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 .
Examiner Note
The Non-Final Rejection of December 4, 2025, contained an error in the citation of a reference. The rejection below replaces the previous Non-Final Rejection.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, directed to claims 1-10 and 19, filed on November 5, 2025, is acknowledged. Claims 11-18 are withdrawn as non-elected claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
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.
Claims 1 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. In particular, the limitations “test circuitry of a first form factor that corresponds to a second form factor of the production device” is unclear. It is not understood what relationship between the form factors is required. Correction/clarification is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention. In particular, the limitation “determined ambient temperature of the testing device” lacks antecedent basis. Correction is required.
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, 3-10, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2020/0037464 (“Shabbir”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2019/0178521 (“Zimmerman”).
Claim 1
Shabbir discloses a testing device comprising: circuitry of a first form factor that corresponds to a second form factor of a production device (characterization board 300), the circuitry comprising: a plurality of heat-generating electrical components to simulate thermal generation of the production device (paragraph [0030], load circuit 334); a plurality of sensors to measure at least one characteristic of airflow of the testing device and to measure at least one temperature of the testing device (paragraph [0024, 0035], plurality of measurement sensors), wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first sensor disposed upstream of the airflow (upstream sensors 316), and a second sensor disposed downstream of the airflow (downstream sensors 318); and processing circuitry to: receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors indicative of the at least one characteristic of airflow of the testing device and the at least one temperature of the testing device (paragraph [0023, 0035], bus 308 to processor 102).
Shabbir does not appear to explicitly disclose determine a predicted ambient temperature proximate to the production device based on the sensor data.
Zimmerman discloses an airflow sensor including a first and second sensor used to estimate ambient temperature from the temperature difference (paragraph [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated determine a predicted ambient temperature proximate to the production device based on the sensor data, as disclosed by Zimmerman, into the device of Shabbir, for the purpose of compensating for dynamic airflow conditions (Zimmerman, paragraph [0054]).
Claim 3
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises at least one temperature sensor (Shabbir, paragraph [0035], temperature sensor).
Claim 4
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein each of the first sensor and the second sensor is a fluid pressure sensor (Shabbir, paragraph [0035], airflow sensors).
Claim 5
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein the at least one characteristic of airflow comprises at least one of: fluid pressure drop along the testing device, airflow velocity, airflow flux rate, or ambient temperature (Shabbir, paragraph [0028], airflow velocity).
Claim 6
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, further comprising power generation circuitry, wherein heat produced by the plurality of heat-generating electrical components is configurable by changing an amount of power provided to the plurality of heat-generating electrical components by the power generation circuitry (Shabbir, paragraphs [0034], power supply controlled).
Claim 7
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, further comprising at least one fan positioned proximate to the testing device to provide the airflow from the upstream to the downstream (Shabbir, paragraph [0036], fan system).
Claim 8
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the plurality of sensors and the plurality of heat-generating electrical components are mounted (Shabbir, paragraph [0003], circuit board with load circuit 334).
Claim 9
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further to: determine an ambient temperature of testing device based on the sensor data (Zimmerman paragraphs [0052-0053]); and determine the predicted ambient temperature proximate to the production device based on the determined ambient temperature of the testing device (Zimmerman, paragraphs [0053-0054]).
Claim 10
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, wherein the first form factor of the circuitry is the same as the second form factor of the production device (Shabbir, characterization board 300).
Claim 19
Shabbir discloses a production device comprising production circuitry arranged based on a predicted ambient temperature determined using a testing device, the testing device comprising: test circuitry of a first form factor that corresponds to a second form factor of the production device (characterization board 300), the test circuitry comprising: a plurality of heat-generating electrical components to simulate thermal generation of the production device (paragraph [0030], load circuit 334); a plurality of sensors to measure at least one characteristic of airflow of the testing device and to measure at least one temperature of the testing device (paragraph [0024, 0035], plurality of measurement sensors), wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first sensor disposed upstream of the airflow (upstream sensors 316), and a second sensor disposed downstream of the airflow (downstream sensors 318); and processing circuitry to: receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors indicative of the at least one characteristic of airflow of the testing device and the at least one temperature of the testing device (paragraph [0023, 0035], bus 308 to processor 102).
Shabbir does not appear to explicitly disclose determine the predicted ambient temperature proximate to the production device based on the sensor data.
Zimmerman discloses an airflow sensor including a first and second sensor used to estimate ambient temperature from the temperature difference (paragraph [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated determine a predicted ambient temperature proximate to the production device based on the sensor data, as disclosed by Zimmerman, into the device of Shabbir, for the purpose of compensating for dynamic airflow conditions (Zimmerman, paragraph [0054]).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2020/0037464 (“Shabbir”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2019/0178521 (“Zimmerman”), further in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2022/0107360 (“Kabbanni”).
Claim 2
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman discloses the testing device of claim 1, further comprising: an enclosure comprising a top cover and a bottom cover (Shabbir, Fig. 19, covers).
Shabbir in view of Zimmerman does not appear to explicitly disclose at least one thermal interface material (TIM) layer disposed between the circuitry and at least one of: the top cover or the bottom cover.
Kabbani discloses device under testing including at least one thermal interface material between the circuitry and a base (Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a thermal interface material, as disclosed by Kabbani, into the device of Shabbir in view of Zimmerman, for the purpose of providing thermal control for a device under test (Kabbani, paragraph [0027]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICA S Y LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7911. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4, TW M,W.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERICA S LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853