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 .
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 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection including Mira (US 11,395,439) and Sharar (US 2024/0422943) is being applied to the claims within the instant action.
Objections to the Claims, Specification and Drawings
There is a lack of correspondence between the claimed subject matter, the detailed written description, the summary of invention and the drawings as to
a. Claim 2, lines 6-8 requires “correspondingly is adapted to provide the thermal conduction path to transfer the heat from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity” and lines 12-15 requires “correspondingly is adapted to provide the thermal mass transfer path to transfer the heat from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber.” Likewise, Claim 11, lines 5-6 requires “correspondingly from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity” and lines 10-12 requires “correspondingly from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity.” Also Claim 19 requires “a thermal mass transfer path to transfer heat from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity.” How does the thermal conduction path and/or the thermal mass transfer path accomplish the goal of transferring heat from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device when the device is not “within the vapor chamber cavity”? Did Applicant mean “through” or “by means of” the vapor chamber cavity?
Claim Objections
Claims 11 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11, line 8, change “the undergoes” to “the fluid undergoes”;
Claim 20, line 11, “a middle portion” should be “the middle portion” having antecedence in claim 19, line 3.
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 of this title, 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, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, and 18-20 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mira (US 11,395,439) and Sharar (US 2024/0422943).
With respect to Claim 1, Lin teaches a hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink (figs 2A & 2B, 200), comprising: an inner planar member (fig. 2, 202) adapted to be disposed adjacent to, in part, a printed circuit board (fig. 6D, 600) and, in part, a device (601) disposed on the printed circuit board; an outer planar member (204) coupled to the inner planar member to form a sealed vapor chamber cavity (col. 5, l. 63) adapted to contain a fluid (col. 6, l. 7); wherein one or more of the inner planar member and/or the outer planar member is/are adapted to receive a plurality of fasteners (two 205s along perimeter of and col. 3, ll. 16-17) for coupling the hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink to the printed circuit board. Mira fails to disclose a solid high thermal conductivity structure. Sharar teaches a solid high thermal conductivity structure (fig. 1, 120, ¶[0038], ll. 2-3, ¶[0039], ll. 19-20) disposed within the vapor chamber cavity (¶[0039], ll. 19-20), wherein a center section (110) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure is adapted to be located coincident with a middle portion (fig. 1, middle of 160) of the device (160) and one or more perimeter sections (¶[0041], ll. 1-2, “dendrites”) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure are adapted to be located coincident with one or more areas (fig. 1, outside of 110) outside a perimeter (fig. 1, perimeter of 160) of the device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira with the solid high thermal conductivity structure of Sharar for the purpose of “provid[ing] multiple thermal conductivity pathways (e.g., fingers or dendrites) to pull thermal energy away from the heat receiving section 110 and distribute the heat into and/or throughout the . . . dissipation element 100” (¶[0037], ll. 5-9). Sharar fails to disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners. The combination of Mira and Sharar disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners because the fasteners of Mira are not with the vapor chamber and therefore “the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners.”
With respect to Claim 10, Mira teaches 10. A network element, comprising: a printed circuit board (fig. 6D, 600); a device (601) disposed on the printed circuit board; and a hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink (figs 2A & 2B, 200), comprising: an inner planar member (fig. 2, 202) adapted to be disposed adjacent to, in part, the printed circuit board and, in part, the device; an outer planar member (204) coupled to the inner planar member to form a sealed vapor chamber cavity (col. 5, l. 63) adapted to contain a fluid (col. 6, l. 7), wherein one or more of the inner planar member and/or the outer planar member receives a plurality of fasteners (col. 3, ll. 16-17, fasteners thru two 205s along perimeter of 202) coupling the hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink to the printed circuit board. Mira fails to disclose a solid high thermal conductivity structure. Sharar teaches a solid high thermal conductivity structure (fig. 1, 120, ¶[0038], ll. 2-3, ¶[0039], ll. 19-20) within the vapor chamber cavity (¶[0039], ll. 19-20), wherein a center section (110) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure is located coincident with a middle portion (fig. 1, middle of 160) of the device (160) and one or more perimeter sections (¶[0041], ll. 1-2, “dendrites”) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure are located coincident with one or more areas (fig. 1, outside of 110) outside a perimeter (fig. 1, perimeter of 160)of the device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira with the solid high thermal conductivity structure of Sharar for the purpose of “provid[ing] multiple thermal conductivity pathways (e.g., fingers or dendrites) to pull thermal energy away from the heat receiving section 110 and distribute the heat into and/or throughout the . . . dissipation element 100” (¶[0037], ll. 5-9). Sharar fails to disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners. The combination of Mira and Sharar disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners because the fasteners of Mira are not with the vapor chamber and therefore “the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners.”
With respect to Claim 19, Mira teaches a method for cooling a device (fig. 6D, 601) disposed on a printed circuit board (600), comprising: providing a thermal mass transfer path (col. 6, ll. 11-13) to transfer heat from the middle portion (fig. 6D, middle of 601) of the device to the one or more areas outside (fig. 6D, beyond perimeter of 601) the perimeter (fig. 6D, perimeter of 601) of the device within the vapor chamber cavity (col. 5, ll. 63-64), the thermal conduction path )col. 6, l. 15) takes a portion of a heat load (col. 6, l. 11) of the device, and a plurality of fasteners col. 3, ll. 16-17, fasteners thru two 205s along perimeter of 202) adapted to couple the vapor chamber cavity to the printed circuit board. Mira fails to disclose a thermal conduction path. Sharar teaches providing a thermal conduction path (¶[0037], ll. 5-6) to transfer heat from a middle portion (fig. 1, middle of 160) of the device to one or more areas (fig. 1, beyond perimeter of 160) outside a perimeter (fig. 1, perimeter of 160) of the device (160) within a vapor chamber cavity (¶[0039], l. 20) and the thermal mass transfer path takes another portion (¶[0037], ll. 5-9) of the heat load (heat of 160) of the device, such that the vapor chamber cavity does not enter a dry out mode (Sharar has the same structure as claimed and therefore has the function). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira with the thermal conduction path of Sharar for the purpose of “provid[ing] multiple thermal conductivity pathways (e.g., fingers or dendrites) to pull thermal energy away from the heat receiving section 110 and distribute the heat into and/or throughout the . . . dissipation element 100” (¶[0037], ll. 5-9). Sharar fails to disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners. The combination of Mira and Sharar disclose the thermal conduction path is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners because the fasteners of Mira are not with the vapor chamber and therefore “the thermal conduction path is spaced apart from the plurality of fasteners.”
With respect to Claims 6 and 15, Mira further teaches a plurality of pillar structures (fig. 2B, two 205s in middle of vapor chamber) disposed between the inner planar member and the outer planar member and adapted to maintain an integrity of the vapor chamber cavity.
With respect to Claims 7 and 16, Mira and Sharar disclose the claimed invention except for a thermal interface material. Admitted prior art that it is well known in the art to have a thermal interface material disposed between the inner planar member of a vapor chamber and a surface of the device (since the applicant’s transverse of the rejection does not specifically address the examiner’s assertion of official notice, the transverse is not adequate and is taken as admitted prior art. MPEP 2144.03). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Yu with a well-known thermal interface material for the purpose of increasing heat transfer between the inner planar member and the surface of the device, for increased heat dissipation of the device.
With respect to Claims 9 and 18, Mira discloses the claimed invention including the inner planar member and the outer planar member are each manufactured from copper (col. 3, l. 31 for 204; col. 4, l. 39 for 202). Mira fails to disclose the solid high thermal conductivity structure are each manufactured from one of copper and graphite. Sharar teaches the solid high thermal conductivity structure is manufactured from copper (¶[0038], l. 11). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to for the outer planar member and the solid high thermal conductivity structure to be made of a material that has a good thermal conductivity such as copper of graphite for greater thermal management of the device, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
With respect to Claim 20, Mira teaches the thermal mass transfer path comprises the vapor chamber cavity containing a fluid (col. 6, l. 7) provided between an inner planar member (fig. 2, 202) and an outer planar member (204) of a hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink figs 2A & 2B, 200), the vapor chamber cavity transferring the heat from an evaporation portion (col. 6, ll. 12-13) of the vapor chamber cavity, where the fluid undergoes phase change from a liquid to a vapor (vaporization is from liquid to vapor), to a condensation portion (col. 6, l. 17) of the vapor chamber cavity, where the fluid undergoes phase change from the vapor to the liquid (condenses is going from vapor to liquid). Mira fails to disclose the thermal conduction path. Sharar the thermal conduction path comprises a solid high thermal conductivity structure (fig. 1, 120) disposed within the vapor chamber cavity, wherein a center section (110) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure is located coincident with a middle portion (fig. 1, middle of 160) of the device and one or more perimeter sections (140) of the solid high thermal conductivity structure are located coincident with the one or more areas (fig. 1, beyond perimeter of 160) outside the perimeter (fig. 1, perimeter of 160) of the device, the solid high thermal conductivity structure transferring (¶[0037, ll. 6-9) the heat from the center section of the solid high thermal conductivity structure to the one or more perimeter sections of the solid high thermal conductivity structure. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira with the thermal conduction path of Sharar for the purpose of “provid[ing] multiple thermal conductivity pathways (e.g., fingers or dendrites) to pull thermal energy away from the heat receiving section 110 and distribute the heat into and/or throughout the . . . dissipation element 100” (¶[0037], ll. 5-9).
Claims 2-4 and 11-13 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mira (US 11,395,439), Sharar (US 2024/0422943) and Ku (US 2020/0396864).
With respect to Claims 2 and 11, Mira and Sharar discloses the clamed invention including the solid high thermal conductivity structure provides a thermal conduction path (Sharar, ¶[0017], ll. 5-6) to transfer heat from the center section of the solid high thermal conductivity structure to the one or more perimeter sections of the solid high thermal conductivity structure and correspondingly is adapted to provide the thermal conduction path (Sharar, ¶[0017], ll. 5-9) to transfer the heat from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity. Mira and Shar fail to disclose a thermal mass transfer path. Ku teaches the vapor chamber cavity provides a thermal mass transfer path (fig. 11, 1104 surrounding cross-shaped central portion of 1108) to transfer heat from an evaporation portion (fig. 1, 116; fig. 19, “Evaporator”) of the vapor chamber cavity, where the fluid undergoes phase change from a liquid (¶[0121], l. 3) to a vapor (¶[0035], l. 7), to a condensation portion (fig. 19, “Condenser”) of the vapor chamber cavity, where the fluid undergoes phase change from vapor to liquid, and correspondingly is adapted to provide the thermal mass transfer path to transfer heat (“is adapted to provide the thermal mass transfer path to transfer heat” for claim 2 only) from the middle portion of the device to the one or more areas outside the perimeter of the device within the vapor chamber cavity. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira and Sharar with the thermal mass transfer path of Ku for the purpose of “increasing fluid flow into the ‘hot zone’ or evaporator of the chamber” (¶[0104], l. 2) for improving the performance of the thermal mass transfer path.
With respect to Claims 3 and 12, Mira and Sharar disclose the clamed invention including the thermal conduction path is adapted to (“is adapted to” for claim 3 only) take a portion (Sharar, portion of heat conducted from 110 of 120 [¶[0036], l. 6]) of a heat load of the device. Mira and Sharar fail to disclose the thermal mass transfer path. Ku teaches the thermal mass transfer path is adapted to (“is adapted to” for claim 3 only) take another portion (another portion of heat taken from during phase change of working fluid) of the heat load of the device, such that the vapor chamber cavity does not enter a dry out mode (the prior art has the same structure as claimed and therefore has the function). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira and Sharar with the thermal mass transfer path of Ku for the purpose of “increasing fluid flow into the ‘hot zone’ or evaporator of the chamber” (¶[0104], l. 2) for improving the performance of the thermal mass transfer path.
With respect to Claims 4 and 13, Mira and Sharar disclose the clamed invention except for the hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink further comprises one or more of an inner wick layer and an outer wick layer. Ku teaches the hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink further comprises one or more (¶[0048], ll. 3-7) of an inner wick layer (¶[0048], l. 4) and an outer wick layer (¶[0048], l. 5) disposed within the vapor chamber cavity between the inner planar member and the outer planar member. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira and Sharar with the wick layers of Ku for the purpose of a means to “carry fluid back from the condenser to the evaporator” (¶[0049], ll. 1-2).
Claims 5 and 14 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mira (US 11,395,439), Sharar (US 2024/0422943) and Hwang (US 2010/0155030).
Mira and Sharar disclose the claimed invention except for a conformal recess. Hwang teaches the hybrid conductor-vapor chamber heat sink (fig. 3, 30) further comprises the inner planar member (36) defines a conformal recess (360) that is adapted to receive the device (90) (claim 5)/ in which the device (90) is disposed (claim 14), wherein the vapor chamber cavity (35) is thinner in an area (see fig. 3, area below 361) of the conformal recess and thicker around (fig. 3, by 60) the conformal recess. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the conformal recess of Hwang for the projection of Mira for the purpose of varying the distance between the printed circuit board and the inner planar member of the vapor chamber to compensate for varying heights of different devices mounted on the printed circuit board. Hwang fails to disclose a solid high thermal conductivity structure. However, the combination of Miura and Shara would have the solid high thermal conductivity structure is located, at least in part, coincident with the conformal recess within the vapor chamber cavity because the inner planar member is being modified to include the conformal recess of Hwang.
Claims 8 are 17 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mira (US 11,395,439), Sharar (US 2024/0422943) and Zhang (US 2017/0059254).
Mira and Sharar disclose the claimed invention except for a plurality of separate vapor chamber cavities. Zhang teaches the solid high thermal conductivity structure (fig., 30s) provides the vapor chamber cavity into a plurality of separate vapor chamber cavities.(40s). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the heat sink of Mira and Sharar with the separate vapor chamber cavities of Zhang for the purpose of enhancing the strength (¶[0019], ll. 7-8) of the vapor chamber.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 10,211,125, 10,458,718 and 10,697,712 disclose mounting holes through a vapor chamber. US 2019/0003775 and 2019/027424 disclose mounting holes surrounding a vapor chamber. US 8,875,779, 8,985,196 and 8,985,197 disclose means of fastening a vapor chamber by means of threaded holes affixed to an outside of a vapor chamber.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J HOFFBERG whose telephone number is (571) 272-2761. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon - Fri 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, Jayprakash Gandhi can be reached on (571) 272-3740. 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.
RJH 5/14/2026
/ROBERT J HOFFBERG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835
Prosecution Insights