DETAILED ACTION
Summary
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is a first Office Action on the merits.
Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 7, 8, and 11 objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 6, please amend “provide electric current to via” to recite “provide electric current via”;
In claim 1, lines 15-16, please amend “wherein the first and second fluid return path correspond to” to recite “wherein the first and second fluid return paths correspond to”;
In claim 1, lines 18-19, please amend “based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid” to recite “based on a product of a resistivity of the conductive fluid”;
In claim 7, line 2, please amend “ground pints” to recite “ground points”;
In claim 8, lines 11-12, please amend “based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid” to recite “based on a product of a resistivity of the conductive fluid”;
In claim 11, line 2, please amend “ground pints” to recite “ground points”;
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) 8, 12, 13, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHOU, US 2019/0291588 in view of GONTARZ, US 2017/0338006.
Re claim 8:
CHOU teaches a cooling system for use in charging systems for electric components, the cooling system comprising:
A conductive fluid reservoir providing conductive fluid to one or more charging system components along supply lines [0025] [0026] [Figures 4-7];
A manifold (414) receiving the conductive fluid from the conductive fluid reservoir and providing conductive fluid to a plurality of the charging system components, the plurality of charging system components including at least a connector and a cable system [0020] [0023]-[0025];
First and second fluid return paths, wherein the first and second fluid return paths correspond to a specified length defined from the connector, wherein the first and second fluid paths are electrically isolated [0025] [0026];
A heat exchanger to receive the conductive fluid from the first and second return paths [0026].
CHOU does not teach the specified length exceeds a minimal resistance threshold based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid and the specified length.
GONTARZ teaches a liquid cooled charging cable system, comprising first and second fluid return paths, wherein the first and second fluid return paths correspond to a specified length defined from the connector, wherein the first and second fluid paths are electrically isolated [0016] [0034]. The first and second fluid return paths may have sufficient length to minimize the leakage current to ground or between supply conductor 118 and return conductor 120 [0018] [0021] [0034].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of GONTARZ in the system of CHOU such that the specified length exceeds a minimal resistance threshold based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid and the specified length. Specifically, one of ordinary skill in the art would obviously select return path attributes, such as length, that account for high electrical resistance to avoid electrical breakdown. As evidenced by GONTARZ, length of return path is an attribute that is known to be taken into account to address problems with leakage current when using conductive fluids.
Re claim 12:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the cooling system as recited in claim 8, but does not teach the specified length is based on a multiple of the minimal resistance threshold; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to try different lengths of return paths. As discussed above, GONTARZ shows length is an attribute that is known in the art to be critical for minimizing leakage current in the conductive fluid.
Re claim 13:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the cooling system as recited in claim 8, but does not teach the specified length is based on a percentage of the minimal resistance threshold; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to try different lengths of return paths. As discussed above, GONTARZ shows length is an attribute that is known in the art to be critical for minimizing leakage current in the conductive fluid.
Re claim 15:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the cooling system as recited in claim 8, wherein the first and second fluid return lines merge prior to connection with the heat exchanger, wherein the specified length corresponds to a length measured from the connector along the first and second fluid return lines prior to the merge [0026].
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHOU, US 2019/0291588 in view of GONTARZ, US 2017/0338006, as applied in claim 8, and further in view of KURIMOTO et al, US 2003/0194522.
Re claim 14:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the cooling system as recited in claim 8, wherein the conductive fluid corresponds to an ethylene glycol, but does not specify a mixture of ethylene glycol and water.
KURIMOTO teaches a coolant comprising a mixture of water and ethylene glycol [0053].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of KURIMOTO in the system of CHOU, in view of GONTARZ such that the conductive fluid corresponds to an ethylene glycol and water mixture. Specific conductivity of conductive fluid is known to be achieved by mixing water with a proper amount of coolant containing ethylene glycol and a rust inhibitor (KURIMOTO [0053]).
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, and 9-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHOU, US 2019/0291588 in view of GONTARZ, US 2017/0338006 and UOZUMI, US 2002/0164511.
Re claims 1, 6, and 7:
CHOU teaches a charging system for electric components, the system comprising:
A connector that provides a physical interface between the charging system and one or more electric vehicles, the connector including at least one pair of positive and negative connectors for transmission of electric current from the charging system to the electric vehicle [0020] [Figure 2],
A power source (202) configured to provide electric current via a plurality of electric supply lines [0018];
A manifold (414) physically connected to the power source via the plurality of electric supply lines [0020];
A cable system including at least one pair of conductors and physically connected to the manifold and the connector [0018] [0019];
A conductive fluid reservoir providing conductive fluid to the manifold via a conductive fluid supply line, wherein the manifold provides the conductive fluid to the cable system and the connector [0025] [0026] [Figures 4-7];
First and second fluid return paths, wherein the first and second fluid return paths correspond to a specified length defined from the connector, wherein the first and second fluid paths are electrically isolated [0025];
A heat exchanger to receive the conductive fluid from the first and second return paths [0026].
CHOU does not teach the specified length exceeds a minimal resistance threshold based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid and the specified length or a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of the conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid.
GONTARZ teaches a liquid cooled charging cable system, comprising first and second fluid return paths, wherein the first and second fluid return paths correspond to a specified length defined from the connector, wherein the first and second fluid paths are electrically isolated [0016] [0034]. The first and second fluid return paths may have sufficient length to minimize the leakage current to ground or between supply conductor 118 and return conductor 120 [0018] [0021] [0034].
UOZUMI teaches a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of a conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid, wherein the feedback and control component measures leakage current and includes an ion filter to modify resistive properties of the conductive fluid (i.e., conductivity sensor 8 may comprise a conductivity meter which measures the electrical resistance of the cooling liquid [0040]. Control device 1 controls the flow amount of the cooling liquid through ion removal filter 4 based on the measured conductivity [0041] [0042] [0050] [0082] [0088]. Control device may further be configured to measure leakage current relative to a plurality of ground points to calculate the conductivity of the cooling liquid [0094).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of GONTARZ in the system of CHOU such that the specified length exceeds a minimal resistance threshold based on the product of the resistivity of the conductive fluid and the specified length. Specifically, one of ordinary skill in the art would obviously select return path attributes, such as length, that account for high electrical resistance to avoid electrical breakdown. As evidenced by GONTARZ, length of return path is an attribute that is known to be taken into account to address problems with leakage current when using conductive fluids.
It would have further been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further incorporate the teachings of UOZUMI in the system of CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, such that the system further included a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of the conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid. Such incorporation would be for the purpose of maintaining low conductivity while suppressing generation of leakage current (UOZUMI [0042]).
Re claim 2:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ and UOZUMI, teaches the system as recited in claim 1, but does not teach the specified length is based on a multiple of the minimal resistance threshold; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to try different lengths of return paths. As discussed above, GONTARZ shows length is an attribute that is known in the art to be critical for minimizing leakage current in the conductive fluid.
Re claim 3:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ and UOZUMI, teaches the system as recited in claim 1, but does not teach the specified length is based on a percentage of the minimal resistance threshold; however, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to try different lengths of return paths. As discussed above, GONTARZ shows length is an attribute that is known in the art to be critical for minimizing leakage current in the conductive fluid.
Re claim 5:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ and UOZUMI, teaches the system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second fluid return lines merge prior to connection with the heat exchanger, wherein the specified length corresponds to a length measured from the connector along the first and second fluid return lines prior to the merge [0026].
Re claims 9-11:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the cooling system as recited in claim 8, but does not teach a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of the conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid; wherein the feedback and control component includes an ion filter to modify resistive properties of the conductive fluid.
UOZUMI teaches a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of a conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid, wherein the feedback and control component measures leakage current and includes an ion filter to modify resistive properties of the conductive fluid (i.e., conductivity sensor 8 may comprise a conductivity meter which measures the electrical resistance of the cooling liquid [0040]. Control device 1 controls the flow amount of the cooling liquid through ion removal filter 4 based on the measured conductivity [0041] [0042] [0050] [0082] [0088]. Control device may further be configured to measure leakage current relative to a plurality of ground points to calculate the conductivity of the cooling liquid [0094]).
It would have further been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further incorporate the teachings of UOZUMI in the system of CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, such that the system further included a feedback and control component to determine resistive properties of the conductive fluid and adjust at least one resistive property of the conductive fluid. Such incorporation would be for the purpose of maintaining low conductivity while suppressing generation of leakage current (UOZUMI [0042]).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHOU, US 2019/0291588 in view of GONTARZ, US 2017/0338006 and UOZUMI, US 2002/0164511, as applied in claim 1, and further in view of KURIMOTO et al, US 2003/0194522.
Re claim 4:
CHOU, in view of GONTARZ, teaches the system as recited in claim 1, wherein the conductive fluid corresponds to an ethylene glycol, but does not specify a mixture of ethylene glycol and water.
KURIMOTO teaches a coolant comprising a mixture of water and ethylene glycol [0053].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of KURIMOTO in the system of CHOU, in view of GONTARZ such that the conductive fluid corresponds to an ethylene glycol and water mixture. Specific conductivity of conductive fluid is known to be achieved by mixing water with a proper amount of coolant containing ethylene glycol and a rust inhibitor (KURIMOTO [0053]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
VAUGHAN, US 2018/0304757, teaches an electric vehicle charging system that uses a liquid cooled charging cable, wherein the system includes an ion filter to capture ions in liquid flowing back to a heat exchanger [0020].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA A GUDORF whose telephone number is (571)270-7607. If the Examiner cannot be reached by telephone, she can be reached through the following e-mail address: laura.gudorf@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 6:00-4:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham, can be reached at telephone number (571)272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA A GUDORF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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