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 § 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, 5, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda (US PGPub No. 2002/0025265) in view of Kim et al (US PGPub No. 2020/0392958).
Ikeda teaches:
limitations from claims 1 and 7, an electric compressor (10; FIG. 1-2) comprising: a housing (1, 51, 52) that houses an electric motor and a compression mechanism driven by the electric motor (80; paragraph 14); an inverter (2) that drives the electric motor (paragraph 16), the inverter including a circuit board (3) on which an electronic component is mounted (paragraph 16); an inverter housing portion (1) that houses the inverter, the inverter housing portion including a housing body having an opening (see FIG. 2), a board fixing portion (1b) to which the circuit board is fixed (FIG. 2; paragraph 15), and a cover (6) member that closes the opening of the housing body; and a vibration insulating member (100’) that reduces vibration of the cover member (paragraph 20), wherein a predetermined electronic component (4) included in the electronic component is fixed to and disposed on a cover member-side surface of the circuit board in a state of being molded and sealed with thermosetting resin (100), and the vibration insulating member is disposed and sandwiched (see FIG. 2 in which the insulating member 100’ is “sandwiched” between component 4 and cover 6; the examiner interprets the term sandwiched to mean located therebetween) between the molded and sealed predetermined electronic component and the cover member (see FIG. 2; paragraph 20-21, in which the material 100’ is between the cover 6 and the resin 100 within enclosure 4a);
Ikeda does not teach protruding board fixing portions on an inner surface of the housing;
Kim teaches a compressor (1000) including an inner housing portion (1220) and a cover (1210); a circuit board (1251) mounted within the housing and fixed via protruding portions (1252);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to mount the circuit board of Ikeda using support portions as taught by Kim, in order to fix the circuit board at various positions in relation other components while maintain efficient cooling therebetween (paragraphs 103-107 of Kim);
Ikeda further teaches:
limitations from claim 2, wherein the predetermined electronic component is molded and sealed with the thermosetting resin (100) in a case member (4a) and is integrated with the case member (paragraph 16), and is fixed to and disposed on the cover (6) member-side surface of the circuit board together with the case member (see FIG. 1-2; paragraph16, 18), and the vibration insulating member (100’) is sandwiched between the case member and the cover member (FIG. 2);
limitations from claim 3, wherein the case member (4a) is fastened and fixed to the board fixing portion together with the circuit board (paragraph 16 in which the enclosure 4a is fixed on wall 1b, this being the wall from which protrusions via the combination with Kim would be positioned);
limitations from claim 5, wherein the predetermined electronic component (4) is integrated with the circuit board by the thermosetting resin (100; paragraph 16), and the vibration insulating member (100’) is sandwiched between the molded and sealed predetermined electronic component and the cover member (FIG. 2);
Claim(s) 4, 6, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda (US PGPub No. 2002/0025265) in view of Kim et al (US PGPub No. 2020/0392958) as applied to claim 1 above, and in further view of FR 2822341 (herein Prolonge).
Regarding claims 4, 6, and 8:
Ikeda teaches a flat cover (6) rather than a cover having a bulging portion;
However, Prolonge teaches a housing (6) for electronic components (2) on a circuit board (1), having a cover (13); the cover including a bulge portion (14) such that tips of components (2) are positioned within the bulging portion (see FIG. 2A);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to form the inverter cover of Ikeda in a particular shape, such as the selectively bulged shape of the cover taught by Prolonge, as a matter of design choice in order to accommodate various amounts and sizes of electronic components as needed. The examiner notes that Prolonge teaches both flat cover surfaces and bulged cover surfaces as alternatives to one another (FIG. 1A and FIG. 2A);
Claim(s) 1, 7, 9, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizuno et al (US PGPub No. 2011/0217190) in view of Kim et al (US PGPub No. 2020/0392958) in view of Ikeda (US PGPub No. 2002/0025265).
Mizuno teaches:
limitations from claims 1 and 7, an electric compressor (1) comprising: a housing (6, 12, 15) that houses an electric motor (7) and a compression mechanism (paragraph 31) driven by the electric motor; an inverter (25; paragraph 33) that drives the electric motor, the inverter including a circuit board (21) on which an electronic component (27, 30; paragraph 33) is mounted; an inverter housing portion (12) that houses the inverter, the inverter housing portion including a housing body having an opening (see FIG. 1), a board fixing portion (bottom surface of housing 12) to which the circuit board is fixed, and a cover member (29) that closes the opening of the housing body; wherein a predetermined electronic component included in the electronic component is fixed to and disposed on a cover member-side surface of the circuit board in a state of being molded and sealed with thermosetting resin (31, 34; paragraph 34);
Mizuno does not teach protruding board fixing portions on an inner surface of the housing;
Kim teaches a compressor (1000) including an inner housing portion (1220) and a cover (1210); a circuit board (1251) mounted within the housing and fixed via protruding portions (1252);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to mount the circuit board of Mizuno using support portions as taught by Kim, in order to fix the circuit board at various positions in relation other components while maintain efficient cooling therebetween (paragraphs 103-107 of Kim);
Mizuno does not teach a vibration insulating member between the cover and the sealed electronic component;
Ikeda teaches:
limitations from claims 1 and 7, an electric compressor (10; FIG. 1-2) comprising: a housing (1, 51, 52) that houses an electric motor (80) and a compression mechanism (paragraph 14); an inverter (2) that drives the electric motor (paragraph 16), the inverter including a circuit board (3) on which an electronic component is mounted (paragraph 16); an inverter housing portion (1) that houses the inverter, a cover (6) member that closes an opening of the housing body; and a vibration insulating member (100’) that reduces vibration of the cover member (paragraph 20), wherein a predetermined electronic component (4) included in the electronic component is fixed to and disposed on a cover member-side surface of the circuit board in a state of being molded and sealed with thermosetting resin (100), and the vibration insulating member is disposed and sandwiched (see FIG. 2 in which the insulating member 100’ is “sandwiched” between component 4 and cover 6; the examiner interprets the term sandwiched to mean located therebetween) between the molded and sealed predetermined electronic component and the cover member (see FIG. 2; paragraph 20-21, in which the material 100’ is between the cover 6 and the resin 100 within enclosure 4a);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to provide a vibration insulating material in the inverter chamber of Mizuno, as taught by Ikeda, in order to reduce transmission of vibrations through the chamber thereby reducing damages therefrom (see paragraph 18 of Ikeda).
Mizuno further teaches:
limitations from claims 9 and 10, wherein the predetermined electronic component includes at least one of a smoothing capacitor that smooths DC voltage from a DC power supply, a filter capacitor that forms a noise filter, or a filter coil that forms the noise filter (capacitor 27; paragraph 33, 35);
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda (US PGPub No. 2002/0025265) in view of Kim et al (US PGPub No. 2020/0392958) as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and in further view of Kim et al (US PGPub No. 2007/0115644; herein Kim ‘644).
Ikeda teaches a cover (6), electronic component (4), and an insulating material (resin 100’) therebetween, but does not teach that the insulating material is flexible and compressed;
Kim ‘644 teaches a heat-dissipating assembly including electronic components (PCB 24), a housing (21, 27), and a heat-insulating resin member (28) sandwiched (compressed) therebetween (FIG. 5; paragraph 38);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of compressors at the time the invention was filed to provide a compressive force to the resin of Ikeda, as taught by Kim ‘644, in order to further conform to the shapes of the inverter housing components thereby more effectively transfer heat (paragraph 38 of Kim).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/02/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive:
Applicant has amended the claims to include the limitation “…the vibration insulating member is disposed and sandwiched between the molded and sealed predetermined electronic component and the cover member…”. Applicant argues that Ikeda teaches a resin material 100’ disposed between the lid 6 and enclosure 4a (see response Page 6). However, the examiner maintains that the term “sandwiched” does not necessarily require the resin to be compressed between the two components. The resin is between and in contact with both the cover and the enclosure and therefore can be considered “sandwiched” between the two.
Regarding Claims 11-12, the examiner further relies on prior art to Kim, in which the benefits of compressing a heat-insulating resin are disclosed, namely a more precise fit between the resin and components to be cooled.
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 CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH whose telephone number is (571)270-5289. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTOPHER S BOBISH/Examiner, Art Unit 3746