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 .
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) 1-2, 7, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu (CN206098029U).
As to claim 1, Xu discloses a cable structure, comprising a cable body 1 and a cooling jacket 2, wherein the cooling jacket is wound around the cable body (fig. 1); and
the cooling jacket is provided with a lumen (see pg. 1 discussing the cooling jacket being used for supplying water), is connected to an inlet joint of water and a return joint of water which communicate with the lumen (fig. 1), and the cooling jacket is configured to cooling liquid enters the lumen through the inlet joint of water and flows out through the return joint of water.
As to claim 2, Xu discloses that a cross section of the lumen is flat (see pg. 1 disclosing a spiral flat water cooling pipe).
As to claim 7, Xu discloses that the inlet joint of water and the return joint of water are disposed at two ends of the cooling jacket respectively (fig. 1).
As to claim 15, Xu discloses that the return joint of water is connected to a temperature sensor (see pg. 1 discussing a temperature sensor).
Claim(s) 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (Pub. No. US 2019/0214161).
As to claim 17, Chen discloses a cable 102 cooling device, comprising a cooling jacket 108, 110, a pump 116, and a cooling system 100 (fig. 1A), wherein the cooling jacket is capable of being wound around a cable body (fig. 1A); and
the cooling jacket is provided with a lumen, is connected to an inlet joint of water and a return joint of water which communicate with the lumen, and the cooling jacket is configured to cooling liquid enters the lumen through the inlet joint of water and flows out through the return joint of water, and the pump and the cooling system are connected to the inlet joint of water and the return joint of water (fig. 1A).
As to claim 18, Chen discloses a vehicle, comprising a pump, a cooling system, and the cable according to claim 1, wherein the pump and the cooling system are connected to an inlet joint of water and a return joint of water (figs. 1A, 2).
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) 3, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (CN206098029U).
As to claim 3, Xu does not disclose that a ratio of a dimension in a width direction to a dimension in a thickness direction of the lumen ranges from 1:1 to 10:1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the ratio of a dimension of the lumen of Xu be from 1:1 to 10:1 since it was known in the art that adjusting the dimensions adjusts the shape and size of the lumen. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have a ratio of a dimension in a width direction to a dimension in a thickness direction of the lumen ranges from 1:1 to 10:1, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
As to claim 16, Xu does not disclose that a cooling rate of the cooling jacket ranges from 0.3 K/s to 10 K/s.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the cooling rate of the cooling jacket range from 0.3 K/s to 10 K/s since it was known in the art to adjust the flow of the cooling water to adjust the cooling rate based on need. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have a cooling rate of the cooling jacket ranges from 0.3 K/s to 10 K/s, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim(s) 4, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu (CN206098029U) in view of Lin et al. (CN113192667A).
As to claim 4, Xu does not disclose that the lumen comprises a first cavity and a second cavity arranged side by side, a connection channel is disposed at a first end of the cooling jacket, and the connection channel communicates with the first cavity and the second cavity separately; and the inlet joint of water and the return joint of water are both disposed at a second end of the cooling jacket, the inlet joint of water communicates with the first cavity, and the return joint of water communicates with the second cavity.
Lin discloses that a lumen comprises a first cavity 2111 and a second cavity 2112 arranged side by side, a connection channel 2113 is disposed at a first end of the cooling jacket, and the connection channel communicates with the first cavity and the second cavity separately; and an inlet joint of water 2114 and a return joint of water 2115 are both disposed at a second end of the cooling jacket, the inlet joint of water communicates with the first cavity, and the return joint of water communicates with the second cavity.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the lumen of Xu have a first cavity and a second cavity arranged side by side, a connection channel is disposed at a first end of the cooling jacket, and the connection channel communicates with the first cavity and the second cavity separately; and the inlet joint of water and the return joint of water are both disposed at a second end of the cooling jacket, the inlet joint of water communicates with the first cavity, and the return joint of water communicates with the second cavity as similarly taught by Lin in order to provide a compact cooling jacket.
As to claim 6, Xu does not disclose that the cooling jacket comprises a lumen partition disposed between the first cavity and the second cavity, and the connection channel is a through hole formed in the lumen partition.
Lin discloses that that the cooling jacket 21 comprises a lumen partition 2122 disposed between the first cavity and the second cavity, and the connection channel is a through hole 2113 formed in the lumen partition.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the cooling jacket of Xu have a lumen partition disposed between the first cavity and the second cavity, and the connection channel is a through hole formed in the lumen partition as similarly taught by Lin in order to provide a compact cooling jacket.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 8-14 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.
Regarding dependent claim 5, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claims 1 and 4, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein a sidewall of the first cavity and a sidewall of the second cavity are both in contact with the cable body. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding dependent claim 8, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the inlet joint of water is provided with an inlet water buffer cavity, and a cross-sectional area of the inlet water buffer cavity is greater than a cross-sectional area of the lumen communicating with the inlet joint of water; and/or the return joint of water is provided with a return water buffer cavity, and a cross-sectional area of the return water buffer cavity is greater than a cross-sectional area of the lumen communicating with the return joint of water. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding dependent claim 9, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the inlet joint of water is sleeved on the cooling jacket; and/or the return joint of water is sleeved on the cooling jacket. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding dependent claim 12, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the cooling jacket is spiral in a free state and has elasticity. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sugimura et al. (Pub. No. US 2019/0199075) discloses a cooling pipe wound around a cable.
Li et al. (Pub. No. US 2024/0317092) discloses a charging cable with cooling tubes wound around.
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/AMOL H PATEL/ Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847