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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 19 January 2023 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the Office.
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.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kosugi et al. (US Patent #9,936,606, hereinafter referred to as “Kosugi”) and Shibuya et al. (US 2005/0205989, hereinafter referred to as “Shibuya”).
As to Claim 1: Kosugi teaches a liquid immersion cooler comprising a silicone oil-based insulating refrigerant and immersing an electronic device in it (Abstract).
Kosugi does not teach that the cooling fluid is an alkyl modified silicone oil with the average chemical structure (I).
However, Shibuya teaches a heat dissipation assembly which uses dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil which is polydimethylmethyldodecylsiloxane comprising 45% by mol of decyl groups corresponding to the structure of (I) where R is a dodecyl group [0121-0122]. Shibuya and Kosugi are analogous art in that they are from the same field of endeavor, namely silicone oil heat transfer fluids. At the time of filing it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil of Shibuya as the alkyl modified silicone oil in Kosugi because Shibuya teaches that expansion coefficient of the dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil is compatible for use as a thermal transfer fluid (Table 1, [0113-0114]).
As to Claim 2: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the process of claim 1 (supra). Kosugi further teaches that the device can be an electronic device such as a server having a printed board (i.e., a heat generating device) (Col. 2, Lines 54-60).
As to Claim 3: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the process of claim 1 (supra). Shibuya teaches that the R group is dodecyl which is an alkyl group [0121-0122].
As to Claim 4: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the process of claim 1 (supra). Neither reference has any additional hydrocarbon content.
As to Claim 5: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the process of claim 1 (supra). Kosugi teaches that the liquid immersion cooler further includes a refrigeration cooler to cool the silicone oil (Col. 1, Lines 25-35).
As to Claim 6: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the process of claim 5 (supra). Kosugi teaches that the fluid is circulated around the device through the cooling unit and back in a cycle (Col. 1, Lines 25-35, Fig. 1).
Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kosugi et al. (US Patent #9,936,606, hereinafter referred to as “Kosugi”) and Shibuya et al. (US 2005/0205989, hereinafter referred to as “Shibuya”).
As to Claim 7: Kosugi teaches a liquid immersion cooler system comprising a silicone oil-based insulating refrigerant and an electronic device immersed in it (Abstract).
Kosugi does not teach that the cooling fluid is an alkyl modified silicone oil with the average chemical structure (I).
However, Shibuya teaches a heat dissipation assembly which uses dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil which is polydimethylmethyldodecylsiloxane comprising 45% by mol of decyl groups corresponding to the structure of (I) where R is a dodecyl group [0121-0122]. Shibuya and Kosugi are analogous art in that they are from the same field of endeavor, namely silicone oil heat transfer fluids. At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to use the dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil of Shibuya as the alkyl modified silicone oil in Kosugi because Shibuya teaches that expansion coefficient of the dodecyl-modified methylsilicone oil is compatible for use as a thermal transfer fluid (Table 1, [0113-0114]).
As to Claim 8: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the liquid immersion cooling system of claim 7 (supra). Kosugi further teaches that the device can be an electronic device such as a server having a printed board (i.e., a heat generating device) (Col. 2, Lines 54-60).
As to Claim 9: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the liquid immersion cooling system of claim 1 (supra). Kosugi teaches that the liquid immersion cooler further includes a refrigeration cooler to cool the silicone oil (Col. 1, Lines 25-35).
As to Claim 10: Kosugi and Shibuya render obvious the liquid immersion cooling system of claim 7 (supra). Kosugi teaches that the fluid is circulated around the device through the cooling unit and back in a cycle (Col. 1, Lines 25-35, Fig. 1).
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW J OYER whose telephone number is (571)270-0347. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-6PM EST M-F.
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/Andrew J. Oyer/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1767