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
Claims 1-9 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 4/2/26.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 10-14, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding Claim 10; “a control circuit configured to acquire the number of rotations of the pump” is unclear; whereas the assertion reads on more than one plausible claim construction which reads on different inventions since the assertion does not assert how the control circuit acquires the number of rotations of the pump which may be accomplish by hardware, software and/or processors etc to constitute connection between the control circuit and the pump directly or indirectly OR otherwise via electrical connection between the control circuit and a pump speed sensor coupled directly or indirectly etc. Further, line(s) 9-16 asserts “set a first threshold….set a second threshold….determine that the flow path is normal….and determine that the flow path is abnormal” is unclear; whereas it cannot be readily ascertained if and how “a control circuit” in line 6 is deemed to accomplish the same since the control circuit does not necessitate controllers, processor(s), software, data table(s) and/or memory etc to “set” thresholds by initiating or executing base on signals and storing different threshold data, and the asserted features are not structurally configured to calculate or compare signals, data or values etc. so as to “determine” as asserted, and thus the claim does not present sufficient structure so as to achieve all asserted functions; and more than one plausible claim construction is herein deemed to read on the asserted language, as currently presented.
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) 10 and 13, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (Yamabuchi 2006/0113661).
Regarding Claim 10; Yamabuchi, as best understood discloses a cooling device (as constituted by a cooling system defined by Fig. 2 including a heat sink-10 thereof) comprising: a cooler (as constituted by a radiator-120); a flow path coupled to the cooler (as depicted by Fig. 2—whereas pipe 100 includes an inner flow path which fluidly couples to the cooler-120); a pump configured to send a refrigerant to the flow path (as depicted by Fig. 2—whereas a pump-110 fluidly couples water to the flow path of the pipe); a sensor configured to detect an environmental temperature (whereas a temperature sensor-130 is configured to detect an environmental temperature if cooling water exceeds a predetermined maximum temperature—as set forth by para.’s 0023 and 0061; and wherein para. 0058 further discloses the maximum temperature is atleast in part regulated by a temperature of outer air; NOTE: environmental temperature is constituted by the outer air temperature and/or via the temperature of the pipe-100 which is external to the heat sink); and a control circuit configured to acquire the number of rotations of the pump (a control circuit--as constituted by a controller-190, CPU-160, and/or OM which are electrically coupled and controls a pump motor and receives a pump rotation speed—as set forth by the abstract and para.’s 0024-0026), acquire the environmental temperature based on an output signal of the sensor (as constituted by para.’s 0039, 0058, and 0074) set a first threshold value as a threshold value of the number of rotations (as constituted by a predetermined rotation speed transmitted to the controller when judgment threshold values are judged in the CPU—as set forth by para. 0026) when the environmental temperature is lower than a first temperature (whereas the flow path is constituted as normal in atleast one instance, as set forth by para. 0050 which discloses an estimated temperature (which in-part includes the outer air temp-para. 0058) as lower than a boiling point of the cooling water, and the rotation speed of the pump motor is decreased), set a second threshold value higher than the first threshold value as the threshold value when the environmental temperature is higher than the first temperature, determine that the flow path is normal when the number of rotations is less than the threshold value, and determine that the flow path is abnormal when the number of rotations is more than the threshold value (whereas the flow path is constituted as normal in atleast one instance, as set forth by para. 0051 which discloses an estimated temperature higher than a boiling point of the cooling water, and the rotation speed of the pump motor is increased; wherein para. 0071 otherwise discloses melting, erosion and deterioration of a structural member due to boiling of the cooling water in which boiling or the erosion may respectively constitute a flow path abnormality).
Regarding Claim 13; Yamabuchi discloses the cooling device according to claim 10, wherein the control circuit is further configured to generate control information including a determination result of the flow path (as set forth by para.’s 0073-0074).
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) 12, 14, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (Yamabuchi 2006/0113661).
Regarding Claim 12; Yamabuchi discloses the cooling device according to claim 10, except, explicitly wherein the control circuit is further configured to output a notification of a determination result of the flow path using at least one of a light or image. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the control circuit to output a determination result notification as a maintenance service light or symbol since it was known in the art that the service light or image will displayed on a dashboard or instrument panel thereof to notify a driver or user of that a motor as a load of an electric vehicle—as suggested by para. 0007 that maintenance is needed. Going further, it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987).
Regarding Claim 14; Yamabuchi discloses the cooling device according to claim 10, except, explicitly wherein the cooler is configured to cool an optical device. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the power semiconductors-70 as power semiconductor optical amplifiers since it was known in the art that a motor as a load of an electric vehicle—as suggested by para. 0007 will be efficiently powered with semiconductor optical amplifiers at low cost with low power consumption.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is 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.
Regarding Claim 11; the cooling device according to claim 10, wherein the control circuit is further configured to set a third threshold value higher than the second threshold value as the threshold value when the environmental temperature is equal to or higher than a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature, wherein setting the second threshold value is to set the second threshold value as the threshold value when the environmental temperature is equal to or higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20200200409 A1
Costakis; John et al.
Fig. 8
US 9667925 B2
Nagatsu; Takuro et al.
Fig.’s 1-2
US 20140300871 A1
Yanagisawa; Yoshiyuki et al.
Fig.’s 1-4
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-9094. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5p.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jayprakash 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/COURTNEY L SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights