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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to pending claim(s) 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
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2019/0119464 A1) in view of Bilotti (WO 2018002633 A1) and Wu ‘380 (US 2014/0097380 A1)
Claim 1. Chen discloses a resistance heater (Fig. 1A, par. 2), comprising:
a polymer positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) material (PPTC body 104, Fig. 1A), arranged in a heater body (heater 100), defining a heater main surface (PPTC body has a surface), wherein the PPTC material comprises:
a polymer matrix, the polymer matrix defining the PPTC body (PPTC includes a polymer matrix, par. 6); and
a
an electrode assembly, comprising a first electrode (102) and a second electrode arranged in contact with the heater body at two or more locations (106);
a first lead, connected to the first electrode (first terminal 108, Fig. 1B); and
a second lead, connected to the second electrode (second terminal 110, Fig. 1B), wherein the electrode assembly defines a current path between the first lead and the second lead,
the current path comprising a first portion, extending along the heater main surface (current flows along the terminals which is along the heater main surface, Fig. 1B), and a second portion, extending through the heater body (current passes from 108 to 110 through the body 104, par. 3).
Chen does not disclose a graphene filler component, the graphene filler component disposed in the polymer matrix and arranged as sheet-like particles with a plane of the sheet-like particles aligned along a plane of the heater body.
Bilotti discloses a self-regulating resistive heater with two electrodes that heat a polymeric matrix (abstract) that uses graphene nanoplatelets (page 9)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Bilotti and have the conductive filler be made of graphene nanoplatelets. Bilotti demonstrates that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to choose graphene from a variety of carbon based conductive fillers.
Chen in view of Bilotti does not disclose that the graphene nanoplatelets are arranged in a plane along a plane of the heater body.
Wu ‘380 discloses an aligned graphene sheet-polymer composite and teaches that graphene sheets are aligned in a plane significantly increases the thermal conductivity along that plane (par. 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Bilotti to incorporate the teachings of Wu ‘380 and have the graphene sheets be aligned along a plane of the heating body. Doing so would improve the thermal conductivity of the heater body (par. 8, Wu ‘380 ) which can reduce the time the PPTC spends at elevated temperatures which can cause degradation (par. 22, Chen).
Claim 2. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, wherein a volume percentage of polymer matrix is between 50~99%, wherein a volume fraction of conductive filler is between 1% and 50 % (conductive filler volume fraction may range from 5% to 55%, par. 16, which would mean the polymer matrix is between 45%-95%).
Claim 3. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, further comprising a carbon filler component, wherein a volume fraction of carbon filler with respect to graphene filler component ranges between 1% and 99% (claim 2, wherein the first conductive filler may be graphene and the second conductive filler may be carbon fiber, par. 29, Elverud).
Claim 4. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, the first electrode being disposed on a first side of the heater body, and the second electrode being disposed on a second side of the heater body, opposite the first side (Fig. 1A).
Claim 10. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, the polymer matrix comprising a polyethylene copolymer (ETFE, par. 22) a polycaprolactone, a polyether, a polyurethane, a polyamide, a diene elastomer, or combination thereof.
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2019/0119464 A1) in view of Bilotti, Wu ‘380 , and Elverud (US 2016/0021704 A1).
Claim 11. Chen discloses
resistance heater (Fig. 1A, par. 2),
a polymer positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) material, arranged in a heater body (PPTC body 104, Fig. 1A) wherein the PPTC material comprises:
a polymer matrix, the polymer matrix defining the heater body, and forming a heater main surface (PPTC includes a polymer matrix, par. 6); and
a
an electrode assembly, comprising two or more electrodes arranged in contact with the heater body at two or more locations (first electrode 102 and second electrode 106, Fig. 1B),
wherein the electrode assembly defines a current path between a first electrode and a second electrode, the current path comprising a first portion, extending along the heater main surface (current flows along the terminals which is along the heater main surface, Fig. 1B), and a second portion, extending through the heater body (current passes from 108 to 110 through the body 104, par. 3).
Chen does not disclose a graphene filler component arranged as sheet-like particles with a plane of the sheet-like particles aligned along a plane of the heater body.
Bilotti discloses a self-regulating resistive heater with two electrodes that heat a polymeric matrix (abstract) that uses graphene nanoplatelets (page 9).
Wu ‘380 discloses an aligned graphene sheet-polymer composite and teaches that graphene sheets are aligned in a plane significantly increases the thermal conductivity along that plane (par. 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Bilotti and have the conductive filler be made of graphene nanoplatelets. Bilotti demonstrates that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to choose graphene from a variety of carbon based conductive fillers.
Chen in view of Bilotti does not disclose that the graphene nanoplatelets are arranged in a plane along a plane of the heater body.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Bilotti to incorporate the teachings of Wu and have the graphene sheets be aligned along a plane of the heating body. Doing so would improve the thermal conductivity of the heater body (par. 8, Wu ‘380 ) which can reduce the time the PPTC spends at elevated temperatures which can cause degradation (par. 22, Chen).
Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 does not disclose a battery and at least one battery cell that is in thermal contact with the battery.
Elverud discloses a resistive heater with two electrodes that heat a polymeric matrix (110, par. 28) that has a conductive filler (par. 27), wherein the conductive filler may be graphene (par. 29), wherein the conductive layer may be connected to a battery (par. 47).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 to incorporate the teachings of Elverud and have the conductive filler be made of graphene and connect the heater to a battery. Doing so would have the benefit of heating the heater. Additionally, Elverud demonstrates that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to choose graphene from a variety of carbon based conductive fillers.
Claim 12. Chen in view of Bilotti, Wu ‘380 , and Elverud discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, wherein a volume percentage of polymer matrix is between 50~99%, wherein a volume fraction of conductive filler is between 1% and 50 % (conductive filler volume fraction may range from 5% to 55%, par. 16, which would mean the polymer matrix is between 45%-95%).
Claim 13. Chen in view of Bilotti, Wu ‘380 , and Elverud discloses the battery of claim 11, further comprising a carbon filler component, wherein a volume fraction of carbon filler with respect to graphene filler component ranges between 1% and 99% (first filler may be graphene, claim 2, par. 29, Elverud) wherein a volume fraction of conductive filler is between 1% and 50 % (second filler may be a different conductive filler, claim 2, par. 29, Elverud).
Claim 14. Chen in view of Bilotti, Wu ‘380 , and Elverud discloses the resistance heater of claim 1, the first electrode being disposed on a first side of the heater body, and the second electrode being disposed on a second side of the heater body, opposite the first side (Fig. 1A).
Claim(s) 5-6, 8-9, 15-16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ref ‘103 (JP2002502103)
Claims 5 and 15. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 does not disclose the resistance heater of claim 1, the first electrode and the second electrode being disposed on a first side of the heater body.
Ref ‘103 discloses a resistance heater with electrodes 3 and 4 (Fig. 2), a conductive polymer matrix with graphite filler (par. 31, Fig. 2), wherein the electrodes 3 and 4 are disposed on a first side of the heater (Fig. 2) with a floating electrode 5.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 to incorporate the teachings of Ref ‘103 and have the electrodes positioned on the same side of the heater. Doing so would have the benefit of being able to repeat the electrode design over a large distance with the floating electrode and heat larger areas (par. 41, Ref ‘103).
Claims 6 and 16. Chen in view of Bilotti, Wu ‘380 , and Ref ‘103 discloses the resistance heater of claim 5, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are separated from one another by one or more slots (gaps between the electrode 3 and 4, Fig. 1, Ref ‘103), disposed along the first side, the one or more slots comprising regions where no electrode material is present (no electrode between 3 and 4, Fig. 1, Ref ‘103 ).
Claim 8. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 and Ref ‘103 discloses the resistance heater of claim 6, further comprising at least one conductive region, disposed along a second side of the heater body, opposite the first side (floating electrode 5, Fig. 1 and 2, Ref ‘103 ).
Claim(s) 7 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 and Ref ‘103 as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Han (US 2007/0103269 A1)
Claims 7 and 17. Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 and Ref ‘103 does not disclose the resistance heater of claim 6, wherein at least one of the one or more slots is a non-linear slot.
Han discloses a thermistor wherein the non-conductive gaps between the electrodes may be zigzag or wave shaped (Fig. 4C) in order to prevent the Tombstone phenomenon (abstract) that occurs if there is an asymmetric structure in the electrode shape. While, the thermistor is not a PTC heater element, one of ordinary skill in the art would look to this teaching since the Tombstone phenomenon can occur in electrodes bonded to a PTC material that have an asymmetric structure.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Bilotti and Wu ‘380 and Ref ‘103 to incorporate the teachings of Han and have a non-linear wavy non-conductive gap. Doing so would have the benefit of preventing the tombstone phenomenon from occurring (abstract, Han).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Ref ‘103 (JP2002502103) and Junghans (US 20100021683 A1), Wu ‘413 (CN 111363413 A), and Wu ‘380 (US 2014/0097380 A1).
Claim 19. Chen discloses a resistance heater (Fig. 1A, par. 2), comprising: a polymer positive temperature coefficient (PPTC) material, arranged in a heater body (PPTC body 104, Fig. 1A), defining a heater main surface (PPTC body has a surface), wherein the PPTC material comprises:
a polymer matrix, the polymer matrix defining the PPTC body (PPTC includes a polymer matrix, par. 6); and
a conductive filler component, comprising a
an electrode assembly, comprising a first electrode (102) and a second electrode (106) arranged in contact with the heater body on
a first lead (first terminal 108), connected to the first electrode; and a second lead (second terminal 110), connected to the second electrode,
wherein the electrode assembly defines a current path between the first lead and the second lead, the current path comprising a first portion (current flows along the terminals which is along the heater main surface, Fig. 1B), extending along the heater main surface, and a second portion, extending through the heater body (current passes from 108 to 110 through the body 104, par. 3).
Ref ‘103 discloses a resistance heater with electrodes 3 and 4 (Fig. 2), a conductive polymer matrix with graphite filler (par. 31, Fig. 2), wherein the electrodes 3 and 4 are disposed on a first side of the heater (Fig. 2) with a floating electrode 5.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Ref ‘103 and have the electrodes positioned on the same side of the heater. Doing so would have the benefit of being able to repeat the electrode design over a large distance with the floating electrode and heat larger areas (par. 41, XXX).
Chen in view of Ref ‘103 does not disclose a double sided adhesive layer disposed on the conductive region.
Junghans discloses a flexible heater wherein a double-sided tape 70 is used to secure the bottom of the heater to a substrate 40 (par. 170, Fig. 9A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen in view of Ref ‘103 to incorporate the teachings of Junghans and have the bottom of the heater, i.e. conductive region be bonded to a substrate using double-sided tape. Doing so would have the benefit of being able secure the heater to a substrate.
Chein in view of Ref ‘103 and Junghans does not disclose a combination of graphene and carbon, the graphene filler component disposed in the polymer matrix and arranged as sheet-like particles with a plane of the sheet-like particles aligned along a plane of the heater body.
Wu ’413 discloses a PTC heater wherein the ink that deposits the conductive fillers is a mix of carbon black and graphene plates (par. 16-18).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chein in view of Ref ‘103 and Junghans to incorporate the teachings of Wu ’413 and have the conductive filler be made of a combination of graphene sheets and carbon black. Doing so would have the benefit of improving the PTC cycle performance (par. 7, Wu ‘413).
Chein in view of Ref ‘103, Junghans, and Wu ‘413 does not disclose that the graphene nanoplatelets are arranged in a plane along a plane of the heater body.
Wu ‘380 discloses an aligned graphene sheet-polymer composite and teaches that graphene sheets are aligned in a plane significantly increases the thermal conductivity along that plane (par. 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chein in view of Ref ‘103, Junghans, and Wu ‘413 to incorporate the teachings of Wu ‘380 and have the graphene sheets be aligned along a plane of the heating body. Doing so would improve the thermal conductivity of the heater body (par. 8, Wu) which can reduce the time the PPTC spends at elevated temperatures which can cause degradation (par. 22, Chen).
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chein in view of Ref ‘103, Junghans, Wu ‘413, and Wu ‘380 as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Han (US 2009/0272727 A1)
Claim 20. Chein in view of Ref ‘103, Junghans, Wu ‘413, and Wu ‘380 does not disclose the resistance heater of claim 19, further, comprising: an insulation tape, disposed over the first electrode and the second electrode.
Han discloses a PTC heater wherein an insulating tape 35 is covers the electrode 33 (par. 48, Fig. 4C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chein in view of Ref ‘103, Junghans, Wu ‘413, and Wu ‘380 to incorporate the teachings of Han and cover the first and second electrode with insulating tape. Doing so would have the benefit of insulating the electrodes from external objects or liquid (abstract, Han).
Conclusion
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 SIMPSON A CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6422. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Crabb can be reached at (571) 270-5095. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SIMPSON A CHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/ELIZABETH M KERR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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