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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A in the reply filed on 6/08/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 5-9, 12 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/08/2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: at the end of the claim “to have a firmly contact” is grammatically correct. This should be either -- to firmly contact -- or --to have firm contact--. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-4, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazak et al (2006/0011600) in view of Goeckel et al (DE 102005013108) and/or Shigekawa (10722963) and for claim 4 further in view of KR 20110004319. Miyazak et al teach (1) A portable electric soldering iron tool, comprising: a heating assembly 14 which comprises a soldering sleeve 146, 148 and a heater element 152 disposed in said soldering sleeve; a control assembly which comprises a controller 78 and a power module 20 or 82 electrically connected to said controller 78, wherein said heater element 152 is electrically connected to said controller; and a housing handle 12, wherein said heating assembly and said control assembly are assembled to said housing handle 12. (11) wherein said soldering sleeve comprises an opening end 150 and a closed end 148, wherein said heater element 152 is inserted into said soldering sleeve through said opening end 150, wherein said thick film layer is inserted to a position corresponding to said closed end of said soldering sleeve. (10) wherein said soldering sleeve comprises an opening end 150 and a closed end 148, wherein said heater element 152 is inserted into said soldering sleeve through said opening end 150, wherein said thick film layer is inserted to a position corresponding to said closed end of said soldering sleeve. (13) wherein said control assembly comprises an actuator 42 which comprises a driving member 42 [moves forward and back, ¶ 0018] and a switch member 50, 52, wherein said housing handle 12 has a sliding groove, wherein said driving member is disposed at said sliding groove, wherein said driving member is arranged to be operated to slide along said sliding groove to drive said switch member to switch on or switch off an electrical connection between said controller and said heater element 152. (14) a cap assembly 18 detachably mounted to said housing handle 12, wherein said cap assembly comprises a retaining member 44 which is arranged to block sliding movement of said driving member 42 of said actuator when said cap assembly is assembled to said housing handle 12, wherein when said cap assembly is detached from said housing handle 12, the sliding movement of said actuator is allowed [Figs. 1, 2]. (19) wherein said housing handle 12 comprises a handle body 12 for receiving said controller 78, a mounting element 16 assembled to said handle body for mounting said heating assembly. (20) wherein said mounting element 16 comprises a mounting portion 16 mounted to said handle body and a retaining tube 134 connected to said mounting portion to mount said soldering sleeve 144, 148 in position, wherein said soldering sleeve comprises an opening end [with wires 144, 142] and a closed end 148, wherein said opening end of said soldering sleeve is retained 150 in said retaining tube 134, said closed end 148 of said soldering sleeve is extended at an outer side of said retaining tube 134.
Miyazak et al do not teach
wherein said heater element comprises a substrate and at least a thick film layer provided on said substrate; wherein said thick film layer of said heater element is electrically connected to said controller
(2) wherein said substrate comprise an attaching surface, wherein said soldering sleeve comprises an inner heat transferring surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate, so as to allow said thick film layer sandwiched between said attaching surface of said substrate and said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve to have a firmly contact with said soldering sleeve. (3) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is an arc surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve is an arc surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate. (4) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is a plane surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve is a plane surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate.
Goeckel et al teach wherein said heater element 03 comprises a substrate and at least a thick film layer provided on said substrate [see pages 2-3 of translation, “thick film process”, “thick film resistor paste”]; wherein said thick film layer of said heater element is electrically connected 08 to said controller, where the thick film layer facilitates an “the goal is to create a highly effective, responsive, affordable tip to realize in a relatively simple manufacturing process.” Shigekawa et al teach wherein said heater element comprises a substrate 41 and at least a thick film layer 42 provided on said substrate; wherein said thick film layer of said heater element is electrically connected 43 to the power supply [Fig. 4A, 4B] and which has good reliability and conductivity [see col. 5, line 63-col. 6, line 9]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to make the heater element electrically connected to said controller of Miyazak et al comprise a substrate and at least a thick film layer provided on said substrate; as taught by either Goeckel et al or Shigekawa et al, as a conventional heater element used in the art for “a highly effective, responsive, affordable tip to realize in a relatively simple manufacturing process” or to use a design which has good reliability and conductivity.
Shigekawa et al further teach (2) wherein said substrate 41 comprise an attaching surface, wherein said soldering sleeve 29 comprises an inner heat transferring surface 29 which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface 35 of said substrate, so as to allow said thick film layer sandwiched between said attaching surface of said substrate and said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve to have a firmly contact with said soldering sleeve 41. (3) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is an arc surface 41, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve 35 is an arc surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate [Figs. 3-4, note 40 is inserted into 35] and which has good reliability and conductivity [see col. 5, line 63-col. 6, line 9]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (2) wherein said substrate comprise an attaching surface, wherein said soldering sleeve comprises an inner heat transferring surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate, so as to allow said thick film layer sandwiched between said attaching surface of said substrate and said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve to have a firmly contact with said soldering sleeve; (3) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is an arc surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve is an arc surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate, as taught by Shigekawa et al, so as to have good reliability and conductivity [see col. 5, line 63-col. 6, line 9].
As for (4) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is a plane surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve is a plane surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate, KR ‘319 teaches (4) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate 200 is a plane surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve 130 is a plane surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate 130, where the heating element 200 may be printed on a ceramic sheet/substrate and facilitates heat transfer [see page 3 and bottom of page 4 of translation]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (4) wherein said attaching surface of said substrate is a plane surface, wherein said inner heat transferring surface of said soldering sleeve is a plane surface which is shaped and sized to couple with said attaching surface of said substrate, as taught by KR ‘319, in order to facilitate good heat transfer.
Claim(s) 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazak et al (2006/0011600) in view of Goeckel et al (DE 102005013108) and/or Shigekawa (10722963), as applied above, and further in view of Wang (CN 112045269) and for claim 18 further in view of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56-epzHoNe0 . Miyazak et al already teach (15) wherein said cap assembly comprises a cap protector 18 wherein said retaining member is connected to one of said cap protector 18 and said auxiliary cap. Miyazak et al do not teach (15) said cap assembly comprises a cap protector and an auxiliary cap, wherein said cap protector is detachably mounted to said housing handle, said auxiliary cap is detachably mounted to said cap protector, nor (17) a magnifying glass which is connected to one of said cap protector and said auxiliary cap.
Wang teaches said cap assembly comprises a cap protector 5 and an auxiliary cap 6; said auxiliary cap 6 is detachably mounted to said cap protector 5 and (17) a magnifying glass 23 which is connected to one of said cap protector 5 and said auxiliary cap. The cap protector 5 serves to filter the smoke from the soldering and also provide magnification. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ both an auxiliary cap and cap protector, where said auxiliary cap is detachably mounted to said cap protector and a magnifying glass which is connected to one of said cap protector and said auxiliary cap, as taught by Wang, in order to filter the smoke from the soldering and also provides magnification. Miyazak et al do not teach (16) wherein said cap protector comprises a protector mount which is detachably mounted to said housing handle and a cap member connected to said protector mount to receive said heating assembly. Wang teaches (16) wherein said cap protector comprises a protector mount 5 which is detachably mounted to said housing handle 32 and a cap member 6 connected to said protector mount 5 to receive said heating assembly 4. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ (16) wherein said cap protector comprises a protector mount which is detachably mounted to said housing handle and a cap member connected to said protector mount to receive said heating assembly, in order to filter the smoke from the soldering and also provides magnification. The prior art as applied above teach the auxiliary cap, but do not teach a soldering coil material which is detachably connected to said auxiliary cap. Soldering dispensers using an auxiliary cap are well known in the art as evidenced by www.youtube.com/watch?v=56-epzHoNe0. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ soldering coil material which is detachably connected to said auxiliary cap, to facilitate storage and/or dispensing of the solder.
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Prior Art
Mantes reference teaches a portable soldering iron.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TED KIM whose telephone number is 571-272-4829. The Examiner can be reached on regular business hours before 5:00 pm, Monday to Thursday and every other Friday.
The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571-273-8300.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Devon Kramer, can be reached at 571-272-7118. Alternate inquiries to Technology Center 3700 can be made via 571-272-3700.
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/Ted Kim/
Telephone
571-272-4829
Primary Examiner
Fax
571-273-8300
July 8, 2026
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