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 .
Status of the Claims
The status of the claims as filed in the reply dated 10/27/2025 are as follows:
Claims 1, 2, and 5 are amended,
Claim 4 is canceled,
Claims 6-8 are new,
Claims 1-3 and 5-8 are currently pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yan et al. (Chinese Patent Publication CN104716048A, “Yan”, previously cited) in view of Zhou et al. (Chinese Patent Publication CN21378583U, “Zhou”).
Regarding claim 1, Yan discloses an exposed tube cold plate structure (fig 2) comprising:
a plate body (1) having a surface and with a groove (3); and
a cooling tube (2) disposed in the groove with an exposed surface of the water cooling tube exposed through the open side of the groove such that the exposed surface is flush with the surface of the plate body, the cooling tube having a first end (fig 1), a second end (fig 1) and a water cooling tube passage (fig 2), passing through the cooling tube from the first end to the second end, the cooling tube passage having a passage inner wall (fig 2), working medium introduced into the cooling tube (¶0011).
However, Yan does not explicitly disclose wherein the cooling tube passage having multiple ribs, each rib defining an elongate structure protruding from the inner wall toward a central axis of the cooling tube passage and being annularly disposed on the passage inner wall at intervals to inhibit breaking and damaging the passage inner wall of the water cooling tube, each two adjacent ribs defining therebetween a channel, the ribs and the channels serving to induce mixing turbulent flow of the working medium with the cooling and to enhance heat exchange amount of the exposed tube cold plate structure; working medium introduced into the cooling tube. Zhou, however, discloses a heat exchanger wherein a cooling tube passage having multiple ribs (3), each rib defining an elongate structure being annularly disposed on the passage inner wall at intervals to inhibit breaking and damaging the passage inner wall of the water cooling tube, each two adjacent ribs defining therebetween a channel (fig 2), wherein the ribs and the channels extend in the water cooling passage so as to define a twisting angle and (such as shown in annotated fig 1 below), the ribs and the channels serving to induce mixing, turbulent flow of the working medium with the cooling tube and to enhance heat exchange amount
(page 3, lines 46-66). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Yan to provide the ribs of Wang in order to enhance the heat exchange of the tube.
PNG
media_image1.png
430
306
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan, as modified, further discloses wherein each rib has a fixed end connected with the passage inner wall, and a free end protruding toward the central axis of the cooling tube passage (fig 2, Zhou).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan, as modified, further discloses wherein the ribs (3) extend from the first end to the second end (such as taught by Zhou, see fig 1).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan, as modified, further discloses wherein the cooling tube has a uniform wall thickness at regions corresponding to the channels (fig 2, Zhou).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan further discloses wherein the cold plate is made of metal material (as Yan teaches brazing of the plate and tube, see ¶0002) and wherein the cooling tube is made of copper (¶0002).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan, as modified, further discloses wherein each rib defines a rectangular cross-section (fig 2, Zhou).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Yan and Zhou discloses all previous claim limitations. Yan further discloses wherein the working medium comprises water (¶0016).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/27/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues (pates 4-8) that Yang does not teach the ribs as now claimed. However, newly cited Zhou is now being relied upon to teach the ribs.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY E ARANT whose telephone number is (571)272-1105. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10-6 ET.
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, Jianying Atkisson can be reached at (571)270-7740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY E ARANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763