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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, Claims 30-38 and 41 in the reply filed on 14 November 2025 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 10 November 2023 are objected to because the use of solid gray shading reduces legibility and does not adequately contrast with the rest of the drawings. See 37 CFR 1.84(m).
Additionally, the drawings will not reproduce well due to the shading and the character of the lines. All drawings must be made by a process which will give them satisfactory reproduction characteristics. See 37 CFR 1.84(1).
(1) 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: “404”. 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. 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.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: “405” found in Fig. 4. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 30-38 and 41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (US 2022/0418154 A1).
Re. claim 30: Chen discloses a data center, comprising:
a plurality of systems (100) plugged into racks (servers), the plurality of systems communicatively coupled to one another via a network (via 110); (see fig. 1; para. 0002, 0039-0040)
a printed circuit board (510, 512) of one of the systems of the plurality of systems comprising a chip package (132) having a cooling assembly (200), the cooling assembly comprising a chamber (internal volume of 138), the chamber thermally coupled to a heat pipe (136), the heat pipe thermally coupled to a heat sink (140), the heat sink thermally coupled to an electronic device (134) that is mounted to the printed circuit board and outside the chip package; and, (see fig. 1, 4A-C, 5; para. 0040-0043, 0054)
cooling and pumping equipment fluidically coupled (204) to the chamber, the cooling and pumping equipment (external heat exchanger) to receive warmed fluid and/or vapor from the chamber and return cooled fluid to the chamber (circulated). (see fig. 5-6; para. 0061-0064)
Re. claim 31: Chen discloses wherein the heat pipe is rotatable into a position that removes the heat pipe from being thermally coupled to the chamber.
Re. claim 32: Chen discloses wherein the chip package (132) cooling assembly chamber (internal volume of 138) comprises channels (between fins 514, 516) in which the cooled fluid is to flow to receive heat from the electronic device. (see fig. 3, 4, 5; para. 0053-00056)
Re. claim 33: Chen discloses wherein the chip package cooling assembly chamber comprises an outlet in which vapor is emitted to remove heat from the electronic device from the chamber. (see para. 0040, 0048)
Re. claim 34: Chen discloses wherein the heat pipe (136) transfers heat (indirectly transfers) from the electronic device (134) to an external surface of the chamber (internal volume of 138). (see fig. 4; para. 0047-0049)
Re. claim 35: Chen discloses wherein the heat pipe (136) transfers heat (indirectly transfers) from the electronic device (134) to a bath of fluid within the chamber (internal volume of 138). (see fig. 5; para. 0053-0056)
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al.
Re. claim 36: Chen discloses:
wherein a second heat pipe (second 136) that is thermally coupled to the chamber (internal volume of 138) and
Chen fails to specifically disclose:
a second electronic device transfers heat from the second electronic device to an external surface of the chamber.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a second electronic device that transfers heat to an external surface of the chamber, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8, (7th Cir. 1977). One of ordinary skill would have been inherently motivated to do this in order to provide additional computing power to the same motherboard, thereby increasing the processing power available within the same form factor size.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 37, 38, and 40 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Re. claim 37: the limitations of “wherein the heat pipe is jet impinged with the cooled fluid after the cooled fluid has been received by an inlet of the chamber” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim cannot be found in the prior art. Jet impingement is known to be applied directly or indirectly to the electronic device or chip package but is not known to be applied to a heat pipe.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ouyang et al. (US 2009/0308081 A1) discloses a fluid cooling system of a heat generating device comprising plurality of liquid pipes. Gaskill (US 2019/0131204 A1) discloses a heat pipe structure within a server for cooling plural memory modules. Goergen (US 2021/0329810 A1) discloses a heat dissipation system for fluidically cooling electronic components.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM B DRAVININKAS whose telephone number is (571)270-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-6p MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH (JP) N 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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January 2, 2026
/ADAM B DRAVININKAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835