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 14-15, 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 14; “a housing” and “a circuit board” is unclear; whereas it cannot be readily ascertained if intended to respectively refer back to a housing and circuit board already asserted in claim 1 or otherwise intended as additional features.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, and 8-10, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by (Yoshimoto 2002/0024120).
Regarding Claim 1; Yoshimoto discloses a housing (housing as constituted by 1-2, and/or 14) configured to receive and hold an electric circuit board in place (as constituted by 18-Fig. 4), the housing comprising: a housing body having an electrically conductive housing base element (as constituted by the conductive base plate-2) and a housing wall element protruding from the electrically conductive housing base element (whereas a stepped portion of 1 comprises 15 protrudes from 2), the housing body including an electrical contacting point (whereas 2 couples a point which is defined by 16); an electrically insulating cladding layer that coats a portion of the housing body that does not include the electrical contacting point (whereas resin clads an upper surface portion of 2); a circuit board compartment that is delimited by the electrically conductive housing base element and the housing wall element (whereas 1-2, and 15 defines a delimiting compartment comprising the circuit board), and the circuit board compartment is coated with the electrically insulating cladding layer (whereas 12 is disposed in the compartment); and a fastening device including: an electrically conductive contacting unit which is directly electrically contacted with the housing body at the electrical contacting point and extends into the circuit board compartment in an installation position (as depicted by Fig. 4--whereas a fastening device-17 and/or 20 extends within the compartment and constitutes a contacting unit which directly couples the housing body-2 at the point 16—as set forth by para. 0041), and is configured to be electrically conductively contacted in the circuit board compartment with a corresponding contacting unit of the electric circuit board (as set forth by para. 0041—whereas a contacting unit is constituted by an opening through the circuit board which receives and electrically couples with 17); and a mechanical attaching unit configured to be mechanically connected in the circuit board compartment to a corresponding attaching unit of the electric circuit board in order to mechanically affix the electric circuit board in the circuit board compartment (as set forth by para. 0041—whereas 20 comprises a mechanical attaching unit and a corresponding attaching unit mechanically affixed to the circuit board and the compartment via 17—as depicted by Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 4; Yoshimoto discloses the housing according to Claim 1, wherein: the electrically conductive contacting unit of the fastening device includes an electrically conductive sleeve element to form a contacting element of the electrically conductive contacting unit, wherein the electrically conductive sleeve element is directly contacted with the electrical contacting point via a first sleeve end and protrudes with a second sleeve end into the circuit board compartment in the installation position; and the mechanical attaching unit of the fastening device has a threaded bolt element that corresponds with the electrically conductive sleeve element to form an attaching element of the mechanical attaching unit, the attaching element is coaxially arranged with the electrically conductive sleeve element and is fixed in relation to the housing body (as constituted by 17 threaded attached to each part of 20, the circuit board and respective sleeve ends of 15 which further electrically couples via the point-16 and fixed in relation to the compartment and the housing—as depicted by Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 8; Yoshimoto discloses the housing according to Claim 1, wherein the housing wall element is configured to be electrically conductive and is electrically contacted with the electrically conductive housing base element, and the housing wall element has a terminal element configured to electrically connect the electrically conductive housing base element to an electrical energy supply network (whereas 1 includes terminal 5 atleast in-part electrically coupled to the base-2 via bonding wires-6, semiconductor 4 and circuit pattern 3a).
Regarding Claim 9; Yoshimoto discloses the housing according to Claim 1, further comprising a cooling rib assembly having a cooling rib and extending outwardly away from the housing body (as constituted by 14).
Regarding Claim 10; Yoshimoto discloses the housing according to Claim 1, further comprising a housing cover element configured to fluidically tightly lock the circuit board compartment, the housing cover element having a plug contact region, the plug contact region configured to electrically contact plug contacts of the electric circuit board outside of the circuit board compartment (as constituted by a cover 13 covering an end of the housing in-part coupling the circuit board via a wire harness-11 to an automobile—para.’s 0008-0009, and 0013).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5, 7, and 11-13, are 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.
Regarding Claim 2; the housing according to Claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive housing base element is overtopped on both sides along a thickness direction of the electrically conductive housing base element by the housing wall element, the electrically conductive housing base element separates a first partial compartment of the circuit board compartment and a second partial compartment of the circuit board compartment from each other, wherein the fastening device is configured to mechanically affix and electrically contact the electric circuit board to the housing body in the first partial compartment and a second electric circuit board in the second partial compartment.
Regarding Claim 3; the housing according to Claim 1, wherein the housing is arranged as a sealing device for sealing a through opening of a structural element of a body frame of a motor vehicle.
Regarding Claim 5; the housing according to Claim 1, wherein: the electrically conductive contacting unit of the fastening device includes an electrically conductive flag to form another contacting element of the electrically conductive contacting unit, wherein the electrically conductive flag and the housing body are mutually electrically contacted, and the electrically conductive flag protrudes perpendicularly and free from the electrically insulating cladding layer into the circuit board compartment, wherein the electrical contacting point is formed by the electrically conductive flag; and the mechanical attaching unit of the fastening device includes a connecting portion of the electrically conductive flag to form a second attaching element of the mechanical attaching unit, wherein the connecting portion of the electrically conductive flag is configured to mechanically and electrically conductively connect with a corresponding connecting portion of the electric circuit board.
Regarding Claim 7; the housing according to Claim 1 wherein: the electrically conductive contacting unit of the fastening device includes an electrically conductive soldering base having a screw element to form a second contacting element of the electrically conductive contacting unit, wherein the electrically conductive soldering base is configured to be soldered to a corresponding soldering base receptacle of the electric circuit board, and is directly contacted with the electrical contacting point by a base surface in the installation position; and the mechanical attaching unit of the fastening device includes a screw tightening element corresponding with the screw element to form a second screw attaching element of the mechanical attaching unit, which is configured to tighten the base surface against the electrical contacting point.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20210134686 A1
Ishibashi; Hidetoshi et al.
Fig. 1
US 20090096081 A1
Soyano; Shin
Fig. 2
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-9094. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5p.
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/COURTNEY L SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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