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 .
Status of Claims
This action is responsive to the amendment filed on 6/3/2025. Claims 4, 11, 12, 18 have been cancelled. Claim 19 is listed as “(Original)” but appears to be cancelled. Claims 1-3, 5-10, 13-17 and 20 are currently pending and being examined.
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 8-10 and 13-14 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.
The term “near” in claim 8 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “near” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
For examination purposes “a first air mover located near a first portion” and “a second air mover located near a second portion” are construed as --a first air mover located at a first portion—and --a second air mover located at a second portion--.
Claims 9-10 and 13-14 dependent from claim 8 are also rejected.
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, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartilson (US Patent No. 6,055,157) in view of Jory (US PGPub No. 2006/0114652).
Regarding claim 1, Bartilson discloses an electronic device (system stack 20 in Fig. 1) comprising:
a first heat source on a first support structure (MCM on a printed circuit board on left side of a middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6);
a second heat source on a second support structure (MCM on a printed circuit board on right side of the middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6); and
a heat pipe (the middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6) that has a first side (left side) and an opposite second side (right side), wherein the first heat source is coupled to the first side of the heat pipe and the second heat source is coupled to the second side of the heat pipe (left side MCM is coupled to left side of the heat pipe 22, right side MCM is coupled to right side of the heat pipe 22, shown in Fig. 6);
a first heat exchanger (air cooled condenser 40 on one side of the heat pipe 22);
a second heat exchanger (air cooled condenser 40 on another side of the heat pipe 22); and
a first air mover (fan 162).
Bartilson fails to disclose a first air mover configured to pull air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers; and
a second air mover configured to push air towards the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers.
Jory (Fig. 3) discloses a first air mover (fan 155) configured to pull air away from a heat source (that pulls air away from processor 130 attached on plate 165 in a fluid direction 135) and through a heat exchanger (170); and
a second air mover (fan 150) configured to push air towards the heat source (that pushes air towards from the processor 130 attached on plate 165 in the fluid direction 135) and through the heat exchanger (170).
Therefore, the fan 150 of Jory may be provided at an inlet to push air into the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22; and a fan 155 of Jory may be provided at an outlet to pull air from the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22. As a result, the fan 150 generates an air flow in a direction towards inside of the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22; and the fan 155 pulls an air flow in a direction from the inside the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22 to outside of the container 160. Note that “pull air away from” and “push air towards” as claimed do not require the air to blow directly to/from the heat sources, but a direction of air toward/from the heat sources.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided a first air mover configured to pull air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers; and a second air mover configured to push air towards the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchanger in Bartilson as taught by Jory in order to provide enough air velocity or pressure within the heat exchanger by using two fans / as a redundant measure in case of a fan failure.
Regarding claim 2, Bartilson further discloses wherein the heat pipe is a vapor chamber (the heat pipe structures inherently include or is a vapor chamber for a flow of vapor between condenser and evaporator).
Regarding claim 5, Bartilson further discloses wherein the first side of the heat pipe is in contact with the second heat exchanger and the second side of the heat pipe is in contact with the first heat exchanger (the air condensers 40 are all in thermal contact with the left and right sides of the heat pipe 22).
Regarding claim 6, Bartilson further discloses wherein the first air mover is a fan (see Fig. 6) and the first heat exchanger is a plurality of fins (heat exchanger fins, col. 8, lines 36-39).
Regarding claim 8, Bartilson discloses a device comprising (system stack 20 in Fig. 1):
a first support structure that includes a first heat source (MCM on a printed circuit board on left side of a middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6);
a second support structure that includes a second heat source (MCM on a printed circuit board on right side of the middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6);
a heat pipe between the first heat source and the second heat source (the middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6), wherein the first heat source is coupled to a first side of the heat pipe and the second heat source is coupled to an opposite second side of the heat pipe (left side MCM is coupled to left side of the heat pipe 22, right side MCM is coupled to right side of the heat pipe 22, shown in Fig. 6);
a first heat exchanger coupled to the first side of the heat pipe (air cooled condenser 40 on one side of the heat pipe 22); and
a second heat exchanger coupled to the second side of the heat pipe (air cooled condenser 40 on another side of the heat pipe 22).
Bartilson fails to disclose a first air mover located near a first portion on a first end of the heat pipe, and configured to pull air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers; and
a second air mover located near a second portion on a first end of the heat pipe configured to push air towards the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers.
According to the teachings of Jory noted in claim 1 above, the fan 150 of Jory may be provided at an inlet to push air into the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22; and a fan 155 of Jory may be provided at an outlet to pull air from the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22. As a result, the fan 150 generates an air flow in a direction towards inside of the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22; and the fan 155 pulls an air flow in a direction from the inside the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22 to outside of the container 160. The fan 150 is located at a first portion of the heat pipe 22, which is an inlet end of the heat pipe 22 (‘74” in Fig. 4 of Bartilson); and the fan 155 is located at a second portion of the heat pipe 22, which is an outlet end of the heat pipe 22 (“76” in Fig. 4 of Bartilson). Note that “pull air away from” and “push air towards” as claimed do not require the air to blow directly to/from the heat sources, but a direction of air toward/from the heat sources.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided a first air mover located near a first portion on a first end of the heat pipe, and configured to pull air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers; and a second air mover located near a second portion on a first end of the heat pipe configured to push air towards the first and second heat sources and through the first and second heat exchangers in Bartilson as taught by Jory in order to provide enough air velocity or pressure within the heat exchanger by using two fans / as a redundant measure in case of a fan failure.
Regarding claim 14, please see the rejection of claim 2 above.
Regarding claim 15, Bartilson discloses a method comprising:
coupling a first heat source on a first substrate to a first side of a heat pipe (MCM coupled to a printed circuit board on left side of a middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6);
coupling a second heat source on a second substrate to a second side of the heat pipe (MCM coupled to a printed circuit board on right side of the middle heat pipe 22 in Fig. 6), wherein the second side of the heat pipe is opposite the first side of the heat pipe (the left/right sides are opposite);
coupling a first heat exchanger to the first side of the heat pipe (air cooled condenser 40 coupled on left side of the heat pipe 22); and
coupling a second heat exchanger to the second side of the heat pipe (air cooled condenser 40 coupled on right side of the heat pipe 22).
Bartilson fails to disclose pulling air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first heat exchanger using a first air mover; and
pushing air towards the first and second heat sources and through the second heat exchanger using a second air mover.
Jory (Fig. 3) discloses pulling air away from a heat source (pulling air away from processor 130 attached on plate 165 in a fluid direction 135) and through a heat exchanger (170) using a first air mover (fan 155); and
pushing air towards the heat source (pushing air towards from the processor 130 attached on plate 165 in the fluid direction 135) and through the heat exchanger (170) using a second air mover (fan 150).
Therefore, similar to claims 1 and 8 above, the fan 150 of Jory may be provided at an inlet to push air into the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22; and a fan 155 of Jory may be provided at an outlet to pull air from the heat exchangers 40 of the heat pipe 22. As a result, the fan 150 generates an air flow in a direction towards inside of the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22; and the fan 155 pulls an air flow in a direction from the inside the container 160 having the MCMs on both sides of the heat pipe 22 to outside of the container 160. The resultant structure discloses the required method steps of pulling air and pushing air in claim 15. Note that “pulling air away from” and “pushing air towards” as claimed do not require the air to blow directly to/from the heat sources, but a direction of air toward/from the heat sources.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided pulling air away from the first and second heat sources and through the first heat exchanger using a first air mover; and pushing air towards the first and second heat sources and through the second heat exchanger using a second air mover in Bartilson as taught by Jory in order to provide enough air velocity or pressure within the heat exchanger by using two fans / as a redundant measure in case of a fan failure.
Regarding claim 16, please see the rejection of claim 2 above.
Claim(s) 3, 13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartilson (US Patent No. 6,055,157) in view of Jory (US PGPub No. 2006/0114652) as applied to claim 1, 8 or 15 above, and further in view of Baek (US Patent No. 8,184,439).
Regarding claims 3 and 17, Bartilson fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first heat source is a computer processing unit and the second heat source is a graphics processing unit.
Baek (Fig. 1) discloses that a circuit board 2 mounts the semiconductor packages 1 may correspond to several other pieces of circuitry, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphic processing unit (GPU), DRAM 100 and the microprocessor unit 200, and/or CPU or GPU (col. 3, lines 53-58).
Therefore, the MCM on either side of the printed circuit boards may include a CPU and a GPU. As a result, the left side of the middle heat pipe 22 may include a CPU; and right side of the middle heat pipe 22 may include a GPU.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the first heat source is a computer processing unit and the second heat source is a graphics processing unit in Bartilson as taught by Baek in order to allow the system 20 of Bartilson to perform computing and to generate graphic based on the different applications.
Regarding claim 13, Bartilson fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first support structure is a computer processing unit printed circuit board, the first heat source is a computer processing unit, the second support structure is a graphics processing unit printed circuit board, and the second heat source is a graphics processing unit.
Baek (Fig. 1) discloses that a circuit board 2 mounts the semiconductor packages 1 may correspond to several other pieces of circuitry, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphic processing unit (GPU), DRAM 100 and the microprocessor unit 200, and/or CPU or GPU (col. 3, lines 53-58).
Therefore, the MCM on either side of the printed circuit boards may include a CPU and a GPU. The left side of the middle heat pipe 22 may include a CPU; and right side of the middle heat pipe 22 may include a GPU. As a result, the first support structure (circuit board on left side of the middle heat pipe 22) is a computer processing unit printed circuit board (that includes a CPU), the first heat source is a computer processing unit (the CPU), the second support structure (circuit board on right side of the middle heat pipe 22)) is a graphics processing unit printed circuit board (that includes a GPU), and the second heat source is a graphics processing unit (the GPU).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the first support structure is a computer processing unit printed circuit board, the first heat source is a computer processing unit, the second support structure is a graphics processing unit printed circuit board, and the second heat source is a graphics processing unit in Bartilson as taught by Baek in order to allow the system 20 of Bartilson to perform computing and to perform graphic generation based on the different applications.
Claim(s) 7, 9, 10 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartilson (US Patent No. 6,055,157) in view of Jory (US PGPub No. 2006/0114652) as applied to claim 1, 8 or 15 above, and further in view of Sano (US Patent No. 5,969,940).
Regarding claim 7, Bartilson fails to disclose wherein the heat pipe includes a bend or is angled such that the first support structure and the second side of the heat pipe are on about a same plane.
Regarding claim 20, Bartilson fails to disclose wherein the first substrate and the second side of the heat pipe are on about a same plane.
Sano (Fig. 1) discloses wherein the heat pipe (19) includes a bend or is angled (at the location of “19” in Fig. 1) such that the first support structure (cpu card 13 on bottom side of the heat pipe 19) and the second side (an upper surface at the location of “19a”) of the heat pipe are on about a same plane (the cpu card 13 and the upper surface of the heat pipe 19 are on about the same plane or the same vertical level).
Note that the bend at “19” may be provided in a section between condensers 40 and MCMs in the heat pipes 22 of Bartilson so that the condensers 40 may be relocated over the top side of container 160.
The modification may have the PCB on the left side and the right side of the heat pipe 22 at the condenser 40 on the same plane.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the heat pipe includes a bend or is angled such that the first support structure and the second side of the heat pipe are on about a same plane (claim 7) and wherein the first substrate and the second side of the heat pipe are on about a same plane (claim 20) in Bartilson as taught by Sano, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 9, Bartilson further discloses a middle portion between the first portion and the second portion (a section of the heat pipe 22 between the inlet 74 and outlet ends 76 of the heat pipe with fans),
Bartilson fails to disclose wherein the middle portion includes a bend or angle in the heat pipe.
As noted in claim 7 above, Sano (Fig. 1) discloses wherein the middle portion includes a bend or angle (at the location of “19” in Fig. 1) in the heat pipe (19).
The bend at “19” may be provided in a section between condensers 40 and MCMs in the heat pipes 22 of Bartilson so that the condensers 40 may be relocated over the top side of container 160.
As a result, the middle portion (between 74 and 76 in Fig. 4 of Batilson) includes a bend section between 74 and 76 in Fig. 4 of Batilson, and also between condensers 40 and MCMs in the heat pipes 22.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the middle portion includes a bend or angle in the heat pipe in Bartilson as taught by Sano in order to relocate the condensers 40. Also, it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70.
Regarding claim 10, Bartilson as modified further discloses wherein the bend or angle allows the first support structure and the second side of the heat pipe to be on about a same plane (see claim 9 above, the bend as modified allows the PCB on the left side and the right side of the heat pipe 22 at the condenser 40 on the same plane).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-3, 5-10, 13-17 and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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/JIANYING C ATKISSON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/F.K.L/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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