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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1 lines 9 and 12, claim 11 lines 3 and 5 and claim 12 line 2, “the hole” would be clearer if written as --the at least one hole--.
In claim 8 lines 1-2 and claim 14 line 2, “the reference” would be clearer if written as --the at least one reference--.
In claims 8 and 14, line 3, “between 1/3 to 2/3” would be clearer if written as --in the middle third--.
In claim 9 lines 1-2, “the holes” would be clearer if written as --the holes of the plurality of the holes--.
In claim 10 line 2, “direction” would be clearer if written as --direction when viewed from a side opposite the driving component side of the fan blade--.
In claim 11 line 4, “the driving” would be clearer if written as --a driving--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant is advised that should claim 9 be found allowable, claim 15 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Publication 2019/0195230 to Inouchi in view of U. S. Patent Publication 2014/0064941 to Parodi.
Referring to claim 1, Inouchi teaches a fan device, comprising:
a fan frame (3) (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]);
a fan blade (1) including a hub portion (11) and a plurality of first blade portions (13), the hub portion (11) being rotatably disposed within the fan frame (3) and having an opening, the first blade portions (13) being connected to the hub portion (11) (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]);
a driving component (2) disposed within the fan frame (3) and connected to the hub portion (11), the driving component (2) being configured to drive the hub portion (11) to rotate relative to the fan frame (3) (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]); and
a guiding component (211) secured to the hub portion, the guiding component including:
a cover portion (211a) having at least one hole (211c), the at least one hole (211c) being in fluid communication with the opening, and the driving component (2) being disposed on a side of the cover portion (211a) away from the opening (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi teaches a similar fan device comprising:
at least one guiding portion (17b) connected to a cover portion (13a) and disposed at a hole (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the fan device taught by Inouchi with the at least one guiding portion taught by Parodi in order to guide the flow of fluid within the hub.
Referring to claim 2, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a fan device, wherein:
the fan blade (1) further includes a plurality of second blade portions (15), the second blade portions (15) and the first blade portions (13) are respectively connected to opposite sides of the hub portion (11), and the second blade portions (15) are disposed at the opening (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Referring to claim 3, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 2, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a fan device, wherein:
the guiding component (211) further includes a side ring portion (211b) connected to the cover portion (211a), the cover portion (211a) and the side ring portion (211b) enclose a heat dissipation space, and a gap is disposed between the hub portion (11) and the fan frame (3) (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Referring to claim 4, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 2, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a fan device, wherein:
inclination directions of the first blade portions and the second blade portions are opposite to one another (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Referring to claim 5, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a fan device, wherein:
the guiding component (211) further includes a side ring portion (211b), the side ring portion (211b) is connected to the cover portion (211a) to enclose a heat dissipation space, the at least one hole (211c) is in fluid communication with the heat dissipation space, and the driving component (2) is disposed in the heat dissipation space (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Referring to claim 7, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, but Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi further teaches a similar fan device comprising:
an angle between the guiding portion (17b) and the cover portion (13a) is between 0 degrees and 90 degrees (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Referring to claim 8, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, but Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi further teaches a similar fan device comprising:
the cover portion (211a) has at least one reference line, the reference line extends from a center of the cover portion (211a) to an edge of the cover portion (211a) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Parodi does not teach the guiding portion and the hole disposed in the middle third of the reference line. However, the Applicant has not provided any reason why the guiding portion and the hole being disposed in the middle third of the reference line is critical to the claimed invention, and therefore it would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to make the guiding portion and the hole disposed in the middle third of the reference line, as an obvious matter of design choice since applicant has not disclosed that different locations solve any stated problems or are for any particular purpose, and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with different locations.
Referring to claim 9, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a similar fan device wherein:
the cover portion (211a) includes a plurality of the holes (211c), and the plurality of the holes (211c) are disposed at intervals along a circumferential line of the cover portion (211a) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Referring to claim 10, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, but Inouchi is silent as to the direction of rotation of the impeller, though it likely rotates clockwise as claimed. Parodi further teaches a similar fan device wherein:
the fan blade (12) is configured to rotate in a clockwise direction (R) when viewed from a side opposite the driving component side of the fan blade (12) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the fan device taught by Inouchi with the rotation direction taught by Parodi in order to most efficiently use the fan blade to move air it the direction desired.
Referring to claim 11, Inouchi teaches a guiding component configured to be disposed in a hub portion (11) with an opening in a fan device, the guiding component comprising:
a cover portion (211a) having at least one hole (211c), the at least one hole (211c) being in fluid communication with the opening, and the driving component (2) being disposed on a side of the cover portion (211a) away from the opening (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi teaches a similar fan device comprising:
at least one guiding portion (17b) connected to a cover portion (13a) and disposed at a hole (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
It would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to modify the fan device taught by Inouchi with the at least one guiding portion taught by Parodi in order to guide the flow of fluid within the hub.
Referring to claim 12, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 11, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a guiding component comprising:
a side ring portion (211b) connected to the cover portion (211a) to enclose a heat dissipation space, the at least one hole (211c) is in fluid communication with the heat dissipation space, and the driving component (2) is disposed in the heat dissipation space (Figures 1-3; paragraphs [0014]-[0055]).
Referring to claim 13, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 12, as detailed above, but Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi further teaches a similar fan device comprising:
an angle between the guiding portion (17b) and the cover portion (13a) is between 0 degrees and 90 degrees (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Referring to claim 14, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 12, as detailed above, but Inouchi does not teach at least one guiding portion. Parodi further teaches a similar fan device comprising:
the cover portion (211a) has at least one reference line, the reference line extends from a center of the cover portion (211a) to an edge of the cover portion (211a) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Parodi does not teach the guiding portion and the hole disposed in the middle third of the reference line. However, the Applicant has not provided any reason why the guiding portion and the hole being disposed in the middle third of the reference line is critical to the claimed invention, and therefore it would have been obvious before the invention was effectively filed, to a person having ordinary skill in the art, to make the guiding portion and the hole disposed in the middle third of the reference line, as an obvious matter of design choice since applicant has not disclosed that different locations solve any stated problems or are for any particular purpose, and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with different locations.
Referring to claim 15, Inouchi and Parodi teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claim 1, as detailed above, and Inouchi further teaches a similar fan device wherein:
the cover portion (211a) includes a plurality of the holes (211c), and the plurality of the holes (211c) are disposed at intervals along a circumferential line of the cover portion (211a) (Figures 1-5; paragraphs [0029]-[0040]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not teach a fan device comprising all the limitations of claims 1, 5 and 6, but more specifically comprising a hub portion has at least one fixing rib (218) and at least one fixing protrusion, the fixing protrusion protrudes from the fixing rib, the fixing rib closely abuts against the side ring portion, and the fixing protrusion abuts against a side of the side ring portion away from the cover portion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lin teaches a similar fan as claimed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRYAN MATTHEW LETTMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7860. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYAN M LETTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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