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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/6/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/6/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to arguments on page 9 of the remarks that primary reference LI does not disclose “an insulating sleeve” as recited in independent claim 21 and there is no motivation for the combination with secondary reference FRIGIERE, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize providing the insulating sleeve surrounding at least the metallic heat reception portion of primary reference LI would increase safety and protection, for example, the additional insulation provided by an insulating sleeve which surrounds the metallic heat reception portion would serve to further prevent electrical shocks, short circuits, and/or arcing as known in the art.
In response to arguments on page 9 of the remarks that the references do not disclose “an electric protection compartment” as recited in independent claim 21, it is first noted that “an electric protection compartment” does not appear in the specification as originally filed, and therefore the recitation may constitute new matter. The following are all portions of the specification as originally filed which mention a “compartment”:
The heat receiving part, that is, the evaporator 107 of the heat pipe in Fig. 2a is attached in a way to be in close thermal contact with the heat source in the compartment 102, or hot spot, in particular close to or connected to the power contacts of the connector. (page 7, lines 16-19)
The connector 100 further comprises a compartment or holder 102 for the power contacts 102, and enclosure 104. The insulation is achieved using for example a ceramic sleeve 121 that separates the copper heat pipe 106 from the copper power connector in compartment 102 as a first measure for electric protection of the heat pipe 106.The heat pipe evaporator 107 is at best embedded directly in the area of hot spot. i.e. the contact area. (page 8, lines 16-22)
The specification refers to element 102 as a connector (page 7, lines 1-2), a compartment, and power contacts. Figure 1, 2a, and 4 show element as a box 102, which is inside of “inner enclosure” 103 and “external enclosure” 104, and is not “separate from both the inner enclosure and the external enclosure” as argued by Applicant. The specification does not describe any structure for the “compartment”, allowing for a broad interpretation. It is respectfully submitted that at least a portion of “first chamber 211” of primary reference LI can be interpreted as the “electric protection compartment”, said portion being where “the heat pipe is attached to the heat source” as described in the rejection below. It is therefore maintained that LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector of claim 21 within the broadest reasonable interpretation as described in the rejection below.
Claim Objections
Claims 10-11, 19, 21-22, and 30 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 10, line 2, “a cable” should be changed to --the cable--.
Regarding claims 11 and 19, these claims are nearly identical, and perhaps one of them should be canceled.
In claim 21, the specification does not disclose “an electric protection compartment” (see page 7, lines 16-19; and page 8, lines 16-22). It is suggested the claim be amended to recite --a compartment--.
In claim 22, line 4, “a cable” should be changed to --the cable--.
In claim 22, line 9, “a power contact” should be changed to --the power contact--.
In claim 30, line 2, “a contact element” should be changed to --the power contact--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 24-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “about” in claim 24 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “about” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Therefore, the “insulating layer” is rendered indefinite.
Claim 24 recites the limitation "the insulating layer" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 25 recites the limitation "the insulating layer" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 26 recites the limitation "the sleeve" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 27 recites the limitation "the sleeve" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the 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.
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) 11, 13, 17, 19-23, and 30-31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI (CN110370964A; cited in previous office action; English machine translation was included with previous office action) in view of FRIGIERE (US Pub. No. 2012/0205074; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 21, LI discloses an electric vehicle charging connector for a charging station (¶ 0004: charging guns are widely used, especially in electric vehicles. During use, the existing charging gun easily heats up and is difficult to dissipate heat. Rainwater in the external environment can easily enter the charging gun from the power supply terminal, seriously affecting the safety of the charging gun, and waterproofing is very difficult; ¶ 0006: object of the present invention is to provide a terminal waterproof heat dissipation mechanism to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art; ¶ 0062: The present invention also provides a charging gun, including a cable connected to an external power source and a terminal waterproof heat dissipation mechanism, wherein the cable is electrically connected to the power supply terminal 4) comprising:
a casing (1, Figs. 1-2 & 7-8; ¶ 0036: The terminal waterproof heat dissipation mechanism includes a shell 1);
a heat pipe (comprising elements 8, 71, 72, and 5 as shown in Fig. 6; suitable definition of pipe: a tubular or cylindrical object, part, or passage) attached to a heat source (42, Fig. 6; ¶ 0037: heat sink 5 dissipates heat from the second conductive end 42 of the power supply terminal 4 to reduce the temperature of the power supply terminal 4) inside the casing (¶ 0050: the heat on the second conductive end 42 is transferred to the second conductive end 72 of the conductive member 7 through the first conductive end 71 of the conductive member 7, and the heat on the second conductive end 72 is transferred to the heat dissipation member 5, so as to facilitate the heat dissipation of the second conductive end 42; the sealed cavity 21 is divided by the first partition 6 to form a first chamber 211 and a second chamber 212, and the second conductive end 42 is arranged in the first chamber 211), the heat source being a power contact of the electric vehicle charging connector (42, Fig. 6; ¶ 0037: see above) or a cable at the power contact, and
an electric protection compartment (at least a portion of first chamber 211 as shown in Figure 6 can be considered “an electric protection compartment”), wherein the heat pipe (comprising 8, Fig. 6) is attached to the heat source (42, Fig. 6) inside the electric protection compartment (as shown in Fig. 6, a portion of heat pipe comprising element 8 is attached to heat source 42 within a portion of first chamber 211; ¶ 0055: an insulating heat conductor 8 is provided between the second conductive end 42 and the first heat conductive end 71, and the second conductive end 42 is thermally connected to the first heat conductive end 71 through the insulating heat conductor 8);
the heat pipe comprising:
a metallic heat reception portion (71, Fig. 6; ¶ 0054: the heat conducting member 7 is made of a heat conducting metal material);
an insulating sleeve (8, Fig. 6; ¶ 0055: an insulating heat conductor 8 is provided between the second conductive end 42 and the first heat conductive end 71, and the second conductive end 42 is thermally connected to the first heat conductive end 71 through the insulating heat conductor 8. In this way, the heat on the second conductive end 42 is transferred to the first conductive end 71 through the insulating heat conductor 8, and the electricity on the second conductive end 42 can be prevented from leaking to the first conductive end 71) [at least around] the metallic heat reception portion (¶ 0055: see above), wherein the insulating sleeve is configured to electrically insulate at least the metallic heat reception portion from the heat source (¶ 0055: see above), wherein only the insulating sleeve of the heat pipe is in contact with the heat source (as shown in Fig. 6, the insulating sleeve 8 is placed between the heat source 42 and the heat reception portion 71, such that only insulating sleeve 8 is in contact with the heat source 42);
a heat guiding portion (72, Fig. 6; ¶ 0050: the heat on the second conductive end 42 is transferred to the second conductive end 72 of the conductive member 7 through the first conductive end 71 of the conductive member 7, and the heat on the second conductive end 72 is transferred to the heat dissipation member 5, so as to facilitate the heat dissipation of the second conductive end 42);
a heat dissipating portion (5, Fig. 6; ¶ 0038: the heat sink 5 is an integrally formed part made of metal material; ¶ 0049: the heat sink 5 is thermally connected to the second heat-conducting end 72), wherein the heat dissipating portion is arranged inside the casing (¶ 0036: a shell 1 having an accommodating cavity 2, a first seal 31 and a second seal 32; the first seal 31, the second seal 32 and the inner wall of the accommodating cavity 2 form a sealed cavity 21…a heat sink 5 is provided in the sealed cavity 21).
LI fails to disclose the insulating sleeve surrounds at least the metallic heat reception portion; and the heat dissipating portion comprising a tube.
FRIGIERE discloses the insulating sleeve (14, Fig. 2) surrounds at least the metallic heat reception portion (¶ 0023: embedded end 12A is surrounded by a sleeve that is both electrically insulating relative to the casing 10 of the circuit breaker and also a good conductor of heat); and the heat dissipating portion comprising a tube (12, Fig. 2; ¶ 0023: fluid in the heat pipe 12 vaporizes when accumulating the energy. The gas is thus diffused inside the heat pipe 12 until it reaches the non-embedded, opposite end 12B, where it condenses).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the heat dissipating portion comprising a tube and the insulating sleeve surrounding at least the metallic heat reception portion as disclosed in FRIGIERE into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including a heat dissipating portion comprising a tube and an insulating sleeve surrounding at least the metallic heat reception portion. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve the heat dissipation, and to increase safety and protection by preventing electrical shocks, short circuits, and/or arcing as known in the art.
Regarding claim 11, LI discloses the external enclosure in an area of the heat dissipating portion comprises perforations or slits designed with respect to their number and size such that in dependence on a heat dissipation characteristics and an insulation characteristics of the heat dissipating portion a total target protection based on thermal protection of a user, mechanical protection of the heat dissipating portion, electric insulation from the user in case of compromised insulation by the insulating sleeve, and dirt protection is provided (11, 12, Figs. 1, 7, and 8; ¶ 0041-0042, 0059).
Regarding claim 13, LI discloses a charging station comprising an electric vehicle charging connector according to claim 21 (¶ 0004, 0062).
Regarding claim 17, LI discloses the heat dissipating portion further comprises: fins (5, Fig. 6); wherein the tube and the fins extend the heat guiding portion (¶ 0038, 0049).
Regarding claim 19, LI discloses the external enclosure in an area of the heat dissipating portion comprises perforations or slits designed with respect to their number and size such that in dependence on a heat dissipation characteristics and an insulation characteristics of the heat dissipating portion a total target protection with respect to thermal protection of a user, mechanical protection of the heat dissipating portion, electric insulation from the user in case of compromised insulation by the insulating sleeve, and dirt protection is provided (11, 12, Figs. 1, 7, and 8; ¶ 0041-0042, 0059).
Regarding claim 20, LI discloses the inner enclosure is fully sealed and further comprises a sealed pass through such that the metallic heat reception portion of the heat pipe is arranged inside the sealed internal enclosure and the heat dissipating portion is outside the sealed internal enclosure and inside the external enclosure (¶ 0049-0050, 0058: heat pipe 7 passes through partition 6, and heat dissipating portion 5 is outside of sealed internal enclosure 211 and inside external enclosure 1).
Regarding claim 22, LI discloses an external enclosure forming the casing of the electric vehicle charging connector (1, Figs. 7 and 8), the external enclosure being configured to receive a cable in a back end area of the electric vehicle charging connector (cables are shown in Fig. 5) and to enclose an inner enclosure at a front end area of the electric vehicle charging connector (e.g., 21, 211, 212, Fig. 6); and the inner enclosure is arranged in the front end area of the electric vehicle charging connector (e.g., 21, 211, 212, Fig. 6), the inner enclosure being configured to receive the cable from the external enclosure and guide the cable to a power contact of the electric vehicle charging connector (power contact 42 as shown in Fig. 6; ¶ 0036, 0039).
Regarding claim 23, LI discloses the heat source is in the inner enclosure, and wherein the heat pipe is configured to guide heat from the heat source in the inner enclosure to a free space in the external enclosure (¶ 0041-0042).
Regarding claim 30, LI discloses the heat source comprises a contact element of the connector through which electricity is transferred (¶ 0036, 0039).
Regarding claim 31, LI discloses the heat pipe is configured to guide heat from the heat source to a free space in the casing (¶ 0041-0042).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI in view of FRIGIERE as applied to claims 11, 13, 17, 19-23, and 30-31 above, and further in view of FUHRER (US Pub. No. 2021/0206280; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 10, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 21, and LI further discloses the electric vehicle charging connector comprises a cable (cable is shown in Fig. 5).
LI fails to disclose the cable comprises an arrangement configured to receive a grounding cable from metallic portions of the heat pipe such that the heat pipe is electrically connected to ground with respect to a voltage of the cable.
FUHRER discloses the cable comprises an arrangement configured to receive a grounding cable from metallic portions of the heat pipe such that the heat pipe is electrically connected to ground with respect to a voltage of the cable (¶ 0073-0074).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the grounding cable of FUHRER into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including a grounding cable. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide a safer charging plug design (FUHRER, ¶ 0008).
Claim(s) 24-27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI in view of FRIGIERE as applied to claims 11, 13, 17, 19-23, and 30-31 above, and further in view of LIU (US Pub. No. 2021/0008992; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 24, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 17, but LI fails to teach the insulating layer is made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK.
However, LIU discloses plastic or rubber materials for the insulating layer (¶ 0039), which are known to have low conductivity levels, and it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the insulating layer made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. Please note that the instant application does not disclose any criticality for the claimed limitation(s).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the insulating layer is made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including an insulating layer made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reduce the rate of heat transfer.
Regarding claim 25, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 17, but fails to teach the insulating layer is made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK.
However, LIU discloses plastic or rubber materials for the insulating layer (¶ 0039), which are known to have low conductivity levels, and it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the insulating layer made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. Please note that the instant application does not disclose any criticality for the claimed limitation(s).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the insulating layer is made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including an insulating layer made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reduce the rate of heat transfer.
Regarding claim 26, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 17, but LI fails to teach the sleeve is one part.
LIU discloses the sleeve is one part (¶ 0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the sleeve is one part as disclosed in LIU into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including a one-part sleeve. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide space savings and allow faster or simpler assembly.
Regarding claim 27, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 17, but LI fails to teach the sleeve is separated to fin elements and stacked together.
LIU discloses the sleeve is separated to fin elements and stacked together (¶ 0039).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the sleeve is separated to fin elements and stacked together as disclosed in LIU into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including a sleeve separated to fin elements and stacked together. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to prevent users from being scalded due to a high temperature (LIU, ¶ 0039).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI in view of FRIGIERE as applied to claims 11, 13, 17, 19-23, and 30-31 above, and further in view of RUPPERT (US Pub. No. 2020/0406770; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 18, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 21, and LI further discloses the heat dissipating portion further comprises: the tube extending the heat guiding portion (72, Fig. 6), and fins (5, Fig. 6); wherein the fins are an integral piece of fins (¶ 0038); and wherein the tube is sleeved by the integral piece of fins (¶ 0038, 0049).
LI fails to discloses the fins are of an insulating material.
RUPPERT discloses the fins are of an insulating material (¶ 0017).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the fins of an insulating material as disclosed in RUPPERT into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector including fins of an insulating material. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve safety by preventing transfer of electricity through the fins.
Claim(s) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI in view of FRIGIERE as applied to claims 11, 13, 17, 19-23, and 30-31 above, and further in view of TAN (CN110834556A; cited in previous office action; English machine translation was included with previous office action).
Regarding claim 28, LI as modified by FRIGIERE teaches the electric vehicle charging connector as applied to claim 21, but LI fails to disclose a surface area in the heat dissipating portion is painted.
TAN discloses a surface area in the heat dissipating portion is painted (¶ 0048).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the surface area in the heat dissipating portion is painted as disclosed in TAN into the electric vehicle charging connector of LI to produce an expected result of an electric vehicle charging connector wherein a surface area in the heat dissipating portion is painted. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide insulation to the heat dissipating portion (TAN, ¶ 0048).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL HERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9a-5p ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taelor Kim can be reached at (571) 270-7166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Manuel Hernandez/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 2/26/2026
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859