DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/08/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8-9, 11 and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (JP 2003295977 A) in view of Ostermeier (US 20160052363 A1) and Onimaru (JP 2005199862 A).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshida teaches of:
A temperature adjusting structure for an electronic equipment provided inside a vehicle, the temperature adjusting structure comprising a first region (Fig. 4, the interior of 71 is a first region with electronic equipment 1),
air which is to flow into the air supply port is to flow into a region where the electronic equipment is present in the first region (Figs. 1 and 4, air flows through the supply port 71a into the first region which houses electronic equipment 1)
Yoshida fails to explicitly teach:
wherein the first region is connected, through an air supply port, to a second region that is a space including a driver seat or a third region located outside the vehicle
the first region is provided between a roof and a roof lining of the vehicle
Ostermeier teaches of:
wherein the first region is connected, through an air supply port, to a second region that is a space including a driver seat or a third region located outside the vehicle (see combination made below, Fig. 1, air conditioner 1 has a fresh air input 7 and a cabin recirculated air input 9)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the air conditioner of Yoshida so that it has both a fresh air input and a recirculated cabin air input and further classify the interior of the cabin of the vehicle of Yoshida as the second region which contains a driver seat and the outside of the vehicle of Yoshida as the third region, therefore when the first region of Yoshida is connected via supply port 71a to the air conditioner, it is also connected to both the second and third regions
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
modifying the air conditioner of Yoshida so that it can optionally receive fresh and recirculated air and mix the two increases the overall efficiency of the air conditioner (Ostermeier, ¶ [0015], It is a further advantage of the invention that, by the method according to the invention, the efficiency of the air-conditioning system can be increased and a fogging-up of the windows in the vehicle occupant compartment as a result of excessive moisture can be avoided.)
Onimaru teaches of:
the first region is provided between a roof and a roof lining of the vehicle (Figs. 1-3, electronic equipment 106 is provided between a roof lining 101 and a roof s1)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
position 71 of Yoshida so that it is between a roof and a roof lining of a vehicle and further orient the electronic components within 1 of Yoshida so that they are attached to the upper surface of 1 as the electronic components are shown in Fig. 3 of Onimaru
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
positioning 71 of Yoshida immediately adjacent to the roof allows for the communication devices of the electronic equipment of 71, 63 and 64, to be positioned advantageously at the top of the vehicle for improved communication (Onimaru, ¶ [0016], By installing such equipment within the OHM main body 1, it is possible to, for example, integrate the substrate of the communication module 106d with the antenna 106e, and to position the antenna in a location advantageous for communication near the vehicle roof outer panel S1.)
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach of:
wherein the first region has a front-stage region including the air supply port, and the air which is to flow into the air supply port is to flow into the region where the electronic equipment is present through the front-stage region (Yoshida, Fig. 4, front stage region of the first stage region is the region of 71 that has supply port 71a).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein a fan is provided separately from the electronic equipment, the fan configured to perform at least one of causing air to flow into the region where the electronic equipment is present and causing air to be discharged from the region where the electronic equipment is present
Onimaru teaches of:
wherein a fan is provided separately from the electronic equipment, the fan configured to perform at least one of causing air to flow into the region where the electronic equipment is present and causing air to be discharged from the region where the electronic equipment is present (Fig. 1, air conditioner 3 moves air through a temperature adjusting structure for electronic equipment with fan 31)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add a fan 31 to air conditioner 67 of Yoshida
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the air conditioner to move cooling air through the system of Yoshida
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein a housing of the electronic equipment has an air supply opening and an air discharge opening (Yoshida, Fig. 4, housing of 1 has an air supply opening 73a and an air discharge opening 73b), and air which is to flow into the region where the electronic equipment is present is to flow into an inside of the housing through the air supply opening, and to be discharged to an outside of the housing through the air discharge opening (Yoshida, Fig. 4, see dotted arrow showing the air flow through the housing from 73a to 73b).
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the first region is connected to the second region through the air supply port, and the second region is a space including a driver seat, or an underfloor of the vehicle (see combination made in the rejection of claim 1 above, the supply port is connected to the air conditioner which in turn is connected to the interior of the cabin which would include a drivers seat)
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the front-stage region is connected to the duct through the air supply port (Yoshida, Fig. 4, front-stage region is connected to duct 69 through air supply port 71a), the electronic equipment is provided at a position facing a portion of the front-stage region from which the air is to be discharged (Yoshida, Fig. 4, 1 is positioned to face a portion of the front-stage region from which air is to be discharged)
Onimaru in a further embodiment teaches of:
valve configured to control a flow of the air from the duct to the front-stage region is provided (Fig. 6, valves 132 for controlling flow into the temperature adjusting structure)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
position valves at 71a and 71b of Yoshida that open when the system is on and close when the system is off
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for better temperature control of the electronic equipment (Onimaru, ¶ [0029], This exposes the OHM-mounted equipment 106 to cold air and keeps it at a low temperature. When the vehicle is stopped, the shutter 132 is closed by the shutter drive mechanism 133 , and the OHM-equipped device 106 is sealed within the area surrounded by the ventilation opening 13. As a result, the OHM-equipped equipment 106 can be insulated from the outside and maintained at a predetermined temperature or lower for a long period of time.)
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach of:
wherein the first region includes a central region that accommodates the electronic equipment, and the electronic equipment is attached to a bracket disposed on the central region (Yoshida, Fig. 4, 1 is in the central region of 71 and is attached via brackets 75)
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach of:
wherein the entire region between the roof and the roof lining of the vehicle constitutes the first region (Fig. 3, the entire region of 105 is the first region)
Regarding claim 16, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach of:
wherein the first region includes a front-stage region, a central region accommodating the electronic equipment, and a rear-stage region, and wherein the front-stage region, the central region, and the rear-stage region are arranged in a front-rear direction of the vehicle (Figs. 1-2, the electronic equipment 106 is positioned in the central region and there is also a front and rear region in front and to the rear of 106)
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the electronic equipment is attached to a surface on an upper surface side of the vehicle in the roof lining (All components within the combined teachings are attached to one another)
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (JP 2003295977 A) in view of Ostermeier (US 20160052363 A1) and Onimaru (JP 2005199862 A) as presented in claim 1, and in further view of JP S63489 Y2, hereinafter referred to as Ref. 1
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 3, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the fan is configured to be operated when an accessory switch of the vehicle is turned on.
Ref. 1 teaches of:
wherein the fan is configured to be operated when an accessory switch of the vehicle is turned on (Pg. 2, paragraph 5, Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to ensure that the blower always operates at a low rotation speed when the blower rotation speed setting switch is switched to the state where the blower is driven when the ignition key switch is switched to the accessory position.)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
connect the fan of the air conditioner of the combined teachings to the battery of Yoshida so that when the system receives power from the battery in the accessory mode described by Yoshida it also provides power to the fan of the air conditioning system and operates it at a low rotation speed
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for cooling to occur within the vehicle even when the compressor of the air conditioner is off (Ref. 1, Pg. 2, paragraph 1, According to this, outside air can be introduced and blown onto the passenger side in the summer, etc., and a certain degree of cooling sensation can be obtained even when the compressor is stopped.)
Claim(s) 6 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (JP 2003295977 A) in view of Ostermeier (US 20160052363 A1) and Onimaru (JP 2005199862 A) as presented in claims 1 and 5, and in further view of Oda (JP 2002016385 A)
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 5, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the electronic equipment is provided with a shielding plate that covers a mounted component attached to a substrate, and a heat absorbing and releasing member made of metal or a resin, and the shielding plate and the heat absorbing and releasing member are configured integrally.
Oda teaches of:
wherein the electronic equipment is provided with a shielding plate that covers a mounted component attached to a substrate, and a heat absorbing and releasing member made of metal or a resin, and the shielding plate and the heat absorbing and releasing member are configured integrally (Figs. 4-6, electronic equipment 3 has a shielding plate which is the portion of 2 connected directly to 3 and a heat absorbing and releasing member which is the fins 2a and 2b extending from the shielding plate portion; ¶ [0033], Next, the cooling fin 2 is made of a die-cast product such as aluminum)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the electronic components within 1 of Yoshida so that they are positioned on the upper surface of the shield plate and heat absorbing and releasing member 2 of Oda with heat dissipation promoting members 21 positioned between the fins
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
the fins of Yoshida improve the heat dissipation off of the heat generating electronic components, especially with the heat dissipation promoting members 21 positioned between the fins (Oda, ¶ [0036], Furthermore, the heat dissipation promoting member 21 in the hollow portion 2b increases the contact area with the air, meaning that the heat dissipation area is increased by the heat dissipation promoting member 21, thereby further improving the cooling effect, compared to when the heat dissipation promoting member 21 is not present in the air flow passage in the hollow portion 2b.)
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1 and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein air from the air supply port is to pass through a lower portion of the electronic equipment (See combination made in the rejection of claim 1 above, the electronic equipment is attached to the upper surface of 1 and therefore the air flows through a lower portion of the electronic equipment)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
a heat absorbing and releasing member made of metal or a resin is provided in a region of the lower portion of the electronic equipment through which the air from the air supply port is to pass
Oda teaches of:
a heat absorbing and releasing member made of metal or a resin is provided in a region of the lower portion of the electronic equipment through which the air from the air supply port is to pass (Figs. 4-6, electronic equipment 3 has a shielding plate which is the portion of 2 connected directly to 3 and a heat absorbing and releasing member which is the fins 2a and 2b extending from the shielding plate portion; ¶ [0033], Next, the cooling fin 2 is made of a die-cast product such as aluminum)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the electronic components within 1 of Yoshida so that they are positioned on the upper surface of the shield plate and heat absorbing and releasing member 2 of Oda with heat dissipation promoting members 21 positioned between the fins
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
the fins of Yoshida improve the heat dissipation off of the heat generating electronic components, especially with the heat dissipation promoting members 21 positioned between the fins (Oda, ¶ [0036], Furthermore, the heat dissipation promoting member 21 in the hollow portion 2b increases the contact area with the air, meaning that the heat dissipation area is increased by the heat dissipation promoting member 21, thereby further improving the cooling effect, compared to when the heat dissipation promoting member 21 is not present in the air flow passage in the hollow portion 2b.)
Claim(s) 7 and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (JP 2003295977 A) in view of Ostermeier (US 20160052363 A1) and Onimaru (JP 2005199862 A) as presented in claims 1 and 5, and in further view of Jin (US 20140130932 A1)
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the first region includes a central region that accommodates the electronic equipment (Yoshida, Fig. 4, 71 has a central region in which 1 is located), and a first end region on an upstream side of the central region (Yoshida, Fig. 4, first end region the region including 71a and the space between 71a and 1)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
has a shape in which a cross-sectional area gradually increases from the upstream side
Jin teaches of:
adding a transitional duct between ducts of two different areas (abstract, The system may comprise one or more wall sections configured to provide an increasing or decreasing cross-sectional area in the direction of the airflow to facilitate a more gradual transition)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the first end region, the region including 71a, and a second end region, the region including 71b, so that they have a gradually increasing and decreasing cross-sectional area to create a smooth transition between the cross-sectional area of 71a and b to the cross-sectional area of the central region
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would increase the overall efficiency of the system by providing a smooth transition between the varying areas (¶ [0015], The transition duct 100 may be configured to reduce an amount of airflow obstruction and/or sudden change in the cross-sectional area to the airflow path that may occur as a result of a mismatch between the area of the exhaust vent of the first heat exchanger 102 and the area of the intake vent of the second heat exchanger 104 to reduce losses in total system efficiency.)
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the first end region includes a first inclined shape portion to gradually increase the cross-sectional area (See rejection made in claim 7 above, first end region now has a first inclined shape to form a smooth transition between the two areas)
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 7, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein a second end region on a downstream side of the central region includes a second inclined shape portion to gradually decrease the cross-sectional area (See rejection made in claim 7 above, second end region now has a second inclined shape to form a smooth transition between the two areas)
Regarding claim 14, the combined teachings teach of the temperature adjusting structure according to claim 7, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein:
the first region has a front-stage region including the air supply port (Yoshida, Fig. 4, the front-stage region is the further subdivision of the front region including only 71a)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
a cross-sectional area of the front-stage region is smaller than a difference between a cross-sectional area of the central region and a cross-sectional area of the electronic equipment.
However, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the cross-sectional area of the front-stage region to be smaller than a difference between a cross-sectional area of the central region and a cross-sectional area of the electronic equipment based on the following rationale:
When the only difference between the claimed invention and the prior art is the recitation of relative dimensions, and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device (see MPEP 2144.04.IV.A Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc.). In the instant case, the device of the combined teachings already facilitates air flow through the electronic component housing 1 as shown by the dotted line arrow in Fig. 4 of Yoshida, and a modification to Yoshida’s cross-sectional areas to meet the claimed limitations would not cause the device of Yoshida to perform differently than the its current operational state. Therefore, as no criticality beyond the facilitation of air flow is stated in Applicant’s specification with regards to the cross-sectional area, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the combined teachings to meet the claimed limitation above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J GIORDANO whose telephone number is (571)272-8940. The examiner can normally be reached M-Fr 8 AM - 5 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Helena Kosanovic can be reached at (571) 272-9059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL JAMES GIORDANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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