DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-4, 9-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Chainer (US 2019/0271513) in view of Karidis (US 2013/0199767) and Shultz (US 10,504,814).
Regarding claim 1, Chainer teaches an apparatus for a compliant counter-flow cold plate for component cooling comprising: a manifold body (100) configured to be thermally coupled to a heat generating component (708) and configured to be compliant under a distributed pressure load (as no structural description is disclosed as to what the ‘configuration’ is which enables this, it is presumed to be the rest of the recited structures which comprise the ‘configuration’); and a plurality of expanding channels (218, 220) within the manifold body, at least one of the expanding channels extending from an inlet portion of the manifold body (210) to an outlet portion (214); each of the expanding channels includes at least two sidewall portion arranged in a zig-zag pattern (see annotated figure below) creating and accommodating flow spaces (218) and inherently increasing structural rigidity of the manifold body.
PNG
media_image1.png
1228
1220
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Chainer does not teach the elastomer and load.
Karidis teaches that it is old and well-known to provide such compliant cold plates (34; Fig. 1) for component (12; Fig. 1) cooling with an elastomer (14; Para. [0037]) disposed on a top surface (30) of the compliant cold plate (Fig. 1) and a load (18) to apply pressure to the elastomer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to provide the device of Chainer with the elastomer and load, as taught by Karidis, to ensure even pressure between the cold plate and heat source for increased thermal transfer properties.
Chainer does not specify the use of pins.
Schultz teaches that it is old and well-known to utilize pins (102, 103) accommodated in the flow regions of a cold plate.
It would have been obvious to incorporate the pins of Schultz in the cold plate of Chainer in order to assist with thermal transfer to the fluid.
Regarding claim 16, Chainer teaches an apparatus for a compliant counter-flow cold plate for component cooling comprising: a manifold body (100) configured to be thermally coupled to a heat generating component (708); and a plurality of expanding channels (218, 220) within the manifold body, at least one of the expanding channels extending from an inlet portion of the manifold body (210) to an outlet portion (214); the plurality of expanding channels include first (218) and second (220) channels having first and second directions in counterflow, respectively (see Figs. 3a/b); each of the expanding channels includes at least two sidewall portion arranged in a zig-zag pattern (see annotated figure above) creating and accommodating flow spaces (218) and inherently increasing structural rigidity of the manifold body.
Chainer does not teach the elastomer and load.
Karidis teaches that it is old and well-known to provide such compliant cold plates (34; Fig. 1) for component (12; Fig. 1) cooling with an elastomer (14; Para. [0037]) disposed on a top surface (30) of the compliant cold plate (Fig. 1) and a load (18) to apply pressure to the elastomer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to provide the device of Chainer with the elastomer and load, as taught by Karidis, to ensure even pressure between the cold plate and heat source for increased thermal transfer properties.
Chainer does not specify the use of pins.
Schultz teaches that it is old and well-known to utilize pins (102, 103) in the flow regions of a cold plate.
It would have been obvious to incorporate the pins of Schultz in the cold plate of Chainer in order to assist with thermal transfer to the fluid.
Regarding claim 18, Chainer teaches a method for compliant counter-flow cooling for a component comprising: providing a manifold body (100) configured to be thermally coupled to a heat generating component (708) and configured to be compliant under distributed pressure load (as no structural description is disclosed as to what the ‘configuration’ is which enables this, it is presumed to be the rest of the recited structures which comprise the ‘configuration’); and forming a plurality of expanding channels within the manifold body (218, 220) at least one extending from an inlet portion of the manifold body (210) to an outlet (214); each of the expanding channels includes at least two sidewall portion arranged in a zig-zag pattern (see annotated figure above) creating and accommodating flow spaces (218) and inherently increasing structural rigidity of the manifold body.
Chainer does not teach the elastomer and load.
Karidis teaches that it is old and well-known to provide such compliant cold plates (34; Fig. 1) for component (12; Fig. 1) cooling with an elastomer (14; Para. [0037]) disposed on a top surface (30) of the compliant cold plate (Fig. 1) and a load (18) to apply pressure to the elastomer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to provide the device of Chainer with the elastomer and load, as taught by Karidis, to ensure even pressure between the cold plate and heat source for increased thermal transfer properties.
Chainer does not specify the use of pins.
Schultz teaches that it is old and well-known to utilize pins (102, 103) accommodated in the flow regions of a cold plate.
It would have been obvious to incorporate the pins of Schultz in the cold plate of Chainer in order to assist with thermal transfer to the fluid.
Chainer further teaches that: the channels have a smaller cross-section at the inlet portions than at the outlet portions (see Figs. 3a/b), per claims 2, 17, and 19; the plurality of expanding channels include first (218) and second (220) channels having first and second directions in counterflow, respectively (see Figs. 3a/b), per claim 4; the manifold body includes first and second body portions coupled together and stacked in layers (see Fig. 1) with expanding channels formed in both the first (104) and second (106) manifold body portions (see Fig. 2), per claims 10-11; the inlet portion comprises an inlet channel (e.g. 210) coupled to an inlet orifice (rightmost side of 218; Fig. 3a) of an expanding channel, per claim 12; the inlet channel (210, 506, 212) may comprise a loop configuration within the manifold body (see Fig. 5), per claim 13; the outlet portion comprises an outlet channel (214, 510, 216) coupled to one or more outlet orifices of each expanding channel, per claim 14; the outlet channel is arranged in a loop configuration within the manifold body (see Fig. 5), per claim 15.
Regarding claims 3 and 20, Shultz further teaches that the pin structures are thermally coupled to a top and bottom portion of their flow channels (layers 1002, 1010; see Col. 4:10-16) and the pins inherently disturb flow across them and break up boundary layers.
Regarding claims 9, the pins of Shultz inherently break up boundary layers by disturb flow across them.
Claim(s) 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chainer in view of Karidis, Shultz, and Joshi (US 2005/0200001).
Regarding claim 5, Chainer does not specify that the manifold body includes a return plenum in a center portion.
Joshi teaches that it is old and well-known to provide a return plenum (Fig. 8; from 560 to 556) in a center portion of the manifold body.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to provide the device of Chainer, as modified, with the central return plenum, as taught by Joshi, in order to maximize the cooling potential of the cooling fluid.
Joshi further teaches that: such return plenums incorporate a matrix of heat dissipating structures (584), per claim 6; which are load carrying (they contact the adjacent layers; see Fig. 8), per claim 7; and the outlet portion of the manifold body further includes a manifold outlet coupled to the return plenum (528), per claim 8.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/22/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The arguments are entirely dependent upon the newly entered limitations which have been addressed above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Devon Lane whose telephone number is (571)270-1858. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 9-4.
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, Jerry-Daryl Fletcher can be reached at 571.270.5054. 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.
/DEVON LANE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
Prosecution Insights