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 Invention I in the reply filed on 5/11/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/11/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 7, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Choutov (US2011/0285312A1).
Choutov discloses the claimed invention as follows (refer to Figs. 1-2F):
Claim 1. A method comprising:
fabricating a rectifier (see Fig. 2F), wherein fabricating the rectifier includes:
fabricating (see steps of Figs. 2A to 2F) a power device area (at 302 and at 304) in a printed circuit board (the various dielectric and conductive layers of Fig. 2F);
fabricating (see steps of Figs. 2A to 2F) a passive component area (at 303) in the PCB;
fabricating an inductor area (together: 307, 308, 310 and 314; see Fig. 2E and [in the PCB, wherein each component of the power device area, the passive component area, and copper windings of the inductor area is entirely embedded within the PCB (see Fig. 2F); and
assembling one or more ferrite blocks (309; see Figs. 2A and 2F; see [0033]) into the PCB.
Claim 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the power device area (304) is located in a center portion of the PCB (see Fig. 2F).
Claim 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a cold plate (316) is attached to a bottom (view Fig. 2F upside-down) copper layer (310) of the PCB.
Claim 15. An apparatus comprising:
a rectifier (structure of 2F), wherein the rectifier includes:
a power device area (at 302; at 304; see if 2F) in a printed circuit board;
a passive component area (at 303) in the PCB;
an inductor area (together: 307, 308, 310 and 314) in the PCB, wherein each component of the power device area, the passive component area, and copper windings of the inductor area is entirely embedded within the PCB (see Fig. 2F); and
one or more ferrite blocks (309; see [0033]) in the PCB.
Claim 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the power device area (304) is located in a center portion of the PCB. See Fig. 2F.
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.
Claim(s) 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choutov.
Choutov discloses the claimed invention, including the power device area (302, Fig. 2F) being located at a side of the PCB, but it is unclear whether the power device is located at a corner portion of the PCB.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to change the location of components, such as moving a power device 302 close to a corner of the PCB while maintaining the same connections between components (i.e., not modifying the circuit), as this still allows the device to perform the same functions.
Claim 2, 3, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choutov in view of Zhou (US2022/0157693A1).
Choutov further discloses the claimed invention as follows (limitations not disclosed are crossed out):
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, wherein fabricating the rectifier further includes fabricating, under (refer to Fig. 2F but turned upside-down) an active power device area (304), a plurality of vias (315) connecting
Claim 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more copper layers of the PCB extend beyond the power device area and the passive component area. See 316 in Fig. 2F.
Claim 16. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a plurality of vias (315) under (see Fig. 2F upside-down) an active power device area connecting
Claim 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more copper layers of the PCB extend beyond the power device area and the passive component area. See 316 in Fig. 2F.
Zhou teaches power device 140 being bonded to a copper substrate 134 (see Fig. 2 and [0042]; see also [0044] for a more detailed description of the bonding between 134 and 140). Thermal vias 101A connect the copper substrate 134 to a copper layer 103 (see Fig. 2 and [0042]), providing paths for thermal conductance between components and layers of the PCB. See [0042].
Taking into consideration the combined teachings of Choutov and Zhou, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to bond IAD component 304 to a copper substrate, such that thermal vias 415 improve thermal conductance from the component to the copper layer 316, thereby improving cooling of the device.
Claim(s) 5 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choutov in view of Zheng (US2019/0363058A1).
Choutov discloses the claimed invention, except for PCB winding inductors radially surrounding the power device area.
The device of Choutov is a buck converter. It is known in the art to manufacture a multiphase interleaved buck circuit, wherein each phase of the multiphase interleaved buck circuit comprises an inductor structure (see three inductor structures in Fig. 2, each comprising a core 32 and corresponding windings within the substrate 31).
Taking into consideration the combined teachings of Choutov and Zheng, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to modify the device of Choutov to include multiple inductor portions, and corresponding power devices, to implement a multiphase buck converter. Regarding the geometric arrangement of components on the substrate, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to arrange the components in any suitable manner, such as with the inductors radially surrounding the power devices, since changing the location of the various components does not affect the functioning of the circuit, as long as all components are still connected according to the intended circuit.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US2008/0315398A1 is a reference disclosing thermal vias (116a) connecting a conductive layer (130) within the PCB to an external conductive layer (112b), for improved thermal dissipation from the component.
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/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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