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 Status
Claims 10-11, 13, 17-28, and 30-32 are pending. Claims 1-9, 12, 14-16, and 29 were previously canceled. Claims 10-11, 20-27, and 30 are amended. Claims 13, 17-19, 28, and 31 are previously presented. Claim 32 is new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to arguments on page 11 of the remarks that primary reference LI does not disclose the claimed “compartment” of independent claim 21, Applicant argues that LI does not identify the boundaries of the compartment to define a volume, but it is submitted that the application as filed does not describe any physical structure for the compartment, allowing for a broad interpretation, and the “compartment” is therefore interpreted in light of the specification. A suitable definition of compartment is “one of the sections or spaces into which an area is subdivided”, though the subdivision does not always have to be defined by, e.g., a solid physical wall. It is respectfully submitted that a portion of “first chamber 211” of primary reference LI can be interpreted as the claimed “compartment”, said portion including where the “heat pipe is attached to a heat source”. 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
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 21, line 3, the “casing” (element 104 in the figures) does not define the internal enclosure (element 103 in the figures) as recited, but rather, the internal enclosure is contained within the casing as shown in Figures 1 and 2a. The claim should be amended accordingly.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding new claim 32, the specification as originally filed does not disclose “the volume of the compartment is isolated from the internal enclosure” (see page 7, lines 16-19; page 8, lines 16-22), and therefore the amended recitations are considered new matter.
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.
Claim 20 is 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.
Claim 20 lacks an antecedent claim reference, rendering it indefinite as a dependent 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 30-32 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 (Pub. No.: US 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) defining an internal enclosure arranged in an area of the casing (211, Fig. 6), the internal enclosure being configured to receive a cable from the casing (cable is received by casing as shown in Fig. 5) and guide the cable to a power contact of the electric vehicle charging connector (42, Fig. 6; ¶ 0037: second conductive end 42 of the power supply terminal 4);
a compartment (a suitable definition of compartment is “one of the sections or spaces into which an area is subdivided”, though the subdivision does not always have to be defined by, e.g., a solid physical wall) defining a volume and situated within the internal enclosure, the compartment configured to receive the power contact (at least a portion of “first chamber 211” as shown in Figure 6 can be interpreted as the “compartment”, said portion including where the “heat pipe is attached to a heat source”); and
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 compartment (¶ 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; ¶ 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), wherein the heat source is the power contact of the electric vehicle charging connector (42, Fig. 6; ¶ 0037: see above) or the cable at the power contact (this recitation is presented as an alternative option, and LI discloses the other alternative),
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 positioned within the compartment (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), wherein the insulating sleeve [at least partially] surrounds at least 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 within the compartment (¶ 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); and
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 outside the internal enclosure (heat dissipating portion 5 is located in 212, which is outside of internal enclosure 211 as shown in Fig. 6; ¶ 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 invention to include the heat dissipating portion comprising a tube and the insulating sleeve surrounding at least the metallic heat reception portion in order 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 casing defines an area of the heat dissipating portion and 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 internal 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 compartment of the sealed internal enclosure and the heat dissipating portion is outside the sealed internal enclosure and inside the casing (¶ 0049-0050, 0058: heat pipe 7 passes through partition 6, and heat dissipating portion 5 is outside of sealed internal enclosure 211 and inside casing 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 the cable in a back end area of the electric vehicle charging connector (cables are shown in Fig. 5) and to enclose the internal enclosure at a front end area of the electric vehicle charging connector (e.g., 21, 211, 212, Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 23, LI discloses the heat pipe is configured to guide heat from the heat source in the compartment to a free space in the external enclosure (¶ 0041-0042).
Regarding claim 30, LI discloses the heat source comprises the power contact 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).
Regarding claim 32, LI discloses the volume of the compartment is isolated from the internal enclosure (it is noted that this feature is not explicitly disclosed in the specification, and Figures 1 & 2a appear to disclose the compartment 102 contained within the internal enclosure 103, and therefore it is not clear how the “compartment is isolated from the internal enclosure”; the compartment of LI, which includes the area where the heat pipe is attached to a heat source, is “isolated” from the rest of the internal enclosure and the casing, within the broadest reasonable interpretation).
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 30-32 above, and further in view of FUHRER (Pub. No.: US 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 the 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 invention to include the grounding cable in order 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 30-32 above, and further in view of LIU (Pub. No.: US 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 fails to teach the fins comprise an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer is made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK.
However, LIU discloses the fins comprise an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer is made of [plastic or rubber materials] (¶ 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 invention to include the insulating layer is made of a material having a conductivity of about 1 W/mK in order 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 fins comprise an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer is made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK.
However, LIU discloses the fins comprise an insulating layer, wherein the insulating layer is made of [plastic or rubber materials] (¶ 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 invention to include the insulating layer is made of plastic with a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK in order 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 disclose the insulating sleeve is one part.
LIU discloses the insulating 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 invention to include the sleeve is one part in order 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 disclose the insulating sleeve is separated into fin elements and stacked together.
LIU discloses the insulating sleeve is separated into 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 invention to include the sleeve is separated to fin elements and stacked together in order 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 30-32 above, and further in view of RUPPERT (Pub. No.: US 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 disclose 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 invention to include the fins of an insulating material in order 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 30-32 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 invention to include the surface area in the heat dissipating portion is painted in order to provide insulation to the heat dissipating portion (TAN, ¶ 0048).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
FUJITA (Pub. No.: US 2016/0197430) is cited to show a relevant electric vehicle charging connector comprises a casing, internal enclosure, and compartment.
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 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, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571) 272-2312. 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 8/17/2026
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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