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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application on 01/07/2026 after final rejection of 09/16/2025 and advisory action of 11/12/2025. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 01/07/2026 has been entered. The Office action on currently pending claims 1-3 and 5-22 follows.
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 1-2, 5-8, 10-11, 13, 19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023) in view of Wang (US 20230007849) and in further view of Andersen (US 20240314986).
Regarding claim 1, Subrahmanyam discloses (Figs.1a-e):
A memory module (DIMM) configured to store data ([0017]: the memory module is a DIMM, which by definition is made to store data), the memory module comprising: at least one substrate (See Figure Below); one or more memory chips (120) disposed on the at least one substrate, each memory chip configured to store a portion of the data ([0014]-[0015] and [0017]: 120 are explicitly DIMM semiconductor chips, which means that they are they are designed to store data, and thus each 120 will store at least a portion of the data); and an active cooling device (101 and 102) disposed on the at least one substrate (See Figure Below: 101,102 is disposed on a corresponding substrate).
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However, Subrahmanyam does not disclose:
One or more rechargeable power storage devices disposed on the substrate; and a second active cooling device disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices.
Wang however teaches (Fig.1):
One or more rechargeable power storage devices (12) disposed on the substrate (11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Wang to modify the device of Subrahmanyam such that it has one or more rechargeable power storage devices disposed on the substrate, as claimed, in order to optimize the power supply quality of the memory module as taught by Wang (See Abstract and [0022]).
However, the above combination still fails to teach:
A second active cooling device disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices.
Andersen however teaches (Fig.3):
An active cooling device (22) disposed directly on ([0038]: “The power module 20 includes chokes, each indicated at 24, and DC capacitors, each indicated at 26, mounted directly to the cold plate”) (emphasis added) the one or more rechargeable power storage devices (26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Andersen to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam to provide an active cooling device for the one or more rechargeable power storage devices so that the active cooling device for the one or more rechargeable power storage devices defines a second active cooling device that is disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices, as claimed, in order to further optimize the cooling capabilities due to the increased number of cooling components being utilized to cool heat generating components.
Regarding claim 21, Subrahmanyam discloses (Figs.1a-e):
A computer processing system comprising: a memory module (Fig.1c: DIMM) configured to store the data ([0017]: the memory module is a DIMM, which by definition is made to store data), the memory module comprising: at least one substrate (See Figure of Claim 1); one or more memory chips (120) disposed on the at least one substrate (See Figure of Claim 1), each configured to store a portion of the data (120 are explicitly DIMM semiconductor chips, which means that they are they are designed to store data, and thus each 120 will store at least a portion of the data); and an active cooling device (101 and 102) disposed on the at least one substrate (See Figure of Claim 1: 101,102 is disposed on a corresponding substrate).
However, the relied upon embodiment of Subrahmanyam does not explicitly disclose:
A processor circuit configured to process data.
Subrahmanyam however presents another embodiment that teaches (Fig.7):
A processor circuit (710) configured to process data ([0064], [0066], and [0068]: 710 is a processor, which by definition is made to process data).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the additional embodiment taught by Subrahmanyam to modify the primary embodiment of Subrahmanyam such that it has a processor circuit that is configured to process data, as claimed, in order to provide a simple and efficient means of controlling the overall computer system, and thus also provide a simple and efficient means of communicating with the memory module.
However, the above combination would still to teach:
One or more rechargeable power storage devices disposed on the substrate; and a second active cooling device disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices.
Wang however teaches (Fig.1):
One or more rechargeable power storage devices (12) disposed on the substrate (11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Wang to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that it has one or more rechargeable power storage devices disposed on the substrate, as claimed, in order to optimize the power supply quality of the memory module as taught by Wang (See Abstract and [0022]).
However, the above combination still fails to teach:
A second active cooling device disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices.
Andersen however teaches (Fig.3):
An active cooling device (22) disposed directly on ([0038]: “The power module 20 includes chokes, each indicated at 24, and DC capacitors, each indicated at 26, mounted directly to the cold plate”) (emphasis added) the one or more rechargeable power storage devices (26).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Andersen to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam to provide an active cooling device for the one or more rechargeable power storage devices so that the active cooling device for the one or more rechargeable power storage devices defines a second active cooling device that is disposed directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage devices, as claimed, in order to further optimize the cooling capabilities due to the increased number of cooling components being utilized to cool heat generating components.
Regarding claim 2, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein: each memory chip of the one or more memory chips (120) comprises a first side (Fig.1c and See Figure of Claim 1: side of 120 in direct contact with the substrate) facing the at least one substrate (See Figure of Claim 1) and a second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) opposite to the at least one substrate (See Figure of Claim 1); and the active cooling device (102) is disposed on the second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) of the one or more memory chips (120).
Regarding claim 5, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) comprises a first surface (Fig.1c: surface of 102 in direct contact with 120) thermally coupled to the second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) of the one or more memory chips (120).
Regarding claim 6, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the first surface (Fig.1c: surface of 102 in direct contact with 120) of the active cooling device (101 and 102) is in direct contact (See Fig.1c and [0012]: "actual contact"- means that there is actual direct contact with no intervening structure) with the second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) of the one or more memory chips (120).
Regarding claim 7, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) is configured to actively remove heat from the second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) of the one or more memory chips (120) (See Figs.1a and 1c, [0013]-[0014], and [0018]: 101 is a cold plate and 102 is a Peltier, TEC, device, which are both active cooling components that will actively remove heat from the second side of their corresponding memory chip 120).
Regarding claim 8, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein a thermally conductive material ([0012]: "thermal interface material") is disposed between the second side (Fig.1c: side of 120 in contact with 102) of the one or more memory chips (120) and the first surface (Fig.1c: surface of 102 in direct contact with 120) of the active cooling device (101 and 102).
Regarding claim 10, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) comprises a thermoelectric cooling device (102).
Regarding claim 11, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) further comprises terminals (See Figure Below) configured to couple the active cooling device (101 and 102) to a power supply voltage (See Figure Below, Fig.1d, [0024] and [0028]: there has to be a power supply voltage in order to power 102 via the terminals of 102, 108_1, and 108_2).
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Regarding claim 13, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
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Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) comprises a liquid cooling device (101) comprising a tube (103_1 and 103_2 in combination) comprising an inlet port (103_1) and an outlet port (103_2) for liquid flow ([0019] and [0027]).
Regarding claim 19, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
A dual inline memory module (DIMM) (Fig.1c: the memory module is a DIMM).
Regarding claim 22, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) is disposed on at least one of the one or more memory chips (120) (Active Cooling Device disposed on At Least One of the One or More Memory Chips: See Fig.1c).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Louvar (US 20140301031).
Regarding claim 3, Subrahmanyam does not explicitly disclose:
Wherein the one or more memory chips are disposed on a rectangular area of the substrate and the active cooling device extends over the rectangular area.
Louvar however teaches (Figs.2-4):
Wherein the one or more memory chips (170) are disposed on a rectangular area (See Figure Below) of the substrate (168) and the active cooling device (155) extends over the rectangular area (See Fig.2: in the connected state, 155 will extend over the rectangular area).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Louvar to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the one or more memory chips are disposed on a rectangular area of the substrate, and such that the active cooling device extends over the rectangular area, as claimed, in order to provide a substantially flush design between the active cooling device and the substrate, and thus provide a more aesthetic cooling arrangement.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Chainer (US 20150092352).
Regarding claim 9, neither Subrahmanyam nor Wang explicitly teaches:
Wherein the thermally conductive material comprises a paste.
Chainer however teaches (Figs.3-4):
Wherein the thermally conductive material (28) comprises a paste ([0028]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Chainer to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the thermally conductive material of Subrahmanyam is a paste, as claimed, in order to provide a thermally conductive material that can provide a reliable thermal and mechanical connection that does not exceed the compressive-stress limitation of the heat generating component as taught by Chainer ([0028]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Subrahmanyam (US 20220225542) (Referred to as Subrahmanyam'542).
Regarding claim 12, Subrahmanyam further discloses:
Wherein the active cooling device (101 and 102) further comprises: a second surface (Fig.1c: surface of 102 in contact with 101) opposite to the first surface (Fig.1c: surface of 102 in direct contact with 120).
However, neither Subrahmanyam nor Wang teaches:
A heat sink disposed on the second surface.
Subrahmanyam'542 however teaches (Fig.2c):
A heat sink (204).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Subrahmanyam'542 to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that it has a heat sink that is disposed on the second surface (i.e., provide the heat sink taught by Subrahmanyam'542 to the top surface of 101 of Subrahmanyam, and thus providing the heatsink on the second surface of 101,102), as claimed, in order to further optimize the heat dissipation capabilities due to the increased number of heat dissipation components provided in the device.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Karidis (US 20190212797).
Regarding claim 14, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
A controller circuit disposed on the substrate, wherein the active cooling device is disposed on the controller circuit.
Karidis however teaches (Fig.2):
A controller circuit (205) disposed on the substrate ([0023]: 200 is a DIMM, and will thus have a circuit board that will define the "substrate").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Karidis to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that it has a controller circuit disposed on the substrate in such a way that the active cooling device is disposed on the controller circuit, as claimed, in order to further optimize the use of the memory module due to the controller circuit providing a self-regulating means for the memory module as taught by Karidis ([0023] and [0025]).
Regarding claim 20, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
One or more rechargeable power management devices disposed on the substrate, wherein the active cooling device is disposed on the one or more power management devices.
Karidis however teaches (Fig.2):
One or more rechargeable power management devices (250) disposed on the substrate ([0023]: 200 is a DIMM, and will thus have a circuit board that will define the "substrate").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Karidis to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that it has one or more rechargeable power management devices disposed on the substrate in such a way that the active cooling device is disposed on the one or more power management devices, as claimed, in order to further optimize the memory module performance since the one or more rechargeable power management devices will still allow the memory module to operate normally even in the event that power loss occurs as taught by Karidis ([0023] and [0025]).
Claims 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Cong (US 20130088843).
Regarding claim 15, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
A serial attached memory.
Cong however teaches (Figs.1-3):
A serial attached memory (100) ([0010] and [0011]: 100 is a serial attached memory due to 250 being a serial connector, and thus also making 181 of 100 a serial connector, and thus making 100 a serial attached memory).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Cong to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the memory device has a serial connector, and thus having the memory module comprise a serial attached memory (i.e., make the memory module a serial attached memory), as claimed, in order to achieve the enhanced cooling capacity as disclosed by Subrahmanyam ([0012]) (i.e., making the memory module of Subrahmanyam into a serial attached memory will still achieve the enhanced cooling capability since the cooling mechanism of Subrahmanyam will still be utilized).
Finally, 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 at the time of the invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Regarding claim 18, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
A solid-state device (SSD) memory module.
Cong however teaches:
A solid-state device (SSD) memory module ([0005]: the SSD with the SATA DIMM module will define the "SSD memory module").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Cong to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the memory module further comprises a solid-state memory device (i.e., make the device a solid-state memory device), as claimed, in order to achieve the enhanced cooling capacity as disclosed by Subrahmanyam ([0012]) (i.e., implementing the cooling unit disclosed by Subrahmanyam into a solid state memory module will still achieve the enhanced cooling disclosed by Subrahmanyam).
Finally, 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 at the time of the invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Bernat (US 20210064531).
Regarding claim 16, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
A CXL memory module.
Bernat however teaches (Fig.6a):
A CXL memory module (616) ([0058]: the 616 with the "build-in CXL interfaces" will define the "CXL memory module").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Cong to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the memory device has a built-in CXL interface, and thus having the memory module comprise a CXL memory module (i.e., make the memory module a CXL memory module due to it having the CXL interface), as claimed, in order to achieve the enhanced cooling capacity as disclosed by Subrahmanyam ([0012]) (i.e., making the memory module of Subrahmanyam into a CXL memory module will still achieve the enhanced cooling capability since the cooling mechanism of Subrahmanyam will still be utilized).
Finally, 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 at the time of the invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Subrahmanyam (US 20220077023), Wang (US 20230007849), and Andersen (US 20240314986) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lym (US 20220139428).
Regarding claim 17, modified Subrahmanyam does not explicitly teach:
An add-in-card (AIC) form factor.
Lym however teaches (Fig.8):
An add-in-card (AIC) form factor (Fig.8 and [0068]: any the connector on any one of 210 that connects to a PCIe socket will define the "add-in-card form factor").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the above teaching of Lym to further modify the device of modified Subrahmanyam such that the memory device has an add-in-card form factor, and thus having the memory module comprise an add-in-card form factor, as claimed, in order to achieve the enhanced cooling capacity as disclosed by Subrahmanyam ([0012]) (i.e., implementing the cooling unit disclosed by Subrahmanyam to the memory module that has the add-in-card form factor will still achieve the enhanced cooling disclosed by Subrahmanyam).
Finally, 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 at the time of the invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S._, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments of 01/07/2026 have been fully considered, but notes that Applicant's arguments are directed to the claims as amended, and are thus moot since the rejection has been modified to meet the limitations of the amended claims.
The Office notes that in Applicant’s remarks of 01/07/2026, Applicant states that “While the Advisory Action alludes to Pal (US 20160201558; hereinafter “Pal”), Applicant notes that Pal is not yet of record and requests clarification as to how it is combined with the other references of record”. For the purposes of compact prosecution, will address Applicant’s concern and will clarify what the Advisory Action of 11/12/2025 was attempting to explain. As shown in figure 1 of Pal (now of record), a TEC (44) is thermally and mechanically coupled to a cold plate (28) and the TEC (44) is utilized to cool one or more rechargeable power storage devices (40) (See Fig.1 and [0025]), and thus teaching an assembly similar to that of Subrahmanyam. Therefore, based on the teaching of Pal, one of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts could further modify Subrahmanyam as modified by Wang to duplicate the Peltier devices (102) of Subrahmanyam on the cold plate (101) of Subrahmanyam such that they correspond to the one or more rechargeable power storage devices of Subrahmanyam as modified by Wang. In other words, because Pal teaches one or more rechargeable power storage devices that are also cooled by a TEC and cold plate, one of ordinary skill in the art could have utilized the disclosures of both Subrahmanyam (as modified by Wang) and Pal to duplicate TEC devices on the cold plate of Subrahmanyam such that they correspond to the one or more rechargeable power storage devices, which is a combination that would be consistent with the teachings of both Subrahmanyam and Pal.
However, the Office notes that independent claims 1 and 21 have only been amended to recite that an active cooling device is directly on the one or more rechargeable power storage device. Therefore, the amended scope of independent claims 1 and 21 simply requires any prior art reference that teaches and/or suggests an active cooling device like a cold plate that is in direct contact with one or more rechargeable power storage device, which is a concept taught by Andersen. For the reasons provided above, the claims are still not believed to be in condition for allowance.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20120044646: teaches components like a capacitor that is directly provided on a cold plate.
US 20220022323: teaches a capacitor that is directly attached to a cold plate.
US 20220142017: teaches a capacitor that is directly attached to a cold plate.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEPHEN S SUL whose telephone number is (571)270-1243. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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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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/STEPHEN S SUL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835