an axial direction of the axial fan (Figure 8), a length of the extension part in the axial direction being less than or equal to 0.1 times a radius of the axial fan (Figure 8), the blade including a porous part (7) within a range of the turbulent-flow interference portion, and an area of the porous part being less than or equal to 30% of an area of the blade (Figure 8).
Regarding Claim 2: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to Claim 1, wherein the area of the porous part is less than or equal to 25% of the area of the blade (Figure 8).
Regarding Claim 3: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to claim 1, wherein the blade includes a leading edge (10) located forward with respect to a rotation direction of the rotation shaft (Figure 8), and a trailing edge (9) located rearward with respect to the rotation direction of the rotation shaft (Figure 8), and when a dimension from the leading edge to the trailing edge is a first dimension, the porous part is located at a position rearward from the leading edge by 40% or more of the first dimension (Figure 8).
Regarding Claim 4: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to Claim 1, wherein the porous part is arranged in a portion of the blade located within 70% of the radius of the axial fan from the rotation shaft in the radial direction (Figure 7).
Regarding Claim 7: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to Claim 1, wherein the bell mouth includes the overlapping part, the bell mouth includes the porous part within a range of the overlapping part, and the porous part is arranged intermittently in a circumferential direction of the bell mouth (Figure 8).
Regarding Claim 8: Kaga discloses an outdoor unit including the fan unit according to Claim 1 (Paragraph [0001]).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaga in view of Yamashita (JP2021032137A).
Regarding Claim 5: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to Claim 1, wherein the blade includes a trailing edge (9) located rearward with respect to a rotation direction of the rotation shaft (Figure 8); however, Kaga fails to disclose the trailing edge including a notch, and the porous part is arranged in a portion of the blade located closer to the rotation shaft than the notch is to the rotation shaft in the radial direction.
Yamashita teaches an axial fan (Figure 5, No. 40) with a blade (50A) having a trailing edge (54) including a notch (56).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the trailing edge of the blade of Kaga with a notch, as taught by Yamashita, and thus with the porous part is arranged in a portion of the blade located closer to the rotation shaft than the notch is to the rotation shaft in the radial direction, for the purpose of correcting the imbalance caused by multiple blades and suppressing noise resulting from said imbalance (Paragraph [0004]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaga.
Regarding Claim 6: Kaga discloses the fan unit according to Claim 1, wherein the porous part includes pores (7) extending through the blade in a thickness direction (Figures 7-8; Paragraphs [0008], [0018], & [0019]); however, Kaga fails to disclose the pores having an average pore diameter of 1000 μm or fewer.
Kaga, however, does disclose that the pore diameter controls the amount of leakage from the pressure surface of the blade to the suction surface (Paragraph [0014]).
Therefore, the pore diameter is recognized as a result-effective variable, i.e. a variable which achieves a recognized result. In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618, 195 USPQ 6 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2144.05(II)(B). In this case, the recognized result is that the pore diameter controls the amount of leakage from the pressure surface of the blade to the suction surface (Paragraph [0014]). Therefore, since the general conditions of the claim, i.e. that the porous part includes pore extending through the blade in a thickness direction, said pores having an average pore diameter, were disclosed in the prior art by Kaga, it is not inventive to discover the optimum workable range by routine experimentation, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the pores of the fan unit disclosed by Kaga having an average pore diameter in the claimed range to control the amount of leakage from the pressure surface of the blade to the suction surface. It has been held that “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955); MPEP 2144.05(II)(A).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL L SEHN whose telephone number is (571)270-3564. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 AM-6 PM, every other Friday off.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Courtney Heinle can be reached at 571-270-3508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL L SEHN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
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