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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-5 and 7-10 as to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2017/0158042 to Miyazawa in view of US 2022/0194452 to Pavlicek, as well as with respect to claim 6 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2022/0087062 to Kuriyagawa in view of US 2015/0008574 to Gohara have been considered but are moot because the amendments to the claims requires new grounds of rejection.
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) 6 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2005/0083652 to Jairazbhoy et al. (hereafter Jair).
Jair discloses;
As to claim 6, a method of producing a power converter comprising a power module (50), the method comprising: preparing an assembly base of the power module by integrally molding a flow path defining member (64) including a plastic material ([0020] “Alternatively, the dielectric substrate 64 can be plastic”) into a metal plate (54) to be thermally connected with the power module by insert molding ([0020] “Alternatively, the dielectric substrate 64 can be plastic allowing the heat spreaders to be insert molded at the desired locations”) wherein the metal plate is used as an insert and a plastic material is injected into a mold to form the flow path defining member integrated with the metal plate (this constitutes the industry definition of insert molding, which shall also be applied to the reference use of the term), the flow path defining member defining a coolant flow path for a coolant (66) together with the metal plate, and after preparing the assembly base, assembling the power module into the assembly base ([0020] “Alternatively, the dielectric substrate 64 can be plastic allowing the heat spreaders to be insert molded at the desired locations, with one surface exposed for die attach, and another surface exposed to the coolant path.” Thus, the die is attached after formation of the assembly base.)
As to claim 11, the method according to claim 6, wherein the flow path defining member is integrated into the metal plate by holding an end of an outer edge of the metal plate (see e.g. Fig. 2, 64 holds the two outer ends of 54).
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) 1-5, 7-10, 12-13, and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0014096 to Pavlicek et al. in view of US 2012/0153718 to Rawlinson et al.
As to claim 1, Pavlicek discloses a power converter (Fig. 3), the power converter comprising; a power module (101) comprising at least one power semiconductor element (112); a metal plate (108) being in thermal connection with the at least one power semiconductor element (112), and a flow path defining member (121) including a plastic material ([0045] “the cooling assembly 105 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is made from a plastic material”) and defining a coolant flow path (the space where fluid 116 travels) together with the metal plate, wherein a coolant flows through the coolant flow path, the flow path defining member is integrated into the metal plate ([0046] “This is achieved by metal insert molding, which integrates the metal baseplate 108 firmly into the first housing part 121 of the cooling assembly 105”). Pavlicek fails to disclose a power converter mounted on a drive device for a vehicle, the drive device comprising a motor unit and a gear unit and the motor unit, the gear unit, and the power converter are arranged side by side in a single row extending along a vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Rawlinson teaches a liquid cooled power converter (111) mounted on a drive device for a vehicle (FIG. 1), the drive device comprising a motor unit (105) and a gear unit (115) and the motor unit, the gear unit, and the power converter are arranged side by side in a single row extending along a vehicle width direction of the vehicle (FIG. 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to utilize the power converter of Pavlicek in a vehicle with an orientation as taught by Rawlinson in order to reduce drive system complexity as taught Rawlinson (Abstract).
As to claim 9, Pavlicek discloses a power converter (Fig. 3) comprising: a power module (101) comprising at least one power semiconductor element (112); a metal plate (108) thermally connected with the at least one power semiconductor element; and a flow path defining member (121) including a plastic material, integrated into the metal plate ([0046] “This is achieved by metal insert molding, which integrates the metal baseplate 108 firmly into the first housing part 121 of the cooling assembly 105”) and defining a coolant flow path together with the metal plate such that a coolant (116) flows through the coolant flow path. Pavlicek fails to disclose a drive device for a vehicle, comprising: a motor unit comprising a motor configured to drive a wheel of the vehicle; a gear unit comprising at least one gear; and a power converter electrically connected to the motor, wherein the motor unit, the gear unit, and the power converter are arranged side by side in a single row extending and arranged together with the motor unit and the gear unit along a vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Rawlinson teaches a drive device for a vehicle (FIG. 1), comprising: a motor unit (105) comprising a motor configured to drive a wheel of the vehicle; a gear unit (115) comprising at least one gear; and a power converter electrically connected to the motor (111), wherein the motor unit, the gear unit, and the power converter are arranged side by side in a single row extending and arranged together with the motor unit and the gear unit along a vehicle width direction of the vehicle. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to utilize the power converter of Pavlicek in a vehicle with an orientation as taught by Rawlinson in order to reduce drive system complexity as taught Rawlinson (Abstract).
As to claim 2, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 1, wherein the flow path defining member is integrated into the metal plate by holding an end (Fig. 3 left and right sides of 108) of an outer edge of the metal plate (as seen in Fig. 3, where element 121 supports the left and right sides of the base of plate 108).
As to claim 3, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 2, wherein the flow path defining member is integrated into the metal plate by insert molding ([0062] “By injecting the plastic material into the first mold, a mechanically stable form-fit connection between at least parts of the metal baseplate 108 and the plastic material of the first housing part 121 is formed.”)
As to claim 4, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 3, wherein the flow path defining member comprises a sidewall portion (Fig. 3, 121) surrounding the metal plate along the outer edge of the metal plate and defining a recess defined by the metal plate and the sidewall portion.
As to claim 5, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 4, further comprising a cover member (122) including a plastic material and closing an opening (Fig. 3, bottom between two left and right sidewalls 121) of the recess.
As to claim 7, Pavlicek in view of Rawlinson teaches the power converter according to claim 1, and a motor (105) configured to be driven by power supplied through the power converter (see Rawlinson, [0023] “Inverter 111 converts the direct current ("DC") supplied by the battery pack to the three-phase AC used to power preferred motor 105”).
As to claim 8, modified Pavlicek teaches the drive device of claim 7, wherein the drive device is configured to drive a vehicle wheel (via Gearbox 116).
As to claim 12, modified Pavlicek teaches the power converter according to claim 1, wherein the gear unit (115, Rawlinson) is isolated from the power converter (111) by an isolation wall (see Rawlinson FIG. 5 below with annotations).
PNG
media_image1.png
746
967
media_image1.png
Greyscale
As to claim 13, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 1, wherein the flow path defining member is constituted solely of a plastic material ([0045] No other materials, other than plastic are mention in the construction of 105).
As to claim 10, modified Pavlicek teaches the drive device according to claim 9, wherein the motor unit (105) further comprises a motor housing that houses the motor (see Rawlinson FIG. 5) the gear unit (115) further comprises a gear housing (505) that houses the at least one gear, the power converter (111) further comprises a converter housing (FIG. 5) that houses the power module (Rawlinson 615, Pavlicek 101), and the motor housing, the gear housing and the converter housing are fixed together and arranged along the vehicle width direction (Rawlinson FIG. 1).
As to claim 15, modified Pavlicek teaches the power converter according to claim 9, wherein the gear unit (115, Rawlinson) is isolated from the power converter (111) by an isolation wall (see Rawlinson FIG. 5 above with annotations).
As to claim 16, Pavlicek discloses the power converter according to claim 9, wherein the flow path defining member is constituted solely of a plastic material ([0045] No other materials, other than plastic are mention in the construction of 105).
Claim(s) 14 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0014096 to Pavlicek et al. in view of US 2012/0153718 to Rawlinson et al. further in view of US 2018/0013356 to Nishibe et al.
As to claims 14 and 17, Pavlicek in view of Rawlinson teach the limitations of claims 1 and 9 respectively. Pavlicek fails to disclose wherein the power module comprises a plurality of power cards assembled onto the metal plate in a predetermined arrangement. Pavlicek does, however disclose a power module (101). Nishibe teaches power cards (PC1-PC4) on a converter circuit (20). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to modify the power module of Pavlicek to contain power cards in order to provide e.g. power circuit switching elements as taught by Nishibe ([0038]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMIL ALEXANDER DECKER whose telephone number is (571)272-6578. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm Mon-Fri.
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.
/JAMIL ALEXANDER DECKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights