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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 7-10, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Deane et al. (Deane) (Patent/Publication Number US 2005/0103341).
Regarding claim 1, Deane discloses a blower system (100) configured to receive power from an alternating current power supply (522, 1818, 1816) and a replaceable battery pack (1104, 1900) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0093-0095, 0132]), the blower system comprising : a blower (106, 1106, 1102) including an electronic control unit configured to control operation of the blower (e.g. See Paragraphs [0111] FIG. 11 provides a detailed view of the components inside the second compartment 302 of the housing 206. As shown in FIG. 11, the second compartment 302 generally contains an air circulation fan 1102, a battery 1104, and a compressor assembly 1106. In one embodiment, the fan 1102 comprises a blower or other device used for forcing air circulation. The battery 1104 is preferably a lithium ion battery having a rated life of at least 2 hours. In certain embodiments, the battery may also comprise a fuel cell or other transportable electric power storage device. The compressor assembly 1106 includes a compressor 1108, a driving motor 1110, and a heat exchanger 1112. ....) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0111-0112]); a duct holder (502, 608, 1612) couplable to the blower and including a flexible duct (1704), the flexible duct configured to extend from and direct an airflow generated by the blower (e.g. See Paragraphs [0023, 0087, 0097, 0101, 0129]); and one or more of a cooler module (116, 112, 1112), a sensor module (126, 518), and a filter module (104, 130, 504, 618a-618b) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0058-0060, 0121-0123]), wherein: the cooler module (116, 112, 1112), when coupled to the blower and electrically coupled to the electronic control unit (134, 1314) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0093, 0117]), is configured to cool the airflow generated by the blower, the sensor module, when coupled to the blower and electrically coupled to the electronic control unit (134) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0093] Referring to FIG. 5A, the valves 120a-n bare actuated by a two stage PWM controlled current source 522. In one embodiment, the controller 134 provides a digital control signal, preferably about 5 volts, a pulse train of variable duty cycle, which enables the current source. In the first stage, the current is controlled to a preset value for a preset time period so as to limit the voltage across the valve to a level which will be sufficient to guarantee rapid actuation while preventing excessive current. ....), is configured to sense a condition of the airflow generated by the blower, and the filter module, when coupled to the blower, is configured to reduce an amount of a particulate in the airflow generated by the blower (e.g. See Paragraphs [0093, 0111-0112, 0121-0126]).
Regarding claim 7, Deane further discloses wherein the sensor module includes an air speed sensor (e.g. See Paragraphs [0095] The compressor 114 may also be actuated with a PWM current source. In one embodiment, a speed sensor monitors the speed of the compressor. The flow rate of the concentrator is preferably determined by the speed of the compressor. .....) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0093-0095]).
Regarding claim 8, Deane further discloses wherein the filter module includes a replaceable filter (e.g. See Paragraphs [0100] ..... In one embodiment, each annular gasket 616a-b further comprises an integrally formed filter portion 618a, 618b for filtering smaller particulate that cannot be captured by the restraining disks 614a-b. Preferably, the filter portion is capable of filtering particles greater than about 70-120 microns. In one embodiment, the gasket 616a-b is made of a silicone material and the filter portion 618a-b comprises a woven fabric, woven screen, or the like that is cast or molded together with the gasket. .....) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0100, 0125-0126]).
Regarding claim 9, Deane further discloses wherein the replaceable filter is a first filter (618a-618b) configured to filter the particulate, wherein the particulate is a first particulate, the first filter is replaceable by a second filter (618a-618b) configured to filter a second particulate different than the first particulate (e.g. See Paragraphs [0100, 0125-0126]).
Regarding claim 10, Deane further discloses wherein the duct holder includes a coupling assembly that engages a coupling feature of the blower to removably couple the duct holder to the blower (e.g. See Paragraphs [0129] As also shown in FIG. 17, the conserving device 1702 is adapted to be worn by the user or positioned adjacent to the user so that breath sensing functions can be performed proximate to the user even if the concentrator unit is far away. Thus, the sensitivity of the breath sensor is not compromised even if the user is far way from the unit. The satellite conserver 1700 further includes flexible tubing 1704 connecting the conserving device 1702 to the hose barb fitting 1612 on the concentrator 1600. .....) (e.g. See Paragraphs [0023, 0087, 0127-0130]).
Regarding claim 14, Deane further discloses wherein the blower is configured to provide an audible indication of a state of charge of a battery pack coupled to the blower (e.g. See Paragraphs [0024, 0132-0133]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-21 are allowed.
Claims 2-6, and 11-13 are 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; and also to overcome the claim objections set forth in this Office action, such as to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101, 112 2nd paragraph, and double patenting.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art fails to disclose or render obvious the claimed combination including a blower system comprising: an airspeed sensor coupled to the cylindrical duct, the airspeed sensor configured to output an airspeed signal indicative of an airspeed of the airflow, and a user interface engageable by a user to input one or more working parameters, a duct holder couplable to the blower, the duct holder including a flexible duct configured to extend from and direct an airflow generated by the blower; and an electronic control unit coupled to the blower and configured to: distribute power from a power source, receive one or more signals indicating one or more operating conditions of the blower system, the operating conditions including a battery energy signal, the airspeed signal, and an air quality signal, receive one or more signals indicating the working parameters from the user interface, the working parameters including a runtime, a fan speed, a confined space volume, and a number of air changes, and a minimum flow rate, determine a total maximum power of the blower system based on one of more of the operating conditions and one or more of the working parameters, and output one or more blower control signals to control operation of the blower based on the total maximum power of the blower system.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled "Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance."
Since allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant is encouraged to submit Final Formal Drawings (If Needed) in response to this Office action. The early submission of formal drawings will permit the Office to review the drawings for acceptability and to resolve any informalities remaining therein before the application is passed to issue. This will avoid possible delays in the issue process.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and consists of seven patents:
Nie et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2023/0380354), Hines et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2021/0301809), Zhou et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2020/0383281), Conrad et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2016/0108924), Brinkman et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 12061037), Sewell et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2025/0026301), and Wuerfl et al. (Pat./Pub. No. US 2025/0351943), all discloses blower system for use with fluid dispensing system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Primary Examiner Binh Tran whose telephone number is (571) 272-4865. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors, Mark Laurenzi, can be reached on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are (571) 273-8300 for regular communications and for After Final communications.
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Binh Q. Tran
/BINH Q TRAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3748
September 29, 2026
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