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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/12/2026 has been entered.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5 , 21-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamburgen et al. US 8,320,125 Bl in view of Jakob-Bamberg et al. US 6,918,217 B2 and Shahar US 2020/0071938 Al.
Re claim 1, Hamburgen et al. teach a module in a modular system for cooling Information Technology (IT) (600), the module comprising: an IT unit (606) on a floor (“a raised floor” col 15 line 47) of the module;
one or more cooling lines (annotated fig) in a space beneath the floor that are configured to provide liquid cooling to the IT unit by removing heat from cooling fluid received from a rack manifold (612, 614),
the rack manifold, wherein the rack manifold fluidly couples the one or more cooling lines to one or more networking components of the IT unit (col 10 lines 27-33) and is configured to simultaneously distribute cooling fluid to each of the one or more networking components (noting an inlet and outlet is configured to meet the limitation “simultaneously distribute” since in loop cooling fluid is open to be supplied to and return to supply 604 with pump 616 and open valves),
wherein distributing cooling fluid comprises circulating cooling fluid from a cool side (supply) of the rack manifold to the each of the one or more networking components and from each of the one or more networking components to a hot side (return side) of the rack manifold (fig 6);
an opening disposed along the floor, wherein the opening is configured to allow the one or more cooling lines to access the rack manifold from beneath the floor (fig 6 noting lines cannot pass through a floor without some sort of openings); and shock isolation (col 2 lines 49-53) .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach shock isolation in the space beneath the floor.
Shahar teach and shock isolation in the space beneath the floor for the one or more cooling lines (in between 101 and 102 various equipment for shock isolation, para 47, para 509, fig 4, also showing equipment in between 404 and 416) to provide support in raised floor systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include in the space beneath the floor as taught by Shahar in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for utilizing a multiplicity of vertical members, each one of them being a vertical stiff element connecting cabinets to the structural floor which withstands compression and tension forces .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach panel details.
Jakob-Bamberg et al. teach wherein the floor comprises at least one removable floor panel to provide construction with large spaces (13, col 6).
When combined, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, teach wherein the at least one removable floor panel is positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (noting aisles are naturally present in a center with at least one large rack unit between the unit and the walls, and “hot” aisle is considered a name with no additional structural details, also see figs 4-6 Hamburgen et al. further noting that “a hot aisle side” is broad and can be any side of the entire rack since an aisle can be considered to be on any side of the entire rack unit for a person to walk, see fig 6 of primary reference).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include panel details as taught by Jakob-Bamberg et al. in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for conventionally sized space to be utilized to accommodate large numbers of cables, such as power, data and/or communication cables, and this space also is used to accommodate or define ducts for the HVAC system .
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Re claim 3, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the module further comprises: one or more shock isolation components (see the rejection of claim 1) that provide shock isolation to the IT unit, wherein the one or more shock isolation components are disposed between the floor and an absolute bottom of the module (404 and 416) to provide support in raised floor systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include in the space beneath the floor as taught by Shahar in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for utilizing a multiplicity of vertical members, each one of them being a vertical stiff element connecting cabinets to the structural floor which withstands compression and tension forces.
Re claim 5, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein, wherein the opening is positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (col 2 lines 55-59; see the rejection of claim 1).
Re claim 21, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, discloses the claimed invention except for wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of the component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04, section IV, part A.
Re claim 22, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the one or more cooling lines are disposed along walls of the space (noting that all lines are disposed along other structure as a whole).
Re claim 23, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the one or more cooling lines are disposed in the space beneath the floor on the hot aisle side of the module (noting that all lines are disposed along other structure as a whole, see the rejection of claim 1).
Re claim 24, Hamburgen et al. teach the one or more cooling lines are fluidly coupled to a fluid network, wherein the fluid network is disposed in the space beneath the at least one removable floor panel on the hot aisle side of the module (col 12 lines 7-14; see the rejection of claim 1).
Claim(s) 4, 13, 25-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamburgen et al. US 8,320,125 Bl in view of Jakob-Bamberg et al. US 6,918,217 B2 and Shahar US 2020/0071938 Al and SAITO US20180363994A1.
Re claim 4, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach one or more leak detection devices.
SAITO teach one or more leak detection devices (22, L, 33, 34, noting the tank makes it apparent that a leak is present, fig 4) disposed in the space beneath the floor and along a portion of the absolute bottom of the module (32, 31), wherein the portion is positioned below the one or more cooling lines (15, 17) and leakage containment (L, 35) to route leakage away from the device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include one or more leak detection devices as taught by SAITO in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for a detection and holding apparatus for leaking equipment.
Re claim 13, Hamburgen et al. teach
a module cooling Information Technology (IT), the module comprising: one or more IT units (606) on a floor (“a raised floor” col 15 line 47) of the module,
wherein each of the one or more IT units comprises networking components (col 10 lines 27-33) and a rack manifold (612, 614); one or more cooling lines (annotated fig, see the rejection of claim 1) in a space beneath the floor that provides liquid cooling to the one or more IT units wherein:
and an opening (fig 6 noting lines cannot pass through a floor without some sort of openings) to allow the one or more cooling lines to access each rack manifold of the one or more IT units;
the opening are positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (noting aisles are naturally present in a center with at least one large rack unit between the unit and the walls, and “hot” aisle is considered a name with no additional structural details, also see figs 4-6 Hamburgen et al. further noting that “a hot aisle side” is broad and can be any side of the entire rack since an aisle can be considered to be on any side of the entire rack unit for a person to walk, see fig 6 of primary reference);
and each rack manifold of the one or more IT units fluidly couples the one or more cooling lines to each networking component of each of the one or more IT units and is configured to distribute cooling liquid to each networking component of each of the one or more IT units by directing cooling fluid from a cool side of each rack manifold to each networking component and from each networking component to a hot side of each rack manifold (noting supply and return sides are considered hot and cold);
one or more shock isolation components (col 2 lines 49-53);.
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach shock isolation in the space beneath the floor.
Shahar teach one or more shock isolation components disposed in the space beneath the floor for the one or more cooling lines, wherein the one or more shock isolation components are disposed between the floor and an absolute bottom of the module, wherein the one or more shock isolation components provide shock isolation to the one or more IT units (in between 101 and 102 various equipment for shock isolation, para 47, para 509, fig 4, also showing equipment in between 404 and 416) to provide support in raised floor systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include in the space beneath the floor as taught by Shahar in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for utilizing a multiplicity of vertical members, each one of them being a vertical stiff element connecting cabinets to the structural floor which withstands compression and tension forces .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach panel details.
Jakob-Bamberg et al. teach the floor comprises a plurality of removable floor panels to provide construction with large spaces (13, col 6).
When combined, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, teach the plurality of removable floor panels are positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (noting aisles are naturally present in a center with at least one large rack unit between the unit and the walls, and “hot” aisle is considered a name with no additional structural details, also see figs 4-5 Hamburgen et al. further noting that “a hot aisle side” is broad and can be any side of the entire rack since an aisle can be considered to be on any side of the entire rack unit for a person to walk, see fig 6 of primary reference).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include panel details as taught by Jakob-Bamberg et al. in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for conventionally sized space to be utilized to accommodate large numbers of cables, such as power, data and/or communication cables, and this space also is used to accommodate or define ducts for the HVAC system .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach one or more leak detection devices.
SAITO teach one or more leak detection devices (22, L, 33, 34, noting the tank makes it apparent that a leak is present, fig 4) disposed in the space beneath the floor and along a portion of the absolute bottom of the module (32, 31, in the instant combination and noting “along” is broad”), wherein the portion is positioned below the one or more cooling lines (15, 17) and leakage containment (L, 35) to route leakage away from the device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include one or more leak detection devices as taught by SAITO in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for a detection and holding apparatus for leaking equipment.
Re claim 25, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, discloses the claimed invention except for wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of the component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04, section IV, part A.
Re claim 26, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the one or more cooling lines are disposed along walls of the space (noting that all lines are disposed along other structure as a whole).
Re claim 27, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the one or more cooling lines are disposed in the space beneath the floor on the hot aisle side of the module (noting that all lines are disposed along other structure as a whole, see the rejection of claim 1, 13; col 12 lines 7-14).
Re claim 28, Hamburgen et al. teach the one or more cooling lines are fluidly coupled to a fluid network, wherein the fluid network is disposed in the space beneath the at least one removable floor panel on the hot aisle side of the module (in the instant combination, col 12 lines 7-14; see the rejection of claim 1, 13).
Re claim 29, Hamburgen et al. teach
a module cooling Information Technology (IT), the module comprising: one or more IT units (606) on a floor (“a raised floor” col 15 line 47) of the module,
wherein each of the one or more IT units comprises networking components (col 10 lines 27-33) and a rack manifold (612, 614); one or more cooling lines (annotated fig, see the rejection of claim 1) in a space beneath the floor that provides liquid cooling to the one or more IT units wherein:
and an opening (fig 6 noting lines cannot pass through a floor without some sort of openings) to allow the one or more cooling lines to access each rack manifold of the one or more IT units;
the opening are positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (noting aisles are naturally present in a center with at least one large rack unit between the unit and the walls, and “hot” aisle is considered a name with no additional structural details, also see figs 4-6 Hamburgen et al. further noting that “a hot aisle side” is broad and can be any side of the entire rack since an aisle can be considered to be on any side of the entire rack unit for a person to walk, see fig 6 of primary reference);
and each rack manifold of the one or more IT units fluidly couples the one or more cooling lines to each networking component of each of the one or more IT units and is configured to distribute cooling liquid to each networking component of each of the one or more IT units by directing cooling fluid from a cool side of each rack manifold to each networking component and from each networking component to a hot side of each rack manifold (noting supply and return sides are considered hot and cold);
one or more shock isolation components (col 2 lines 49-53);.
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach shock isolation in the space beneath the floor.
Shahar teach one or more shock isolation components disposed in the space beneath the floor for the one or more cooling lines, wherein the one or more shock isolation components are disposed between the floor and an absolute bottom of the module, wherein the one or more shock isolation components provide shock isolation to the one or more IT units (in between 101 and 102 various equipment for shock isolation, para 47, para 509, fig 4, also showing equipment in between 404 and 416) to provide support in raised floor systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include in the space beneath the floor as taught by Shahar in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for utilizing a multiplicity of vertical members, each one of them being a vertical stiff element connecting cabinets to the structural floor which withstands compression and tension forces .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach panel details.
Jakob-Bamberg et al. teach the floor comprises a plurality of removable floor panels to provide construction with large spaces (13, col 6).
When combined, Hamburgen et al. , as modified, teach the plurality of removable floor panels are positioned on a hot aisle side of the module (noting aisles are naturally present in a center with at least one large rack unit between the unit and the walls, and “hot” aisle is considered a name with no additional structural details, also see figs 4-5 Hamburgen et al. further noting that “a hot aisle side” is broad and can be any side of the entire rack since an aisle can be considered to be on any side of the entire rack unit for a person to walk, see fig 6 of primary reference).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include panel details as taught by Jakob-Bamberg et al. in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for conventionally sized space to be utilized to accommodate large numbers of cables, such as power, data and/or communication cables, and this space also is used to accommodate or define ducts for the HVAC system .
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, fail to explicitly teach one or more leak detection devices.
SAITO teach one or more leak detection devices (22, L, 33, 34, noting the tank makes it apparent that a leak is present, fig 4) disposed in the space beneath the floor and along a portion of the absolute bottom of the module (32, 31, in the instant combination and noting “along” is broad), wherein the portion is positioned below the one or more cooling lines (15, 17) and leakage containment (L, 35) to route leakage away from the device.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to include one or more leak detection devices as taught by SAITO in the Hamburgen et al. , as modified, invention in order to advantageously allow for a detection and holding apparatus for leaking equipment.
Hamburgen et al. , as modified, discloses the claimed invention except for wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to wherein a height between the at least one removeable floor panel and the floor of the module is less than or equal to 18 inches, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of the component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04, section IV, part A.
Re claim 30, Hamburgen et al. teach wherein the one or more cooling lines are fluidly coupled to a fluid network, wherein the fluid network is disposed in the space beneath the plurality of removable floor panels on the hot aisle side of the module (in the instant combination, col 12 lines 7-14; see the rejection of claim 1, 13).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/12/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Hamburgen fails to teach new scope of claim 1 generally (page 9 last para, page 10 first para).
However, the scope of claim 1 has been changed in the latest reply and therefore the examiner is now relying on a new rejection of record teach the recited “simultaneously” (see detailed rejection above).
Applicant's arguments RE claims 13 and 29 fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.111(b) because they amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references.
Applicant argues the claims dependent on the independent claim(s) are allowable based upon their dependence from an independent claim. Examiner respectfully disagrees. The arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 13, 29 have been addressed above. Thus, the rejections are proper and remain.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20210360821 A1, US 20210084796 A1, US 20180324976 A1.
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/GORDON A JONES/ Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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