Detailed Action
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
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.
Claims 1- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 7131486 to Goodson et al. (Goodson).
Regarding Claim 1, Goodson teaches in Figs. 3 and 22 at least, an apparatus, comprising:
a semiconductor component 50; and
a cooling structure 200, over the semiconductor component, wherein the cooling structure comprises:
a housing 214, comprising a cooling space 220, adjacent to the semiconductor component;
a liquid 7:1-3 delivery device 300, connected to an inlet 222 of the housing and configured to deliver a liquid coolant into the cooling space from the inlet; and
a gas 23:11-15 exhaust device fluid exhaust, connected to an outlet 224 of the housing and configured to lower a pressure in the housing.
Regarding Claim 2, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling space is between the housing and the semiconductor component (see Fig. 3A).
Regarding Claim 3, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling structure further comprises a heat spreader 210 disposed between the housing and the semiconductor component, and the cooling space is between the housing and the heat spreader.
Regarding Claim 7, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas exhaust device is configured to pump out a gaseous coolant vaporized from the liquid coolant when the liquid coolant is heated by the semiconductor component (inherent operation of the device).
Regarding Claim 8, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a controller 500 configured to modulate a flowrate of the liquid coolant delivered by the liquid delivery device and a flowrate of the gaseous coolant pumped out by the gas exhaust device.
Regarding Claim 9, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas exhaust device is configured to lower the pressure in the housing to decrease a boiling temperature of the liquid coolant in the cooling space (inherent operation of the device; as fluid exhausts pressure falls to maintenance and a boiling point of the fluid decreases following PV=nRT).
Regarding Claim 20, Goodson teaches a apparatus, comprising:
a semiconductor component; and
a cooling structure, disposed over the semiconductor component, wherein the cooling structure comprises:
a housing, comprising a cooling space;
a liquid delivery device, connected to the housing and configured to deliver a liquid coolant into the cooling space; and
a gas exhaust device, connected to the housing and configured to maintain a pressure inside the cooling space (see above rejection of Claim 1, evaporating fluid is exhausted maintaining an overall pressure in the microchannels).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Goodson in view of U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20040104022 to Kenney et al. (Kenney).
Regarding Claim 4, Goodson teaches the apparatus as claimed in claim 3, but does not explicitly teach a thermal interface material between the heat spreader and the semiconductor component. However, in analogous art, Kenney teaches a TIM 98 between a heat exchanger 100 and a device 99. It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to include the teaching of Kenney to reduce a thermal resistance between the two elements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-19 are is allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the cited prior art does not teach a system where the liquid delivery device extends into the cooling space from a top portion of the housing and includes a delivery outlet immersed in the liquid coolant. Claims 11-19 are similarly allowed as being dependent on Claim 10.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claims 5 and 6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims for the same reason.
Conclusion
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/EVREN SEVEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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