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 § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Winzer (Publication No.: US 2023/0176304 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Winzer teaches A network switch comprising a switch card assembly, the switch card assembly comprising: a switch printed circuit card (Switch PCB) (reference numeral 752 in Figure 29A) ; one or more switch chips (reference numeral 758 in Figure 29A) mounted on the Switch PCB; and an array of optical module connectors (reference numeral 760 in Figure 29A) mounted on the Switch PCB, each optical module connector comprising: a housing (e.g. “cage” as in paragraph [0244] and throughout; reference numeral 12412 in Figure 125B) mounted on and orthogonal to the Switch PCB and configured to receive a pluggable optical module (e.g. “pluggable optical module” as in paragraph [0244]; reference numeral 12404 in Figure 125B); and an electrical connector (reference numeral 16106 in Figure 161) disposed within the housing and configured to make an electrical connection to the pluggable optical module received in the housing, the Switch PCB having PCB traces (e.g. “traces” as in paragraph [0473] and throughout) formed thereon that connect the one or more switch chips to the electrical connectors of the optical module connectors to allow pluggable optical modules to be in electrical communication with the one or more switch chips via the PCB traces when the pluggable optical modules are received in the optical module connectors and plugged into respective electrical connectors of the optical module connectors.
Regarding claim 2, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, wherein the array of optical module connectors is arranged in a plurality of rows and columns (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 29A).
Regarding claim 3, 11, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, wherein the Switch PCB has airflow cutouts (e.g. “Thermal vias” as in paragraph [0669]), wherein the housing of each optical module connector includes an airduct (reference numeral 16802 in Figure 168B) aligned with a corresponding airflow cutout and a vent (reference numeral 15200 in Figure 153B) that provides a flow of air between an interior of the housing and the corresponding airflow cutout via the airduct.
Regarding claim 4, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, further comprising a fan unit (reference numeral 1050, 1086 in Figure 72 and throughout) to create a flow of ambient air through the housings of the optical module connectors to remove heat produced during operation of pluggable optical modules received in the housings.
Regarding claim 5, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, further comprising a heatsink assembly (reference numeral 1030a in Figure 73A) in thermal contact with the one or more switch chips, the heatsink assembly including a heat dissipator having a front side directly exposed to ambient air that is not preheated by heat- generating electronic components contained in the network switch (e.g. the leftmost airflow as illustrated in Figure 73A) .
Regarding claim 6, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, further comprising a fan unit (reference numeral 1086a in Figure 73A) configured to create an airflow that draws ambient air across the heat dissipator without being preheated by pluggable optical modules received in the housings of the optical module connectors (e.g. the leftmost airflow as illustrated in Figure 73A).
Regarding claim 7, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, further comprises an enclosure (reference numeral 756 in Figure 29A) to house the Switch PCB, wherein the Switch PCB is arranged vertically within the enclosure in parallel relation to a side panel of the enclosure, wherein the side panel includes cutouts that expose open ends of the optical module connectors (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 29A).
Regarding claim 8, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 1, further comprising a fan unit (e.g. “FAN” as illustrated in Figure 75C) to create a flow of ambient air through the housings of the optical module across pluggable optical modules received in the housings before flowing further into an interior of the enclosure (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 75C).
Regarding claim 9, Winzer teaches A switch card assembly comprising: a switch printed circuit board (PCB) (reference numeral 752 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 1126 in Figure 73A); at least one switch chip (reference numeral 758 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 1128a in Figure 73A) mounted on the Switch PCB; a plurality of optical module connectors (reference numeral 760 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 1132 in Figure 73A) mounted on the Switch PCB, each optical module connector having an open end for receiving a pluggable optical module therein (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 29); a heat dissipator (reference numeral 2006 in Figure 29B; reference numeral 1130 in Figure 73A) disposed at or near the periphery of the Switch PCB; and the Switch PCB having a plurality of PCB traces (e.g. “traces” as in paragraph [0473] and throughout) that electrically connect the at least one switch chip to the plurality of optical module connectors, wherein when the open ends of the optical module connectors and the first end of the heat dissipator are exposed to an ambient airflow, a first portion of the ambient airflow enters the open ends of the optical module connectors, and a second portion of the ambient airflow, separate from the first portion of the ambient airflow, comes into contact with the first end of the heat dissipator (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 73A and/or Figure 75A).
Regarding claim 10, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, wherein each optical module connector comprises: a housing mounted on and orthogonal to the Switch PCB (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 29A); and an electrical connector (reference numeral 18010 in Figure 180B) disposed within the housing and in electrical contact with one or more of the PCB traces.
Regarding claim 12, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, further including a heatsink assembly comprising a heat collector (e.g. “substrate” as in paragraph [0668]) in thermal contact with the at least one switch chip and the heat dissipator.
Regarding claim 13, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 12, wherein the heatsink assembly further comprises a second heat collector (reference numeral 870 in Figure 43) in thermal contact with a second switch chip mounted on the Switch PCB (reference numeral 758 in Figure 29A) and a second heat dissipator (e.g. “Additional heat sinks” as in paragraph [0669]) disposed at or near the periphery of the Switch PCB and in thermal communication with the second heat collector.
Regarding claim 14, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, wherein the plurality of optical module connectors (reference numeral 760 in Figure 29A) are arranged in an N x M array, comprising N rows and M columns, wherein N and M are both greater than one .
Regarding claim 15, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, wherein the plurality of optical module connectors are arranged in two or more arrays (reference numeral 760 in Figure 29A).
Regarding claim 16, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, wherein the plurality of optical module connectors are spaced apart from the heat dissipator in a direction parallel to a major surface of the Switch PCB (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 23).
Regarding claim 17, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, further comprising a power PCB (e.g. “printed circuit board” as in paragraph [0183]) disposed in parallel relation (e.g. “attached to the rear side” as in paragraph [0183]) to the Switch PCB and a plurality of conductors (e.g. “signal lines or traces” as in paragraph [0183]) sandwiched between the power PCB and Switch PCB to deliver power from the power PCB to the Switch PCB (e.g. “provides electrical power” as in paragraph [0183]) , wherein the power PCB includes cutouts (e.g. “Thermal vias” as in paragraph [0669]) substantially aligned with the cutouts in the Switch PCB (e.g. “Thermal vias” as in paragraph [0669]).
Regarding claim 18, Winzer teaches The switch card assembly of claim 9, wherein, when flows of air enter the open ends of the plurality of optical module connectors, the flows of air pass through the corresponding air channels to the back ends of the plurality of optical module connectors and through the corresponding cutouts on the Switch PCB (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 73A and/or Figure 75A and/or 75C).
Regarding claim 19, Winzer teaches A network switch comprising: an enclosure comprising a housing (reference numeral 756 in Figure 29A) having a first panel (reference numeral 754 in Figure 29A); a switch card assembly (reference numeral 752 in Figure 29A) vertically arranged within the housing in parallel relation to the first panel; and a fan unit (e.g. “FAN” as illustrated in Figures 67 through Figure 78) configured to create a flow of ambient air (airflow) that enters through the first panel to cool components of the switch card assembly, and exits a rear vent on the housing (e.g. as illustrated in Figures 67 through Figure 78), the switch card assembly comprising: a switch printed circuit board (PCB) (reference numeral 752 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 862 in Figure 43); at least one switch chip (reference numeral 758 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 864 in Figure 43) mounted on the Switch PCB; an array of connectors (reference numeral 760 in Figure 29A; reference numeral 868a, 868b, 868c in Figure 43) mounted on the Switch PCB and oriented to receive pluggable optical modules along a direction perpendicular to the Switch PCB, each connector having an airflow channel (e.g. at least the gap surrounding reference numeral 760 as illustrated in Figure 29A) between a front end of the connector and a back end of the connector, wherein an area of the Switch PCB on which the connector is mounted includes a corresponding airflow cutout (e.g. “Thermal vias” as in paragraph [0669]) substantially aligned with the airflow channel at the back end of the connector; PCB traces conductors (e.g. “signal lines or traces” as in paragraph [0183]) that electrically connect the at least one switch chip to the array of connectors, such that the at least one switch chip is electrically connected to the pluggable optical modules when the pluggable optical modules are received among the array of connectors; and a heatsink assembly (Figure 43) comprising a heat collector (e.g. “substrate” as in paragraph [0668]) coupled to a heat dissipator (reference numeral 866 in Figure 43) , the heat collector in thermal contact with the at least one switch chip (reference numeral 864 in Figure 43) , the heat dissipator disposed at or near the periphery of the Switch PCB (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 29B) , the first panel having a plurality of cutouts (reference numeral 760 as illustrated in Figure 29A) substantially in alignment with the plurality of connectors and an air opening (e.g. at least the air opening surrounding reference numeral 760 as illustrated in Figure 29A) substantially in alignment with the heat dissipator, wherein the airflow comprises a first portion that flows through the plurality of cutouts (e.g. air drawn in from the front panel as illustrated in Figures 72, 75C) and into the array of connectors and a second portion separate from the first portion that flows through the air opening and into the heat dissipator (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 72).
Regarding claim 20, Winzer teaches The network switch of claim 19, wherein the second portion of the airflow flows into the heat dissipator without first contacting other heat-generating electronic components in the network switch (e.g. as illustrated in Figure 72 where FAN 1086a draws air into the heat sink 1112 first).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AGUSTIN BELLO whose telephone number is (571)272-3026. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9 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, David Payne can be reached at (571)272-3024. 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.
/AGUSTIN BELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2635