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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 10, 11, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chang (US 2005/0252640 A1).
Re. claim 1: Chang discloses a heat exchanger for an apparatus, comprising:
a bottom plate (12);
a top plate (11); and (see fig. 2, 4; para. 0024-0025)
a plurality of heat dissipating fins (43) extending between the top and bottom plates that form a plurality of air channels (44); (see fig. 2, 4, 5; para. 0026-0030)
wherein at least one of the top plate and bottom plate comprises a heat conducting material, the plurality of heat dissipating fins receive heat from the top or bottom plates, and (see para. 0024-0025)
individuals of at least a subset of the plurality of fins include a baffle (46, 47) that protrudes into an individual of the plurality of air channels. (see fig. 5-9; para. 0031-0035)
Re. claim 2: Chang discloses wherein all of the fins (43) of the plurality of heat dissipating fins include at least one baffle (46, 47). (see fig. 5-9; para. 0031-0035)
Re. claim 10: Chang discloses a method, comprising:
creating, from a heat dissipating material, a plurality of heat dissipating fins (43); (see fig. 2, 4, 5; para. 0026-0030)
forming a (46, 47) baffle into individuals of a subset of the plurality of fins; and
forming a plurality of air channels (44) by disposing the plurality of fins between a top plate (11) and a bottom plate (12), at least one of the top plate and bottom plate comprised of a heat conducting material, (see fig. 2, 4; para. 0024-0025)
wherein individuals of the baffles protrude into corresponding individuals of the plurality of air channels. (see fig. 5-9; para. 0031-0035)
Re. claim 11: Chang discloses wherein the subset of the plurality of fins (43) comprises all of the plurality of fins. (see fig. 5-9; para. 0031-0035)
Re. claim 17: Chang discloses a computer device, comprising:
a processor (3); (see fig. 3; para. 0025)
a heat exchanger (1) adapted to dissipate heat from the processor; and (see fig. 2, 3; para. 0024-0026)
a fan (2) disposed to pass air through the heat exchanger; (see fig. 2, 3; para. 0024-0026)
wherein the heat exchanger comprises: a top plate (11) and a bottom plate (12), at least one of the top plate or bottom plate being heat conducting, and (see fig. 2; para. 0024)
a plurality of heat dissipating fins (43) extending between the top and bottom plates to form a plurality of air channels (44), the plurality of heat dissipating fins disposed to receive heat from the top or bottom plates, and (see fig. 2, 4, 5; para. 0026-0030)
individuals of at least a subset of the plurality of fins include a baffle (46, 47) that protrudes into an individual of the plurality of air channels. (see fig. 5-9; para. 0031-0035)
Re. claim 18: Chang discloses a heat pipe (5) in contact (thermal contact) with the processor and the heat exchanger, and adapted to conduct heat generated by the processor to the heat exchanger. (see fig. 2-4; para. 0028)
Re. claim 19: Chang discloses wherein the computer device is a laptop computer. (see para. 0004-0007)
Re. claim 20: Chang discloses wherein the computer device is a mobile device. (see para. 0004-0007)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 3-8 and 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Lev et al. (US 2009/0027850 A1)
Re. claims 3-4 and 12-13: Chang fails to disclose:
wherein a subset of the plurality of fins do not have a baffle.
wherein the subset of the plurality of fins that do not have a baffle are interleaved with the subset of the plurality of fins that include a baffle.
However, Lev discloses:
at least a subset (104) of a plurality of fins (100) include a baffle (sawtooth shape) that protrudes into an individual of the plurality of air channels
wherein a subset of the plurality of fins (106) do not have a baffle; and
wherein the subset of the plurality of fins that do not have a baffle are interleaved with the subset of the plurality of fins that include a baffle. (see fig. 4A; para. 0012)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to shape the fins of Chang in the way that the fins of Lev are shaped. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to increase the rate of heat transfer and increase the convection away from the processor. (Lev para. 0012)
Re. claim 5: Lev discloses wherein the baffles (104) increase the surface area of the subset of the plurality of fins (surface area of baffled fins 104 are greater than straight fins 106). (see fig. 4; para. 0009, 0011, 0014)
Re. claims 6 and 14: Lev discloses wherein individuals of the baffles comprise a rounded rectangular depression (108) that protrudes from a plane defined by the baffle’s fin. (see fig. 4B; para. 0012)
Re. claims 7 and 15: Lev discloses wherein individuals of the baffles comprise the baffle’s fin formed into a sinusoidal pattern (102). (see fig. 2, 3; para. 0010-0012)
Re. claims 8 and 16: Lev discloses wherein individuals of the baffles comprise the baffle’s fin formed into a plurality of alternating angles (104). (see fig. 4A; para. 0012)
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kojima et al. (US 5,625,229).
Re. claim 9: Chang fails to specifically disclose:
wherein the heat exchanger is formed from copper or aluminum.
However, Kojima discloses:
wherein the heat exchanger (90, 100) is formed from copper or aluminum. (see fig. 10, 12; col. 6 ln. 17-40)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the heat exchanger of Chang out of copper or aluminum as taught by Kojima. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to create lightweight fins with a high thermal transfer rate. (Kojima col. 6 ln. 25-36)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wu (US 2003/0164233 A1) discloses a heat exchanger with baffled fins for dissipating heat. Mira (US 5,709,263) discloses a sinusoidal shaped fin for a heat sink in an electronic device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM B DRAVININKAS whose telephone number is (571)270-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-6p MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH (JP) N 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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September 20, 2025
/ADAM B DRAVININKAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835