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 .
Applicant’s amendment filed 3/17/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-5 and 7 are pending. Claims 8-13 remain withdrawn from further consideration.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) s 1-5 and 7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 limitation of “the pins of each pin row being aligned with each other in a lateral direction of the cooling block that is normal to the longitudinal direction” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from claim 1. No new matter should be entered. Applicant discloses (figures 20-21) that the lateral direction is a horizontal direction. However, in the horizontal direction the pins (152) in each row are not aligned with each other, in fact, in each row, there is only a single pin in a lateral direction.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-5 and 7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Regarding claim 1, the limitation of “a plurality of pin rows disposed between the first and second internal sidewalls”, and “the pins of each pin row being aligned with each other in a lateral direction of the cooling block that is normal to the longitudinal direction” in combination with the limitation “wherein for adjacent-disposed pin rows, the pins of a first pin row are offset along the longitudinal direction from the pins of a second pin row” is not supported by the original disclosure.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Regarding claim 1, the limitation of “the pins of each pin row being aligned with each other in a lateral direction of the cooling block that is normal to the longitudinal direction of the cooling block that is normal to the longitudinal direction” in combination with “wherein, for adjacently-disposed pin rows, the pins of a first pin row are offset along the longitudinal direction from the pins of a second pin row” renders the scope of the claim indefinite since it appears in the elected species shown in figures 20-21 that, in the embodiment that has the pins of adjacent row to be offset with other, the pins of each pin row is in fact aligned with each other in the longitudinal direction and not offset in the lateral direction (there is only one pin in each row in the lateral direction). Therefore, it is not clear whether applicant has an intention to claim what it has been written in the claim but not supported by the elected species.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are further rejected as can be best understood by the examiner in which the pins in each pin row are aligned in the longitudinal direction.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Univ Xidian (CN 104465562B) in view of Pruett et al. (US 20110056669A1) and Zhang et al. (CN 112408310A).. Uni Xidan discloses (figures 1,3 and figure A shown below) a cooling block for cooling a heat generating electronic component (101), comprising a body defining a fluid conduit for circulating a cooling fluid therethrough, the fluid conduit having an inlet and an outlet for receiving and discharging the cooling fluid respectively (see figure A), the body comprising a plurality of pins (see figure A) for deflecting the cooling fluid flowing within the fluid conduit, the fluid conduit comprising a plurality of passage (21,22) extending in a longitudinal direction of the cooling block from an inlet point to an outlet point, each passage of the at least one passage being defined by first and second internal sidewalls of the body facing each other from the inlet point to the outlet point; a plurality of pin rows disposed between the first and second internal sidewall, the pin row including a multiple of pins of the plurality of pins spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction, the pins of each pin row being aligned with each other in the longitudinal direction such that a linear axis extending in the longitudinal direction traverses each pin of the pin row, each pin of the pin row being configured to deflect the cooling fluid flowing within the fluid conduit toward channels located on either sides of the linear axis, wherein, for each pin of the pin row, a width of a portion of the channel defined between the pin and at least one of the first or second internal sidewalls facing the pin is constant. (see figure A). Regarding claim 1, Uni Xidan does not disclose that each pin of the pin row having a lacriform and having a rounded end and a pointed end opposite the rounded end, each pin of the pin row being oriented such that the pointed end is downstream from the rounded end.
Pruett et al. discloses (figures 1 and 4C) a heat transfer device that has each pin (12’’’) of the pin row, has a lacriform and has a rounded end ( 20’’’) and a pointed end (24’’’) opposite the rounded end, each pin of the pin row being oriented such that the pointed end (24’’’) is downstream from the rounded end (20’’’) for a purpose of enhancing the cooling efficiency of the heat transfer device. (paragraphs 27 and 28). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Pruett’s teaching in Uni Xidan’s device for a purpose of enhancing the cooling efficiency of the heat transfer device.
Furthermore, Uni Xidan does not disclose that for adjacent pin rows, the pins of a pin row are offset along the longitudinal direction from the pins of a second pin row.
Zhang discloses (figure 2) a heat dissipation device that has a plurality of passages (3), the passages being offset from each other in the lateral direction of the cooling block (the expanded portions of the passages containing the pins are offset) and the pins (4) of the pin row defining the first passage are offset, along the longitudinal direction from the pins of the pin row defining the second passage for a purpose of improving the heat transfer rate of the heat dissipation device by having more passages to be formed in the heat dissipation device (the expand portions of one passage is aligned with the constricted portion of the adjacent passage). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use Zhang’s device for a purpose of improving the heat transfer rate of the heat dissipation device.
Regarding claim 2, the combination device of Uni Xidan in view of Pruett discloses that the linear axis traverse the pointed end of each pin of the pin row; and each pin of the pin row is symmetric about the linear axis. (the pin is symmetric so that the linear axis divide the pin in half from end to end of the pin).
Regarding claim 3, Uni Xidan discloses (figure A) that for each passage of the at least one passage, the passage has a plurality of expanded portions and a plurality of constricted portions distributed alternatingly with the expanded portion in the longitudinal direction; the expanded portions have a first width measured in the lateral direction; the constricted portions have a second width in the lateral direction; the first width is greater than the second width; and the pins of the pin row are disposed in the expanded portions. (the expanded portion has greater width than the constricted portion, see figure A)
Regarding claim 4, Uni Xidan discloses (see figure A) that for each passage of the at least one passage each of the first and second internal sidewall has a plurality of rounded sections forming the expanded portions of the passage; each rounded section is aligned, along the longitudinal direction, with a corresponding pin of the pin row, each rounded section has a profile having a similar shape as a portion of the corresponding pin such that a spacing between the rounded section and the portion of the corresponding pin is constant. (constant width)
Regarding claim 5, Uni Xidan discloses (figure A) that the first and second internal sidewalls are symmetric to each other about the linear axis.
Regarding claim 7, Uni Xidan discloses (figure A) the fluid conduit further comprises an inlet manifold portion and an outlet manifold portion, in which each passage of the plurality of passages extends between the inlet and the outlet manifold portions.
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Figure A: the modified figure corresponds to figure 3 of reference to Univ Xidian with limitations shown.
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 THO V DUONG whose telephone number is (571)272-4793. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 10-6PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Atkisson Jianying 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.
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/THO V DUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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