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 .
This office action is in response to amendments filed July 20, 2026.
Claims 1, 4-6, and 11 have been amended.
Claims 3 and 8-9 have been canceled.
Claims 1-2, 4-7, and 10-19 are pending.
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, 4, 11-13, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. (US20240292567A1) in further view of Miozza et al. (US20210356180A1) and Campbell et al. (US20070121294A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hsu teaches an apparatus for managing temperature of a power module, the apparatus comprising:
a flow path including a first section thermally connected to the power module and a second section connected in series to the first section for a coolant to flow from the second section to the first section through the first section and the second section (As shown in FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment, a heat dissipation system 100 for a computing device comprises a heat dissipation unit, for instance heat sink 160, supply pipe 1602 and return pipe 1608 connected in fluid communication with the heat sink 160 ... Heat sink 160 is mounted to an electrical component 150, for dissipating heat … via heat exchange … The electronic component 150 includes … central processing unit (CPU) which, generates heat)([0013] and [0014]; Figure 1 – a flow path comprising a first section (i.e., heat sink) connected to a power module (e.g., processor) and a second section (i.e., pipe) in series for fluid flow is shown); and
a coolant cooler thermally connected to the second section of the flow path and cooling the coolant flowing into the second section … (As shown in FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment, a heat dissipation system 100 for a computing device comprises … a cooling device such as a cooling distribution unit (CDU) 180 in fluid communication with the supply pipe 1602 and return pipe 1608 … The heated cooling liquid flowing out of the heat sink 160 flows back to the CDU 180. The cooling liquid re-cooled by the CDU 180 then flows to the heat sink 160)([0013] and [0015]; Figure 1 – a cooler (i.e., cooling distribution unit) that cools fluid flowing from the heat sink is shown).
Hsu differs from the claim in that Hsu fails to teach cooling the fluid according to a predetermined condition (e.g., mechanism). However, cooling a fluid according to a mechanism is taught by Miozza (heat exchanger 102 may cool the fluid, such as by extracting heat from the fluid due to convection and/or thermoelectric mechanisms)([0048]).
The examiner notes Hsu and Miozza teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu to include the cooling of Miozza such that fluid is cooled according to a predetermined condition. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of controlling cooling of a fluid.
Although Hsu-Miozza disclose a coolant cooler includes a plurality cooling units for cooling coolant (Miozza - Fluid cooling systems may include one or more heat exchangers and thermoelectric devices)([0048]).
Hsu-Miozza differs from the claim in that Hsu-Miozza fails to teach cooling coolant with a unit including a fluid tank (i.e., area) filled with fluid having a boiling point lower than the coolant and connected to an external side of a section (i.e., pipe). However, cooling coolant with a unit including a fluid area filled with fluid having a boiling point lower than the coolant and connected to an external side of a pipe is taught by Campbell (One example of coolant within a cooling system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention is water. However, the concepts disclosed herein are readily adapted to use with other types of coolant on the facility side, system side, and conditioned coolant side of the cooling system. For example ... refrigerant ... As shown in FIG. 7, one heat exchange approach which could be employed within a cooling system ... separate cooling passages 705, 710 ... the conditioned coolant within the third conditioned cooling loop ... is circulated through coolant passages 710 on one side of the heat exchange assembly, while the system coolant in the respective second, system cooling loop is circulated through flow passages 705 on the opposite side of the heat exchanger 700)([0037] and [0059]; Figure 7 – a cooling unit including an area filled with fluid and connected to an external side of a pipe is shown; the examiner notes refrigerant fluid has a lower boiling point than water).
The examiner notes Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza to include the cooling of Campbell such that coolant is cooled using a unit including a fluid tank filled with fluid having a boiling point lower than the coolant and connected to an external side of a section. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of increasing heat transfer efficiency in convection cooling.
Regarding claim 2, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second section is positioned in an opposite direction to a direction facing the first section for the coolant cooled through heat exchange with an outside of the first section after passing through the first section to flow into the second section (Hsu - As shown in FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment, a heat dissipation system 100 … The heated cooling liquid flowing out of the heat sink 160 flows back to the CDU 180. The cooling liquid re-cooled by the CDU 180 then flows to the heat sink 160 again and cyclically for continuous cooling for the electrical component)([0013] and [0015]; Figure 1 – pipe that is positioned in an opposite direction facing a heat sink for cyclical fluid flow is shown).
Regarding claim 4, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied based on a temperature of the coolant flowing into the second section being equal to or greater than the boiling point of the fluid (Campbell - One example of coolant within a cooling system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention is water. However, the concepts disclosed herein are readily adapted to use with other types of coolant on the facility side, system side, and conditioned coolant side of the cooling system. For example ... refrigerant)([0037]; refrigerant fluid has a lower boiling temperature than water, as such water temperature greater than the boiling point of the refrigerant fluid initiates cooling of the water).
Regarding claim 11, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coolant cooler further includes” a second cooling unit connected to the second section and operated by receiving energy from a power source; and a control unit electrically connected to the second cooling unit and configured for controlling the second cooling unit to cool the coolant according to the predetermined condition (although Hsu does not disclose receiving energy from a power source to operate a cooling unit and controlling the cooling unit to cool coolant using a control unit, said receiving and controlling is taught by Miozza (Controller 114 may be coupled to driver ... The driver 122 may be coupled to thermoelectric device 112 to control operation of the thermoelectric device 112 ... To aid in cooling fluid, heat exchangers of a fluid cooling system described herein may be coupled to ... thermoelectric devices ... A thermoelectric device generally refers to a device that may provide a thermal difference from one side to another responsive to an applied energy (e.g., an applied voltage and/or current) … Once energized (e.g., powered), the thermoelectric device 112 may reduce a temperature of the fluid being circulated in the system, transferring the heat)([0041] and [0049]). The examiner notes Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza-Campbell to include the receiving and the controlling of Miozza such that energy is received from a power source to operate a cooling unit and a control unit controls the cooling unit to cool coolant. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of controlling cooling of a fluid).
Regarding claim 12, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the predetermined condition includes a first condition and a second condition, the first cooling unit cools the coolant flowing into the second section based on the first condition being satisfied, and the second cooling unit cools the coolant flowing into the second section based on the second condition being satisfied (Miozza - systems described herein may utilize a control strategy for a heat transfer fluid used to extract heat from an electronic device. A fluid cooling system may set fluid properties based on the actual thermal load, the boundary conditions, and the electronic device characteristics. The fluid cooling system may include a thermoelectric module and two heat exchangers to maintain a desired (e.g., optimal) thermal gradient ... The control system may identify and/or store the system parameters for use at various conditions, which may allow for a fast response time at multiple boundary conditions and avoid and/or reduce transient temperature spikes … the control system may set a flow rate of the fluid (e.g., by adjusting a motor speed) and/or may set a power to a thermoelectric device (e.g., by providing a particular thermoelectric current))([0036] and [0056]; cooling units (i.e., heat exchangers and thermoelectric devices) are individually controlled based on parameters).
Regarding claim 13, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first condition is satisfied based on a temperature of the coolant flowing into the second section being equal to or greater than the boiling point of the fluid (Campbell - One example of coolant within a cooling system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention is water. However, the concepts disclosed herein are readily adapted to use with other types of coolant on the facility side, system side, and conditioned coolant side of the cooling system. For example ... refrigerant)([0037]; refrigerant fluid has a lower boiling temperature than water, as such water temperature greater than the boiling point of the refrigerant fluid initiates cooling of the water).
Regarding claim 16, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second condition is satisfied based on a temperature of the coolant flowing into the first section being equal to or greater than a predetermined reference temperature (Miozza - Systems described herein may include one or more temperature sensors. Temperature sensors may be provided to measure and/or monitor the temperature ... of the fluid, for example at an input and/or output of heat exchanger 104 and/or heat exchanger 102 ... to provide control of heat exchange in the system, the controller 114 may receive one or more temperature signals)([0055] and [0060]; cooling is controlled based on coolant temperature).
Regarding claim 17, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second cooling unit is connected to an external side of the first cooling unit (Miozza - Fluid cooling systems may include one or more heat exchangers and thermoelectric devices. In the example of FIG. 1, the fluid cooling system 118 includes heat exchanger 102 coupled to thermoelectric device 112)([0048]; Figure 1 – connecting a cooling unit (i.e., thermoelectric device) to an external side of another cooling unit (i.e., heat exchanger) is shown).
Regarding claim 18, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flow path includes a plurality of channels connected in parallel and spaced from each other in the second section in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of the coolant (although Hsu does not disclose the flow path includes a plurality of parallel spaced channels in a perpendicular direction, said including is taught by Miozza (heat exchanger 104, may include one or more structures positioned wholly or partially in the cavity ... Examples of structures include microchannels ... which may affect a flow of a fluid through the cavity ... Consider for a moment a parallel channel exchange ... FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a cross-sectional view of a heat exchanger ... includes microchannels 210 ... Generally any microchannel geometries may be used)([0044], [0052], [0066], and [0067]). The examiner notes Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza-Campbell to include the including of Miozza such that a flow path includes a plurality of parallel spaced channels in a perpendicular direction. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of cooling a fluid in a wide range of operating conditions).
Regarding claim 19, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flow path includes a heat exchanger formed on at least one of internal and external portions of the second section to transfer heat of the coolant to the heat exchanger (although Hsu does not disclose the flow path includes a heat exchanger on an internal or an external portion of a section to transfer heat, said including is taught by Miozza (An example system may include a first heat exchanger configured to extract heat through convection from an electronic device. The first heat exchanger may at least partially define a cavity configured to pass a fluid from an inlet of the first heat exchanger to an outlet of the first heat exchanger)([0005]). The examiner notes Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza-Campbell to include the including of Miozza such that a flow path includes heat exchanger on an internal or an external portion of a section to transfer heat. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of controlling cooling of a fluid).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu, Miozza, Campbell, and in further view of Lyon et al. (US20080186670A1).
Regarding claim 14, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell teach apparatus as applied above, Hsu-Miozza-Campbell differs from the claim in that Hsu-Miozza-Campbell fails to teach satisfying a condition based on power being applied to a power module (i.e., processor). However, satisfying a condition based on power being applied to a processor is taught by Lyon (a computer cooling control device may provide a cooling functionality that effectively allows the device to anticipate heat production from at least one heat generating component of interest and to adjust cooling power ... Information on a computer's power consumption can also be used to anticipate heat generation. In a computer, power consumption is generally linked to processor utilization, so that an increase in the computer's power consumption can be correlated to an increase in processor activity and therefore an increase in heat generation)([0023] and [0025]).
The examiner notes Hsu, Miozza, Campbell, and Lyon teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza-Campbell to include the satisfying of Lyon such that a condition based on power being applied to a power module is satisfied to control cooling. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of intelligently cooling equipment.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 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.
Claim 6-7 and 10 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-10, filed July 20, 2026, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claims 6, 7, and 10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claims 6, 7, and 10 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see pages 7-9, filed July 20, 2026, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection of claims 1-2, 4-5, and 11-19 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, applicant argues the combination of Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell fails to teach “the coolant cooler includes a first cooling unit including a fluid tank filled with a fluid having a boiling point lower than a boiling point of the coolant and connected to an external side of the second section”; the examiner respectfully disagrees.
The examiner notes one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Hsu discloses a coolant cooler (i.e., cooling distribution unit) connected to a second section for cooling coolant flowing through the second section “As shown in FIG. 1 , according to one embodiment, a heat dissipation system 100 for a computing device comprises … a cooling device such as a cooling distribution unit (CDU) 180 in fluid communication with the supply pipe 1602 and return pipe 1608 … The heated cooling liquid flowing out of the heat sink 160 flows back to the CDU 180. The cooling liquid re-cooled by the CDU 180 then flows to the heat sink 160” ([0013] and [0015]). In particular, Hsu depicts in Figure 1 of a cooling distribution unit connected to a second section (i.e., left section) of a flow path for cooling fluid flowing from a heat sink.
The examiner notes, although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). It is a “bedrock principle” that “the claims of the patent define the invention to which the patentee is entitled the rights to exclude.” Innova, 381 F.3d at 1115; see also Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1582 (“we look at the words of the claims themselves ... to define the scope of the patented invention”); Markman, 52 F.3d at 980 (“The written description part of the specification itself does not delimited the right to exclude. That is the function of the claims.”). As such the words of the claims “are generally given their ordinary customary meaning.” Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1582; also see Ferguson Beauregard/Logic Controls v. Mega Sys., LLC, 350 F.3d 1327, 1338 (Fed. Cir, 2003)(claim terms “are examined though the viewing glass of person skilled in the art”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary in the skill in the art to interpret a fluid tank as any area that contains a fluid.
Campbell discloses said area that contains a fluid, specifically, Campbell discloses cooling coolant (i.e., water) with a unit including an area filled with fluid (i.e., refrigerant) having a boiling point lower than the water and connected to an external side of a section (i.e., pipe) “One example of coolant within a cooling system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention is water. However, the concepts disclosed herein are readily adapted to use with other types of coolant on the facility side, system side, and conditioned coolant side of the cooling system. For example ... refrigerant ... As shown in FIG. 7, one heat exchange approach which could be employed within a cooling system ... separate cooling passages 705, 710 ... the conditioned coolant within the third conditioned cooling loop ... is circulated through coolant passages 710 on one side of the heat exchange assembly, while the system coolant in the respective second, system cooling loop is circulated through flow passages 705 on the opposite side of the heat exchanger 700” ([0037] and [0059]).
The examiner notes, it is readily apparent to one of ordinary skill that refrigerant has a lower boiling point than water. For example, in an article “How do Refrigerants work?” states “common refrigerants all have extremely low boiling points compared to water” (page 2). As such, Campbell depicts in Figure 7 of a cooling unit containing an area filled with refrigerant which has a lower boiling point than water and connected to an external side of a pipe.
The examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, Hsu, Miozza, and Campbell teach managing temperature of equipment. As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hsu-Miozza to include the cooling of Campbell such that coolant is cooled using a unit including a fluid tank filled with fluid having a boiling point lower than the coolant and connected to an external side of a section. One would be motivated to make such a combination to provide the advantage of increasing heat transfer efficiency in convection cooling.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicant is required under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111(c) to consider the reference fully when responding to this action. The document cited therein and enumerated below teaches a method and apparatus for managing temperature by controlling fluid flow.
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THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Yongjia Pan whose telephone number is (571)270-1177. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott Baderman can be reached at 571-272-3644. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YONGJIA PAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118
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