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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “said power component is embedded into the thermal conductive member” found in at least claim 8 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-3 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (US 2018/0338386 A1).
Re. claim 1: Chen discloses a power supply unit with improved space utilization and heat dissipation including:
a heat-dissipation case (11, 12); (see fig. 4; para. 0026)
a circuit board (21), disposed in the heat-dissipation case and having a first deployment surface (top surface) and a second deployment surface (bottom surface) located in opposite positions; and (see fig. 4; para. 0032-0034)
a plurality of electronic components (25, 23) including at least one power component (23) and other electronic components (25), wherein the other electronic components (plural 25) are disposed on the first deployment surface of the circuit board, and the at least one power component (23) is disposed on the second deployment surface of the circuit board and connected (thermally connected) to an inner surface of the heat-dissipation case. (see fig. 4; para. 0026-0032)
Re. claim 2: Chen discloses wherein each said power component (23) is connected to the inner surface of the heat-dissipation case (11, 12) through a thermal conductive member (24). (see fig. 3-4; para. 0032)
Re. claim 3: Chen discloses wherein the thermal conductive member (24) is a layer of thermal interface material or a metal block. (see fig. 3, 4; para. 0032)
Re. claim 9: Chen discloses wherein an outer surface of the heat-dissipation case (11, 12) is provided with an outer heat dissipation member (30) corresponding to a location of the at least one power component (23). (see fig. 6; para. 0030-0034)
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) 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Matsuda et al. (US 2016/0270261 A1).
Re. claim 4: Chen fails to disclose
wherein the thermal conductive member is a composite structure formed by stacking at least two of heat-conducting pads, metal blocks, metal sheets and cooling fins.
However, Matsuda discloses:
wherein the thermal conductive member (112) is a composite structure formed by stacking at least two of heat-conducting pads (131, 132, 133), metal blocks, metal sheets and cooling fins. (see fig. 4, 5; para. 0109, 0119-0127)
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 thermal conductive member of Chen with a composite structure taught by Matsuda. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to support the power component and to thermally couple the power component to the heat-dissipation case. (Matsuda para. 0119-0121)
Re. claims 5-7: Chen fails to disclose:
wherein a connection interface between each said power component and the thermal conductive member is a concave-convex surface;
wherein a connection interface between the thermal conductive member and the inner surface of the heat-dissipation case is a concave-convex surface;
However, Matsuda discloses:
wherein a connection interface between each said power component (104) and the thermal conductive member (131c) is a concave-convex surface;
wherein a connection interface between the thermal conductive member (131c) and the inner surface of the heat-dissipation case (131e) is a concave-convex surface, (see fig. 4; para. 0113-0124)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the connection interface between the power component and thermal conductive member a concave-convex surface and to make the connection interface between the thermal conductive member and the heat-dissipation case a concave-convex surface as taught by Matsuda. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to make physical contact between the thermal conductive member and the power component and the heat-dissipation case more robust to transmit heat. (Matsuda para. 0113-0114)
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Sakamoto et al. (US 2009/0086431 A1).
Re. claim 8: Chen fails to disclose:
wherein each said power component is embedded into the thermal conductive member.
However, Sakamoto discloses:
wherein each said power component (22, 24) is embedded into the thermal conductive member (14, 16). (see fig. 1, para. 0053-0054)
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 power component of Chen to be embedded into the thermal conductive material taught by Sakamoto. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to provide moisture and vibration resistance to the power components. (Sakamoto para. 0053)
Claim(s) 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Ichihashi et al. (US 2021/0076535 A1).
Re. claim 10: Chen fails to disclose:
wherein the heat-dissipation case has a first end and a second end, the first end is provided with a ventilator, and the second end has a plurality of holes.
However, Ichihashi discloses:
wherein the heat-dissipation case (1) has a first end (right end) and a second end (left end), the first end is provided with a ventilator (5), and the second end has a plurality of holes (3cl, 3dl). (see fig. 1, 3; para. 0054-0060)
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 fan and air-flow holes to the case of Chen as taught by Ichihashi. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to cool the heat generating components within the heat-dissipation case in order to maintain efficiency. (Ichihashi para. 0067)
Re. claim 11: Chen fails to disclose:
wherein an outer surface of the heat-dissipation case has a plurality of channels which pass through a location corresponding to the at least one power component.
However, Ichihashi discloses:
wherein an outer surface of the heat-dissipation case (1) has a plurality of channels (3cl, 3dl) which pass through a location (adjacent sides) corresponding to the at least one power component (45). (see fig. 1, 3; para. 0054-0058, 0067)
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 fan and air-flow holes to the case of Chen as taught by Ichihashi. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to cool the heat generating components within the heat-dissipation case in order to maintain efficiency. (Ichihashi para. 0067)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Jung et al. (US 2021/0161039 A1) discloses a heat radiation structure for an electronic device comprising a component structure. Hughes et al. (US 2013/0208422 A1) discloses an electronic cooling enclosure that dissipates heat through a heat dissipation case.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH (JP) N GANDHI can be reached at 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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November 29, 2025
/ADAM B DRAVININKAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835