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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/30/2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the:
Limitations of claim 45 (See the below 112(a) rejection for additional context)
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 45 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 45 recites, inter alia, “a third DIMM; and a cooling assembly coupled to the third DIMM, the cooling assembly including: a first plate including a heat spreading portion and a heat sink portion, the heat spreading and heat sink portions corresponding to different regions of a planar surface of the first plate, the heat spreading portion of the planar surface to face towards and be thermally coupled to a first side of the third DIMM, the heat sink portion to extend beyond the third DIMM in a direction opposite to a connector that the third DIMM is to plug into; fins to protrude away from the planar surface within the heat sink portion of the first plate; and a second plate attached to the planar surface of the first plate, the second plate including a bend to enable the second plate to be thermally coupled to a second side of the third DIMM, the second plate to press against the second side based on a spring loading in the bend of the second plate.” which appears to be new matter not supported by the originally filed specification. Claim 45 depends from claim 30 and recites limitations drawn to the embodiment shown in (unelected) Fig 3a. Claim 30 is exclusively drawn to the embodiment shown in elected Figs 5a, 5b. None of the originally filed written description, claims, or drawings, provide support for the limitations of claim 45 in combination with the limitations of claim 30.
Clarification or amendment are required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9, 25, 28-44 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claim 9, see pp. 7-8 of the final office action dated 4/9/2026.
With respect to claim 25, see pp. 4-5 of the non-final rejection dated 1/16/2026
With respect to claim 28, see p. 8 of the final rejection dated 4/9/2026.
With respect to claim 29, see pp. 8-9 of the final rejection dated 4/9/2026.
With respect to claims 30-44, see p. 7 of the final rejection dated 4/9/2026.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY M PAPE whose telephone number is (571)272-2201. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9am - 6pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH Gandhi can be reached at 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY PAPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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