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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A in the reply filed on 2026 Feb 27 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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.
(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 1-6, 9, 12-13, and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pub. No. US 2005/0173098 A1 (herein “Connors”).
Regarding independent claim 1.
Connors discloses a system for dissipating heat from a component (Figs. 1, and 3-4), the system comprising:
a heat pipe assembly comprising a pair of walls (9, 13) defining an inter-wall volume (5) between opposing faces of the pair of walls (Fig. 3; pair of walls at 52), the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled (at the bottom of 11) to the component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component (shown in Fig. 3); and
an adsorption bed (wick 50, 52) at least partially occupying the inter-wall volume, the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium and a phase change material ([0031] water), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding independent claim 15.
An assembly (Figs. 1, and 3-4) comprising:
a component configured to generate heat ([0020] semiconductor); and
a system (1) thermally coupled to the component and configured to dissipate heat from the component, the system comprising:
a heat pipe assembly comprising a pair of walls (9, 13) defining an inter-wall volume (5) between opposing faces of the pair of walls (Fig. 3; pair of walls at 52), the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled (at the bottom of 11) to the component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component (shown in Fig. 3); and
an adsorption bed (wick 50, 52) at least partially occupying the inter-wall volume, the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium and a phase change material ([0031] water), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding independent claim 16.
Connors discloses a method comprising:
forming a heat pipe assembly comprising a pair of walls defining an inter-wall volume (5) between opposing faces of the pair of walls (shown in Fig. 3; the heat pipe assembly is formed with walls 9, 13), the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled to a component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component ([0020]); and
introducing an adsorption bed that at least partially occupies the inter-wall volume (shown in Fig. 3; adsorption bed 50, 52 has been introduced into the inter-wall volume), the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium (52) loaded with a phase change material ([0031]), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding claims 2 and 3.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the phase change material is water, which is capable of being in a solid first phase and liquid second phase, or a liquid first phase and vapor second phase, depending upon the environment that the system is used in.
Regarding claim 4.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the adsorbent medium comprises a porous substrate (52 can be a porous wick).
Regarding claim 5.
Connors discloses the system of claim 4, wherein the porous substrate comprises at least one of a woven substrate, a non-woven substrate, or a sintered substrate ([0024] 52 may be sintered).
Regarding claim 6.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the adsorbent medium comprises at least one of a metal, an alloy, a ceramic, a silicate, a nitride, or graphite ([0024] felt metal wick structure).
Regarding claim 9.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each wall of the pair of walls defines a uniform width in a direction between respective ends of the wall (shown in Fig. 1; [0020] rectangular shape).
Regarding claim 12.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly comprises a plurality of walls comprising the pair of walls (shown in Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 13.
Connors discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly further comprises a base (2) configured to be thermally coupled to the component, the pair of walls secured to and extending away from the base (shown in Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 17.
Connors discloses the method of claim 16, further comprising thermally coupling the heat pipe assembly to the component ([0020] coupled to semiconductor).
Regarding claim 18.
Connors discloses the method of claim 16, wherein forming the heat pipe assembly comprises securing the pair of walls to a base (Fig. 3; walls have been secured to the base near 42).
Regarding claim 19.
Connors discloses the method of claim 18, further comprising thermally coupling the base to the component ([0021] heat applied to base at 11).
Claims 1-2, 7-9, 12-13, and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patent No. US 10,727,149 B2 (herein “Tong”).
Regarding independent claim 1.
Tong discloses a system (Figs. 1-3) for dissipating heat from a component (4), the system comprising:
a heat pipe assembly (Figs. 4 and 5) comprising a pair of walls (12, 13) defining an inter-wall volume between opposing faces of the pair of walls, the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled to the component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component; and
an adsorption bed (the oscillating/pulsating configuration) at least partially occupying the inter-wall volume, the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium (oscillating/pulsating channels) and a phase change material (col. 7, ln. 6), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding independent claim 15.
Tong discloses an assembly (Figs. 1-3) comprising:
a component (4) configured to generate heat; and
a system thermally coupled to the component (shown in Fig. 1) and configured to dissipate heat from the component, the system comprising:
a heat pipe assembly (Figs. 4 and 5) comprising a pair of walls (12, 13) defining an inter-wall volume between opposing faces of the pair of walls, the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled to the component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component; and
an adsorption bed (the oscillating/pulsating configuration) at least partially occupying the inter-wall volume, the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium (oscillating/pulsating channels) and a phase change material (col. 7, ln. 6), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding independent claim 16.
Tong discloses a method comprising:
forming a heat pipe assembly comprising a pair of walls defining an inter-wall volume between opposing faces of the pair of walls (Fig. 5; heat pipe formed with pair of walls), the heat pipe assembly being configured to be thermally coupled to a component such that the pair of walls extends away from the component (shown in Fig. 1); and
introducing an adsorption bed that at least partially occupies the inter-wall volume (Figs. 5 and 6; pulsating adsorption channels formed in the walls), the adsorption bed comprising an adsorbent medium loaded with a phase change material (col. 7, ln. 6), the phase change material being configured to dissipate heat away from the component by a phase change from a first phase to a second phase.
Regarding claim 2.
Tong discloses that the phase change material is a liquid-gas PCM (col. 7, ln. 6).
Regarding claim 7.
Tong discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly comprises an oscillating heat pipe (col. 7, ln. 11-12; pulsating heat pipes).
Regarding claim 8.
Tong discloses the system of claim 7, wherein each wall of the pair of walls comprises at least one undulating channel comprising a two-phase working fluid (undulating channels shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 13).
Regarding claim 9.
Tong discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each wall of the pair of walls defines a uniform width in a direction between respective ends of the wall (shown in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 12.
Tong discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly comprises a plurality of walls comprising the pair of walls (shown in Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 13.
Tong discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the heat pipe assembly further comprises a base (3) configured to be thermally coupled to the component, the pair of walls secured to and extending away from the base (shown in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17.
Tong discloses the method of claim 16, further comprising thermally coupling the heat pipe assembly to the component (Fig. 1; 4 has been coupled to the assembly).
Regarding claim 18.
Tong discloses the method of claim 16, wherein forming the heat pipe assembly comprises securing the pair of walls to a base (shown in Figs. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 19.
Tong discloses the method of claim 18, further comprising thermally coupling the base to the component (shown in Fig. 1; 4 is coupled to the base 3).
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.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Connors in view of official notice.
Regarding claims 14 and 20.
Connors does not disclose that the assembly is located in the interior of a housing. However, the use of heat pipe assemblies inside of electronic housings to improve heat dissipation from the heat generating electronic components is old and well known in the art and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tong in view of official notice.
Regarding claims 14 and 20.
Tong does not disclose that the assembly is located in the interior of a housing. However, the use of heat pipe assemblies inside of electronic housings to improve heat dissipation from the heat generating electronic components is old and well known in the art and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jon T. Schermerhorn Jr. whose telephone number is (571)270-5283. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm.
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/JON T. SCHERMERHORN JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763