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 .
Email Communication
Applicant is encouraged to authorize the Examiner to communicate via email by filing form PTO/SB/439 either via USPS, Central Fax, or EFS-Web. See MPEP 502.01, 502, 502.05.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 1/9/2024, 6/11/2024 have been fully considered and are attached hereto.
Claim Objections
Claims 25-30, 36-37 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 25 recites, “the heat exchanger” which lacks antecedent basis. It appears that claim 25 should be changed to read, “a heat exchanger”.
Claims 26-28 recite, “the heat exchanger” which lacks antecedent basis. It appears that each of these claims should be changed to depend from claim 25.
Claims 29-30 are objected to since they depend from claim 28 and thus inherit the deficiency therein.
Claim 36 recites, “the heat spreader” which lacks antecedent basis. It appears that claim 36 should be changed to read, “a heat spreader”.
Claim 37 depends from claim 36 and thus inherits the deficiency therein.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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.
Claims 21-22, 25-27, 31-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai et al. (US 2023/0018736 – hereinafter, “Tsai”) in view of Ellsworth, Jr. et al. (US 6,970,355 – hereinafter, “Ellsworth”).
With respect to claim 21, Tsai teaches a method of cooling an assembly including at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240), the method comprising: cooling a secondary cooling fluid (Air) with a primary cooling fluid (Liquid) using a heat exchanger (350); and cooling the at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240) with the secondary cooling fluid (after air exits the heat exchanger, it flows adjacent 220, 230, 240; ¶ 0045, “The lowered resulting temperature of ambient airflow leaving the liquid row heat sink 350, passing through the at least one electronics module 240, transfers heat away from the at least one heat generating component 230 and other heat generating components of the at least one electronics module 240, as an example, memory modules, and improves heat dissipation efficiency of the liquid cooled server chassis 10.”, ¶ 0054, “the pair of airflow optimizers 360 is configured to generate airflow flowing from the distal base plate end 101, passing through the at least one electronics module 240, and passing through the front base plate end 102.”).
Tsai fails to specifically teach or suggest at least one heat generating electronic device is cooled by the primary cooling fluid that is provided to the heat exchanger mounted atop the at least one heat generating electronic device.
Ellsworth, however, teaches (In Figs 1-2) a liquid cooled heat exchanger (250) is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device (240), the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device (Col. 4, ll. 66-67, “hybrid heat sinks 250 are disposed in thermal contact with heat sources 240”) and heat is removed from the at least one heat-generating electronic device via a primary cooling fluid.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Ellsworth with that of Tsai, such that, in Tsai the heat exchanger is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device, the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device and cooled via a primary cooling fluid, as taught by Ellsworth, since doing so would allow for the cooling system of Tsai to accommodate another component therein (located under and in thermal contact with the heat exchanger) thus increasing the functionality of the device.
Note that when at least one heat-generating electronic device is provided below the heat exchanger (350) of Tsai, that then the combination of Tsai and Ellsworth teaches a method of cooling an assembly including at least one heat-generating electronic device and at least one peripheral heat-generating device, cooling the at least one heat-generating electronic device with a primary coolant at the at least one heat-generating electronic device, as claimed.
With respect to claim 22, Tsai further teaches that cooling the secondary cooling fluid (Air) with the primary cooling fluid (Liquid) occurs before cooling the at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240) with the secondary cooling fluid (The air is cooled at the heat exchanger upstream of the peripheral devices and then flows downstream to cool the peripheral devices, see ¶ 0045, 0054).
With respect to claim 25, the combination of Tsai and Ellsworth further teaches that cooling the secondary cooling fluid (Air) with the primary cooling fluid (Liquid) at the at least one heat-generating electronic device further comprises providing the primary cooling fluid and the secondary cooling fluid to a heat exchanger (350), the heat exchanger being in overlapping arrangement with the at least one heat-generating electronic device (When Tsai is modified to include at least one heat-generating electronic device under the heat exchanger, as taught by Ellsworth, then the heat exchanger would be in overlapping arrangement with the electronic device, as claimed).
With respect to claim 26, Tsai further teaches that providing the secondary cooling fluid (Air) to the heat exchanger (350) further comprises moving the secondary cooling fluid through the heat exchanger via a fan (360).
With respect to claim 27, Tsai further teaches that providing the secondary cooling fluid (Air) to the heat exchanger (350) further comprises moving the secondary cooling fluid through the heat exchanger via a movement mechanism (360).
With respect to claim 31, Tsai teaches (In Fig 2) a cooling system for cooling an assembly including at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240), the cooling system comprising: a heat exchanger (350); wherein a primary cooling fluid (Liquid that flows through 350) and a secondary cooling fluid (Air that flows through 350) are arranged in a heat exchange relationship within the heat exchanger (Heat is accepted by the liquid as the air flows through the heat exchanger, ¶ 0035, “wherein the liquid row heat sink 350 is configured to lower a flowthrough temperature of ambient airflow flowing through the liquid row heat sink 350.”) and an outlet of the heat exchanger configured to receive the secondary cooling fluid is fluidly coupled to the at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240; after air exits the heat exchanger, it flows adjacent 220, 230, 240; ¶ 0045, “The lowered resulting temperature of ambient airflow leaving the liquid row heat sink 350, passing through the at least one electronics module 240, transfers heat away from the at least one heat generating component 230 and other heat generating components of the at least one electronics module 240, as an example, memory modules, and improves heat dissipation efficiency of the liquid cooled server chassis 10.”, ¶ 0054, “the pair of airflow optimizers 360 is configured to generate airflow flowing from the distal base plate end 101, passing through the at least one electronics module 240, and passing through the front base plate end 102.”).
Tsai fails to specifically teach or suggest that the heat exchanger is mounted in overlapping arrangement with the at least one heat-generating electronic device, the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device.
Ellsworth, however, teaches (In Figs 1-2) a heat exchanger (250) is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device (240), the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device (Col. 4, ll. 66-67, “hybrid heat sinks 250 are disposed in thermal contact with heat sources 240”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Ellsworth with that of Tsai, such that, in Tsai the heat exchanger is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device, the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device, as taught by Ellsworth, since doing so would allow for the cooling system of Tsai to accommodate another component therein (located under and in thermal contact with the heat exchanger) thus increasing the functionality of the device.
Note that when Tsai is modified such that at least one heat-generating electronic device is placed below the heat exchanger, that the combination then teaches a cooling system for cooling an assembly including at least one heat-generating electronic device and at least one peripheral heat-generating device, as claimed.
With respect to claim 32, Tsai further teaches a fan (360) for moving the secondary cooling fluid (Air) through the heat exchanger.
With respect to claim 33, Tsai further teaches a movement mechanism (360) for moving the secondary cooling fluid (Air) through the heat exchanger.
With respect to claim 34, Tsai teaches (In Fig 2) a cooling system for cooling an assembly including at least one peripheral heat-generating device (220, 230, 240), the cooling system comprising: a heat exchanger (350); wherein a primary cooling fluid (Air that flows through 350) and a secondary cooling fluid (Liquid that flows through 350) are arranged in a heat exchange relationship within the heat exchanger (Heat is accepted by the liquid as the air flows through the heat exchanger, ¶ 0035, “wherein the liquid row heat sink 350 is configured to lower a flowthrough temperature of ambient airflow flowing through the liquid row heat sink 350.”) and an outlet (351) of the heat exchanger (350) configured to receive the secondary cooling fluid is fluidly coupled (Via 310, 340, 341) to the at least one peripheral heat-generating device (230), the secondary cooling fluid (Liquid) is at least partially liquid.
Tsai fails to specifically teach or suggest that the heat exchanger is mounted in overlapping arrangement with the at least one heat-generating electronic device, the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device.
Ellsworth, however, teaches (In Figs 1-2) a heat exchanger (250) is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device (240), the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device (Col. 4, ll. 66-67, “hybrid heat sinks 250 are disposed in thermal contact with heat sources 240”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Ellsworth with that of Tsai, such that, in Tsai the heat exchanger is mounted in overlapping arrangement with at least one heat-generating electronic device, the heat exchanger being thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device, as taught by Ellsworth, since doing so would allow for the cooling system of Tsai to accommodate another component therein (located under and in thermal contact with the heat exchanger) thus increasing the functionality of the device.
Note that when Tsai is modified such that at least one heat-generating electronic device is placed below the heat exchanger, that the combination then teaches a cooling system for cooling an assembly including at least one heat-generating electronic device and at least one peripheral heat-generating device, as claimed.
Claims 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Ellsworth and further in view of Campbell et al. (US 2011/0056674 – hereinafter, “Campbell”).
With respect to claims 28-30, Tsai as modified by Ellsworth teaches the limitations of claim 25 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest actively controlling a flow of the primary cooling fluid provided to the heat exchanger based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the thermal load is determined using information collected by one or more sensors, wherein the thermal load is determined using at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at an outlet of the heat exchanger and the temperature of the heat spreader.
Campbell, however, teaches actively controlling (Via 920 and 930) a flow of a primary cooling fluid provided to a heat exchanger (940) based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the thermal load is determined using information collected by one or more sensors (960), wherein the thermal load is determined using at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at an outlet of the heat exchanger (¶ 0053, “temperature sensor 960 at the output of liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 940”) and the temperature of the heat spreader.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Campbell with that of Tsai as modified by Ellsworth, such that Tsai includes actively controlling a flow of the primary cooling fluid provided to the heat exchanger based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the thermal load is determined using information collected by one or more sensors, wherein the thermal load is determined using at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at an outlet of the heat exchanger and the temperature of the heat spreader, as taught by Campbell, since doing so would allow for the cooling system of Tsai to provide tailored cooling to the at least one heat-generating electronic device of Tsai based on the amount of heat generated by the electronic device.
Claim 23-24, 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Ellsworth in view of Davidson et al. (US 5,216,580 – hereinafter, “Davidson”).
With respect to claims 23-24, Tsai as modified by Ellsworth teaches the limitations of claim 21 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest wherein cooling the at least one heat- generating electronic device with the primary cooling fluid further comprises: transferring heat from the at least one heat-generating electronic device to a heat spreader; and transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid arranged within an inlet manifold of a heat exchanger, wherein transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold of the heat exchanger further comprises vaporizing at least a portion of the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold.
Davidson, however, teaches cooling at least one heat-generating electronic device (23) with a primary cooling fluid (35) further comprises: transferring heat from the at least one heat-generating electronic device to a heat spreader (30); and transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid (35) arranged within an inlet manifold (Space between 22 and 27) of a heat exchanger (22, 27-29), wherein transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold of the heat exchanger further comprises vaporizing at least a portion of the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold (27 is an evaporator and so the primary cooling fluid (35) therein is vaporized by heat from the underlying components (23)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Davidson with that of Tsai as modified by Ellsworth such that, in Tsai cooling the at least one heat- generating electronic device with the primary cooling fluid further comprises: transferring heat from the at least one heat-generating electronic device to a heat spreader; and transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid arranged within an inlet manifold of the heat exchanger, wherein transferring heat from the heat spreader to the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold of the heat exchanger further comprises vaporizing at least a portion of the primary cooling fluid arranged within the inlet manifold, as taught by Davidson since doing so would allow for the heat exchanger of Tsai to accept more heat more efficiently since the heat spreader allow for more efficient heat transfer from the electronic device to the heat spreader and the use of a two phase system allows for a more stable junction temperature at the heat spreader since two phase cooling allows for the temperature to remain constant during the phase change process.
With respect to claim 35, Tsai as modified by Ellsworth teaches the limitation of claim 31 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest a heat spreader thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device and to the heat exchanger.
Davidson, however, teaches a heat spreader (30) coupled between a device (23) and a heat exchanger (22, 27-29).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a heat spreader thermally coupled to the at least one heat-generating electronic device and to the heat exchanger, since doing so would facilitate heat transfer from the at least one heat-generating electronic device to the heat exchanger and/or provide a means to attach the at least one heat-generating electronic device to the heat exchanger.
Claims 36-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Ellsworth in view of Davidson and further in view of Silverstein (US 2007/0025078).
With respect to claims 36-37, Tsai as modified by Ellsworth teaches the limitations of claim 31 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest that the heat exchanger further comprises an inlet manifold, the inlet manifold being positioned adjacent to a heat spreader, wherein a surface of the inlet manifold has a microstructure, the microstructure being optimized to facilitate boiling of the primary cooling fluid within the inlet manifold.
Davidson, however, teaches a heat spreader (30) thermally coupled to at least one heat-generating electronic device (23) and to a heat exchanger (22, 27, 28, 29) the heat exchanger further comprises an inlet manifold (Horizontal open space in 27), the inlet manifold being positioned adjacent to the heat spreader (30, see Fig 3A).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Davidson with that of Tsai as modified by Ellsworth, such that Tsai includes a heat exchanger which further comprises an inlet manifold, the inlet manifold being positioned adjacent to a heat spreader, as taught by Davidson, since doing so would facilitate heat transfer from the at least one heat-generating electronic device to the heat exchanger and/or provide a means to attach the at least one heat-generating electronic device to the heat exchanger.
With respect to the limitations that a surface of the inlet manifold has a microstructure, the microstructure being optimized to facilitate boiling of the primary cooling fluid within the inlet manifold, Silverstein teaches an evaporator which has a microstructure, the microstructure being optimized to facilitate boiling of a cooling fluid (¶ 0084, “As shown in FIGS. 12 thru 13, evaporator 800 comprises a boiler plate 820 and an evaporator housing 850, which is also referred to as decoupling evaporation chamber. Boiler plate 820 has an upper surface 822, a bottom surface 824, and a plurality of pins 830 extending upward from upper surface 822. Preferably, upper surface 822 and pins 830 are coated with a micro porous coating material, and the resulted boiler plate is referred to as micro porous boiler plate.”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Silverstein with that of Tsai as modified by Ellsworth and Davidson, such that a surface of the inlet manifold of Davidson has a microstructure, the microstructure being optimized to facilitate boiling of a primary cooling fluid within the inlet manifold, as taught by Silverstein, since doing so would enhance heat transfer away from the at least one heat-generating electronic device.
Claims 38-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsai in view of Ellsworth in view of Davidson and further in view of Campbell.
With respect to claims 38-40, Tsai as modified by Ellsworth and Davidson teaches the limitations of claim 35 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest at least one valve operable to actively control a flow of the primary cooling fluid provided to the heat exchanger based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, at least one sensor for monitoring the thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the at least sensor is operable to monitor at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at another outlet of the heat exchanger and the temperature of the heat spreader.
Campbell, however, teaches at least one valve (930) operable to actively control a flow of a primary cooling fluid provided to a heat exchanger (940) based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, at least one sensor (960) for monitoring the thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the at least sensor is operable to monitor at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at another outlet of the heat exchanger (¶ 0053, “temperature sensor 960 at the output of liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger 940”) and the temperature of the heat spreader.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Campbell with that of Tsai as modified by Ellsworth and Davidson such that modified Tsai includes at least one valve operable to actively control a flow of the primary cooling fluid provided to the heat exchanger based on a thermal load at the heat exchanger, at least one sensor for monitoring the thermal load at the heat exchanger, wherein the at least sensor is operable to monitor at least one of a temperature of the primary cooling fluid at another outlet of the heat exchanger and the temperature of the heat spreader, as taught by Campbell, since doing so would allow for the cooling system of Tsai to provide tailored cooling to the at least one heat-generating electronic device of Tsai based on the amount of heat generated by the electronic device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 9,288,931 to Inaba et al. which discloses (In Figs 2-4) an evaporative cooling device;
US 8,724,315 to Branton which discloses a liquid cooling system for a server;
US 2007/0125523 to Bhatti et al. which discloses a low profile liquid cooled server heat sink;
US 7,017,657 to Sugito et al. which discloses a cooling device boiling and condensing refrigerant; and
US 7,013,956 to Thayer et al. which discloses a heat pipe evaporator with porous valve.
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/ZACHARY PAPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835