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
1. Claims 2-4, and 13-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/28/25.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
5. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
6. Claims 1, and 5-12, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1; “a cold plate coupled to a cooling system such that a coolant circulates between said cold plates” in line(s) 6-7, is unclear; whereas the claim previously only asserts “a cold plate” in line 6, and thus “said cold plates” in line 7 is not presented with proper antecedence, and thus the claim does not properly denote if the assertion intends to actually assert a singular cold plate or a plurality of cold plates. As such, the office cannot readily ascertain the manner by which coolant is deemed to circulate including i.e. a coolant circulates between a cooling system and one cold plate, or i.e. if a coolant circulates between a cooling system and cold plates (plural) in series (from a cooling system to one cold plate then to other cold plates) or i.e. if a coolant circulates between a cooling system and cold plates (plural) in parallel (from a cooling system respectively or separately to each cold plate). Further, “the cold plate” in line(s) 12, 14, and 16 asserts: “a passive cooling system configured to provide a heat transfer from the passively cooled electronic component to the cold plate by heat conduction via the structural component” which is unclear; whereas the cold plate does not readily refer back to a cold plate in line 6 or the cold plates asserted in line 7, and thus the structure intended by the applicant cannot be ascertained. The office hereby notes that the claim is herein deemed to read on more than one plausible claim construction which constitute varying inventive structures thereof. Regarding Claim 5; “one or more electronic components” in line 3 is unclear; whereas claim 1 already asserts one or more electronic components, and thus the assertion shall be presented with proper antecedence. Regarding claim 6; “the cold plate” in line 3 does not readily refer back to a cold plate in claim 1 line 6 or the cold plates in claim 1 line 7. Regarding claim 7; in line(s) 1-3, “the cold plate includes first and second thermal interfaces configured to thermally couple the cold plate to each of two heat sources” is unclear; whereas “the cold plate” does not readily refer back to any of the cold plates in claim 1; and further, two heat sources is unclear; whereas the assertion does not readily refer back to a heat source in claim 1, line 10, and the assertion does not otherwise denote each of two heat sources as separate to and/or as additional features with respect to the one or more electronic components or a heat source thereof. Regarding Claim 10; “a thermal interface material (TIM) between corresponding contact surfaces of the structural component and a heat source or heat sink respectively, at each thermal interface” is unclear; whereas only one TIM is explicitly asserted, and it otherwise appears that respective TIM’s is intended at respective interfaces. Further, “a heat source” in line 3 is unclear; whereas it cannot be readily ascertained if intended to refer back to a heat source that is already asserted in claim 1 line 10 or otherwise intended to denote a different heat source. Going further, “heat sink” in line 3 is unclear; whereas it cannot be readily ascertained if intended to refer back to a heat sink that is already asserted in claim 1 line 8 or otherwise intended to denote a different heat sink.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, and 5-6, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by (Macias 2021/0208647).
Regarding Claim 1; Macias discloses a server rack system for receiving and coupling electronic components to a vehicle system (as set forth by para. 0056 discloses a computing system includes servers, and a rack level-computing solution, and the computing system is a part of a vehicle, wherein the computing system includes computing devices, wherein para. 0021 discloses an integrated circuit component and processor units thereof attached to a printed circuit board, and FET attached to the PCB—as further set forth by para. 0026—as depicted by Fig. 2), the server rack system comprising: a housing configured to receive the electronic components (whereas para. 0045 discloses the rack level computing solution and cold plate assembly is part of a rack-level cooling system for multiple computing systems within a rack which constitutes a housing); a heat-conducting structural component (as constituted by thermal strap—256, and/or stiffener plate-252—Fig. 2—as set forth by para.’s 0026-0027); an active cooling system defined by a cold plate coupled to a cooling system such that a coolant circulates between the cold plate, the cooling system defining a heat sink (as set forth by para.’s 0025 and 0043---each discloses a cold plate assembly is part of a liquid cooling system for Fig.’s 2 and 9; whereas Fig. 9 constitutes an active cold plate assembly-924 comprising a cold plate-948 circulates a cooling fluid to an external heat exchanger via a pump—as further set forth by para.’s 0044-0045); at least one passively cooled electronic component of the electronic components defining a heat source (whereas 212 denotes a passively cooled heat source cooled atleast via structural components defined by slug 236, thermal strap,-256, and/or plate-252); and a passive cooling system configured to provide a heat transfer from the passively cooled electronic component to the cold plate by heat conduction via the structural component (whereas a passive cooling system is atleast in-part defined by the heat conducting structural component, thermally coupling a TIM layer-222, heat pipe-224, slug-236, heat pipe-248, thermal strap-256, plate-252, and TIM layer-260 to the heat source-212—as depicted by Fig. 2), wherein the cold plate is located spaced apart from the passively cooled component (as depicted by Fig. 2—whereas the cold plate assembly-220 is spaced from the heat source-212), and the structural component is arranged to extend between the passively cooled component and the cold plate and is thermally coupled to each (whereas the thermal strap—256, and/or the stiffener plate-252 extends between and is thermally coupled between the heat source-212 and the cold plate-220—as depicted by Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 5; Macias discloses the server rack system of claim 1 wherein the passively cooled electronic component includes at least one of: a back plane board including electronic components (whereas PCB-208 constitutes a backplane board including the heat source-212 which is an VR FET and a inductor-216—para.’s 0026)
Regarding Claim 6; Macias discloses the server rack system of claim 1 further comprising an actively cooled electronic control unit (ECU) directly thermally coupled to the cold plate at a thermal interface to provide active cooling of the ECU (whereas the cold plate assembly which already defines active cooling is thermally coupled to integrated circuit component-204—as depicted by Fig. 2 which includes a processor unit and additional component(s) including a controller and/or memory—as set forth by para.’s 0026; and where para.’s 0062-0063 further discloses the processor unit further comprises memory controller logic and control memory).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-12, 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. Note: all claim constructions as rejected and/or as presented in the allowable subject matter shown below, are deemed as constructively elected and thus all non-examined or-conditions and structures thereof are herein deemed as non-elected, and will be subject to an election by original presentation.
Regarding Claim 7; the server rack system of claim 1 wherein: the cold plate includes first and second thermal interfaces configured to thermally couple the cold plate to each of two heat sources, and a surface area of the first thermal interface is greater than a surface area of the second thermal interface.
Regarding Claim 8; server rack system of claim 1 wherein: the heat sink includes the structural component, and the structural component includes heat conducting portions configured to provide heat conduction and heat transfer for hybrid cooling.
Regarding Claim 10; the server rack system of claim 1 further comprising a thermal interface material (TIM) between corresponding contact surfaces of the structural component and a heat source or heat sink respectively, at each thermal interface. Note: heat source and heat sink is herein deemed as a different heat source and a different heat sink.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 11711910 B2
Gao; Tianyi
Fig.’s 1-2, and 4A
US 20090225515 A1
Hom; James et al.
Fig.’s 4, 5B, and 6-7
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-9094. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5p.
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/COURTNEY L SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835