2DETAILED 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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 allowed. Reasons for allowance can be found in previous action.
Claim 7 is 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 allowable limitations of claim 7 being “a shape of the cooling pipe from a portion at the first contact position to a portion at the second contact position is bent in a W-shape such that after the cooling pipe comes into contact with the outside of an arrangement of the first screw penetration hole and the second screw penetration hole in the connection portion and the additional connection portion, respectively.”
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2025/0350099 to Sugiura et al.
Sugiura discloses;
As to claim 1, a conductor member with cooling structure (FIG. 8), comprising: a conductor member (51) formed of a conductive metal ([0039] “The bus bar body 51 is formed of a metal”) in a strip shape (see FIG. 8, bus bar 51 being of flat shape) with a first end side (Left most side, see FIG. 2, 26 of principle part A) of the conductor member being connected to a component terminal (24b) of an electrical/electronic member (22a, 112a), and a second end side (Right most side, proximate 24c, see FIG. 2) of the conductor member, opposite to the first end side, being configured to be connected to an electrical connection target (14) of the electrical/electronic member (by way of 22b) to be energized (In other words bus bar 26, comprising bus bar body 51, has one end connected to relay 22a(112a) on the battery side, and one end connected to relay 22b(112b) on the load side, the bus bar connecting the two relays in series); a cooling pipe (36, 38) configured to receive a refrigerant ([0048] “refrigerant supply pipe 36…”); and a fixing wall (82) formed of an insulation resin ([0052] “housed in a case 78 made of synthetic resin…”) wherein the conductor member and the electrical/electronic member are fixed to a portion of the fixing wall that faces in a first direction (upwards), the cooling pipe is fixed to the portion of the fixing wall such that the cooling pipe extends to be in contact with a connection portion (portion of 51 extending from pipe 36 past fastener 118) of the conductor member (51), and a portion of the cooling pipe that contacts the connection portion (see annotated FIG. 7 below) faces in the first direction (upwards) towards the connection portion, and the connection portion is connected to the component terminal (via 118).
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As to claim 3, the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the fixing wall, which faces in the first direction, comprises a piping groove (96) that is recessed into the fixing wall in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, and accommodates the cooling pipe, and the portion of the cooling pipe, which is in contact with the connection portion, is accommodated in the piping groove (said portion is supported by, i.e. accommodated, in the piping groove).
As to claim 4, the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixing wall is a wall portion configuring part of a device housing (78).
As to claim 8, the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe is fixed to the portion of the fixing wall (96, FIG. 8) such that the cooling pipe extends to be in direct contact with the connection portion of the conductor member, and the portion of the cooling pipe that directly contacts the connection portion faces in the first direction towards the connection portion (see annotated FIG. 7 above), and the connection portion is connected to the component terminal (via 118).
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) 1-3, and 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0355556 to Lang et al. in view of 2025/0350099 to Sugiura et al.
As to claim 1, Lang discloses a conductor member with cooling structure (FIG. 4A), comprising: a conductor member (50) formed of a conductive metal (50 being a busbar, busbars being made of metal) in a strip shape (see FIG. 4A, bus bar 50 being of flat shape) with a first end side (proximate 20) of the conductor member being connected to a component terminal (40) of an electrical/electronic member (20), and a second end side (extending past 60) of the conductor member, opposite to the first end side, being configured to be connected to an electrical connection target of the electrical/electronic member to be energized; a cooling pipe (30) configured to receive a refrigerant ([0044] “30 comprises a body 33 formed to provide a flow channel 34 for a liquid, such as water or cooling oil”); and a fixing wall (60) wherein the conductor member and the electrical/electronic member are fixed to a portion of the fixing wall that faces in a first direction (upwards), the cooling pipe is fixed to the portion of the fixing wall such that the cooling pipe extends to be in contact with a connection portion (see annotated FIG. 4A below) of the conductor member (50), and a portion of the cooling pipe that contacts the connection portion faces in the first direction (upwards) towards the connection portion, and the connection portion is connected to the component terminal.
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Lang fails to disclose the fixing wall being formed of an insulation resin. Sugiura teaches a fixing wall (82) formed of an insulation resin ([0052] “housed in a case 78 made of synthetic resin…”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to modify the fixing wall of Lang to be formed of insulation resin as taught by Sugiura in order to prevent an electrical transfer outside of the system.
As to claim 2, Lang discloses the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe comprises the refrigerant ([0044]), the refrigerant is a conductive fluid ([0044] water or cooling oil), and an insulative processing (32) is applied to a pipe-side contact surface in of the cooling pipe that is in contact with the conductor member. Lang fails to disclose the cooling pipe being made of metal. Lang does however teach a thermally conductive mass (31) being composed of aluminum ([0041] “The thermally conductive mass body 31 may be made of a heat conductive material, for example aluminum”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to modify the cooling pipe of Lang to be formed of a metal such as aluminum in order to provide a thermally conductive material.
As to claim 3, Lang discloses the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the fixing wall, which faces in the first direction, comprises a piping groove (60 contains a recess in which 30 sits between two side edge flanges) that is recessed into the fixing wall in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, and accommodates the cooling pipe, and the portion of the cooling pipe, which is in contact with the connection portion, is accommodated in the piping groove (the entirety of 60 being in the piping groove).
As to claim 5, Lang discloses the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, further comprising: an additional conductor member formed of a conductive metal in a strip shape with a first end side of the additional conductor member being connected to an additional component terminal of the electrical/electronic member (as seen in FIG 4A, the conductor member being the left instance of 50, the additional conductor member being the right instance of 50), and a second end side of the additional conductor member, opposite to the first end side of the additional conductor member, being configured to be connected to the electrical connection target of the electrical/electronic member to be energized, wherein each of the conductor member and the additional conductor member extend in an arrangement direction of the component terminal and the additional component terminal (as seen in FIG 4A the terminal sits between the two conductor members), and
the cooling pipe is a single pipe partly fixed to the fixing wall so as to be in contact with the connection portion of each of the conductor member and the additional conductor member. Lang fails to disclose and the cooling pipe is fixed to the fixing wall in a state of being bent between a first contact position and a second contact position the first contact position is a position at which the cooling pipe contacts the connection portion of the conductor member, and the second contact position is a position at which the cooling pipe contacts an additional connection portion of the additional conductor member. Lang does, however, teach in FIG 4B a cooling channel (34) being bent between a first contact position and a second contact position (see annotated FIG 4B below) the first contact position is a position at which the cooling pipe contacts the connection portion of the conductor member, and the second contact position is a position at which the cooling pipe contacts an additional connection portion of the additional conductor member.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the filing to modify the cooling pipe of Lang to follow the shape of the cooling channel of Lang as a design choice, to save on material of the inner portion, as the device would have predictive functionality in either case.
As to claim 6, modified Lang teaches the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 5,wherein the cooling pipe is bent in a U-shape between the first contact position and the second contact position.
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 JAMIL ALEXANDER DECKER whose telephone number is (571)272-6578. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm Mon-Fri.
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.
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/JAMIL ALEXANDER DECKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights