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 .
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 1-2, 10-14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chien (TW M574818 U) in view of Ahamed (US 12471251 B2).
As to Claim 1, Chien discloses:
A pluggable transceiver module (shielding assembly 100; Pg. 8 “the shielding shell 1 is made of a metal plate and is used to house electronic modules (including sockets and plugs, not shown)”), comprising:
a module shell (combination of 1 and 2), the module shell comprising an upper shell 2 and a lower shell 1, the upper shell 2 comprising a planar inner surface (planar underside of 2, 211, see Figs. 7-8) and a recessed area (mounting groove 215) formed into the planar inner surface 211 (Pg. 13 “the heat sink 21 also has a heat plate mounting groove 215 formed on the bottom surface of the plate 211”);
a heat source (plug comprises heat source, see Pg. 14);
a heat spreader (heat plate 23) secured within the recessed area 215 (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23 is disposed in the hot plate mounting groove 215”), between the upper shell 2 and the heat source (Pg. 14 “By extending into the accommodating space 16 to contact the plug of the heat source, the heat energy of the plug is conducted through the heat source contact plate 24 to the heat dissipation plate 21 and the heat plate 23”), the heat spreader 23 comprising a bottom surface (bottom of 23), an entirety of the bottom surface of the heat spreader 23 being substantially coplanar with the planar inner surface 211 of the upper shell 2 (see Figs. 7-8, bottom of 23 is substantially coplanar with 211 when inserted into 215).
Chien does not disclose:
a printed circuit board;
a chip mounted on the printed circuit board;
a heat spreader secured between the upper shell and the chip.
However, Ahamed discloses:
a printed circuit board (circuit board 20);
a chip (heat generating bodies 23a-c; correspond to heat source of Chien) mounted on the printed circuit board 20 (col. 3, Lines 27-33 “The heat generating bodies 23A, 23B, and 23C are components mounted on the circuit board 20 and include receiving circuits or transmitting circuits that generate a relatively large amount of heat. Moreover, one of the heat generating bodies 23A, 23B, 23C may include a CPU, a clock data recovery chip (CDR chip), or a transimpedance amplifier chip (TIA chip)”);
a heat spreader (heat pipe 40, corresponds to 23 of Chien) secured between the upper shell 10 and the chip 23a-c; 40 disposed between top of 10 and 23a-c).
in order to efficiently cool a receiving or transmitting circuit (col. 1, Lines 52-54).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien as further suggested by Ahamed e.g., providing:
a printed circuit board;
a chip mounted on the printed circuit board;
a heat spreader secured between the upper shell and the chip;
in order to efficiently cool a receiving or transmitting circuit.
As to Claim 2, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
further comprising a thermal pad (24 of Chien) positioned between the chip (23a-c of Ahamed) and the heat spreader 23 (heat source contact plate 24 disposed below 23 and above heat source of Chien, corresponding to 23a-c of Ahamed).
As to Claim 4, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) is welded to the upper shell 2 (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23 is disposed in the hot plate mounting groove 215 by means of welding”).
As to Claim 10, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) extends in length over at least half of a length of the upper shell 2, along a longitudinal axis of the upper shell 2 (23 extends over at least half of 2 in a lengthwise direction).
As to Claim 11, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) comprises a heat pipe (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23, also known as a heat-conducting plate (vapor chamber)”; vapor chamber and heat pipe have same cooling properties).
As to Claim 12, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) comprises a vapor chamber (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23, also known as a heat-conducting plate (vapor chamber)”).
As to Claim 13, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein:
the recessed area (215 of Chien) comprises a recessed inner surface (inner surface of 215); and
the recessed inner surface is substantially coplanar with a planar top outer surface of the upper shell 2 (inner surface of 215 substantially coplanar with top surface of 2).
As to Claim 14, Chien discloses:
A transceiver module (shielding assembly 100; Pg. 8 “the shielding shell 1 is made of a metal plate and is used to house electronic modules (including sockets and plugs, not shown)”), comprising:
a module shell (combination of 1 and 2) comprising a planar inner surface (planar underside of 2, 211; see Figs. 7-8) and a recessed area (mounting groove 215) formed into the planar inner surface 211 (Pg. 13 “the heat sink 21 also has a heat plate mounting groove 215 formed on the bottom surface of the plate 211”);
a heat source (plug comprises heat source, see Pg. 14);
a heat spreader (heat plate 23) secured within the recessed area 215 (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23 is disposed in the hot plate mounting groove 215”), between the module shell 2 and the heat source (Pg. 14 “By extending into the accommodating space 16 to contact the plug of the heat source, the heat energy of the plug is conducted through the heat source contact plate 24 to the heat dissipation plate 21 and the heat plate 23”), the heat spreader 23 comprising a bottom surface (bottom of 23), an entirety of the bottom surface of the heat spreader 23 being substantially coplanar with the planar inner surface 211 of the module shell 2 (see Figs. 7-8, bottom of 23 is substantially coplanar with 211 when inserted into 215).
Chien does not disclose:
a chip mounted on a printed circuit board;
a heat spreader secured between the module shell and the chip.
However, Ahamed discloses:
a chip (heat generating bodies 23a-c; correspond to heat source of Chien) mounted on the printed circuit board 20 (col. 3, Lines 27-33 “The heat generating bodies 23A, 23B, and 23C are components mounted on the circuit board 20 and include receiving circuits or transmitting circuits that generate a relatively large amount of heat. Moreover, one of the heat generating bodies 23A, 23B, 23C may include a CPU, a clock data recovery chip (CDR chip), or a transimpedance amplifier chip (TIA chip)”);
a heat spreader (heat pipe 40, corresponds to 23 of Chien) secured between the module shell 10 and the chip 23a-c; 40 disposed between top of 10 and 23a-c);
in order to efficiently cool a receiving or transmitting circuit (col. 1, Lines 52-54).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien as further suggested by Ahamed e.g., providing:
a chip mounted on a printed circuit board;
a heat spreader secured between the module shell and the chip;
in order to efficiently cool a receiving or transmitting circuit.
As to Claim 16, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) is welded to the module shell 2 (Pg. 13 “The hot plate 23 is disposed in the hot plate mounting groove 215 by means of welding”).
Claims 5 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chien (TW M574818 U) in view of Ahamed (US 12471251 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Sugiura (US 20190006268 A1).
As to Claim 5, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) is disposed within the recessed area 215 formed in the upper shell 2 (23 disposed in 215).
Chien and Ahamed do not disclose:
wherein the heat spreader is sintered to the upper shell with silver sinter die attach.
However, Sugiura discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (chip 2; Par. 0069 “the semiconductor chip 2 acts as a heat dissipation path”; corresponds to 23 of Chien) is sintered to the upper shell (chip mounting part 1c) with silver sinter die attach (Par. 0068 “the rear surface 2b (the drain-use electrode 2e) of the semiconductor chip 2 and the upper surface 1ca of the chip mounting part 1c are fixedly attached (mechanically coupled) to each other and electrically coupled to each other with the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 being interposed”; Par. 0069 “the rear surface 2b side of the semiconductor chip 2 acts as a heat dissipation path by using the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 as the bonding materials (the die bonding materials). That is, the power device 5 has a structure that it is possible to transfer heat from the rear surface 2b side of the semiconductor chip 2 to the chip mounting part 1c via the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 and the lower surface 1cb of the chip mounting part 1c is exposed to the lower surface 3b of the sealing body 3”);
in order to provide a mechanical connection capable of transferring heat (Par. 0068-0069).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Sugiura e.g., providing:
wherein the heat spreader is sintered to the upper shell with silver sinter die attach;
in order to provide a mechanical connection capable of transferring heat.
As to Claim 17, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (23 of Chien) is disposed within the recessed area 215 formed in the module shell 2 (23 disposed in 215).
Chein and Ahamed do not disclose:
wherein the heat spreader is sintered within the recessed area of the module shell with silver sinter die attach.
However, Sugiura discloses:
wherein the heat spreader (chip 2; Par. 0069 “the semiconductor chip 2 acts as a heat dissipation path”) is sintered within the recessed area of the module shell (chip mounting part 1c; wherein 1c corresponds to 215 of Chien where 23 is attached) with silver sinter die attach (Par. 0068 “the rear surface 2b (the drain-use electrode 2e) of the semiconductor chip 2 and the upper surface 1ca of the chip mounting part 1c are fixedly attached (mechanically coupled) to each other and electrically coupled to each other with the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 being interposed”; Par. 0069 “the rear surface 2b side of the semiconductor chip 2 acts as a heat dissipation path by using the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 as the bonding materials (the die bonding materials). That is, the power device 5 has a structure that it is possible to transfer heat from the rear surface 2b side of the semiconductor chip 2 to the chip mounting part 1c via the sintered silver 6 and the silver paste 7 and the lower surface 1cb of the chip mounting part 1c is exposed to the lower surface 3b of the sealing body 3”);
in order to provide a mechanical connection capable of transferring heat (Par. 0068-0069).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Sugiura e.g., providing:
wherein the heat spreader is sintered within the recessed area of the module shell with silver sinter die attach;
in order to provide a mechanical connection capable of transferring heat.
Claims 6 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chien (TW M574818 U) in view of Ahamed (US 12471251 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Cheng (US 20230314736 A1).
As to Claim 6, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed does not disclose:
wherein:
the upper shell comprises a die cast upper shell; and
the heat spreader is a die cast insert in the die cast upper shell.
However, Cheng discloses:
wherein:
the upper shell 111 comprises a die cast upper shell (Par. 0026 “the housing portion 111 may be die-cast”); and
the heat spreader (vapor chamber 120) is a die cast insert in the die cast upper shell 111 (Par. 0026 “the housing portion 111 may be die-cast with the vapor chamber 120 overmolded with the housing portion 111”; “With the vapor chamber 120 fixed in the die or overmold tooling, the material used to form the housing portion 111 is forced into a cavity formed by the die and around the edge tabs 129, 129 of the vapor chamber 120 to form the housing portion 111. The housing portion 111 with integrated vapor chamber 120 may then be removed from the die or tooling”);
in order to integrate the vapor chamber 120 with the housing portion 111 (Par. 0026) to provide significantly improved heat transfer (Par. 0029).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Cheng e.g., providing:
wherein:
the upper shell comprises a die cast upper shell; and
the heat spreader is a die cast insert in the die cast upper shell;
in order to integrate the vapor chamber/heat spreader with the housing portion/upper shell to provide significantly improved heat transfer.
As to Claim 18, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed does not disclose:
wherein:
the module shell comprises a die cast module shell; and
the heat spreader is a die cast insert in the die cast module shell.
However, Cheng discloses:
wherein:
the module shell 111 comprises a die cast module shell (Par. 0026 “the housing portion 111 may be die-cast”); and
the heat spreader (vapor chamber 120) is a die cast insert in the die cast module shell 111 (Par. 0026 “the housing portion 111 may be die-cast with the vapor chamber 120 overmolded with the housing portion 111”; “With the vapor chamber 120 fixed in the die or overmold tooling, the material used to form the housing portion 111 is forced into a cavity formed by the die and around the edge tabs 129, 129 of the vapor chamber 120 to form the housing portion 111. The housing portion 111 with integrated vapor chamber 120 may then be removed from the die or tooling”);
in order to integrate the vapor chamber 120 with the housing portion 111 (Par. 0026) to provide significantly improved heat transfer (Par. 0029).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Cheng e.g., providing:
wherein:
the module shell comprises a die cast module shell; and
the heat spreader is a die cast insert in the die cast module shell;
in order to integrate the vapor chamber/heat spreader with the housing portion/upper shell to provide significantly improved heat transfer.
Claims 7-8 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chien (TW M574818 U) in view of Ahamed (US 12471251 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Huang (CN 104349651 A). See previous PTO-892 for translation.
As to Claims 7 and 19, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed does not disclose:
wherein:
the heat spreader comprises an interlocking ledge; and
the upper shell secures the heat spreader within the recessed area by mechanical interference with the interlocking ledge.
However, Huang discloses:
wherein:
the heat spreader (heat pipe 2; Fig. 4) comprises an interlocking ledge (highlighted in Fig. below); and
the upper/module shell (heat conducting plate 1) secures the heat spreader 2 within the recessed area (groove 11) by mechanical interference with the interlocking ledge (Par. 0069 “The heat pipe 2 is disposed in the groove 11 and engages with the protruding piece 13”; Par. 0071 “when the heat pipe 2 is first placed in the groove 11 and then formed by stamping, the heat pipe 2 will be tightly positioned in the groove 11, and the heat pipe 2 will be tightly attached to the inner ring wall 12 and the protruding piece 13”);
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in order to be tightly positioned in the groove (Par. 0071), improving the structural stability of the heat dissipation structure (Par. 0024).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Huang e.g., providing:
wherein:
the heat spreader comprises an interlocking ledge; and
the upper/module shell secures the heat spreader within the recessed area by mechanical interference with the interlocking ledge;
in order to be tightly positioned in the groove, improving the structural stability of the heat dissipation structure.
As to Claims 8 and 20, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed does not disclose:
wherein:
the heat spreader comprises a positioning detent;
the recessed area formed in the upper/module shell comprises a recess notch; and
the heat spreader is secured within the recessed area with the positioning detent extending into the recess notch.
However, Huang discloses:
wherein:
the heat spreader (heat pipe 2; Fig. 4) comprises a positioning detent (highlighted in Fig. below);
the recessed area formed in the upper/module shell (recess in heat conducting plate 1) comprises a recess notch (recessed portion of 1 in which highlighted detent is positioned); and
the heat spreader 2 is secured within the recessed area with the positioning detent extending into the recess notch (Par. 0069 “The heat pipe 2 is disposed in the groove 11 and engages with the protruding piece 13”; Par. 0071 “when the heat pipe 2 is first placed in the groove 11 and then formed by stamping, the heat pipe 2 will be tightly positioned in the groove 11, and the heat pipe 2 will be tightly attached to the inner ring wall 12 and the protruding piece 13”);
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in order to be tightly positioned in the groove (Par. 0071), improving the structural stability of the heat dissipation structure (Par. 0024).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Huang e.g., providing:
wherein:
the heat spreader comprises a positioning detent;
the recessed area formed in the upper/module shell comprises a recess notch; and
the heat spreader is secured within the recessed area with the positioning detent extending into the recess notch;
in order to be tightly positioned in the groove, improving the structural stability of the heat dissipation structure.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chien (TW M574818 U) in view of Ahamed (US 12471251 B2) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee (US 20180288908 A1).
As to Claim 9, the obvious modification of Chien in view of Ahamed does not disclose:
further comprising an insulating sheet extending over at least a portion of the bottom surface of the heat spreader and over at least a portion of the planar inner surface of the upper shell.
However, Lee discloses:
further comprising an insulating sheet (insulating film 860; Fig. 16) extending over at least a portion of the bottom surface of the heat spreader 871 and over at least a portion of the planar inner surface of the upper shell 872 (860 extends over 871 and lower surface of 872);
in order to provide insulation within the electronic device (Par. 0131).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Chien in view of Ahamed as further suggested by Lee e.g., providing:
further comprising an insulating sheet extending over at least a portion of the bottom surface of the heat spreader and over at least a portion of the planar inner surface of the upper shell;
in order to provide insulation within the electronic device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claims 3 and 15, the allowability resides in the overall structure and functionality of the device as recited in the dependent claims 3 and 15, including all of the limitations of their base claims and intervening claims, and at least in part, because claims 3 and 15 recite the following limitations:
“the recessed area of the upper shell comprises a bottom recessed inner surface; and
a depth of the recessed area of the upper shell, measured from the planar inner surface to the bottom recessed inner surface of the upper shell, is greater than a distance from the bottom recessed inner surface to a top outer surface of the upper shell.” – claim 3;
“the recessed area of the module shell comprises a bottom recessed inner surface; and
a depth of the recessed area of the module shell, measured from the planar inner surface to the bottom recessed inner surface of the module shell, is greater than a distance from the bottom recessed inner surface to a top outer surface of the module shell” – claim 15.
The aforementioned limitations in combination with all remaining limitations of claims 3 and 15, are believed to render said claims 3 and 15 and all claims dependent therefrom allowable over the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination.
Further, Examiner has not identified any double patenting issues.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims 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.
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 MATTHEW S MUIR whose telephone number is (571)270-1329. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
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, 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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/MATTHEW SINCLAIR MUIR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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