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 .
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) 1, 5, 7- 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 102010024520 A1.
‘520 teaches:
1. A power electronics assembly, comprising a
substrate (5) with a metallization (6) on a first side of the substrate (figure 1) which forms first (6) and second structures (6) that are separated from each other by
interspaces (8) (See figure 1) and each having a respective thickness of at least 300 µm,
a power semiconductor (9) is mounted on the first structure (6),
an electric insulator (8) having a thermal conductivity of at least 50 W/mK (para 0029-0031) arranged at least sectionally in such a way that the structures (6) adjacent to the respective interspace (8) are thermally connected by the insulator (8).
4. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second structures (6) do not have a power semiconductor (9). Figure 1
5. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first structures (6) and one of the second structures (6) are thermally
connected by one of the insulators (8). (figure 1)
7. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulator (8) comprises diamond. (para 19)
8. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulator (8) consists of diamond. (para 19)
9. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulator (8) is arranged in the interspace (8) and/or in the substrate (5) so that the insulator (8) is directly in contact with each of the thermally connected structures (6). Figure 1
10. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulator (8) is thermally connected to the adjacent structures via a thermally conductive polymer and/or resin and/or a metallic connection (6). (para 3, 20) See Figure 1
11. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulator (8) has a metallization (6) at each end, said metallizations (6) being electrically insulated from each other, and the insulator (8) is bonded with the metallization to the upper side of the structures (6). Figure 1
13. A method for manufacturing a semifinished product for a power electronics assembly, comprising the steps:
providing semifinished products for a substrate (5), the first structures (6), second structures (6) and the insulators (8),
compressing the first structures (6), the second structures (6), and the insulators (8) on a first side of the substrate (5), semifinished products such that these are connected together and a thermal contact is formed between the first structures (6), the second structures (6), and the insulators (8). See Figure 1 and para 15, 16, and 27
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) 2, 3, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘520.
2. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein the metallization has a thickness of at most
7 mm.
3. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein the interspaces have a width between
mm and 8 mm.
In regards to the dimensions claimed in claim 2 and 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to optimize these dimensions through routine experimentation and it would not lend themselves to patentability in the instant application, without displaying unexpected results. (in Re Aller)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 and 12 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art references fail to teach:
6. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, comprising a shunt which is electrically contacted to one of the first structures and one of the second structures, these being thermally connected by one of the insulators.
12. The power electronics assembly as claimed in claim 1, comprising a half bridge with at least two semiconductor switches and are arranged on a respective first structure;
wherein each of the first structures of the half bridge is thermally connected to a second structure via an insulator.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LEBENTRITT whose telephone number is (571)272-1873. The examiner can normally be reached IFP Mon- Fri 8:30 am- 6 pm.
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MICHAEL . LEBENTRITT
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2893
/MICHAEL LEBENTRITT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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