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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/23/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 3/23/2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-10 under 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of amendments made to claims 1 and 9 and new claims 11-13. Claims 2-8 and 10 are included due to their dependency on claims 1 and 9.
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.
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.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holbrook (US 7798833 B2) in view of Trescher et. al (DE 102007014351 A1) hereafter referred to as Trescher and further in view of Flamm et. al (WO 2020126316 A1) hereafter referred to as Flamm and further in view of Wright et. al (US 20200127396 A1) hereafter referred to as Wright.
Regarding claim 1, Holbrook teaches a power electronic device, comprising: a first power electronics component (38 power module assembly); a second power electronics component (30 vehicle capacitor assembly); and at least one busbar (34 busbar assembly) that connects the first power electronics component and the second power electronics component to each other (Fig 2), wherein the at least one busbar includes a first contact tab (58 input contact) arranged on the first power electronic component (Fig 2) and a second contact tab (106 connecting tab) arranged on the second power electronic component (Fig 2), wherein a first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab includes a contact (58 input contact), and wherein an end region of the contact presses against a second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab and forms a line contact between the first contact tab and the second contact tab (col 6 line 58- col 7 line 3).
Holbrook fails to teach a busbar wherein the first one of the contact tab includes a spring contact, wherein the end region of the spring contact the third portion and the fourth portion of the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab is curved convex with respect to the second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab. However, Trescher teaches a busbar (2 busbar) wherein a first one of the contact tab (Fig 1) includes a spring contact (1 spring bow) the third portion and the fourth portion of the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (Fig 1), wherein the end region of the spring contact is curved convex with respect to the second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (Fig 1). Holbrook and Trescher are both in the industry of busbar contacts between a busbar and contact point, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the contact of Holbrook to include the spring and contact pin structure in order to have a resilient contact surface that minimizes adverse electrical effects (Trescher pg. 3 ¶5)
Holbrook in view of Trescher fail to teach the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab includes a first portion arranged on the first power electronic component, a second portion that extends from the first portion away from the first power electronic component, a third portion that extends from the second portion towards the second power electronic component, and a fourth portion that extends from the third portion away from the second power electronic component. However, Flamm teaches wherein the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) includes a first portion arranged on the first power electronic component (34 busbar, See annotated Fig 4), a second portion that extends from the first portion away from the first power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4), a third portion that extends from the second portion towards the second power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4), and a fourth portion that extends from the third portion away from the second power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4).
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Holbrook. Trescher, and Flamm are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook and Trescher to include the contact tab structure in order to allow for multiple terminal tabs to overlap and be fastened with a single connector (col 2 lines 14-26)
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm fail to teach a curved portion of an end region of the spring contact. However, Wright teaches a curved end region (421 contact lug) of a spring contact (42 contact arm). Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, and Wright are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Flamm to include the curved contact end in order to minimize damage of the circuit board when the contact is pressed against it (Wright ¶47).
Regarding claim 2, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teaches the power electronic device according to claim 1, further Trescher teaches the end region of the spring contact (1 spring bow) has a shape of a circular line (Fig 1).
Regarding claim 3, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 1, the first contact tab (58 input contact tab) and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) are connected to each other permanently along the line contact (col 8 line 22-27).
Regarding claim 4, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 3, the first contact tab (58 input contact tab) and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) include a weld connection along the line contact (col 5 lines 61-63).
Regarding claim 5, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the first contact tab (58 input contact tab) and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) include a solder connection along the line contact (col 5 lines 61-63).
Regarding claim 7, Holbrook in view of Trescher and Flamm teach and Wright the power electronic device according to claim 1.
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach an electronic device comprising a commutation cell of an inverter in the combination of claim 1. However, Flamm teaches an electronic device comprising a commutation cell of an inverter (page 2 line 16-20) Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, and Wright are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Wright to include the commutation cell in order to avoid damage to components during voltage peaks (pg. 2 lines 16-20)
Regarding claim 9, Holbrook teaches a method for connecting a first electronic component (38 power module assembly) and a second electronic component (30 vehicle capacitor assembly) across at least one busbar (34 busbar assembly, Fig 2), wherein the first electronic component and the second electronic component each include a component body (34 busbar assembly) and at least one contact tab (106 connecting tab) protruding from the component body (Fig 2), and wherein a first contact tab (106 connecting tab) protruding from the component body of the first electronic component (38 power module assembly, Fig 2) and a second contact tab (58 input contact) protruding from the component body of the second electronic component (30 vehicle capacitor assembly, Fig 2) make contact with each other when the first electronic component and the second electronic component are connected (Fig 2), and, a first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab includes a contact (58 input contact) and, includes the third portion and the fourth portion of the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab, and wherein the curved portion of the end region of the spring contact presses against the second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (Fig 2), the method comprising: placing the first electronic component and the second electronic component in an end position (Fig 2), in which the first contact tab and the second contact tab are touching (Fig 2) and a line contact is formed between the first contact tab and the second contact tab (Fig 2), and then connecting the first contact tab and the second contact tab to each other permanently along the line contact (connected via welding or soldering col 5 lines 61-63).
Holbrook fails to teach a busbar wherein the first contact tab includes a spring contact, and an end region of the spring contact is curved convex with respect to a second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab. However, Trescher teaches a busbar (2 busbar) wherein a first one of the contact tab (Fig 1) includes a spring contact (1 spring bow), and an end region of the spring contact is curved convex with respect to a second one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (Fig 1). Holbrook and Trescher are both in the industry of busbar contacts between a busbar and contact point, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the contact of Holbrook to include the spring and contact pin structure in order to have a resilient contact surface that minimizes adverse electrical effects (Trescher pg. 3 ¶5)
Holbrook in view of Trescher fail to teach the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab includes a first portion arranged on the first power electronic component, a second portion that extends from the first portion away from the first power electronic component, a third portion that extends from the second portion towards the second power electronic component, and a fourth portion that extends from the third portion away from the second power electronic component. However, Flamm teaches wherein the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab includes a first portion arranged on the first power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4), a second portion that extends from the first portion away from the first power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4), a third portion that extends from the second portion towards the second power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4), and a fourth portion that extends from the third portion away from the second power electronic component (See annotated Fig 4).
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Holbrook. Trescher, and Flamm are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook and Trescher to include the contact tab structure in order to allow for multiple terminal tabs to overlap and be fastened with a single connector (col 2 lines 14-26)
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm fail to teach a curved portion of an end region of the spring contact. However, Wright teaches a curved end region (421 contact lug) of a spring contact (42 contact arm). Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, and Wright are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Flamm to include the curved contact end in order to minimize damage of the circuit board when the contact is pressed against it (Wright ¶47).
Regarding claim 10, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach method according to claim 9, wherein the connecting includes welding the first contact tab (58 input contact) and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) to each other along the line contact (connected via welding or soldering col 5 lines 61-63).
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach the welding id done using a laser beam. However, Trescher teaches the welding id done using a laser beam (pg. 3 ¶2). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to choose laser welding instead of the ultra-sonic welding taught by Holbrook in order to weld components within a certain tolerance range without the installation of mechanical components like welding wire or electrodes (pg. 3 ¶2)
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright, and still further in view of Yuasa et. at (DE 10338297 A1) hereafter referred to as Yuasa.
Regarding claim 6, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the first contact tab (58 input contact tab) and the second contact tab (106 connecting tab) include a connection along the line contact (Fig 3)
Holbrook in view of Thresher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach the busbar connection is made with an electrically conductive glue. However, Yuasa teaches the busbar connection is made with an electrically conductive glue (pg. 1 ¶1). Holbrook , Trescher, Flamm, Wright, and Yuasa are all in the industry of busbar contacts between a busbar and contact point, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the contact of Holbrook and Wright to include the electrically conductive glue in order to have a resilient contact surface that still allows for electrical conductivity and protects against electrical erosion (Yuasa pg. 4 ¶1)
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Hauenstein (US 20080018290 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the first power electronic component (38 power module assembly) includes a power box (col 4 line 32) and the second power electronic component (30 vehicle capacitor assembly) includes at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (33 individual capacitors).
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach a power box with three half-bridges. However, Hauenstein teaches teach a power box with three half-bridges. Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, Wright, and Hauenstein are all in the in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Flamm to include the three half-bridges instead of the two taught by Holbrook in order to allow for the option to have more mechanical load by the power control unit (¶68)
Claims 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Endo (JP 2012010426 A).
Regarding claim 11, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach method according to claim 10, wherein there is a curved portion 9421 contact lug) of the end region of the spring contact (42 contact arm).
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach a notch is formed in the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab in a region of the line contact of the end region of the spring contact, and wherein the welding is performed during a laser welding process based on the notch formed in the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab.
However, Endo teaches a notch is formed in the first one of the first contact tab (22 conductive plate) and the second contact tab (32 conductive plate) in a region of the line contact on the end region of the spring contact (Fig 1)., and wherein the welding is performed during a laser welding process based on the notch formed in the first one of the first contact tab and the second contact tab (pg 3 ¶6-7). Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, Wright, and Endo are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Flamm to include the notch at the end of the contact tab in order to In order to facilitate close joining of the busbar and contact tabs (Endo pg ¶3)
Regarding claim 12, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm, Wright, and Endo teach method according to claim 11, wherein the notch formed in the first one of the first contact tab (22 conductive plate) and the second contact tab (32 conductive plate) is recognized based on an image of the notch in the laser welding process (Fig 1, pg 3¶6-7).
Regarding claim 13, Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright teach the power electronic device according to claim 1, wherein there is a curved portion 9421 contact lug) of the end region of the spring contact (42 contact arm).
Holbrook in view of Trescher and further in view of Flamm and Wright fail to teach a notch (23 comb-like notch) is formed in the first one of the first contact tab (22 conductive plate) and the second contact tab (32 conductive plate) in a region of the line contact on the end region of the spring contact (Fig 1). Holbrook. Trescher, Flamm, Wright, and Endo are all in the industry of power devices with busbars, therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Holbrook, Trescher, and Flamm to include the notch at the end of the contact tab in order to In order to facilitate close joining of the busbar and contact tabs (Endo pg ¶3)
Conclusion
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/E.S./ Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/HUNG S. BUI/ Acting Patent Examiner, 2841/2800
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