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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 line 10 recites the limitation “being bent from a first contact position”. It is unclear whether it is meant for the pipe to be bent continuously between two points, or if the pipe bends from, as in changes direction, after the first contact point towards the second contact point.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the other side" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the other side" in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear to exactly what “the other side” refers to. Is it the other side of the arrangement, or the other side of the connection portion?
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) 1-2, and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2025/0145004 to SASAKURA et al. (hereafter Sasa).
Sasa discloses;
As to claim 1, a conductor member (30, FIG. 4) with cooling structure (50), comprising: a conductor member (30) formed of a conductive metal (para [0044] “Busbar 30 is a wiring member through which current flows”) in a strip shape (30 consists of many strips) with one end side thereof being connected to a component terminal (11, FIG. 5) of a predetermined electrical/electronic member (10), and the other end side thereof being connected to an electrical connection target (para [0036] relay 10 has a function of switching between: supplying, to inverter 3, the direct-current power supplied from battery 2 to battery disconnect unit 1; and disconnecting the direct-current power to inverter 3) of the electrical/electronic member to be energized; a cooling pipe (50) into which refrigerant flows (para [0054] line 1); and a fixing wall (70) as a wall formed of an insulation resin (para [0066] line 1) to which the conductor member together with the electrical/electronic member are fixed, and to which the cooling pipe is fixed such that the cooling pipe extends to be in contact (via 41, FIG. 5) with a connection portion (31, FIG. 5) of the conductor member connected with the component terminal.
As to claim 2, the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is a conductive fluid (para [0053] coolant is water, which is conductive), the cooling pipe is a metal pipe having conductivity (para [0054] “To be more specific, cooler 50 includes, as passage 51, a metallic pipe through which coolant water flows. Examples of a metallic material for making passage 51 include copper, aluminum, and stainless steel.”), and an insulative processing (61) is applied to a pipe-side contact surface in the cooling pipe that is in contact with the conductor member (31, via 41).
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 predetermined device housing (70, FIG. 4 houses a predetermined device 10).
As to claim 5, the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein a pair of component terminals (11, FIG. 5) are provided in the electrical/electronic member (10), a pair of conductor members (30, see FIG. 4, left two instances of 30) are provided such that the pair of component terminals are connected with the pair of conductor members in one-to-one relationship (see FIG. 5, left most instances of 11) and each of the pair of conductor members extends in an arrangement direction (laterally in FIG. 5) of the component terminal, and the cooling pipe is a single pipe partly fixed to the fixing wall (70) so as to be in contact with the connection portion of each of the pair of conductor members (via 41), and the cooling pipe is fixed to the fixing wall in a state of being bent (51b bends at 90°) from a first contact position in contact with the connection portion at one side (where 50 connects with the first left most instance of 11, FIG. 5) to a second contact position (next instance of 11, one could say pipe 50 bends again to return to 180° direction, see FIG. 5 below with annotations) in contact with the connection portion at the other side (other side of separation portion 12a).
PNG
media_image1.png
723
1021
media_image1.png
Greyscale
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) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0112680 to Rai et al. in view of US 2025/0145004 to SASAKURA et al. (hereafter Sasa).
As to claim 1, Rai discloses, a conductor member with cooling structure (20, FIG. 3), comprising: a conductor member (24) formed in a strip shape (pieces are in a flat strip shape) with one end side thereof being connected to a component terminal (52, 54) of a predetermined electrical/electronic member (22), and the other end side thereof being connected to an electrical connection target of the electrical/electronic member to be energized (via 56, para [0028]); a cooling pipe (84) into which refrigerant flows; and a fixing wall (26) to which the conductor member together with the electrical/electronic member are fixed (via 100), and to which the cooling pipe is fixed such that the cooling pipe extends to be in contact with a connection portion (screw holes in 24) of the conductor member connected with the component terminal. Rai fails to explicitly disclose a conductor member formed of a conductive metal. Examiner takes official notice that bus bars, as conductor member (24) is cited as being (Rai, para [0029] line 1) are implicitly made of conductive metal. 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 conductor member of Rai to be made of conductive metal for the purposes of transferring electrical power. Rai also fails to disclose the fixing wall being formed of an insulation resin. Sasa teaches a fixing wall (70) being constructed of a resin (para [0066] line 1). 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 Rai to be constructed of resin as taught by Sasa in order to provide an electrically insulating and thermally conductive support as taught by Sasa (para [0066]).
As to claim 2, modified Rai teaches the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1. Rai further discloses wherein the refrigerant is a conductive fluid (para [0030] fluid could be water which is conductive), an insulative processing (100) is applied to a conductor-side contact surface in the conductor member that is in contact with the cooling pipe (top side of 24). Rai fails to disclose the cooling pipe being made of metal and having conductivity. Sasa discloses a metal cooling pipe (para [0054] “To be more specific, cooler 50 includes, as passage 51, a metallic pipe through which coolant water flows. Examples of a metallic material for making passage 51 include copper, aluminum, and stainless steel.”) in a similar endeavor. 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 use a metal cooling pipe in Rai as taught by Sasa in order to facilitate good heat transfer between the cooling medium and the heat generating components.
As to claim 3, modified Rai teaches the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein a piping groove (76, 78, FIG. 3) into which the cooling pipe is fitted so as to pass a position in contact with the connection portion (above the connection portion) is formed.
As to claim 4, modified Rai teaches the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixing wall is a wall portion configuring part of a predetermined device housing (fixing wall 26 is the cap of housing 50, see e.g. FIG. 5).
As to claim 5, modified Rai teaches the conductor member with cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein a pair of component terminals (52, 54, FIG. 5) are provided in the electrical/electronic member, a pair of conductor members (60, 64) are provided such that the pair of component terminals are connected with the pair of conductor members in one-to-one relationship (see FIG. 4) and each of the pair of conductor members extends in an arrangement direction of the component terminal (AD, see FIG. 4 below with annotations), 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 pair of conductor members (via 100), and the cooling pipe is fixed to the fixing wall in a state of being bent from a first contact position (FP, see FIG. 3 below) in contact with the connection portion at one side to a second contact position (SP) in contact with the connection portion at the other side (of the relay).
PNG
media_image2.png
746
947
media_image2.png
Greyscale
As to claim 6, modified Rai 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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The allowable subject matter being the W-shaped cooling pipe and the relationship as such between the pipe and the arrangement of screw penetration holes.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2008/0315736 to Yamada et al. discloses a W shaped heat pipe. US 2023/0011070 to Zwije et al. discloses a serpentine heat pipe for cooling switches.
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.
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.
/JAMIL ALEXANDER DECKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights