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Claims 7 and 14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 02-Mar-2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 17 is 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 17, the phrase “whereby the continuous airflow path remains define” is indefinite because it is unclear what is meant by “remain[ing] define.”
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.
Claims 1-6, 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dinh et al. (US 2021/0179036).
Regarding claim 1, Dinh discloses a deployable cooling system for rear brakes of a vehicle (see Abstract, FIGS. 9-11), comprising: a sealing flap (101) adapted for flush mounting in a vehicle bottom surface (see e.g. FIG. 10, sealing flap (101) shown in solid bold line), said sealing flap being transitionable between a non-deployed disposition (see e.g. FIG. 11, sealing flap (101) shown in solid bold line) and a deployed disposition (see e.g. FIG. 11, sealing flap (101) shown in dashed line), and a duct member (405) defining a continuous flow path between an inlet end (A) (see Annotated FIG. 11, below) and a distribution outlet (B) (see Annotated FIG. 11, below), said inlet end adapted to transition with the sealing flap (see FIG. 11) and wherein the distribution outlet is positioned in proximity to a rear brake assembly (410) of the vehicle (see FIGS. 9, 10, showing flap (101) in proximity to rear wheel (210)).
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Regarding claim 2, Dinh discloses that the duct member comprises an inlet portion (C) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above) and a distribution portion (D) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above), said inlet portion including the inlet end (A) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above) and a transition end (E) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above) and the distribution portion including a receiving end (F) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above) and the distribution outlet (B) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above), the inlet portion and the distribution portion being movably coupled at the transition end and the receiving end (see FIG. 11, at point (125)).
Regarding claim 3, Dinh discloses that the transition end and the receiving end are coupled with a pivot assembly (125) (see FIG. 11).
Regarding claim 4, Dinh discloses that the sealing flap resides in a generally planar, flush orientation with the vehicle bottom surface in the non-deployed disposition (see e.g. FIG. 11, sealing flap (101) shown in solid bold line).
Regarding claim 5, Dinh discloses that a front edge of the sealing flap is directed downward from the vehicle bottom surface to expose an inlet cross- section at the inlet end of the duct member to cooling airflow below the vehicle bottom surface (see e.g. FIG. 9; sealing flap (101) shown in deployed position).
Regarding claim 6, Dinh discloses an actuator (302) coupled between the vehicle bottom surface and the sealing flap that directs the front edge downward from the vehicle bottom surface (see ¶ 00040).
Regarding claim 8, Dinh discloses that the sealing flap is integrated into the duct member such that a bottom duct surface of the duct member proximate the inlet end defines the sealing flap (see FIGS. 9, 11).
Regarding claim 9, Dinh discloses a pair of deployable cooling systems (101) according to claim 1 (see FIG. 10), each deployable cooling system positioned proximate a corresponding rear wheel well of the Electric Vehicle (see FIG. 10).
Regarding claim 10, Dinh discloses a method for cooling rear brakes of a vehicle (see ¶¶ 0047-0051), comprising: positioning a deployable cooling system (101) in proximity to each rear wheel well (210) of the vehicle (see FIG. 10); and deploying the deployable cooling system into airflow beneath the vehicle to direct the airflow onto a rear brake assembly located at each rear wheel well (see FIG. 11; see also ¶ 0047).
Regarding claim 11, Dinh discloses positioning the deployable cooling system comprises: mounting a sealing flap (101) of the deployable cooling system in a flush, planar arrangement in a bottom surface of the vehicle (see e.g. FIG. 11, sealing flap (101) shown in solid bold line).
Regarding claim 12, Dinh discloses that deploying the deployable cooling system comprises: directing a front edge of the sealing flap downward from the bottom surface and into the airflow beneath the vehicle (see FIGS. 9, 11).
Regarding claim 13, Dinh discloses directing the front edge of the sealing flap downward further comprises: selecting a vehicle mode defining one or more parameters in which the front edge of the sealing flap is directed downward (see ¶ 0047), said one or more parameters being monitored by a vehicle processor (see ¶ 0047, “system controller”); and providing an input from the vehicle processor to an actuator (302) linking the sealing flap and the bottom surface such that the actuator directs the front edge downward (see e.g. ¶¶ 0039, 0047).
Regarding claim 16, Dinh discloses that the sealing flap is operably connected to a duct member (405), whereby directing the front edge of the sealing flap downward further comprises: exposing an inlet end (A) (see Annotated FIG. 11, below) of the duct member to the airflow whereby the airflow is directed through a continuous airflow path of the duct member to a distribution end (B) (see Annotated FIG. 11, below) of the duct member, whereby said airflow is directed out a distribution outlet (D) and onto the rear brake assembly (410) (see Annotated FIG. 11, below).
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Regarding claim 17, Dinh discloses that the duct member comprises an inlet portion (C) and a distribution portion (D) (see Annotated FIG. 11, above), whereby exposing the inlet end (A) of the duct member further comprises: rotating the inlet portion about a pivot assembly (125) connecting the inlet portion to the distribution portion (see FIG. 11), whereby the continuous airflow path remains define (see FIG. 11).
Regarding claim 18, Dinh discloses integrating the sealing flap into the duct member such that the sealing flap defines a bottom duct surface at the inlet end (see FIG. 11).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dinh et al. (US 2021/0179036) in view of Shi et al. (US 2017/0299006).
Regarding claim 15, Dinh does not disclose that directing the front edge of the sealing flap downward occurs only during braking events.
Shi teaches a method for cooling brakes of a vehicle (see Abstract, FIGS. 6, 7), comprising: positioning a deployable cooling system (82) in proximity to a wheel well (32A) of the vehicle (see FIGS. 6, 7); and deploying the deployable cooling system into airflow (25-1) beneath the vehicle to direct the airflow onto a brake assembly located at each wheel well (see FIG. 7), wherein directing the front edge of the sealing flap downward occurs only during braking events (see ¶ 0044, “the brake sensor can be configured as a state or position sensor 88-1 configured to detect actuation of the brake pedal 76 as the specifically predetermined operating condition of the brake subassembly 62;” ¶ 0045, “the controller 86 is additionally configured to regulate the mechanism(s) 84 to thereby selectively deploy and retract the deflectors 82 in response to the detected operating condition of the brake subassemblies 62”).
It would have been obvious to configure Dinh to deploy the front edge of the sealing flap only during braking events to ensure that the brakes are adequately cooled during heat generating braking events, while also eliminating scenarios in which the sealing flap is unnecessarily deployed which increases drag and reduces fuel efficiency.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J LANE whose telephone number is (571)270-5988. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/NICHOLAS J LANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3616
March 12, 2026