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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
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 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. (US 20190053401 A1) in view of Bouda (US 9596761 B2), in further view of Gopalakrishna et al. (US 10955881 B2), hereafter referred to as Chang, Bouda, and Gopalakrishna, respectively.
With regards to claim 19, Chang discloses:
An apparatus (102) (Fig. 1a), comprising: a printed circuit board (116) (Fig. 1a) comprising a circuit region (i.e., the central portion on which 112 and 114 are mounted) (Fig. 1a) and a connector region (i.e., the surrounding portion exterior to 112 and 114) (Fig. 1a); a controller (114 may be a controller; See paragraph [0017]) (Fig. 1a) mounted to the printed circuit board within the circuit region (See Fig. 1a); a set of memory devices (112 may be a memory module, which would include multiple memory devices to store memory; See paragraph [0017], In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968)) (Fig. 1a) mounted to the printed circuit board within the circuit region (See Fig. 1a) and electrically coupled with the controller (112 and 114 are stated to be electrically connected, See paragraph [0018]); an upper heat transfer assembly (106, 104) (Fig. 1a) comprising: a first heatsink (106) (Fig. 1a) thermally coupled with the controller (106 touches 114) (Fig. 1a); a second heatsink (104) (Fig. 1a) thermally coupled with the plurality of memory devices (Devices internal to 112; 112 touches 104) (Fig. 1a).
Chang does not disclose:
a partition between the first heatsink and the second heatsink configured to provide thermal isolation between the first heatsink and the second heatsink; and a lower heat transfer assembly coupled with the upper heat transfer assembly and comprising one or more fasteners coupling the lower heat transfer assembly to the first heatsink and second heatsink, wherein the circuit region of the printed circuit board is enclosed between the upper heat transfer assembly and the lower heat transfer assembly.
However, Bouda discloses:
a partition (228) (Fig. 2b) between the first heatsink (210) (Fig. 2b) and the second heatsink (212) (Fig. 2b) configured to provide thermal isolation between the first heatsink and the second heatsink (Paragraph [0040] states that 228 impairs heat transfer between the heatsinks.).
Also, Gopalakrishna discloses:
a lower heat transfer assembly (128) (Fig. 3h) coupled (Mechanically coupled, see Fig. 3h) with the upper heat transfer assembly (132) (Fig. 3h) and comprising one or more fasteners (180 and hooks associated with 180) (Fig. 3h) coupling the lower heat transfer assembly (128) (Fig. 3h) to the upper heat transfer assembly (Upper heat transfer assembly 132) (See Fig. 3h), wherein the electronic devices (104) (Fig. 3h) are enclosed between the upper heat transfer assembly and the lower heat transfer assembly (See Fig. 3h).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the system of Chang with the partition and associated positioning specifics of Bouda. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so in order to keep thermal loads separate from one another, avoiding reduction in lifespan of components from excessive heat transfer from neighboring heatsinks.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the Chang-Bouda combination to include a lower heat transfer assembly and associated positioning specifics as taught by Gopalakrishna. In doing so, the second heat transfer assembly would be below the controller and plurality of memory devices of the Chang-Bouda combination, i.e., the circuit region, in order to most effective dissipate heat. Such a combination would enclose the circuit region, as defined above. Also, in connecting to the upper heat transfer assembly, one of ordinary skill would ensure fasteners were present on both the first heatsink and second heatsink in order to secure the full assembly, as seen by the connectors spanning 132. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do so in order to allow for improved heat dissipation in a small footprint.
Also, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined / modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination / modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
With regards to claim 20, Chang, Bouda, and Gopalakrishna disclose all as applied to claim 19, but Chang and Gopalakrishna do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first heatsink and the second heatsink are adjacent to the partition.
However, Bouda discloses:
wherein the first heatsink (210) (Fig. 2b) and the second heatsink (212) (Fig. 2b) are adjacent (See Fig. 2b) to the partition (228) (Fig. 2b).
Additionally, given the Chang-Bouda-Gopalakrishna combination of claim 19, since the partition 228 of Bouda would be placed between the two heatsinks of Chang, both heatsinks would be adjacent to it. See Fig. 1a of Chang.
See also KSR, supra.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see line 12 of page 7 through line 8 of page 8, and line 3 of page 11 through line 10 of page 13, filed 07/24/2026, with respect to the amendments to independent claims 1 and 13 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 1 and 13 and their associated dependent claims have been withdrawn.
With regards to the arguments beginning on line 11 of page 13, directed to Official Notice taken, the arguments are noted to be moot in light of independent claims 1 and 13 being marked as allowable.
With regards to the arguments beginning on line 9 of page 8, directed to the amendments made to independent claim 19, Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant begins by noting the amendments made to claim 19 regarding fasteners, and claims that Gopalakrishna does not cure the deficiencies of the primary reference, Chang. The Office respectfully disagrees, as discussed in the new rejection outlined above. Applicant continues, and discusses the features of Gopalakrishna. Applicant makes the argument that the fasteners provided by Gopalakrishna are not part of the lower heat transfer assembly, and are instead part of a cooling frame. While the upshot of Applicant’s argument is understood, the Office takes the stance that the claims are broader than argued, as presently written. The Office views it as reasonable to consider the fasteners as part of the cooling structure, with the features of Gopalakrishna being capable of being mapped to the currently claimed language. Further, one of ordinary skill would be capable of using fasteners to secure heatsinks together, with fasteners for heatsinks being very common in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-18 are allowable.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the allowability resides in the overall structure and functionality of the device, as recited in independent claims 1 and 13, at least in part, because claims 1 and 13 recite the limitations:
(Claim 1): “… wherein the lower heat transfer assembly comprises: a third heatsink, wherein the controller is enclosed between the first heatsink and the third heatsink; and a fourth heatsink, wherein the plurality of memory devices are enclosed between the second heatsink and the fourth heatsink.”
(Claim 13): “…a first heatsink comprising a thermally conductive component extending over a first area of the printed circuit board and comprising a first thermal transfer component extending over a second area of the printed circuit board; a second heatsink comprising a second thermal transfer component extending over a third area of the printed circuit board, wherein the third area at least partially overlaps along a plane of the printed circuit board with the first area, and wherein the first heatsink overlaps a portion of the second heatsink corresponding to the second area…”
Chang (US 20190053401 A1), Bouda (US 9596761 B2), and Gopalakrishna (US 10955881 B2) are believed to be the closest prior art references, and are discussed above.
However, Chang, Bouda, and Gopalakrishna fail to disclose, at least, the aforementioned allowable limitations of independent claims 1 and 13.
The remaining prior art references teach various cooling devices for PCB mounted components, particularly those that are double sided, or that feature heatsinks separated by gaps, that are similar in form to the instant Application. However, none of the remaining prior art references, taken alone or in combination, are believed to render the invention unpatentable as claimed.
Finally, the Office has not identified any double patenting issues. For all of the reasons outlined above, it is believed that the instant Application contains allowable subject matter.
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 KYLE OXENKNECHT whose telephone number is (703)756-1976. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
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/K.O./Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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