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 statement (IDS) submitted on 7/24/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: “is configure uch”, should read as “is configured such”. 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.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "a plurality of electronic assemblies" in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 16 already recites "a plurality of electronic assemblies" in line 5, therefore, making said limitation lack antecedent basis.
Claims 17-29 are also rejected under 112 (b) as being dependent upon claim 16.
Claim 17 recites the limitation "link a cooler" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 16 recites “a cooler”, in line 14, thus claim 17 lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 23 recites the limitation "to the carrier" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 16 doesn’t recite any “carrier”, thus claim 23 lacks antecedent basis.
Claim 30 recites the limitation "a plurality of electronic assemblies" in line 13, “a housing” line 20, “at least one insertion mechanism for”, line 22. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. Claim 30 already recites "a plurality of electronic assemblies" in line 5, “a housing” in line 6, and lastly, “at least one insertion mechanism for”, in line 12, thus the office is unsure if they’re multiple elements of each of the cited elements listed or one of each.
Claim 30 is 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 30 recites “at least one front side that is at least partially detachably connected to the housing and via which access to the exchangeable electronics assemblies arranged inside the housing is possible”. The office is unclear to what “housing” the at least one front side is connected to. The office suggests using different terminology for said housings (main, primary, secondary, etc., housings). The office will interpret the main housing to be coupled to the detachable one front side.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 16-17, 19-22, and 24-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ling (U.S 2013/0194755 A1) in view of Grapes (U.S 4,867,235).
In regards to Claim 16, Ling discloses an exchangeable electronics assembly of a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one circuit board (Fig.2, #115) with at least one electronics component (Fig.2, #125) to be cooled arranged on the circuit board (Fig.2); at least one plug (Fig.3, #310) oriented in parallel to an insertion direction of the electronics assembly into a housing (Fig.1-2, #100, is a rack) accommodating a plurality of electronic assemblies (Fig.1, #100 includes a plurality of electronic assemblies), wherein the plug is arranged at an end of the circuit board (Fig.1-3, plug #310 is arranged at the end of #115) in such a way that a rear-side circuit board (Fig.1-3, #110, is the backplane comprising electrical connectors) oriented transverse to the insertion direction can be contacted via the plug (Fig.1-3); at least one insertion mechanism (Fig.1-2, #100 includes slots/shelfs #140 for each circuit board to be inserted into and out of said housing #100, see paragraph [0006 & 0019-0020]) that cooperates with at least one receptacle of the housing accommodating a plurality of electronic assemblies (Fig.1-2 and paragraph [0006 & 0019]); and at least one heat-conducting element (Fig.2, #135) in thermal contact with the electronics component (Fig.2), wherein the heat-conducting element includes a contact surface (Fig.2, #150 in conjunction with #245 make up the contact surface) oriented transverse to the insertion direction for thermally linking a cooler (Fig.2, #130 is the common cooler); wherein the plug protrudes further than the contact surface in the insertion direction (Fig.1-3, #310 protrudes further than the contact surface #245, see figure 2).
Ling fails to explicitly disclose: At least one housing connected to the circuit board and at least partially surrounding the circuit board.
However, Grapes discloses: At least one housing connected to the circuit board and at least partially surrounding the circuit board (Fig.1, #12 which is interpreted as the housing which partially covers circuit board #18, as such the office notes that with the combination of Ling in view of Grapes, the at least one circuit board comprising heat generating components (as taught by Ling) would be modified to include a housing (as taught by Grapes) to partially surround said circuit board).
Therefore, it would of have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the at least one circuit board comprising heat generating components (as taught by Ling) would be modified to include a housing (as taught by Grapes) to partially surround said circuit board. By including a housing which partially covers the circuit board, would provide protection to the components mounted on said board from accidentally touching and/or external forces.
In regards to Claim 17, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein the contact surface is configured such that the contact surface serves to link a cooler that is arranged in front of the circuit board as seen in the insertion direction (Ling, Fig.1-2, #245 is configured to contact cooler #130 arranged in the front of circuit board #115 in the insertion direction, see direction arrow #120).
In regards to Claim 19, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein the plug is configured to contact the rear-side circuit board by protruding through at least one opening of the cooler (Ling, Fig.1-2, plug #310 goes through openings/gap of #130, see figure 1 and 2, which disclose a gap/opening for #310 to enter and connect to backplane #110).
In regards to Claim 20, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein the heat- conducting element (Ling, Fig.2, #135) has at least one surface oriented in parallel to the insertion direction (Ling, Fig.2, #135 first portion (portion on top of #125) for absorbing waste heat generated by the electronics component (Ling, Fig.2), and at least one portion having a 90° bend for linking to the contact surface oriented transverse to the insertion direction (Ling, Fig.2, #135 includes a second portion having a 90 degree bend for linking to #245).
In regards to Claim 21, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein at least one further circuit board is provided (Grapes, Fig.1, #20), and: (i) the housing is connected to both the circuit board and the further circuit board (Grapes, Fig.1, #12 is connected to #20 via screws), and/or (ii) the plug is arranged on the circuit board and the electronics component to be cooled is arranged on the further circuit board and/or (iii) the circuit board and the at least one further circuit board are connected to one another via a contact.
In regards to Claim 22, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 21, wherein: (i) the housing has at least one arm that protrudes over the further circuit board (Grapes Fig.1, #12 has one arm which protrudes over board #18), and/or (ii) the housing can be connected to the circuit board, and/or (iii) the housing is configured to mechanically hold the further circuit board and/or is configured to hold the heat-conducting element and/or is configured to be attached to a carrier.
In regards to Claim 24, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, further comprising: at least one frame-shaped carrier for accommodating the at least one circuit board (Ling, Fig.3, #100 is a frame shaped carrier for accommodating circuit board #115) and/or for accommodating at least a part of the housing and/or for mechanical contact with receptacles that are arranged in the housing surrounding the electronics assemblies.
In regards to Claim 25, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein at least one further heat-conducting element including a flexible heat-conducting material (Ling, Fig.2, #162 is a flexible heat conducting thermal interface, see paragraph [0032]), is provided between the heat-conducting element and: (i) the cooler and/or (ii) the electronics component (Ling, Fig.2, #162 is between #125 and #135).
In regards to Claim 26, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein the heat- conducting element includes: (i) at least one heat-conducting plate made of copper or aluminum, and/or (ii) at least one cavity filled with a heat-conducting medium, the cavity being in the form of a rectangle or tube or a vapor chamber or as a heat pipe (Ling, Fig.2, #135 and paragraph [0034], which disclose can be a heat pipe or vapor chamber including conducting medium).
In regards to Claim 27, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 25, wherein the heat-conducting element includes at least one end piece: (i) that is in thermal contact with a tubular heat-conducting element, and/or has a profile for accommodating the further heat-conducting element (Ling, Fig.2, #135 includes an end piece (portion that is on top of #125) that has a profile for accommodating #162).
In regards to Claim 28, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein the housing has at least one recess for the heat-conducting element (Grapes, Fig.1, #12 in includes an opening for #16 (heat conducting element)) and/or at least one contact surface projecting inward, for thermally cooling at least one electronics component.
In regards to Claim 29, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 16, wherein a pressing device including at least one screw or lever (Ling, Paragraph [0035]), is provided in order to reduce a relative distance between the heat-conducting element or contact surface and the cooler, to achieve compression of the further heat-conducting element lying between the heat-conducting element or contact surface and the cooler (Ling, Fig.1-3, paragraph [0035], which discloses #100 includes a lever/latch which is used to provide insertion force between #245 and cooler #130).
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ling (U.S 2013/0194755 A1) in view of Grapes (U.S 4,867,235), and further, in view of Lassini (U.S 2017/0339805 A1).
In regards to Claim 30, Ling discloses a system, comprising: an exchangeable electronics assembly of a motor vehicle, including: at least one circuit board with at least one electronics component to be cooled arranged on the circuit board (Fig.2, #115 includes electronic component #125), at least one plug (Fig.3, #310) oriented in parallel to an insertion direction of the electronics assembly into a housing accommodating a plurality of electronics assemblies (Fig.1-3), wherein the plug is arranged at an end of the circuit board (Fig.2-3, #310 is located at the rear end of #115) in such a way that a rear-side circuit board (Fig.1-2, #110) oriented transverse to the insertion direction can be contacted via the plug (Fig.1-3), at least one insertion mechanism that cooperates with at least one receptacle of the housing accommodating a plurality of electronics assemblies (Fig.1-2, #100 includes slots/shelves #140 for each circuit board to be inserted into and out of said housing #100, see paragraph [0006 & 0019-0020]), and at least one heat-conducting element (Fig.2, #135) in thermal contact with the electronics component (Fig.2 and paragraphs [0031-0032]), wherein the heat-conducting element includes a contact surface (Fig.2, #245) oriented transverse to the insertion direction for thermally linking a cooler (Fig.1-2), wherein the plug protrudes further than the contact surface in the insertion direction (Fig.2-3, #310 protrudes further than #245); a housing to at least partially enclose the electronics assemblies which can be exchanged in the insertion direction (Fig.1, which includes a rack (housing) for multiple electrical assemblies); at least one insertion mechanism for accommodating the exchangeable electronics assemblies (Fig.1-2, #100 includes slots for each circuit board to be inserted into and out of said housing #100, see paragraph [0006 & 0019-0020]).
Ling fails to disclose: At least one housing connected to the circuit board and at least partially surrounding the circuit board and at least one front side that is at least partially detachably connected to the housing and via which access to the exchangeable electronics assemblies arranged inside the housing is possible; and a rear-side housing cover and the rear-side circuit board that is oriented transverse to the insertion direction of the electronics assemblies and that serves to contact the exchangeable electronics assemblies.
However, Grapes discloses: At least one housing connected to the circuit board and at least partially surrounding the circuit board (Fig.1, #12 which is interpreted as the housing which partially covers circuit board #18, as such the office notes that with the combination of Ling in view of Grapes, the at least one circuit board comprising heat generating components (as taught by Ling) would be modified to include a housing (as taught by Grapes) to partially surround said circuit board).
Therefore, it would of have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the at least one circuit board comprising heat generating components (as taught by Ling) would be modified to include a housing (as taught by Grapes) to partially surround said circuit board. By including a housing which partially covers the circuit board, would provide protection to the components mounted on said board from accidentally touching and/or external forces.
Furthermore, Ling in view of Grapes fail to disclose: At least one front side that is at least partially detachably connected to the housing and via which access to the exchangeable electronics assemblies arranged inside the housing is possible; and a rear-side housing cover and the rear-side circuit board that is oriented transverse to the insertion direction of the electronics assemblies and that serves to contact the exchangeable electronics assemblies.
Ling does disclose using a rack which typically includes a removeable front side cover and a rear side for assembly/repair, but is silent on that matter.
However, Lassini discloses: At least one front side that is at least partially detachably connected to the housing (Fig.3, #42 is detachably connected to #12/34) and via which access to the exchangeable electronics assemblies arranged inside the housing is possible (Fig.3, #42 removed, allows access to the one or more electrical assemblies #14); and a rear-side housing cover (Fig.3, #40) and the rear-side circuit board that is oriented transverse to the insertion direction of the electronics assemblies and that serves to contact the exchangeable electronics assemblies (Fig.1-3, and as such the office notes that with the combination of Ling in view of Grapes and Lassini, the housing containing a plurality of electrical assemblies (as taught by Ling) would be modified such that the front side is at least partially detachable to the housing (as taught by Lassini) to allow for assemblies to be inserted/removed).
Therefore, it would of have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to have modified the housing containing a plurality of electrical assemblies (as taught by Ling) such that the front side is at least partially detachable to the housing (as taught by Lassini) to allow for assemblies to be inserted/removed. By including a detachably front side cover, would enable a user to easily monitor, repair, and/or replace a corrupted assemble without affecting the other said assemblies.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ling (U.S 2013/0194755 A1) in view of Grapes (U.S 4,867,235).
In regards to Claim 23, Ling in view of Grapes disclose the exchangeable electronics assembly according to claim 21, wherein at least one further housing is provided (Ling, Fig.1 in conjunction with Grapes, Fig.1, #14, is another housing), which is connected to a further circuit board (Ling in vie wof Grapes, Fig.1, #14 connected to another board #20) and a further heat-conducting element and to the carrier (Ling, Fig.1-2, further circuit board would further comprises an additional heat conductive member #135 (as shown in figure 1, multiple circuit boards each having #135).
Additionally, MPEP 2144.04 (VI) (B) notes that a mere duplication of parts from the prior art teachings is considered obvious as being well within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art, wherein there is no criticality established within the instant applications specification (See figure 1-4, which discloses having single or plurality of circuit boards having electrical components); thus wherein having a second circuit board comprising a housing having a heat conductive element is simply a mere duplication one of the first electronic assembly which is obvious as being well within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art (See MPEP 2144.04, citing, In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960) MPEP 2144.04 (IV) B Duplication of Parts).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Metzger (U.S 2009/0122500 A1) – Discloses an electrical apparatus comprising a plurality of electrical assemblies, each housed within its own housing, and wherein said assemblies are cooled via fins attached externally to said housings.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANDEEP S BUTTAR whose telephone number is (571)272-4768. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00AM-4:00PM.
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.
/MANDEEP S BUTTAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
Prosecution Insights