Invalidity dossier
US 5134545
Added 9/23/2026, 3:50:44 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 5,134,545
Title: Insulative cradle isolation structure for electrical components
Patent number: US 5,134,545 A (application US07/709,888)
Inventor: Darryl K. Smith
Original assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation. The source also lists a current assignee, Hewlett Packard Development Co. LP, without further explanation of the record.
Dates: Filed and priority date 1991-06-04; granted/publication date 1992-07-28. Expiration recorded as anticipated 2011-06-04; status "Expired - Lifetime."
Purpose and plain-language scope: The patent addresses mounting an electrical component on a side surface of a thermally and electrically conductive structure such as a grounded metal heat sink. The component is supported in an isolation cradle member made of an electrically insulative material—preferably aluminum oxide ceramic, chosen for high dielectric strength and high thermal conductivity. The cradle has a plate-like body portion with a first side facing the heat sink and a second side bounded by a peripheral edge, with rib means projecting outwardly from the second side adjacent that edge. The ribs define an external pocket that receives a first portion of the component in contact with the second side and limits shifting of that portion parallel to the body surface. Attachment means secure the body to the heat sink surface; clamping means press the component and underlying body section together, stated to increase both dielectric strength and thermal conductivity of that section. The ribs act as a shield to maintain at least a predetermined minimum air gap clearance length between the balance of the mounted component and the conductive structure—an improvement over encapsulated (silicon rubber) shrouds and flat isolating pads, which the text says suffer tearing or component "creep" toward pad edges.
Not established by the excerpt: the full text of the claims (including the actual claimed scope beyond the summary definitions section), the complete description and drawing content, the listed prior-art references, prosecution history, and the basis for any assignee changes.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:51:19 PM
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Litigation summary
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PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.