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 .
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.
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, 2, 6-12, 14-16, 18, 19, 21, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Youngblood et al. (US 2023/0025019 A1) in view of Warner et al. (US 2006/0081778 A1)
Re. claim 1: Youngblood discloses:
a thermal protection system for a helmet mounted navigation and communication system, comprising: (see para. 0051-0053)
a vision module heat sink (left 222) configured to store heat dissipated from one or more electronic components of a vision module; (see fig. 3-4; para. 0070)
a compute module heat sink (right 222) configured to store heat dissipated from one or more electronic components of a compute module; and (see fig. 3-4; para. 0055-0056)
a compute module heat spreader (middle 222) coupled to the compute module heat sink and an electronic component of the compute module; (see fig. 1-3; para. 0038-0040)
Youngblood fails to disclose:
wherein each of the vision module heat sink and the compute module heat sink comprises a heat sink core at least partially filled with a phase change material.
However, Warner discloses:
a thermal protection system for a helmet mounted navigation and communication system (10), comprising: (see fig. 1; para. 0033-0036)
wherein a module heat sink and the compute module heat sink comprises a heat sink core (28) at least partially filled with a phase change material. (see fig. 2; para. 0036, 0041-0044)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the vision module heat sink and compute module heat sink of Youngblood with a phase change material as taught by Warner. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to cool electronic elements in an extreme thermal environment. (Warner para. 0007, 0041-0044)
Re. claim 2: Youngblood discloses wherein the compute module comprises a compute module housing and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). (see para. 0035)
Re. claim 6: Youngblood discloses wherein the compute module (214) is coupled to a user’s helmet such that it sits under a back brim of the user’s helmet and wraps around a back portion (216) of a user’s head. (see fig. 3; para. 0051)
Re. claim 7: Youngblood fails to disclose:
the vision module comprises a vision module housing and the compute module comprises a compute module housing, one or both of the vision module housing and the compute module housing comprising a reflective coating.
However, Warner discloses:
the vision module (20) comprises a vision module housing and the compute module (50) comprises a compute module housing, one or both of the vision module housing and the compute module housing comprising a reflective coating (36). (see fig. 2; para. 0022-0023, 0036-0038)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a mirror reflective coating taught by Warner to the housing of Youngblood. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to produce a bright clear image for the user of the device. (Warmer para. 0007)
Re. claim 8: Youngblood discloses one or both of a compute module insulation and a vision module insulation (polystyrene). (see para. 0051)
Re. claim 9: Youngblood discloses wherein one or both the compute module insulation and the vision module insulation comprise a foam or foam-like material (polystyrene) having a low thermal conductivity. (see para. 0051)
Re. claims 10 and 11: Youngblood discloses the claimed invention except for the surface of the insulation comprising a plurality of grooves or a smooth surface. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice, absent a statement of criticality, to make the exterior surface of the insulation with either a plurality of grooves or a smooth surface since the applicant has not disclosed that the surface texture solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with either a smooth surface or a plurality of grooves formed therein.
Re. claim 12: Youngblood discloses wherein one or both of the vision module heat sink and the compute module heat sink comprises a heat sink shell comprised of a material having a high operating temperature (polystyrene). (see para. 0051)
Re. claim 14: Warner discloses a gasket configured to create a seal around an edge of the heat sink (28) shell, the gasket configured to seal the phase change material in a volume between the heat sink shell and the heat sink core. (see fig. 2A; para. 0040-0042)
Re. claim 15: Warner discloses the volume of phase change material tuned to an amount of heat dissipating (3100 calories) from the one or more electronic components of the vision module and the one or more electronic components of the compute module, respectively. (see para. 0041-0044)
Re. claim 16: Youngblood discloses wherein the compute module heat sink (right 222) comprises a plurality of fins bonded to the heat spreader, the heat spreader further configured to provide stiffness and support to the one or more electronic components of a compute module (control electronics). (see fig. 3, 4; para. 0054-0057)
Re. claim 18: Youngblood discloses wherein the vision module heat sink (left 222) comprises a mounting feature (228) for one or more components of the vision module. (see fig. 3; para. 0070)
Re. claim 19: Youngblood discloses wherein the mounting feature comprises a mounting boss (224) and a fastener (228). (see fig. 3; para. 0070)
Re. claim 21: Youngblood discloses wherein the heat sink core comprises aluminum. (see para. 0061, 0074)
Re. claim 22: Youngblood discloses a cable housing (housings 226) comprising heat resistant material configured to protect a cable from exterior heat. (see fig. 3; para. 0051)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 13, 17, 20, and 23 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Re. claim 3: the prior art does not disclose “wherein the compute module housing and the PCBA each comprise two larger regions and a smaller region between the two larger regions” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim.
Re. claim 13: the prior art does not disclose “wherein the material is glass filled engineering injection molding resin” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim.
Re. claim 17: the prior art does not disclose “the heat spreader comprises a sealing fastener, wherein removal of the sealing fastener exposes an opening configured for adding the phase change material to an internal volume of the heat sink” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim.
Re. claim 20: the prior art does not disclose “ the mounting feature isolates the vision module heat sink and reduces a thermally conductive physical interface between the one or more electronic components of the vision module and an outside environment” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim.
Re. claim 23: the prior art does not disclose “one or more thermal sensors submerged in the phase change material, the one or more thermal sensors configured to provide data being used to determine a remaining thermal reserve” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Stanley et al. (US 10,712,791) teaches a thermal cooling device for a head wearable electronic device. Fitch (2019/0191589 A1) teaches a phase-change cooling device for head mounted electronics.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM B DRAVININKAS whose telephone number is (571)270-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-6p MT.
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October 30, 2025
/ADAM B DRAVININKAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835