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 .
Acknowledgement is made of application #18/290,653 filed on 01/19/2024 in which claims 1-24 have been presented for prosecution in a first action on the merits.
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of preliminary amendment filed on 01/19/2024 in which claims 1-16,21-24 are currently amended while claims have 17-20 have been canceled.
By this amendment, claims 1-16,21-24 are now pending in the application for prosecution in a first action.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/19/2024, 09/19/2024, 03/04/2025, 05/19/2025, 08/14/2025, 01/09/2026 and 06/18/2026 have been considered and put on record. Initialed copies are attached herewith.
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) 1,7,16,21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 1: Jin at least discloses and shows in Figs. 1-2 : A cable with cooling function(see Figs. 1-2), comprising a semiconductor cooling module (16), a conductor (2) and a control module (18)… the semiconductor cooling module (16) is electrically connected to the control module (18), and the control module (18) is configured to control an electrical signal supplied to the semiconductor cooling module(16)(note-when the temperature sensor 14 detects that the temperature inside the gun body casing 1 has risen significantly, the temperature sensor 14 sends a signal to the cooling device 16, and the cooling device 16 starts the cooling process; see page 3, lines 43-54).
Jin does not expressly disclose the limitations:
a cooling end of the semiconductor cooling module is disposed on at least one side of the conductor to absorb heat dissipated from the conductor
However Li teaches and shows in Fig. 1, factual evidence of, a cooling apparatus having a cooling end (42) of a semiconductor cooling module (4) which is disposed on one side close to a power supply module and is used for absorbing heat dissipated from the power supply module. Li further discloses a control module (7) is electrically connected to the semiconductor cooling module (4) and controls an electrical signal supplied to the semiconductor cooling module(4).
Jin and Li are charging cooling device analogous art. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Jin with LI in having, a cooling end of the semiconductor cooling module is disposed on at least one side of the conductor to absorb heat dissipated from the conductor, the semiconductor cooling module is electrically connected to the control module, and the control module is configured to control an electrical signal supplied to the semiconductor cooling module, as recited, for the advantages of providing, a charging device cooling device based on the Peltier effect, which is convenient to install, does not require manual operation, ensures cooling of the charging device under high temperature environment, can adjust the cooling temperature, and prolong the service life of the device, as per the teachings of Li(page 1, lines 28-30).
Accordingly claim 1 would have been obvious.
Regarding claim 7, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Jin further discloses, further comprising: at least one temperature detector (14) disposed on the conductor (2) and configured to detect a temperature value of the conductor (2);the control module (18) is electrically connected to the temperature detector (14) and configured to adjust the electrical signal supplied to the semiconductor cooling module (16) according to the temperature value detected by the temperature detector (14)(see page 3, lines 43-54)(note-the circuit elements are necessarily all connected).
Regarding claim 16, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Jin discloses, further comprising an insulative protective layer(5 rubber layer (5) and waterproof layer (15) and insulating layer (20)) disposed between the conductor(2) and the semiconductor cooling module(16) or disposed on an outer side of the semiconductor cooling module(16)(see Figs. 1-2)(note- the charging cable 2 is surrounded by a waterproof layer 15 in order to avoid short circuit of the charging cable 2; see page 3, lines 41-48).
Regarding claim 21, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Jin discloses, further comprising a heat dissipation device(heat sink 9) disposed on an outer side of the semiconductor cooling module(16)(the cooling device 16 starts the cooling process, and the heat passes through the heat sink 9; see page 3, lines 41-48).
Regarding claim 22, Jin in view of Li discloses a current transmission device (construed as combo charging gun body and charging module 2; see Figs. 1-2) comprising the cable with cooling function according to claim 1, a charging module (2) and a battery module (inherently included in the vehicle being charged by the charging gun body 1); two ends of the cable (part of the charging cable 2) with cooling function are respectively connected to the charging module (2) and the battery module (inherently included in the vehicle being charged by the charging gun body 1) to conduct electric energy obtained by the charging module (2) to the battery module (battery of the vehicle being charged).
Regarding claim 23, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Jin discloses, wherein the control module(18) is connected to the charging module (2) which supplies electric energy to the control module(18)(see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 24, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Jin discloses an electric vehicle(new energy vehicle is an electric vehicle because it is being charged with plug 22 and charging gun (2) with AC current), comprising the current transmission device(combination of 1 and 2) according to claim 22.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation) and in further view of Wu et al., (Wu) CN 108281343 A(Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 3, Li in view of Jin discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. However, the combination of Jin and Li does not expressly teach the limitations of:
wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules which are connected to the control module in series.
Wu teaches factual evidence of, a plurality of serially-connected semiconductor cooling modules(102,102a,102b)(see Figs. 1-2) evenly distributed in the electrostatic chuck(101), wherein the semiconductor cooling modules are connected to the main control unit (103) and are used for performing overall cooling on the electrostatic chuck(101)(page 1, lines 31-34).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Li with the teachings of Wu by having, wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules which are connected to the control module in series, as recited for the advantages of increasing the rate of refrigeration and the uniformity of the electrostatic chuck temperature, as per the teachings of Wu(page 1, lines 32-34).
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation) and in further view of Peng et al., (Peng) CN 110916262 A (Machine Translation)
Regarding claim 3, Li in view of Jin discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. However, the combination of Jin and Li does not expressly teach the limitations of:
wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules which are connected to the control module in series
Regarding claim 2, Li in view of Jin discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. However, the combination of Jin and Li does not expressly teach the limitations of:
wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules which are connected to the control module in parallel.
However, Peng teaches factual evidence and shows in Figs. 1-2: wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules (4) which are connected to the control module in parallel(each semiconductor refrigeration module 4 and can be connected in series, parallel or series and parallel combination can be; see page 5, lines 15-29 of Machine Translation).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Li by having, wherein there are a plurality of semiconductor cooling modules which are connected to the control module in parallel or series, as disclosed by modified Peng in order to improve the cooling efficiency of the overall system and thereby allowing high charging currents. Furthermore, when a device or technology is available in one field of endeavor, design incentives and other market forces can prompt variations of it, either in the same field or in a different one, so that if a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, the variation is likely obvious.
Accordingly claims 2-3 would have been obvious.
Regarding claim 4, Jin in view of Li and Peng discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 2. Li further discloses, wherein the plurality of semiconductor cooling modules(4) are disposed on at least one side(cooling end 42) of the conductor at a predetermined interval distance (see Fig. 1).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation).
Regarding claim 5, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1 but fails to expressly disclose the limitations of:
Wherein a ratio of a total area of the cooling end in the semiconductor cooling module to an area of the conductor ranges from 3% to 95%.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a ratio of a total area of the cooling end in the semiconductor cooling module to an area of the conductor ranges from 3% to 95%, as recited, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation) and in further view of Zies et al., (Zies) US 20190016225 A1.
Regarding claim 6, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1 but fails to expressly disclose the limitations of:
Further comprising a rectifier module electrically connected between the control module and the conductor and configured to rectify electric energy obtained from the conductor.
Zies teaches factual evidence and shows in Figs. 2-3,13 and 15, further comprising a rectifier module(34)(see [0086],[0097]) electrically connected between the control module(83) and the conductor(charging cable 82) and configured to rectify electric energy obtained from the conductor(82).
Jin, Li and Zies are battery electric vehicle charging analogous art. Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Zies and Jin as modified by Li to have the cable with cooling function further comprising a rectifier module electrically connected between the control module and the conductor and configured to rectify electric energy obtained from the conductor, as recited, for the advantages of permitting an increase in input voltage, a higher efficiency level, smaller harmonics(clean energy) and a better capacity factor, as per the teaching s of Zies ([0086]).
Accordingly claim 6 would have been obvious.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207474759 U(Machine Translation) to Jin et al., (Jin) in view of Li et al., (Li) CN 207652897 U(Machine Translation) and in further view of Maeda et al., (Maeda) US 2013/0094269 A1
Regarding claim 13, Jin in view of Li discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1 but fails to expressly discloses the limitations of:
Wherein wires connecting the semiconductor cooling module to the control module are disposed in a low-voltage harness.
Maeda teaches(see [0087]) factual evidence of, wherein wires connecting the semiconductor cooling module to the control module are disposed in a low-voltage harness(note- The DC power of a low voltage which operates the control circuit in the power conversion apparatus 200 is supplied from the connector 21. The second opening 204 is provided with the DC connector 138 for transferring DC power with respect to the battery 136, and a negative side power line 510 and a positive side power line 512 configured to supply high-voltage DC power to the interior of the power conversion apparatus 200 are electrically connected to the DC connector 138).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to combine Jin as modified by Li and Maeda by having, wherein wires connecting the semiconductor cooling module to the control module are disposed in a low-voltage harness, as recited, for the advantages of isolating the high-voltage connector from the low-voltage harness, as taught by Maeda([0087]).
Accordingly claim 13 would have been obvious.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-12, 14 and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Citation of Prior art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
USPAT 9,701,210 B2 to Woo et al., (Woo) discloses a cooling of charging cable.
USPAT 7,272,002 B2 to Drapeau discloses auxiliary cooling methods and systems for electrical device housings.
USPAT 6,034,872 to Chrysler et al., (Chrysler) discloses cooling computer systems.
USPAT 4,012,770 to Pravda et al., (Pravda) discloses cooling a heat-producing electrical or electronic component.
US 2020/0350098 A1 to Neumann discloses a cable assembly.
US 2020/0317071 A1 to Hakenberg discloses a charging cable system with cooling.
US 2018/0191513 A1 to Hess et al., (Hess) discloses an active cooling arrangement for power over ethernet arrangements.
USPAT 11,220,188 B2 to Heyne et al., (Heyne) discloses a motor vehicle charging cable.
JP 4599584 B2 to Miyajima Kazuhisa et al., (Kazuhisa) discloses the general state of the art regarding a power cable cooling apparatus for cooling a power cable.
Conclusion
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M'BAYE DIAO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/M BAYE DIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 August 4, 2026
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