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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (U.S. Publication 2021/0190281 A1).
With regards to Claim 1, Li discloses a light-emitting module [Figures 1-7], including:
A circuit board (2), configured to have a light source (4) disposed thereon;
A reflector (1), configured to be located in a light output direction of the light source and to reflect light emitted by the light source; and
A heat sink (3), configured to fix the circuit board and the reflector and to dissipate heat from the circuit board.
With regards to Claim 2, Li discloses a guide pin (5) provided on the heat sink, and configured such that when the circuit board is placed on the heat sink, the guide pin passes through a first through-hole (32) provided in the circuit board, thus pre-positioning the circuit board.
With regards to Claim 3, Li discloses a gap [note Figure 4: gap of (32)] between the guide pin and a side wall of the first through-hole in the circuit board, the gap allowing the circuit board to move on the heat sink.
With regards to Claim 5, Li discloses the reflector including a positioning pin (11) configured to pass through a second through-hole (31) provided in the circuit board, thus positioning the reflector with respect to the heat sink.
With regards to Claim 6, Li discloses the positioning pin (11) and the second through-hole (31) are in a tight fit with each other [note Figure 4].
With regards to Claim 8, Li discloses a screw [note three other (5)], the screw passing through a third through-hole in the reflector and a fourth through-hole in the circuit board, thus fixing the reflector and the circuit board tightly to the heat sink [note Figure 3].
With regards to Claim 9, Li discloses the light-emitting module has at least two circuit boards (2) sharing the same reflector (1) and heat sink (3) [note Figure 3, where (3) is taken as one unit].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. (U.S. Publication 2021/0190281 A1).
With regards to Claim 10, Li discloses a lighting device [Figures 1-7], including a light-emitting module, the light-emitting module includes:
A circuit board (2), configured to have a light source (4) disposed thereon;
A reflector (1), configured to be located in a light output direction of the light source and to reflect light emitted by the light source; and
A heat sink (3), configured to fix the circuit board and the reflector and to dissipate heat from the circuit board.
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 Li et al. (U.S. Publication 2021/0190281 A1).
With regards to Claim 4, Li discloses the claimed invention as cited above, but does not specifically teach the gap being greater than or equal to 0.3 mm.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to have incorporated the gap to be greater than or equal to 0.3 mm to ensure sufficient spacing so as to facilitate installation. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (U.S. Publication 2021/0190281 A1) as applied to Claim 5 above, and further in view of Garcia Castilla et al. (U.S. Patent 10,378,712 B2)
With regards to Claim 7, Li discloses the claimed invention as cited above, but does not specifically teach a thermally conductive glue arranged between the circuit board and the heat sink.
Garcia Castilla discloses a heat sink (10) and a circuit board (11) having a thermally conductive glue arranged therebetween [Column 4, Lines 23-45].
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the light-emitting module of Li to have arranged thermally conductive glue between the circuit board and the heat sink, as taught in principle by Garcia Castilla, in order to improve contact therebetween and obtain better heat transfer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, but is not considered exhaustive: U.S. Patent 7,635,206 B2 to Huang that teaches a light-emitting module with various connections between a heat sink, reflector, and printed circuit board [note Figures 1-3].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON M HAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2207. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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Thursday, July 30, 2026
/Jason M Han/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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