Ex Parte Joschko et alDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardAug 29, 201813979377 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Aug. 29, 2018) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR 13/979,377 09/27/2013 Witold Joschko 96897 7590 08/29/2018 PA TENT LAW OFFICES OF DR. NORMAN B. THOT POSTFACH 10 17 56 RATINGEN, 40837 GERMANY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. TS/PIEP 1308 US-PAT 7036 EXAMINER TREMARCHE, CONNOR J. ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3746 MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE 08/29/2018 PAPER Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte WITOLD JOSCHKO and THOMAS JOACHIM GIBAT Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979 ,3 77 1 Technology Center 3700 Before LINDA E. HORNER, EDWARD A. BROWN, and LISA M. GUIJT, Administrative Patent Judges. BROWN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Witold Joschko and Thomas J. Gibat ("Appellants") appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the Examiner's decision rejecting claims 6-11 and 13- 18, which are all the pending claims. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ). We AFFIRM. 1 The Appeal Brief identifies the real party in interest as Pierburg Pump Technology GmbH. Br. 2. Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Appellants' disclosure "relates to an electric motor vehicle coolant pump for supplying coolant to an internal combustion engine, wherein the brushless electromotor is commutated electronically." Spec. ,r 2. Claims 6, 13, and 16 are independent. Claim 6 is illustrative of the subject matter on appeal, and reads: 6. An electric coolant pump for a motor vehicle, the electric coolant pump comprising: a wet section in which is arranged an impeller and a permanently magnetized motor rotor of an electronically commutated electromotor; a dry section in which is arranged an electric circuit board compnsmg, a plurality of power semiconductors which each comprise a cooling lug, and electric controls configured to drive the plurality of power semiconductors; and a partition wall lying in a traverse plane, the partition wall being arranged to separate the wet section and the dry section, wherein, the plurality of power semiconductors are each arranged on a proximal side of the electric circuit board facing the partition wall, the electric controls are each arranged on a distal side of the circuit board averted from the partition wall, each of the plurality of power semiconductors comprises a connection consisting of the cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip, and on a side of the partition wall facing the electric circuit board, the partition wall comprises a heat conductor which is configured to be electrically non-conductive, the heat conductor being arranged to rest directly on a respective cooling lug conductor strip. Br. 18 (Claims App.). 2 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 REJECTIONS 1. Claims 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. 2. Claims 6-10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as unpatentable over Nakanishi (US 2008/0118380 Al, published May 22, 2008), Morozumi (US 2009/0289344 Al, published Nov. 26, 2009), and Hajicek (US 6,377,462 Bl, issued Apr. 23, 2002). 3. Claims 11, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as unpatentable over Nakanishi, Morozumi, Hajicek, and Mateme (US 6,445,098 Bl, issued Sept. 3, 2002). ANALYSIS Rejection 1: Written Description Initially, the meaning of the limitation, "each of the plurality of power semiconductors comprises a connection consisting of the cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip,"2 (Br. 18 (Claims App. (emphasis added)), as recited in claim 6, is at issue for this rejection. The term "comprises" is open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements. See Mars, Inc. v. HJ. Heinz Co., 377 F.3d 1369, 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2004). In contrast, use of the phrase "consisting of' to set off a claim element "creates a very strong presumption that that claim element is 'closed' and therefore 'exclude[s] any elements ... not specified in the claim."' See Multilayer Stretch Cling Film Holdings, Inc. v. Berry Plastics Corp., 831 F.3d 1350, 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (citation omitted). Where both 2 Herein, we also refer to this limitation as the "connection limitation." 3 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 terms "comprising" and "consisting of' are recited in a claim, the term "consisting of' does not narrow the entire claim: The reasonable interpretation of the claims contammg both of the terms "comprising" and "consists" is that the term "consists" limits the "said portion" language to the subsequently recited [material], but the earlier term "comprising" means that the claim can include that portion plus other [elements]. In re Crish, 393 F.3d 1253, 1257 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Accordingly, we construe the connection limitation to require each power semiconductor to have "a connection consisting of the cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip," wherein the connection itself includes only the structures of a cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip, but not to preclude each power semiconductor from having additional "connections" or any other structures. The Examiner finds that claim 6 fails to comply with the written description requirement of§ 112, first paragraph, because the connection limitation is "new matter." Final Act. 3. According to the Examiner, the Specification "does not provide support for a connection only of the cooling lug being arranged or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip." Id. at 3--4. The Examiner explains that the lack of a "positive recitation" of the connection limitation in the Specification "leaves the possibility that other materials or components may be in the connection due to the figures alone not being enough to support the claimed limitation." Id. at 4. Appellants contend that the Specification and drawings provide sufficient support for the connection limitation. Br. 8. As for the Specification, Appellants submit that support is provided in the following paragraphs: 5 ("the cooling lugs of the power semiconductors are contacted directly with a conductor strip on the circuit board"); 6 ("[ e Jach cooling lug 4 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 is arranged on a cooling lug conductor strip"); 13 ("[ e Jach of the cooling lugs of the power semiconductors is arranged on a respective individual conductor strip and is soldered thereto"); 14 ("[t]he conductor strip onto which the cooling lug is soldered must thus have a larger surface area than the cooling lug itself and/or than the area of the cooling lug connected with the conductor strip"); 15 ("the cooling lugs of the power semiconductors are each still electrically connected or soldered to an individual conductor strip of the circuit board"); and 18 ("the size of the surface area of the respective cooling lug by which the same is fixed or soldered to the conductor strip"). Id. at 9--10 ( emphases added). Appellants contend these disclosures make clear that the cooling lug "is always connected to the cooling lug conductor strip," and that the connection can occur via a soldering. Id. at 10. Appellants submit that the Specification nowhere states that "the cooling lug (as part of the power semiconductor) is attached to anything other than the cooling lug conductor strip." Id. As for the drawings, Appellants submit Figure 1 shows that cooling lug 34 of power semiconductor 30 is only connected to cooling lug conductor strip 42, and Figure 2 shows that cooling lug 34' of power semiconductor 30' is only connected to cooling lug conductor strip 42, with the connection occurring via solder 35. Id. at 10-11 (showing Appellants' annotated versions of Figs. 1 and 2). The Examiner responds that Figure 2 "does not show elements that must be there such as wiring for the stator as well as additional circuitry and therefore cannot be relied upon to support the consisting of language in the claim." Ans. 17 ( emphasis added). The Examiner submits, "[ t ]he cited paragraphs from the specification ... do not clarify that the claimed connection consists only of these elements." Id. at 18. The Examiner 5 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 further submits, "in Figure 2 there appears to be a wire (unlabeled wire on the right hand semiconductor 32) connected to a power semiconductor which would show that a connection to the semiconductor is more than the cooling lug and the cooling lug conductor strip." Id. The test for sufficiency under the written description requirement of § 112 "is whether the disclosure of the application relied upon reasonably conveys to those skilled in the art that the inventor had possession of the claimed subject matter as of the filing date." See Ari ad Pharms., Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., 598 F.3d 1336, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (en bane). As discussed above, we construe the connection limitation to not require each power semiconductor to have only "a connection consisting of the cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip," but rather, to require each power semiconductor to have at least this connection. Figure 2 depicts a connection where cooling lug 34' is "soldered to" cooling lug conductor strip 42' via solder 35, without showing any other structures as part of the connection, as required by the "consisting of' language of claims. We note that "under proper circumstances, drawings alone may provide a 'written description' of an invention as required by§ 112." Vas-Cath Inc. v. Mahurkar, 935 F.2d 1555, 1565 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (emphasis added). Paragraphs 13-15 and 18 of the Specification describe such soldering of cooling lugs to conductor strips, as shown in Figure 2. Paragraph 6 of the Specification describes cooling lugs "arranged on" cooling lug conductor strips, and paragraph 5 describes that the cooling lugs can be "contacted directly with" conductor strips. Accordingly, the Specification and drawings provide an adequate disclosure with regard to the connection limitation that 6 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 would reasonably convey to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventors had possession of the claimed subject matter as of the filing date. Regarding the Examiner's positions that Figure 2 "does not show elements that must be there," and appears to show an additional connection to the semiconductor (Ans. 17), the Examiner does not establish, with evidence, that Figure 2 fails to show any additional elements that must be present with regard to the connections between elements 34 and 42 or elements 34' and 42'. And, Figure 2 shows the "unlabeled wire" being connected to semiconductor 32 and a portion of conductor strip 42, but not as providing a connection between cooling lug 34 and conductor strip 42. Moreover, even if the "wire" provides an additional connection to power semiconductor 30, our construction of the connection limitation does not preclude this connection. For the foregoing reasons, we do not sustain the rejection of claims 6- 11 as failing to comply with the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112. Rejection 2: Obviousness of Claims 6-10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 Appellants present argument only for claim 6. Br. 13-16. Accordingly, we select claim 6 as representative of the group. Claims 7-10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 stand or fall with claim 6. See 37 C.F.R. § 4I.37(c)(l)(iv). For claim 6, the Examiner finds that Nakanishi discloses a fluid pump comprising, inter alia, a circuit board (i.e., circuit substrate 23) and a plurality of semiconductors (i.e., "semiconductor devices" 25). Final Act. 4--5 (citing Nakanishi, Figs. 1-3). The Examiner finds that Nakanishi does not disclose that each semiconductor comprises a cooling lug. Id. at 5. 7 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 The Examiner finds that Morozumi teaches a semiconductor device 10 including a cooling lug (i.e., heat radiator 13) on the semiconductor. Id. ( citing Morozumi, Fig. 1, ,r,r 24, 27). The Examiner determines it would have been obvious to modify the semiconductor in Nakanishi with the cooling lug taught by Morozumi to increase thermal diffusion from the semiconductor so that it will not be damaged by excess heat. Id. The Examiner finds that Nakanishi as modified by Morozumi does not disclose the claimed connection limitation. Id. at 6. The Examiner relies on Hajicek to disclose components using a cooling lug conductor strip (i.e., trace 14). Final Act. 6 (citing Hajicek, Fig. 1 ). The Examiner explains that the combination of Nakanishi, Morozumi, and Hajicek results in the cooling lug conductor strip of Hajicek placed on the circuit board of Nakanishi such that a connection consisting of the cooling lug of Morozumi is arranged on the cooling lug conductor strip for heat conduction. Id.; see also Ans. 19. Appellants contend that the applied combination of references fails to teach or suggest the connection limitation. Br. 15. According to Appellants, this limitation makes clear, via the phrase "consisting of," "that the connection is exclusively via 'the cooling lug being arranged on or soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip."' Id. at 14. Appellants submit, "the connection of the power semiconductors to the cooling lug conductor strip consists of the cooling lug being arranged on the cooling lug conductor strip or the cooling lug being soldered to a cooling lug conductor strip." Id. at 15. Appellants assert that, in contrast, Hajicek teaches that the power semiconductors (i.e., heat-generating electronic components 20) are (i) arranged on traces 14 ("cooling lug conductor strip") and (ii) also connected 8 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 to metal plate 22 via solder bridge 30. Id. (showing annotated version of Fig. 2 of Hajicek). Appellants' contentions are not persuasive. First, the contention that each of Nakanishi, Morozumi, and Hajicek individually fails to teach or suggest the connection limitation does not consider the totality of the teachings of the references, in combination, and, consequently, is not responsive to the rejection set forth by the Examiner. Br. 13. Regarding the combination, the Examiner explains that Nakanishi teaches power semiconductors, which would be connected to the cooling lug of Morozumi to facilitate heat transfer from the semiconductors, and the cooling lug would be connected to the cooling lug conductor strip of Hajicek, resulting in the semiconductors of Nakanishi comprising a connection consisting of the cooling lug of Morozumi arranged on the cooling lug conductor strip of Hajicek. Ans. 19. The combination would place the cooling lug of Morozumi between the semiconductor of Nakanishi and the cooling lug conductor strip of Hajicek. Id. Second, although Hajicek depicts a solder connection between heat generating electronic component 14 and metal plate 22 in Figures 1 and 2, the Examiner does not rely on Hajicek for teaching this connection. Accordingly, Appellants' contention does not address the Examiner's use of Hajicek in the combination, or explain persuasively why the solder connection of Hajicek would be necessary in the proposed modification of the semiconductors of Nakanishi. Thus, we sustain the rejection of claim 6 as unpatentable over Nakanishi, Morozumi, and Hajicek. Claims 7-10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 fall with claim 6. 9 Appeal2018-000860 Application 13/979,377 Re} ection 3: Obviousness of Claims 11, 15, and 18 Appellants elected to not submit arguments against this rejection. Br. 16. Accordingly, we sustain the rejection of claims 11, 15, and 18 as unpatentable over Nakanishi, Morozumi, Hajicek, and Mateme. DECISION We reverse the rejection of claims 6-11 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. We affirm the rejection of claims 6-10, 13, 14, 16, and 17 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Nakanishi, Morozumi, and Hajicek. We affirm the rejection of claims 11, 15, and 18 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable over Nakanishi, Morozumi, Hajicek, and Mateme. No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with this appeal may be extended according to 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(l )(iv). AFFIRMED 10 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation