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 .
Amendments to claims 1 and 11 and the cancellation of claim 10, in the response filed January 5, 2026, have been entered.
Claims 1-9 and 11-12 are currently pending in the above identified application.
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 1-3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 6,286,591 to Bonneville in view of US Pub. No. 2013/0143014 to Kawasumi.
Regarding claims 1-3 and 12, Bonneville teaches a thermal harness comprising bundled thermally conductive fibers in tows extending from each of a plurality of heat generating devices (heat source) to one or more heat dissipating devices (heat sink, heat storage member, claim 3) (Bonneville, abstract). Bonneville teaches the fibers providing thermal path between multiple component and act as continuous conductors of heat (Id., col. 2 lines 8-15). Bonneville shows an embodiment containing a first bundle that branched into a second and third bunch (Id., Fig. 1, col. 2 lines 21-67). Bonneville teaches the thermal harness providing multiple branches to a series of heat emanating devices without requiring metallic end fittings at the nodes and thereby reducing the weight (Id., col. 3 lines 48-63). Bonneville shows the bundled thermal conductive fibers being attached to polymer matrix material or as part of printed circuit boards trays, thermal doublers, and heat pipe assemblies (Id., Fig. 1, 2, 3, col. 3 lines 1-28, col. 3 lines 48-57), reading on a substrate (claim 2). Bonneville teaches the use of thermally conductive carbon fiber but teaches other types of thermally conductive fibers material may be employed (Id., col. 2 lines 48-50). Bonneville teaches the use of a gel encapsulant to keep the fibers in place and reduce possible contamination (Id., col. 2 lines 12-15), reading on a bonding material bundling the multiple stretched fibers.
Booneville does not teach the thermally conductive fibers being stretched fibers created by stretching a thermoplastic resin that is at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, a polyarylate, a polysulfone, and a polyether etherketone.
However, Kawasumi teaches a shape-retaining fiber having thermal conductivity in the lengthwise direction, such as formed from an ethylene polymer and polyamide, and teaches thermal conductivity in the lengthwise direction of the fiber may be adjusted by the strength ratio for the uniaxial stretching carried out in the fiber production process (Kawasumi, abstract, para 0156-0158, 0063-0079), reading on the fiber being a stretched fiber created by stretching a thermoplastic resin that includes polyamide and is heat conductive. Kawasumi teaches the fiber being used in various application, such as like a wire, and the shape-retaining film used to form the fiber being used heat-conduction tape (e.g., heat dissipation tape) (Id., para 0044, 0134-0139, 0159). Kawasumi teaches the shape-retaining fiber being gathered and bundled into a micro-filament (Id., para 0153).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form the article of Burger, wherein the conductive fibers of Bonneville are thermally conductive shape-retaining fibers of Kawasumi, motivated by the desire of using conventionally known thermally conductive fibers predictably suitable for use applications similar to wires or for heat dissipation and by the desire to impart shape retention properties.
Regarding claim 12, the prior art combination teaches the fiber having a denier of 100 or less and made smaller (Kawasumi, para 0153). The prior art also teaches an increase in density of the shape-retaining fiber leads to increased thermal conductivity (Id., para 0177). The prior art combination teaches the use of polyethylene having a density 965 kg/m3 (Id., para 0181). At a density of 0.965 g/cm3, a 100 denier fiber has a diameter of 121 microns. In order to be outside the claimed diameter range, the density of the fiber would have to be 0.35 g/cm3 or lower. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have expected the fiber diameter of the prior art combination to fall within the disclosed range.
Claims 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 6,286,591 to Bonneville and US Pub. No. 2013/0143014 to Kawasumi, as applied to claims 1-3 and 12 above, further in view of US Pub. No. 2016/0141260 to Chang.
Regarding claims 4-9, the prior art combination teaches the thermal harness transferring heat from heat generating or dissipating components to heat dispersion components such as printed circuit boards, trays, thermal doublers, and hear pipe assemblies (Bonneville, col. 3 lines 29-31, col. 48-52). The prior art combination teaches the thermal harness being used to replace heat spreaders and thermal planes (Id., col. 3 lines 44-46)
The prior art combination does not appear to explicitly teach device comprising the thermal harness further comprising a heat insulation member thermally connected to the thermal harness or further comprising a photothermal conversion member that is thermally connected to the anisotropic heat-conducting resin member.
However, Chang teaches a heat dissipating member of a heat sink connected to a thermal interface material attached to a semiconductor chip containing a printed circuit board, a light-to-heat conversion layer (photothermal conversion member) with a lower insulating layer (heat insulation Member) (Chang, abstract, para 0005, 0036, 0057-0062, 0132-0145), reading on the heat-transmitting substrate further comprising a heat insulating member and photothermal conversion member that is thermal connected to the thermal interface material.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form a device of the prior art combination, wherein the thermal harness of the prior art combination is thermally attached to a light-to-heat conversion layer and insulating layer as taught by Chang, motivated by the desire to using conventionally known components predictably suitable for use in conjunction with a thermal interface composition or heat conducting material and in application including printed circuit boards.
Claims 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPN 6,286,591 to Bonneville and US Pub. No. 2013/0143014 to Kawasumi, as applied to claims 1-3 and 12 above, further in view of US Pub. No. 2006/0170092 to Kim.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art combination teaches the use of a gel encapsulant (bonding material) to keep the fibers in place and reduce possible contamination (Bonneville, col. 2 lines 12-15.
The prior art combination does not teach the gel encapsulant (bonding material) comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of a polyurethane, an acrylic polymer, and an epoxy resin.
However, Kim teaches the use of a protective material such as epoxy as an encapsulant in thermal dissipation applications, such as semiconductors (Kim, abstract, para 0050, 0002, 0038-0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to form the thermal harness of the prior art combination, wherein the gel encapsulant is the epoxy of Kim, motivated by the desire of using conventionally known encapsulant predictably suitable as a protective material used in heat dissipating applications.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 5, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues, with regards to the application of Bonneville and Kawasumi, that the prior art combination does not teach a bonding material bundling the multiple stretched fibers as the gel encapsulant of Bonneville is not a component of the tow as the gel encapsulant is used with the fibers within the polymer matrix material 12 that is separate component from the tow. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Bonneville explicitly teaches the “gel encapsulant may be used to keep the fibers in place and reduce possible contamination” (Bonneville, col. 2 lines 14-15). The term “bundling” means to make a bundle, which is a group of things fastened together for convenient handling (see Merriam-Webster, definition 1 for noun and verb). As the gel encapsulant holds the fibers in place, it serves as a binding material and the fiber will being fastener, or connected, together to handle as one. The fibers within a bundle may be splayed but still bundled, i.e. interconnected. If Applicant is arguing that the bonding material is not present throughout the bundle or fully coating the multiple stretched fibers, this argument is not commensurate in scope with the current claim limitation. The claim requires a bonding material bundling with the multiple stretched fibers. The encapsulant of Bonneville holds the fibers in place, thereby by serving as a bonding material, and therefore would be connected and bundling, with the fiber, specifically the multiple stretched fibers. The claim does not require the bonding material to be part of and incorporated into the tow. The claim recites the limitation “the anisotropic heat-conducting resin member further comprising a bonding material.” The claim does not exclude the bonding material to being separate component form the tow if serving the claim function.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. USPN 6,367,509 teaches a thermal harness using encase carbon-based fiber and using bonding material, such as silicone, and teaches the use of special coating on graphite fibers to enhance the physical, mechanical or thermal performance such as to protect from abrasion and promote adhesion.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 JENNIFER ANN GILLETT whose telephone number is (571)270-0556. The examiner can normally be reached 7 AM- 4:30 PM EST M-H.
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/JENNIFER A GILLETT/Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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