DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-5 of U.S. Patent Application No. 18/604,654, filed 14 March, 2024, were presented for examination, and are currently pending in the application.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 14 March, 2024 was filed before the mailing date of this Office Action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US 2021/0084798 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Lee teaches a heat management system (see abstract and fig. 4) comprising a heat generation portion [combined switching element 10, heat dissipation fin 20, cooling flow path 30, auxiliary cooling module 40, and second heat conductor 42] (see ¶ 0050-0063) including a plurality of heat dissipation paths (see annotated excerpt of fig. 4 attached below, wherein the Examiner has drawn and labeled the heat dissipation paths), wherein
the heat dissipation paths include a first heat dissipation path [along 20 and into 30] and a second heat dissipation path [along 40 and 42],
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the first heat dissipation path [20/30] is configured to transfer heat from the heat generation portion [10] to another portion [heat exchanger 60] (see fig. 6 – ¶ 0068 refers to “another embodiment” when describing fig. 6 but this is interpreted to only mean the reference at this point is discussing the cooling structure control system overall, and not the two embodiments of heat management systems of figs. 3 and 4, which are clearly meant to be used in the circuit shown in fig. 6 – anyway, fig. 6 is not necessary, it is only handy, for showing the “other portion” that the heat medium in the flow path 30 of fig. 4 takes heat to; the arrows clearly show the coolant is carrying heat “to another portion” that is not the section shown in fig. 4) other than the heat generation portion (via coolant in cooling flow path 30 – see ¶ 0058 and 0068), and
a heat dissipation amount of the heat generation portion through the second heat dissipation path [40/42] increases along with a temperature rise of the heat generation portion [10/20/30/40/42] (see ¶ 0050 which recites “auxiliary cooling module 40 may include therein a refrigerant having a state change temperature…” and ¶ 0054 which recites “when the switching element 10 is heated within the allowable temperature range, the refrigerant may be evaporated and cool the switching element 10 by its latent heat…” and ¶ 0058 which recites “the auxiliary cooling module 40 may be arranged so as to be heat-exchangeable with the cooling in the cooling flow path 30 through a second heat conductor 42…”)
With respect to claim 2/1, Lee teaches wherein:
the first heat dissipation path [20/30] includes a flow path [30] through which a heat medium [coolant] for exchanging heat with the heat generation portion [10/20/30/40/42] and the other portion [60] flows (see ¶ 0037 and 0068);
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the second heat dissipation path [40/42] includes a heat dissipation portion [cooling fin 43] and a heat conductive portion [auxiliary cooling module 40 and second heat conductor 42] configured to transfer the heat from the heat generation portion [10/20/30/40/42] to the heat dissipation portion [43] (see ¶ 0061 and the new annotated fig. 4 excerpt attached below); and
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at least part [40] of the heat conductive portion [40/42] is configured to increase a heat conductivity along with the temperature rise of the heat generation portion [10/20/30/40/42] (see ¶ 0050 which recites “auxiliary cooling module 40 may include therein a refrigerant having a state change temperature…” and ¶ 0054 which recites “when the switching element 10 is heated within the allowable temperature range, the refrigerant may be evaporated and cool the switching element 10 by its latent heat…” and ¶ 0058 which recites “the auxiliary cooling module 40 may be arranged so as to be heat-exchangeable with the cooling in the cooling flow path 30 through a second heat conductor 42…” – see also ¶ 0062-0063 which describe a miniature refrigeration cycle – what is clear from that discussion is that when the refrigerant in the auxiliary cooling module 40 has not reached its boiling point to work the refrigeration cycle, it is not effectively conducting heat to 42, and therefore has less heat conductivity).
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wyland (US 10,292,307 B1).
With respect to claim 1, Wyland teaches a heat management system (thermal heat sink, see title and abstract) comprising a heat generation portion [combined heat source 101, cavity 130, and bottom section of heatsink housing 110] including a plurality of heat dissipation paths (see joint annotated excerpt of figs. 1A and 1B, wherein the Examiner has labeled the first heat dissipation path and the second heat dissipation path – it is noted that the arrows are part of the original document), wherein
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the heat dissipation paths include a first heat dissipation path (directly from the heat source 101 and into the bottom portion of the heatsink housing – the Examiner has labeled the bottom portion in fig. 1B) and a second heat dissipation path (from the heat source 101 and across the cavity 130 along the drop 120),
the first heat dissipation path is configured to transfer heat from the heat generation portion [101] to another portion (“other portion” also labeled by the Examiner in fig. 1B) other than the heat generation portion (it is distinct from the bottom portion which is part of the heat generation portion), and
a heat dissipation amount of the heat generation portion through the second heat dissipation path increases along with a temperature rise of the heat generation portion {col. 2, line 61 through col. 3, line 14, recites, inter alia, “the drop 120 is thermally deformable between a first shape… that does not extend into the cavity 130 at the first temperature and a second shape…. that extends into the cavity 130 at a second temperature (e.g., relatively high temperature within the range of operating temperatures). Accordingly, when the drop 120 is at the first temperature and has the first shape, the drop 120 is in a first condition, and the heatsink 100 has a first overall thermal conductivity, which may be a relatively low thermal conductivity within a range of thermal conductivities. However, when the drop 120 is at the second temperature and has the second shape, the drop 120 is in a second condition, and the heatsink 100 has a second overall thermal conductivity, which may be a relatively high thermal conductivity…” – it is noted before and after this passage that the second temperature is higher than the first temperature. Later in col. 3 is recited “a relatively low temperature condition (e.g. “cold” condition) in which the heatsink 100 provides slow or low thermal conduction of heat energy away from the heat source 101 and a relatively high temperature condition (e.g., “hot” condition) in which the heat-sink 100 provides fast or high thermal conduction of heat energy away from the heat source 101”}.
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Baglino (US 2013/0002173 A1).
With respect to claim 5/1, Lee teaches the heat management system according to claim 1, and further teaches a vehicle (see title, abstract) including the heat management system according to claim 1 (see , ¶ 0010-0011, and ¶ 0022-0023 and the rejection of claim 1 under Lee above), the vehicle further comprising a semiconductor power device [10] (¶ 0038 recites “the switching element 10 is an element positioned in the inverter and may be a semiconductor element…”) and configured to drive a motor configured to cause the vehicle to travel by using electric power (see ¶ 0003-0004 and 0068-0071), and wherein the semiconductor power device [10] includes the heat generation portion [10/20/30/40/42].
It is noted by the Examiner that Lee’s switching element 10 is part of a motor controller (inverter, see title and abstract) for controlling the motor.
Lee does not teach a power storage device, a circuit including the semiconductor power device and configured to drive the motor by using electric power output from the power storage device, wherein the other portion includes the power storage device.
Baglino discloses a motor controller [210] for a vehicle (see abstract) that outputs motor control signals using an inverter [510] to a motor [505]. As shown in fig. 5, a coolant loop [500] conveys coolant from the inverter [510] to a heat exchanger [radiator 550], and the coolant subsequently circulates back to the inverter [510] to cool it, similarly to what is shown in fig. 6 of Lee.
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Baglino teaches a power storage device [propulsion body 525] (see ¶ 0041), a circuit (recited in ¶ 0025) including a power device [electronic components configured to convert DC power to AC power] (still referring to ¶ 0025 which recites “electronic circuits or components configured to convert DC power to AC power…”) and configured to drive the motor [505] by using electric power output from the power storage device [525] (see ¶ 0006 which recites “an electric vehicle including a propulsion electric motor powered by energy from an energy storage system…”), wherein the other portion (the “other portion” that is the end target of heat transfer from the heat generation portion 510) includes the power storage device [525] (¶ 0032 recites “the additional heat from the dissipation mode loss in the drive inverter and motor is rejected to the cooling system and is then available to heat the propulsion battery…” – it is noted that fig. 5, above, shows the state wherein the coolant is shunted to bypass the heat exchanger and cool the battery instead).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the vehicle and heat management system of Lee, while incorporating/including the power storage device as part of the “other portion” to which heat is transferred, as taught by Baglino, in order to increase the rate of heating in the battery by adding additional heat from the inverter to the battery (Baglino ¶ 0032), in particular to mitigate cold ambient performance degradation of the vehicle by improving battery efficiency in cold weather operation (Baglino ¶ 0004-0005).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 are 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.
With respect to claim 3, and claim 4 which depends therefrom, the prior art of record does not teach or suggest, inter alia, a heat management system comprising a heat generation portion including a plurality of heat dissipation paths, wherein
the heat dissipation paths include a first heat dissipation path and a second heat dissipation path,
the first heat dissipation path is configured to transfer heat from the heat generation portion to another portion other than the heat generation portion, and
a heat dissipation amount of the heat generation portion through the second heat dissipation path increases along with a temperature rise of the heat generation portion,
wherein:
the first heat dissipation path includes a flow path through which a heat medium for exchanging heat with the heat generation portion and the other portion flows;
the second heat dissipation path includes a heat dissipation portion and a heat conductive portion configured to transfer the heat from the heat generation portion to the heat dissipation portion; and
at least part of the heat conductive portion is configured to increase a heat conductivity along with the temperature rise of the heat generation portion;
further comprising a container configured to exchange heat with the heat generation portion, wherein
the container contains a low heat conductivity material, a high heat conductivity material having a higher heat conductivity than the low heat conductivity material, and a thermal expansion material having a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the low heat conductivity material and the high heat conductivity material,
the thermal expansion material is configured to shrink or expand depending on a temperature of the heat generation portion,
the low heat conductivity material is configured to move in the container to be included in the heat conductive portion by a force generated by shrinkage or expansion of the thermal expansion material, and
the high heat conductivity material is configured to move in the container to be included in the heat conductive portion by a force generated by expansion or shrinkage of the thermal expansion material.
Wyland does not teach a container containing three materials. Its container [130] has two materials, logically assuming that the cavity is filled, where the drop does not extend or take up space, with air or another gas, and the Examiner finds nothing extant in the reference that suggests or would even allow including a third material, much less one that moves due to a force generated by another material. Also, Lee does not teach wherein the first heat dissipation path includes a flow path through which a heat medium for exchanging heat with the heat generation portion and the other portion flows, which is why it was not applied to claim 2.
Lee, which was applied to claim 2 for having the relationship between the first and second heat dissipation paths according to the limitations of claim 2, also fails to teach a container containing three materials. Further, although the container [40] of Lee clearly has the refrigerant and a gas when it is not boiling and vaporized refrigerant diffused in the gas when it is boiling, there is no movement of a fluid in response to a force by another fluid, nor would this reasonably be suggested by the disclosure – in fact the Examiner believes Lee’s structure would prohibit this.
Another reference was retrieved during the search that has more overall relevance to the totality of claim 3 (claims 1 and 2 inclusive) than the ones used in the rejection of claims 1-2 above. It is Kulkarni (US 2021/0108860 A1), which is included in the description of related/cited art below in the Conclusion section. Kulkarni teaches two flow paths (including one skirting along the walls of the walls of the working fluid chamber 210) wherein the heat conductivity through one path is increased by movement of one fluid against another, and heat conductivity through one path includes a flow path through which a heat medium for exchanging the heat generation portion and the other portion flows. However, in Kulkarni’s specific case as shown in figs. 2A-2C, these are the same path, not separate paths. The heat dissipation path whose heat dissipation amount increases along with temperature rise is also the same heat dissipation path that includes the flow path through which the heat medium flows. The second path along the wall of the working fluid chamber 210 lacks either feature. There is no way the Examiner can envision wherein a first path has one feature and a second path has the other feature. Therefore Kulkarni does not read on all of the limitations of claim 2. However it could suggest modifying various other references cited in attached PTO Form 892 with its advantageous features such as a) coolant flow in a heat sink that directs heat sink heat to another location/component b) the relationships between the fluids in the container [214] which does involve force and movement resulting in a higher thermal conductivity when the heat source [IC component 240] rises in temperature. However, Kulkarni, like Wyland, does not teach a third material, wherein a first material is a thermal expansion material, a second material is a low heat conductivity material, and a third material is a high heat conductivity material. In the embodiment of figs. 1A-1B, the thermal expansion material 120 is the high heat conductivity material. In the embodiment of figs. 2A-2C, the thermal expansion material 216 is the high heat conductivity material.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Figs. 2A-2C of US 221/0108860 A1 (Kulkarni) was discussed in the reasons for allowance above. The Examiner is also including figs. 1A-1B for Applicant’s consideration.
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Figs. 1A-1B and 2C of US 2018/0095481 A1 are relevant to the claimed invention.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL K SCHLAK whose telephone number is (703)756-1685. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 6:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Seye Iwarere can be reached at (571) 270 - 5112. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Daniel K Schlak/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/OLUSEYE IWARERE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834