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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the sizes of individual orifices in the plurality of orifices vary across the array” and the “the shapes of individual orifices in the plurality of orifices vary across the array” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(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) 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chu et al. (US 6,366,62 B1)
Re. claims 2 and 16: Chu discloses a cooling assembly for cooling a heat generating element (16) attached to a circuit board (14), the cooling assembly comprising:
(a) a reservoir cap (24) comprising an inlet port (41) and an outlet port (43), the inlet port configured to admit pressurized cooling fluid into the cooling assembly; (see fig. 1B; col. 3-4)
(b) a microjet mount plate (22), fixedly attached to the reservoir cap, the microjet mount plate and the reservoir cap being configured to define (i) an inlet plenum (40) that is in fluid communication with the inlet port on the reservoir cap, and (ii) an outlet plenum (42) that is in fluid communication with the outlet port on the reservoir cap; (see fig. 1B; col. 3-4)
(c) a microjet nozzle plate (20) disposed between the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum, the microjet nozzle plate comprising a plurality of orifices (45) passing through the microjet nozzle plate and extending from the inlet plenum to the outlet plenum; and (see fig. 1B; col. 3-4)
(d) a fastener (bolts for holes 26) for attaching the microjet mount plate to the circuit board so that the plurality of orifices in the microjet nozzle plate will be in proximity to a surface of the heat generating element to be cooled; (see fig. 1B; col. 3)
(e) wherein the plurality of orifices is configured to permit pressurized cooling fluid admitted to the inlet plenum to flow through the plurality of orifices to enter the outlet plenum in the form of a plurality of microjets directed to make contact with the surface of the heat generating element before the pressurized fluid in the plurality of microjets is exhausted from the outlet plenum through the outlet port, thereby transferring heat from the surface of the heat generating element to the pressurized cooling fluid. (see fig. 1-2; col. 6-7)
Re. claims 3 and 17: Chu discloses wherein the microjet mount plate (20) is fastened to the circuit board so that the microjet mount plate forms a leak-free seal around the surface of the heat generating element without the microjet mount plate being directly fastened to the surface of the heat generating element. (see fig. 1; col. 3-4)
Re. claims 6 and 20: Chu discloses wherein the plurality of orifices (45) in the microjet nozzle plate (20) is disposed in an array. (see fig. 2A; col. 4)
Re. claim 9: Chu discloses a microjet mount plate (22) used for cooling a heat generating element (16) attached to a circuit board (14), comprising:
(a) an inlet plenum (40) for receiving a supply of pressurized cooling fluid;
(b) an outlet plenum (42); (see fig. 1B; col. 3-4)
(c) a microjet nozzle plate (20) disposed between the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum, the microjet nozzle plate comprising a plurality of orifices (45) passing through the microjet nozzle plate and extending from the inlet plenum to the outlet plenum; and (see fig. 1B; col. 3-4)
(d) a fastener (bolts for holes 26) for attaching the microjet mount plate to the circuit board so that the plurality of orifices in the microjet nozzle plate will be in proximity to a surface of the heat generating element to be cooled; (see fig. 1B; col. 3)
(e) wherein the plurality of orifices is configured to permit pressurized cooling fluid supplied to the inlet plenum to flow through the plurality of orifices to enter the outlet plenum in the form of a plurality of microjets, the plurality of microjets being directed to traverse the outlet plenum to strike the surface of the heat generating element, thereby transferring heat from the surface of the heat generating element to the pressurized cooling fluid. (see col. 6-7)
Re. claim 10: Chu discloses wherein the microjet mount plate (22) is fastened to the circuit board so that the microjet mount plate forms a leak-free seal around the surface of the heat generating element without the microjet mount plate being directly fastened to the surface of the heat generating element (16). (the mount plate is connected to the microjet nozzle plate without contacting the circuit chips 16) (see fig. 1B)
Re. claim 13: Chu discloses wherein the plurality of orifices (45) in the microjet nozzle plate (20) is disposed in an array. (see fig. 2A; col. 4)
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.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chu as applied to claims 2, 9, and 16 above, and further in view of Colgan et al. (US 2009/0284921 A1).
Re. claims 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19: Chu fails to disclose:
the microjet mount plate further comprises a gasket that serves to create the leak-free seal around the surface of the heat generating element; and
a seal that creates a leak-free barrier between the inlet plenum and the outlet plenum.
However, Colgan discloses:
the microjet mount plate further comprises a gasket (157) that serves to create the leak-free seal around the surface of the heat generating element; and
a seal (156) that creates a leak-free barrier between the inlet plenum (153) and the outlet plenum (154). (see fig. 2-4; para. 0052-0058)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a gasket and a seal to the cooling assembly of Chu as taught by Colgan. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to prevent coolant from leaking between the inlet and outlet plenums and to create seals to prevent fluid leaks. (Colgan para. 0053)
Re. claims 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22: Chu fails to disclose:
wherein the sizes of individual orifices in the plurality of orifices vary across the array; and
wherein the shapes of individual orifices in the plurality of orifices vary across the array.
However, Colgan discloses:
wherein the sizes of individual orifices (V1, V2) in the plurality of orifices vary across the array (S1); and (see fig. 5B; para. 0063)
wherein the shapes of individual orifices (C1, C2) in the plurality of orifices vary across the array (S2). (see fig. 5C-D; para. 0063-0064)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the sizes and the shapes of the individual orifices of Chu vary across the array as taught by Colgan. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to do this in order to provide different amounts of coolant to different parts of the cooling assembly based on heat dissipation needs. (see Colgan para. 0062)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-26 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Re. claim 23: the limitations of “a) a housing having an inlet port, an outlet port, a sealing lip and a lower surface;
b) a sealing mechanism disposed on the lower surface of the housing; …
e) a clamping plate configured to mate with the sealing lip on the housing; and
f) a fastening mechanism for attaching the clamping plate to the printed circuit board or motherboard so that outlet plenum passages and the microjet nozzles will be aligned with a surface to be cooled on the heat generating element and so that the clamping plate will transmit a sufficient amount of force on the sealing lip of the housing to create a fluid tight seal between the sealing mechanism on the lower surface of the housing and the surface to be cooled on the heat generating element” in combination with the remaining limitations in the claim cannot be found in the prior art. The claimed clamping plate and sealing lip of the housing as claimed is not found in the relevant prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM B DRAVININKAS whose telephone number is (571)270-1353. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-6p MT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH (JP) N GANDHI can be reached at 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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September 30, 2025
/ADAM B DRAVININKAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835