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 statement filed 3/27/2024 has been fully considered and is attached hereto.
Claim Objections
Claims 5 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 and 12 recite, “the enclosure is associated with a heat exchanger to exchange of the heat absorbed to the liquid with the heat exchanger” which is confusing. It appears claims 5 and 12 could be amended to recite:
“the enclosure is associated with a heat exchanger to exchange the heat absorbed by the liquid with the heat exchanger”
For the purposes of examination, claims 5 and 12 will be considered as suggested above.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, 19-22, 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Son et al. (US 2025/0105093 – hereinafter, “Son”).
With respect to claim 1, Son teaches (In Fig 6) a semiconductor product (1) comprising at least one channel (Portion between 30b and 2) and at least one nozzle (51) formed on or within a surface (Top surface of 30b) thereof (Of the semiconductor product) and associated with an enclosure (9) over the surface (See Fig 6), the at least one channel to allow flow of a liquid therethrough (See Fig 6, the arrow shows how the liquid moves through the channel), the at least one nozzle (51) to allow ejection of the liquid to the surface or to an area above the surface to provide at least part of a cooling for the semiconductor product, based in part on heat absorbed to the liquid, and the enclosure to at least retain partly the liquid in support of the cooling of the semiconductor product (See Fig 6, see also ¶ 0073-0074, the liquid picks up heat from an active chip (2) and then is ejected via the nozzle 51, the fluid then gives up its heat to the enclosure and is recycled back to the channel.).
With respect to claim 2, Son further teaches that the ejection maintains the liquid in liquid form or supports vaporization of the liquid to the surface or to the area above the surface to provide the cooling (¶ 0056, “When liquid coolant receives heat from the heat radiation part 20, the phase may change into gaseous coolant”, ¶ 0051, “The coolant may provide cooling to the heat radiation part 20 through phase change. However, the cooling provided by the coolant to the semiconductor chip 2 or the semiconductor device 1 is not limited to the above description.”, where here Son teaches that the liquid coolant can remain a liquid or change phase into a gas which means that the ejection maintains the liquid in liquid form or supports vaporization, as claimed).
With respect to claim 3, Son further teaches that the flow is enabled, in part, by a further cooling of the semiconductor product that causes a temperature differential in the at least one channel (While not explicitly disclosed, the liquid is cooled by the atmosphere surrounding the enclosure (9) and this causes there to be a temperature differential between the space within the channel (which is warmer due to the heat produced by the active chip 2) and the space outside the channel and it is this temperature differential that, in part, enables the flow. In simpler terms, it is the heat from the component which causes the flow within the product).
With respect to claim 6, Son further teaches that the enclosure allows condensation of a vapor form of the liquid (When the vapor flows along the bottom of 9, it can condense along this bottom) or allows redirection of a liquid form of the liquid, the enclosure further to enable the liquid to be reused (As shown in Fig 6, the liquid is shown in a closed loop system and is thus reused) or to exchange heat with a heat exchanger that is external relative to the semiconductor product.
With respect to claim 7, Son further teaches that the heat absorbed to the liquid is based in part on a byproduct of device activity within the semiconductor product (¶ 0050. “The semiconductor chip 2 may generate heat when receiving power or while operating.”).
With respect to claim 8, Son teaches (In Fig 6) a liquid cooling loop to circulate liquid through a semiconductor product (1) comprising at least one channel (Portion between 30b and 2) and at least one nozzle (51) formed on or within a surface thereof and associated with an enclosure (9) over the surface (See Fig 6), the at least one channel to allow flow of the liquid therethrough, the at least one nozzle to allow ejection of the liquid to the surface or to an area above the surface to provide at least part of a cooling for the semiconductor product, based in part on heat absorbed to the liquid, and the enclosure to at least partly retain the liquid in support of the cooling of the semiconductor product, wherein the liquid cooling loop is a closed loop (See Fig 6, the liquid cooling loop is shown as a closed loop) or is an open loop with a heat exchanger.
With respect to claim 9, Son further teaches that the ejection maintains the liquid in liquid form or supports vaporization of the liquid to the surface or to the area above the surface to provide the cooling (¶ 0056, “When liquid coolant receives heat from the heat radiation part 20, the phase may change into gaseous coolant”, ¶ 0051, “The coolant may provide cooling to the heat radiation part 20 through phase change. However, the cooling provided by the coolant to the semiconductor chip 2 or the semiconductor device 1 is not limited to the above description.”, where here Son teaches that the liquid coolant can remain a liquid or change phase into a gas which means that the ejection maintains the liquid in liquid form or supports vaporization, as claimed).
With respect to claim 10, Son further teaches that the flow is enabled, in part, by a further cooling of the semiconductor product that causes a temperature differential in the at least one channel (While not explicitly disclosed, the liquid is cooled by the atmosphere surrounding the enclosure (9) and this causes there to be a temperature differential between the space within the channel (which is warmer due to the heat produced by the active chip 2) and the space outside the channel and it is this temperature differential that, in part, enables the flow. In simpler terms, it is the heat from the component which causes the flow within the product).
With respect to claim 13, Son further teaches that the enclosure allows condensation of a vapor form of the liquid (When the vapor flows along the bottom of 9, it can condense along this bottom) or allows redirection of a liquid form of the liquid, the enclosure further to enable the liquid to be reused (As shown in Fig 6, the liquid is shown in a closed loop system and is thus reused) or to exchange heat with a heat exchanger that is external relative to the semiconductor product.
With respect to claim 14, Son further teaches that the heat absorbed to the liquid is based in part on a byproduct of device activity within the semiconductor product (¶ 0050. “The semiconductor chip 2 may generate heat when receiving power or while operating.”).
With respect to method claims 15-17, 19-22, 24 the method steps recited in the claims are inherently necessitated by the device structure as taught by the Son reference.
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 5 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Campbell et al. (US 2010/0328890 – hereinafter, “Campbell”).
With respect to claims 5 and 12, Son teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 8 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest the enclosure is associated with a heat exchanger to exchange the heat absorbed by the liquid with the heat exchanger.
Campbell, however, teaches (In Fig 5) an enclosure (530) is associated with a heat exchanger (520) to exchange the heat absorbed by a fluid with the heat exchanger (¶ 0045, “Upon reaching the upper portion of the sealed compartment, the dielectric fluid vapor contacts the cool surfaces of the condenser fins, which are cooled, for example, by means of a thermal conduction coupling to liquid-cooled cold plate 520, and more particularly, to system coolant passing via inlet 521 and outlet 522 through the liquid-cooled cold 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 Campbell with that of Son, such that the enclosure of Son is associated with a heat exchanger to exchange the heat absorbed by the liquid with the heat exchanger, as taught by Campbell, since doing so would allow for greater quantities of heat to be moved from the semiconductor product.
Claims 4, 11, 18, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son in view of Peterson et al. (US 2022/0248559 – hereinafter, “Peterson”).
With respect to claims 4 and 11, Son teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 8 as per above but fails to specifically teach or suggest wherein the flow is enabled, in part, by a pump, and wherein the flow is supported by an inlet and an outlet to allow exchange of the heat absorbed to the liquid with a heat exchanger that is external to the semiconductor product.
Peterson, however, teaches (In Fig 4) wherein a flow of a fluid is enabled, in part, by a pump (432), and wherein the flow is supported by an inlet (Structure where fluid enters the conduit 426) and an outlet (Structure where the fluid exits the conduit 428) to allow exchange of the heat absorbed to the liquid with a heat exchanger (442) that is external to a semiconductor product (402).
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 Peterson with that of Son, such that, in Son the flow is enabled, in part, by a pump, and wherein the flow is supported by an inlet and an outlet to allow exchange of the heat absorbed to the liquid with a heat exchanger that is external to the semiconductor product, as taught by Peterson, since doing so would allow for additional external cooling of the fluid of the semiconductor product.
With respect to method claims 18 and 23 the method steps recited in the claims are inherently necessitated by the device structure as taught by the Son and Peterson references.
Conclusion
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/ZACHARY PAPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835