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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 06/19/2024 and 03/17/2025 are being considered by the examiner.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8, 9 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen (CN 219041650).
Pertaining to claim 1, Chen discloses A power supply device (Abstract, see fig. 1), comprising: a main circuit board (2, see fig. 6); a power output panel (copper strips 15, see fig. 3) arranged on the main circuit board (2); and a power supply unit (transformer 11 + PCB board 1, see fig. 2) arranged on the main circuit board and configured to provide an output power source, wherein the power supply unit comprises: an output connection electrode (see “X” in the reproduction of Fig. 4 below) electrically connected to the power output panel (15) and configured to transmit the output power source from the power supply unit (see paragraph [0020]) to at least one connector of the power output panel (copper strips 15, see fig. 3).
PNG
media_image1.png
460
702
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Pertaining to claim 8, Chen discloses wherein the power output panel (copper strips 15, see fig. 3) is vertically disposed on the main circuit board (2), and the output connection electrode extends to the power output panel in a first direction (see “X” in the reproduction of Fig. 4 above).
Pertaining to claim 9, Chen discloses A power supply unit (Abstract, see fig. 1) configured to provide an output power source to a power output panel (copper strips 15, see fig. 3), the power supply unit (transformer 11 + PCB board 1, see fig. 2) comprising: a transformer (11); and an output connection electrode electrically connected (see “X” in the reproduction of Fig. 4 below) between the transformer and the power output panel (15) and configured to transmit the output power source to at least one connector of the power output panel (copper strips 15, see fig. 3).
Pertaining to claim 16, Chen discloses, wherein the output connection electrode (see “X” in the reproduction of Fig. 4 above) extends to the power output panel (15) in a first direction (see fig. 3).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 219041650) in view of Liu (CN 214101195 U).
Pertaining to claims 2 and 10, Chen discloses wherein the power supply unit (transformer 11 + PCB board 1, see fig. 2) further comprises: a transformer comprising a secondary winding (see paragraph [0020], line 15), wherein a first terminal of the secondary winding is electrically connected to a first terminal of the output connection electrode (see paragraph [0029]).
But, Chen doesn’t explicitly teach wherein a second terminal of the output connection electrode is electrically connected to a power pin of the at least one connector.
However, Liu teaches wherein a second terminal (12, see fig. 4) of the output connection electrode is electrically connected to a power pin of the at least one connector (see paragraph [0038]).
Therefore, At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a second terminal of the output connection electrode is electrically connected to a power pin of the at least one connector in the device of Chen based on the teachings of Liu in order to focused on electrical efficiency, structural stability, and simplified assembly.
Claims 3-7 and 11-15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN 219041650) in view of Liu (CN 214101195 U) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Teng et al. (US 8724337 B2).
Pertaining to claims 3 and 11, Chen discloses wherein the power supply unit (transformer 11 + PCB board 1, see fig. 2) further comprises: a rectifier element, wherein a second terminal (12 of Liu) of the secondary winding is connected to a ground pin of the at least one connector through the rectifier element (see paragraph [0038 of Liu])
But Chen and Liu do not teach a ground electrode of the main circuit board; and an output capacitor electrically connected between the output connection electrode and the ground electrode of the main circuit board.
However, Teng et al. teaches a ground electrode of the main circuit board; and an output capacitor electrically connected between the output connection electrode and the ground electrode of the main circuit board, (see column 4, lines 53-60).
Therefore, At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a ground electrode of the main circuit board; and an output capacitor electrically connected between the output connection electrode and the ground electrode of the main circuit board in the device of Chen based on the teachings of Teng et al. in order provides voltage stabilization, noise suppression (EMI filtering), and safety.
Pertaining to claims 4 and 12, Chen as modified by Liu and Teng further discloses wherein the power supply unit (transformer 11 + PCB board 1 of Chen) further comprises a first circuit board (1 of Chen), the first circuit board is arranged on the main circuit board (2 of Chen), and the rectifier element and the output capacitor (323 of Teng et al. ) are arranged on the first circuit board (1 of Chen).
Pertaining to claims 5 and 13, Chen as modified by Liu and Teng further discloses, wherein the power supply unit further comprises a first circuit board and a second circuit board, the first circuit board and the second circuit board (1, multi-layer printed circuit board, PCB, board, see fig. 2-3 of Chen) are arranged on the main circuit board (2), the rectifier element (bidirectional AC/DC power supply topology, see fig. 1) is arranged on the first circuit board (1), and the output capacitor (323 of Teng et al.) is arranged on the second circuit board ) multi-layer printed circuit board of Chen).
Pertaining to claims 6 and 14, Chen as modified by Liu and Teng further discloses wherein the output connection electrode (see column 4, lines 53-60 of Liu) comprises: a first branch structure extending in a first direction and electrically connected between the transformer and the power output panel ((copper strips 15, see fig. 3 and see column 6, lines 6-17 of Teng); and a second branch structure extending from the first branch structure in a second direction (see column 3, lines 55-67of Teng) and covering a portion of the rectifier element (bidirectional AC/DC power supply topology, see fig. 1).
Pertaining to claims 7 and 15, Chen as modified by Liu and Teng further discloses wherein the output connection electrode comprises: a support portion fixed onto a housing of the transformer (see fig. 2 showing the feature “support portion” of Liu).
PNG
media_image2.png
451
823
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Park (US 2017/0094782 A1) and Tsao et al. (US 2020/0020603 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDARGIE M AYCHILLHUM whose telephone number is (571)270-1607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Timothy J Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. 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.
/ANDARGIE M AYCHILLHUM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2848