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 U.S.C. § 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.
Claims 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong (US 2006/0268525 A1) in view of Cai (US 2006/0274225 A1) and further in view of Dubovsky (US 6,714,414 B1).
Re claim 1: Jeong discloses:
a display apparatus, comprising a display unit configured to display an image (PDP 110);
a holder on the display unit in a plate shape (chassis 130 supporting the PDP 110);
a control assembly on the holder including a control board and a control chip mounted on an upper surface of the control board (driving circuit board 120 disposed on the chassis 130, with heat-emissive IPM element 160 mounted on the upper surface of the board 120).
Jeong does not expressly disclose the shield cover, heat transfer member, and back cover, as recited below. Cai discloses:
a shield cover on the control assembly (heat sink 16 disposed on and connecting with the circuit board 14);
a heat transfer member on the shield cover in contact with a portion of the shield cover (heat conducting member 120 having a spring contact portion 123 that elastically contacts the top surface 162 of the heat sink 16);
a back cover on the heat transfer member in contact with at least a portion of the heat transfer member (chassis 12 / back wall 122, the heat sink 16 being located between the circuit board 14 and the chassis 12, the spring contact portion 123 connecting the heat sink to the chassis).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the display module of Jeong with the rearward heat-dissipation stack of Cai, in order to conduct heat from the heat-emissive element to an external back cover through a resilient heat transfer member and thereby improve the heat-dissipating efficiency of the display module.
Jeong and Cai do not expressly disclose the support member as recited below. Dubovsky discloses:
a support member attached to the holder, configured to support the control board, and vertically separate the holder and the control assembly (spring spacer assembly 30 having spacers 46 whose end surfaces 60 abut the thermal transfer surface to fix the spacing of the printed circuit board 12, and deflectable fingers 42 biased to urge the heat-generating components 10 into and maintain thermal contact).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the display module of Jeong and Cai with the support member of Dubovsky, in order to support the control board, establish a fixed separation between the control board and the supporting structure, and maintain reliable thermal contact across the assembly despite vibration and thermal expansion.
Re claim 2: Jeong, Cai, and Dubovsky disclose the display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the number of the support members is plural, and the support members are on each side of the control board (Dubovsky: a plurality of spacers 46 arranged along the fixation segment 44, including spacers disposed at each end 50 on opposite sides of the rows of components 10 of the printed circuit board 12).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-15 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 of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or suggest a support member comprising a base attached to the holder, a rotation supporter rotatably coupled to the base to support the control board, and a coupling pin rotatably coupling the rotation supporter with the base, as recited in claim 3, in combination with the remaining limitations of claim 1.
While the prior art discloses support members and spacers that support a control board and bias a heat-generating component toward a thermal transfer surface to maintain thermal contact (e.g., the spring spacer assembly of Dubovsky), the prior art does not teach or suggest a support member in which a rotation supporter is rotatably coupled to a base on a coupling pin so as to support the control board, nor the further functionality recited in claims 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15 in which, when the control assembly is heated, lateral expansion of the control board rotates the rotation supporter (or coupling cell) to press the lower surface of the control board and move the control assembly so as to maintain contact among the control assembly, the shield cover, the heat transfer member, and the back cover.
Claims 4-9 and 12 are likewise allowable as each depends, directly or indirectly, from claim 3 or recites the rotation supporter structure of claims 3-4.
References Cited
The prior art made of record and relied upon in this Office action is listed below:
1. Jeong (US 2006/0268525 A1) — display module having a display panel, a chassis supporting the panel, a driving circuit board with a heat-emissive circuit element, and heatsinks thermally connected by a foldable connecting member.
2. Cai (US 2006/0274225 A1) — display device having a circuit board, a heat sink, and a chassis covering the circuit board, the chassis including a heat conducting member with a spring contact portion elastically contacting the heat sink.
3. Dubovsky (US 6,714,414 B1) — spring spacer assembly that supports a printed circuit board, fixes the spacing of the board relative to a thermal transfer surface, and biases a heat-generating component to maintain thermal contact.
The following prior art, made of record and not relied upon, is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
a. Hwang (US 8,350,984 B2) — display enclosure having a rear cover assembly with a heat-sink portion and interior thermal members conducting heat to the rear cover.
b. Reis (US 6,744,640 B2) — board-level EMI shield configured to act simultaneously as a heat sink, with a thermal conductive interface conducting heat from a component to the shield.
c. Pearson (US 4,298,903 A) — electronic component cooling arrangement having spring-biased circuit-card support frames urged into thermal contact with a cold wall.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 7,216,494 – is considered pertinent because this reference describes a supermarket refrigeration system and associated methods.
US 7,236,363 – is considered pertinent because this reference describes an liquid cooled system module.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHENGFU J FENG whose telephone number is (571)272-2949. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 900am-530pm EST.
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.
/ZHENGFU J FENG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835 May 30, 2026
Prosecution Insights