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 .
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 memory chips (of claims 1, 8 and 15), printed circuit board (of claims 1, 8 and 15) and conduit (of claims 7, 14 and 20) 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.
Additionally, the drawings (see Fig. 1a-3) are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(l), because the character of the lines are insufficient for satisfactory reproduction characteristics, and 37 CFR 1.84(m), because the use of solid gray shading reduces legibility and does not adequately contrast with the rest of the drawings.
“(l) Character of lines, numbers, and letters. All drawings must be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. Every line, number, and letter must be durable, clean, black (except for color drawings), sufficiently dense and dark, and uniformly thick and well-defined. The weight of all lines and letters must be heavy enough to permit adequate reproduction. This requirement applies to all lines however fine, to shading, and to lines representing cut surfaces in sectional views. Lines and strokes of different thicknesses may be used in the same drawing where different thicknesses have a different meaning.
(m) Shading. The use of shading in views is encouraged if it aids in understanding the invention and if it does not reduce legibility. Shading is used to indicate the surface or shape of spherical, cylindrical, and conical elements of an object. Flat parts may also be lightly shaded. Such shading is preferred in the case of parts shown in perspective, but not for cross sections. See paragraph (h)(3) of this section. Spaced lines for shading are preferred. These lines must be thin, as few in number as practicable, and they must contrast with the rest of the drawings. As a substitute for shading, heavy lines on the shade side of objects can be used except where they superimpose on each other or obscure reference characters. Light should come from the upper left corner at an angle of 45°. Surface delineations should preferably be shown by proper shading. Solid black shading areas are not permitted, except when used to represent bar graphs or color.”
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 1-3, 5-10, 12-16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiou (US 7023700 B2) in view of Curtis (US 20210321528 A1).
As to Claim 1, Chiou discloses:
An apparatus, comprising:
a DIMM cooling assembly (assembly with heatsinks for memory module, col. 6, Lines 60-62 “Modules with multiple rows of leads, such as dual-in-line-memory modules (DIMMs) can also benefit from the invention”) comprising a), b) and c):
a) first and second heat spreaders (30, 30’; col. 3, Lines 14-16 “Two heat-sink plates 30 are used, one for the front surface of the memory module, and the other for the back surface of the memory module”) to be respectively disposed on first and second sides of the DIMM's circuit board 10 (30, 30’ attached on both sides of substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 48-51 “The fourth rivet 24 provides added stability of the mounting of plate 30 (and another plate 30', not shown, attached to the back surface of substrate 10) to substrate 10”), the first and second sides having respective memory chips 20 (col. 1, Lines 41-45 “The memory module contains substrate 10, with surface-mounted DRAM chips 20 mounted directly to the front surface or side of substrate 10, while more DRAM chips (not visible) are usually mounted to the back side or surface of substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 21-24 “Depressions 21 in front plate 30 and back plate 30' make contact with the upper flat surfaces of memory chips 20, providing good heat transfer from the chips to metal heat-sink plates 30, 30'”);
b) a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into (col. 1, Lines 48-49 “Metal contact pads 12 mate with pads on a module socket to electrically connect the module to a PC's motherboard”);
c) fixturing elements 24 to apply compressive forces toward the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board 10 to the heat spreaders 30,30’ (col. 3, Lines 16-18 “The two plates 30 are held to the memory module substrate and to each other by rivets 24 that fit in holes in plate 30”; Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “Rather than use rivets, other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”).
Chiou does not disclose:
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board to be disposed between the heat dissipative structure and a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into.
However, Curtis discloses:
b) a heat dissipative structure (cooling system 300, see Fig. 3A), the DIMM's circuit board (circuit board of memory modules 134, correspond to substrate 10 of Chiou) to be disposed between the heat dissipative structure 300 and a printed circuit board (motherboard 202) that the DIMM is to be plugged into (Par. 0040 “cooling system interface 200 and cooling system 300 may be installed on an array of memory modules 134 installed in a plurality of sockets 204 on a motherboard 202”);
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules 134 and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules (Par. 0054).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou as further suggested by Curtis e.g., providing:
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board to be disposed between the heat dissipative structure and a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into;
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules.
Additionally, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined/modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination/modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
As to Claim 2, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements (24 of Chiou) comprise aligned holes disposed in the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’), the aligned holes to be aligned with holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (24 passes through holes in front and back plates 30 and substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 64-65 “Three rivets 24 pass through plates 30, 30' and substrate 10 to rigidly attach plates 30, 30' to substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 15-17 “A fourth rivet 24 passes from front plate 30, through a gap and through substrate 10, then through a second gap to back plate 30'”; Chiou).
As to Claim 3, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein screws are to be tightened within the aligned holes and the holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (see rejection of claim 2 above wherein holes in front and back plates 30, 30’ and substrate 10 are described; screws can be substituted for rivets 24; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”; Chiou).
As to Claim 5, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises heat sink fins 222 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222”; Curtis).
As to Claim 6, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the cooling assembly further comprises a loading force mechanism (rivets 24 of Chiou) to be disposed between the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) and the DIMM's circuit board (10 of Chiou; rivets 24 of Chiou disposed between top side of substrate 10, where 300 of Curtis is located in combination, and the bottom of substrate 10), the loading force mechanism 24 to bring the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’ of Chiou) closer together with the DIMM's circuit board 10 between the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’; col. 3, Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; Chiou).
As to Claim 7, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises a liquid cooling conduit 220 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222 for contact with top surface 216 and conduits 220”; Par. 0033 “Conduits 220 may comprise heat pipes or other mechanisms that allow phase changing between liquids and gases or vapors”; Curtis).
As to Claim 8, Chiou discloses:
An apparatus comprising:
a DIMM (memory module; see Fig. 2B; col. 6, Lines 60-62 “Modules with multiple rows of leads, such as dual-in-line-memory modules (DIMMs) can also benefit from the invention”);
a DIMM cooling assembly (heat sink plates 30,30’) that is mechanically coupled to the DIMM (30,30’ mechanically coupled to substrate 10 of memory module), the DIIMM cooling assembly comprising a), b) and c):
a) first and second heat spreaders (30, 30’; col. 3, Lines 14-16 “Two heat-sink plates 30 are used, one for the front surface of the memory module, and the other for the back surface of the memory module”) respectively disposed on first and second sides of the DIMM's circuit board 10 (30, 30’ attached on both sides of substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 48-51 “The fourth rivet 24 provides added stability of the mounting of plate 30 (and another plate 30', not shown, attached to the back surface of substrate 10) to substrate 10”), the first and second sides having respective memory chips 20 (col. 1, Lines 41-45 “The memory module contains substrate 10, with surface-mounted DRAM chips 20 mounted directly to the front surface or side of substrate 10, while more DRAM chips (not visible) are usually mounted to the back side or surface of substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 21-24 “Depressions 21 in front plate 30 and back plate 30' make contact with the upper flat surfaces of memory chips 20, providing good heat transfer from the chips to metal heat-sink plates 30, 30'”);
b) a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into (col. 1, Lines 48-49 “Metal contact pads 12 mate with pads on a module socket to electrically connect the module to a PC's motherboard”);
c) fixturing elements 24 that apply compressive forces toward the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board 10 to the heat spreaders 30,30’ (col. 3, Lines 16-18 “The two plates 30 are held to the memory module substrate and to each other by rivets 24 that fit in holes in plate 30”; Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “Rather than use rivets, other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”).
Chiou does not disclose:
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board disposed between the heat dissipative structure and a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into.
However, Curtis discloses:
b) a heat dissipative structure (cooling system 300, see Fig. 3A), the DIMM's circuit board (circuit board of memory modules 134, correspond to substrate 10 of Chiou) disposed between the heat dissipative structure 300 and a printed circuit board (motherboard 202) that the DIMM is to be plugged into (Par. 0040 “cooling system interface 200 and cooling system 300 may be installed on an array of memory modules 134 installed in a plurality of sockets 204 on a motherboard 202”);
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules 134 and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules (Par. 0054).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou as further suggested by Curtis e.g., providing:
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board disposed between the heat dissipative structure and a printed circuit board that the DIMM is to be plugged into;
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules.
As to Claim 9, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements (24 of Chiou) comprise aligned holes disposed in the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’), the aligned holes being aligned with holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (24 passes through holes in front and back plates 30 and substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 64-65 “Three rivets 24 pass through plates 30, 30' and substrate 10 to rigidly attach plates 30, 30' to substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 15-17 “A fourth rivet 24 passes from front plate 30, through a gap and through substrate 10, then through a second gap to back plate 30'”; Chiou).
As to Claim 10, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein screws are tightened within the aligned holes and the holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (see rejection of claim 2 above wherein holes in front and back plates 30, 30’ and substrate 10 are described; screws can be substituted for rivets 24; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”; Chiou).
As to Claim 12, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises heat sink fins 222 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222”; Curtis).
As to Claim 13, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the cooling assembly further comprises a loading force mechanism (rivets 24 of Chiou) disposed between the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) and the DIMM's circuit board (10 of Chiou; rivets 24 of Chiou disposed between top side of substrate 10, where 300 of Curtis is located in combination, and the bottom of substrate 10), the loading force mechanism 24 bringing the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’ of Chiou) closer together with the DIMM's circuit board 10 between the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’; col. 3, Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; Chiou).
As to Claim 14, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises a liquid cooling conduit 220 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222 for contact with top surface 216 and conduits 220”; Par. 0033 “Conduits 220 may comprise heat pipes or other mechanisms that allow phase changing between liquids and gases or vapors”; Curtis).
As to Claim 15, Chiou discloses:
An apparatus (memory module, see Fig. 2B), comprising:
an electronic system comprising a DIMM (memory module; see Fig. 2B; col. 6, Lines 60-62 “Modules with multiple rows of leads, such as dual-in-line-memory modules (DIMMs) can also benefit from the invention”), a cooling assembly (heat sink plates 30,30’) being mechanically integrated with the DIMM (30,30’ mechanically coupled to substrate 10 of memory module), the cooling assembly comprising a), b) and c):
a) first and second heat spreaders (30, 30’; col. 3, Lines 14-16 “Two heat-sink plates 30 are used, one for the front surface of the memory module, and the other for the back surface of the memory module”) respectively disposed on first and second sides of the DIMM's circuit board 10 (30, 30’ attached on both sides of substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 48-51 “The fourth rivet 24 provides added stability of the mounting of plate 30 (and another plate 30', not shown, attached to the back surface of substrate 10) to substrate 10”), the first and second sides having respective memory chips 20 (col. 1, Lines 41-45 “The memory module contains substrate 10, with surface-mounted DRAM chips 20 mounted directly to the front surface or side of substrate 10, while more DRAM chips (not visible) are usually mounted to the back side or surface of substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 21-24 “Depressions 21 in front plate 30 and back plate 30' make contact with the upper flat surfaces of memory chips 20, providing good heat transfer from the chips to metal heat-sink plates 30, 30'”);
c) fixturing elements 24 that apply compressive forces toward the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board 10 to the heat spreaders 30,30’ (col. 3, Lines 16-18 “The two plates 30 are held to the memory module substrate and to each other by rivets 24 that fit in holes in plate 30”; Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “Rather than use rivets, other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”).
Chiou does not disclose:
an electronic system comprising a DIMM plugged into a DIMM socket, the DIMM socket mounted to a printed circuit board;
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board disposed between the heat dissipative structure and the DIMM socket.
However, Curtis discloses:
an electronic system comprising a DIMM (memory module 134) plugged into a DIMM socket 204, the DIMM socket 204 mounted to a printed circuit board 202 (Par. 0026 “FIG. 2 depicts an exploded perspective view of an exemplary motherboard 202 with an array of memory modules 134 (memory modules 134-1 to 134-8 as shown) installed in sockets 204 (sockets 204-1 to 204-8 as shown) thereon”);
b) a heat dissipative structure (cooling system 300, see Fig. 3A), the DIMM's circuit board (circuit board of memory modules 134, correspond to substrate 10 of Chiou) disposed between the heat dissipative structure 300 and the DIMM socket 204 (memory modules 134 disposed between 300 and 204);
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules 134 and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules (Par. 0054).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou as further suggested by Curtis e.g., providing:
an electronic system comprising a DIMM plugged into a DIMM socket, the DIMM socket mounted to a printed circuit board;
b) a heat dissipative structure, the DIMM's circuit board disposed between the heat dissipative structure and the DIMM socket;
in order to reduce the range of operating temperatures of the memory modules and lead to improved overall performance by the memory modules.
As to Claim 16, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements (24 of Chiou) comprise aligned holes disposed in the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’), the aligned holes being aligned with holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (24 passes through holes in front and back plates 30 and substrate 10; col. 3, Lines 64-65 “Three rivets 24 pass through plates 30, 30' and substrate 10 to rigidly attach plates 30, 30' to substrate 10”; col. 4, Lines 15-17 “A fourth rivet 24 passes from front plate 30, through a gap and through substrate 10, then through a second gap to back plate 30'”; Chiou), wherein, screws are tightened within the aligned holes and the holes disposed in the DIMM's circuit board 10 (screws can be substituted for rivets 24; col. 5, Lines 56-59 “other fasteners could be substituted. For example, small nuts and bolts, or screws and nuts could be used. These fasteners provided secure and fixed attachment rather than wobbly or temporary attachment”; Chiou).
As to Claim 18, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises heat sink fins 222 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222”; Curtis).
As to Claim 19, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the cooling assembly further comprises a loading force mechanism (rivets 24 of Chiou) disposed between the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) and the DIMM's circuit board (10 of Chiou; rivets 24 of Chiou disposed between top side of substrate 10, where 300 of Curtis is located in combination, and the bottom of substrate 10), the loading force mechanism 24 bringing the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’ of Chiou) closer together with the DIMM's circuit board 10 between the first and second heat spreaders (30,30’; col. 3, Lines 43-45 “Three rivets 24 near the top edge press top attachment portion 23 against the surface of substrate 10, making a firm, sturdy assembly”; Chiou).
As to Claim 20, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis discloses:
wherein the heat dissipative structure (300 of Curtis) comprises a liquid cooling conduit 220 (Par. 0034 “cooling system 300 may comprise a plurality of convection fins 222 for contact with top surface 216 and conduits 220”; Par. 0033 “Conduits 220 may comprise heat pipes or other mechanisms that allow phase changing between liquids and gases or vapors”; Curtis).
Claims 4, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiou (US 7023700 B2) in view of Curtis (US 20210321528 A1) as applied to claims 2, 9 and 15, and further in view of Pax (US 20210144840 A1).
As to Claim 4, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis does not disclose:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are to be applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board.
However, Pax discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips (clips 411, see Figs. 4-5) that are to be applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board (substrate 301 of DIMM 300; Par. 0011 “heat spreader 410 is attached by retaining clips 411 which mount not around a top edge of the DIMM 300, but around the ends 304 by engaging one or more of the notches 303 in each end 304”);
in order to hold the heat spreader 410 in contact with the semiconductor devices of the DIMM 300 and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM 300 (Par. 0011).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou in view of Curtis as further suggested by Pax e.g., providing:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are to be applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board;
in order to hold the heat spreader in contact with the semiconductor devices/chips of the DIMM and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM.
As to Claim 11, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis does not disclose:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board.
However, Pax discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips (clips 411, see Figs. 4-5) that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board (substrate 301 of DIMM 300; Par. 0011 “heat spreader 410 is attached by retaining clips 411 which mount not around a top edge of the DIMM 300, but around the ends 304 by engaging one or more of the notches 303 in each end 304”);
in order to hold the heat spreader 410 in contact with the semiconductor devices of the DIMM 300 and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM 300 (Par. 0011).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou in view of Curtis as further suggested by Pax e.g., providing:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board;
in order to hold the heat spreader in contact with the semiconductor devices/chips of the DIMM and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM.
As to Claim 17, the obvious modification of Chiou in view of Curtis does not disclose:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board.
However, Pax discloses:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips (clips 411, see Figs. 4-5) that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board (substrate 301 of DIMM 300; Par. 0011 “heat spreader 410 is attached by retaining clips 411 which mount not around a top edge of the DIMM 300, but around the ends 304 by engaging one or more of the notches 303 in each end 304”);
in order to hold the heat spreader 410 in contact with the semiconductor devices of the DIMM 300 and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM 300 (Par. 0011).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chiou in view of Curtis as further suggested by Pax e.g., providing:
wherein the fixturing elements further comprise clips that are applied at the respective side edges of the DIMM's circuit board;
in order to hold the heat spreader in contact with the semiconductor devices/chips of the DIMM and facilitate heat sinking and thermal radiation away from the DIMM.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chang (US 20220104396 A1) discloses liquid cooled memory modules with rods through heat dissipating plates.
Selvidge (US 20200241609 A1) discloses clips on the edges of memory modules.
Wei (US 7933125 B2) discloses a liquid cooled memory module.
Summers (US 20030011993 A1) discloses a circuit board of a memory module with holes for locking.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW S MUIR whose telephone number is (571)270-1329. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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/MATTHEW SINCLAIR MUIR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2835
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2835