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 Objections
Claims 1 and 4-5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1 and 4: all instances of “the electric/electronic component” should be amended to recite “the predetermined electric/electronic component” for consistent claim nomenclature.
Claim 1 Ln.7: the clause “and the other end side of the conductor” should be amended to recite “and another end side of the conductor” for antecedent reasons.
Claim 5 Lns.4-5: the Office recommends amending the clause “and a groove opposing surface, facing the groove bottom surface, of front and back surfaces of the conductor member” to recite “and a groove opposing surface, facing the groove bottom surface, which is one of front and back surfaces of the conductor member” for clarity purposes (as currently drafted, the claim is drafted such that both the front and back surfaces of the conductor member define the groove bottom surface, but Applicant’s specification appears to state that either the front or back surface of the conductor member defines the “groove opposing surface”) and to keep the limitation consistent with Applicant’s specification (see paragraph [0017] of US PG-Pub version of Applicant’s specification). For the purposes of examination, the limitation was considered to be interpreted so long as a front or back surface of the conductor member can define a “groove opposing surface”.
The Office notes that the above objections are a non-exhaustive list, and thus requests Applicant’s cooperation with reviewing the claims and correcting ALL remaining informalities present in the claims, but not made of record above. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-5 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.
Regarding claim 1, the claim is believed to be indefinite due to the limitation “the conductor groove extending along a shape of a longitudinal direction of the conductor member and formed to have a sufficient depth to accommodate at least a portion of the conductor member in a thickness direction thereof” (emphasis added). The word “sufficient” is a subjective terminology, and thus has a claim scope that cannot be easily ascertained to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts since it is unclear as to when the depth of the conductor groove is sufficient or insufficient (i.e., at what point is the depth of the groove sufficient or insufficient?). Applicant’s specification also provides no clear objective standard for determining when the depth of the groove is sufficient or insufficient, and thus further making the intended scope of the word “sufficient” indefinite.
While paragraph [0014] of Applicant’s specification (see US PG-Pub version of Applicant’s specification) provides an example of a “sufficient depth”, the specification fails to provide any scale that would make it clear to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts as to when the groove depth is no longer sufficient or what the sufficient groove depth range is, and thus further making the intended scope of the word “sufficient” unclear and indefinite. For all of the reasons provided above, the limitation is believed to be indefinite. For the purposes of examination the limitation was interpreted as “the conductor groove extending along a shape of a longitudinal direction of the conductor member and formed to have a depth to accommodate at least a portion of the conductor member in a thickness direction thereof” (emphasis added).
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, for inheriting the deficiency of claim 1 as outlined above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(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.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamane (JP 2016152349) (of record, cited in the IDS, including Original Document and Translation) or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yamane in view of Fujimura (US 20190297720).
Regarding claim 1, Yamane discloses (Fig.9):
A conductor cooling structure comprising: a cooling plate (51) formed into a band plate shape (Fig.9: 51 is in a band plate shape) made of a conductive metal (See [0034] of Translation) and being a flat plate-shaped member (Fig.9: 51 is a flat plate-shaped member) configured to cool a conductor member (100) with a predetermined electric/electronic component (31) being fixed to a front surface (upper surface of 51) of the cooling plate (51) in such a state that the conductor member (100) is placed on the front surface (upper surface of 51) of the cooling plate (51) (See Fig.9 and [0064] of Translation: 51 will dissipate heat transferred from 100), the conductor member (100) configured to be energized with one end side of the conductor member (100) being connected to a component terminal of the electric/electronic component (31) (See Fig.9 and [0064] of Translation: 100 is coupled to 31, therefore the portion of 100 connected to a terminal, which will define the “component terminal”, of 31 will define the “one end side” of 100), and the other end side the conductor member (100) being connected to an electrical connection target of the electric/electronic component (31) (Fig.9: the opposite end of 100, which will define “the other end side” will be connected to a load that will define an “electrical connection target” of 31), a conductor groove (53) being formed on the front surface (upper surface of 51) of the cooling plate (51), the conductor groove (53) extending along a shape of a longitudinal direction (See Figure Below) of the conductor member (100) and formed to have a sufficient depth to accommodate at least a portion of the conductor member (100) in a thickness direction (See Figure Below) thereof (See Fig.9 and Figure Below: 53 extends along the shape of 100 in the longitudinal direction and has a thickness along a thickness direction to accommodate a portion of 100); and a heat transfer member (60 and 70) covering an area larger (Fig.9: 60 with 70 covers an area that is larger than the area occupied by 53) than at least the conductor groove (53) on the front surface (upper surface of 51) of the cooling plate (51) so as to be sandwiched between a groove inner surface (See Figure Below) of the conductor groove (53) and the conductor member (100), the heat transfer member (60 and 70) being made of an insulating material (See [0038] and [0055] of Translation) that transfers heat of the conductor member (100) to the cooling plate (51) (See Fig.9, [0038], [0055], and [0064] of Translation: 100 can transfer heat to 51 via 60 and 70).
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Alternatively, Fujimura teaches (Figs.1-2):
The conductor member (20) configured to be energized with one end side (end of 21 that has 21a) of the conductor member (20) being connected to a component terminal (12) of the electric/electronic component (11), and the other end side (Fig.1: end of 23 with 23a) of the conductor member (20) being connected to an electrical connection target ([0052]: the “external terminal” will define the “electrical connection target”) of the electric/electronic component (11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Fujimura to modify the device of Yamane such that the conductor member is energized with one end side being connected to a component terminal of the predetermined electric/electronic component and another end side being connected to an electrical connection target of the predetermined electric/electronic component, as claimed, in order to provide a simple means of electrically powering the predetermined electric/electronic component while also still achieving an efficient means of transferring heat from the predetermined electric/electronic component to the cooling plate.
Regarding claim 2, Yamane further discloses:
Wherein the conductor groove (53) is a groove that is wider than the conductor member (100) by an amount of a thickness of the heat transfer member (60 and 70) (Fig.9: the width of 53 is wider than the portion of 100 in 53 by at least the thickness of 70).
Regarding claim 3, Yamane further discloses:
Wherein the heat transfer member (60 and 70) is arranged to cover an entire surface of the front surface (upper surface of 51) of the cooling plate (51) (Fig.9: 60 with 70 covers the entire upper surface of 51).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamane (JP 2016152349) (of record, cited in the IDS, including Original Document and Translation) (alone, or as modified by Fujimura (US 20190297720)) in view of Fujimura (WO 2021153373) (referred to as Fujimura’373) and in further view of Kirker (US 20020162039).
Regarding claim 4, Yamane further discloses:
The heat transfer member (60 and 70) being sandwiched between (See Figure of Claim 1 and Fig.9) the groove inner surface (See Figure of Claim 1) and the conductor member (100).
However, Yamane (alone, or as modified by Fujimura) does not teach:
Wherein a component fixing stud is provided vertically on the front surface of the cooling plate, the electric/electronic component having the component terminal connected to the conductor member is fixed to the component fixing stud so as to press the conductor member against the conductor groove with the heat transfer member being sandwiched between the groove inner surface and the conductor member, and the heat transfer member is provided with a stud through hole through which the component fixing stud penetrates.
Fujimura’373 however teaches (Figss.1, 3, and 7):
Wherein a component fixing stud (50) is provided vertically (See Fig.3) on the front surface (upper surface of 24) of the cooling plate (24), the electric/electronic component (16) having the component terminal (30a and/or b) connected to the conductor member (32 and 34) is fixed to the component fixing stud (50) so as to press the conductor member (32 and 34) against the conductor groove (70) (Figs.1, 3, and 7: in the connected state, 102 will connect 16 to 50, and thus press, at least indirectly, press 32/34 against 70 in order to retain 16 to 26 and 24), and the heat transfer member (26) is provided with a stud through hole (72).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention of Fujimura’373 to modify the device of Yamane (alone, or as modified by Fujimura) such that the front surface of the cooling plate has a component fixing stud that is fixed to the component terminal of the predetermined electric/electronic component that is connected to the conductor member so that the conductor member is pressed against the conductor groove with the heat transfer member being sandwiched between the groove inner surface and the conductor member, and such that the heat transfer member has a stud through hole, as claimed, in order to further improve the connection between the predetermined electric/electronic component and the cooling plate due to there being a greater number of components being utilized to hold the predetermined electric/electronic component to the cooling plate.
However, the above combination still fails to teach:
The heat transfer member is provided with a stud through hole through which the component fixing stud penetrates.
Kirker however teaches (Fig.1):
A stud through hole (148) through which the component fixing stud (114) penetrates (See Fig.1, [0019], and [0024]: 114 will penetrate through 114).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Kirker to further modify the device of modified Yamane such that the heat transfer member has a stud through hole that the component fixing stud penetrates in order to provide a simpler means of securing the predetermined electric/electronic component to the cooling plate (i.e., now that the component fixing stud penetrates through the heat transfer member, a more direct connection between the predetermined electric/electronic component and the cooling plate can be established).
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Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamane (JP 2016152349) (of record, cited in the IDS, including Original Document and Translation) (alone, or as modified by Fujimura (US 20190297720)) in view of Fujimura (US 20220217865) (referred to as Fujimura’865).
Regarding claim 5, Yamane further discloses:
Wherein the heat transfer member (60 and 70) comes into close contact with both a groove bottom surface (See Figure of Claim 1) of the groove inner surface (See Figure of Claim 1) and a groove opposing surface (Fig.9: bottom surface of 101), facing the groove bottom surface, of front and back surfaces of the conductor member (100) (Fig.9: similar to figure 2 of Applicant’s figures, the bottom surface of 100 faces the groove bottom surface and defines the groove opposing surface, and is thus one of the front and back surfaces of 100), and also with both groove side surfaces (See Figure of Claim 1) of the groove inner surface and side edge surfaces (Fig.9 and See Figure of Claim 1: the side faces of 101 of 100 that face the “Groove Side Surfaces”), extending in the thickness direction (See Figure of Claim 1), of the conductor member (100).
However, Yamane does not teach (alone, or as modified by Fujimura):
Wherein the heat transfer member is a flexible sheet material that, when the conductor member is pressed against the conductor groove, is crushed in a member thickness direction of the heat transfer member and comes into close contact with both a groove bottom surface of the groove inner surface and a groove opposing surface, facing the groove bottom surface, of front and back surfaces of the conductor member, and also with both groove side surfaces of the groove inner surface and side edge surfaces, extending in the thickness direction, of the conductor member. (emphasis added)
Fujimura’865 however teaches (Fig.1):
Wherein the heat transfer member (40) is a flexible sheet material ([0037] and [0047]-[0049]: 40 is a flexible sheet) that, when the conductor member (30) is pressed against the conductor groove (51A), is crushed in a member thickness direction ([0049]: “in the top-bottom direction, which is the thickness direction thereof”) of the heat transfer member (40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Fujimura’865 to modify the device of Yamane (alone, or as modified by Fujimura) such that the heat transfer member is a flexible sheet material that is crushed when the conductor member is pressed against the conductor groove in a member thickness direction of the heat transfer member so that the heat transfer member comes into close contact with both the groove bottom surface of the groove inner surface and the groove opposing surface, facing the groove bottom surface, of front and back surfaces of the conductor member, and also with both groove side surfaces of the groove inner surface and side edge surfaces, extending in the thickness direction, of the conductor member, as claimed, in order to further simplify the device (i.e., as opposed to using two separate components to form the heat transfer member, a single sheet can be utilized to replace to the layers and thus reducing the total number of components and steps required to assemble the device).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20220418085: teaches a heat dissipating system for a relay/semiconductor device using busbars.
US 11322325: teaches a heat dissipating system for relays using busbars.
US 20180027646: teaches a heat dissipating system for semiconductor components and uses busbars to transfer heat.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN S SUL whose telephone number is (571)270-1243. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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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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/STEPHEN S SUL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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