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DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Receipt is acknowledged of a 371 of international PCT application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 02/18/2026 and 04/07/2026 have been fully considered and is attached hereto.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment to the drawings has overcome drawing objection previously set forth in non-final office action dated 12/09/2025, therefore the objection has been withdrawn.
The Applicant originally submitted Claims 1-18 and 20-21 in the application. In the present response, the Applicant amended Claims 1, 9, 12 and 18, added new Claim 22. Accordingly, Claims 1-18 and 20-22 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s Arguments/Remarks filled 03/04/2026, with respect to rejection of Claims 1, 12 and 18 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) have been considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further search and consideration, a new grounds of rejection has been set forth below necessitated by Applicant’s amendment to Claims 1, 12 and 18.
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, 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al (US 2020/0026168).
Regarding Claim 1, Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) discloses a system (100), comprising:
an array of electronic components (210);
a printed circuit board assembly (220);
a cold plate (110) having a plurality of openings (GR/TH) therethrough, the cold plate (110) arranged between the array of electronic components (210) and the printed circuit board assembly (220), (Fig 1A), and the cold plate (110) configured to cool the array of electronic components (210), (Fig 1A); and
a plurality of pass through connectors (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21) arranged in the plurality of openings (GR/TH) of the cold plate (110, each of the pass through connectors (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21) and configured to electrically connect a corresponding one of the electronic components (210) to the printed circuit board assembly (220), (Fig 1B).
Regarding Claim 9, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) further discloses wherein the pass through connectors (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21) are further configured to provide one or more of electrical, thermal, or communication conductivity between the corresponding electronic component (210) and the printed circuit board assembly (220), (Fig 1B).
Regarding Claim 18, Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) discloses a system (100) comprising: an array of electronic components (210); a printed circuit board assembly (220); a cold plate (110) having a plurality of openings (GR/TH) therethrough and configured to cool the electronic components (210), (Fig 1A); and a plurality of pass through connectors (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21) extending through the openings (GR/TH) and electrically connecting a corresponding one of the electronic components (210) to the printed circuit board assembly (220), (Fig 1B).
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 2-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Zhou et al (US 2022/0386509).
Regarding Claim 2, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Sharaf does not disclose wherein: the cold plate comprises a cold plate body including an array of cooling elements, each of the cooling elements is configured to cool at least one of the electronic components, and each of the cooling elements houses a set of fins.
Instead, Zhou (In Fig 2A-2B) teaches wherein: the cold plate (100) comprises a cold plate body (body of 100) including an array of cooling elements (122), each of the cooling elements (122) is configured to cool at least one of the electronic components (30), and each of the cooling elements (122) houses a set of fins (126), (Fig 2B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Zhou with the cold plate comprises a cold plate body including an array of cooling elements, each of the cooling elements is configured to cool at least one of the electronic components, and each of the cooling elements houses a set of fins to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Regarding Claim 3, Lin in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 2, however Lin (In Figs 1A-1B) further discloses wherein the cold plate (110) further comprises an inlet port (LI) configured to receive a coolant (L) and an outlet port (LO) configured to discharge the coolant (L), (Fig 1A).
Regarding Claim 4, Lin in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 3, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein the cold plate further comprises: an inlet manifold connected to the inlet port, an outlet manifold connected to the outlet port, and a plurality of flow channels connecting the inlet manifold to the cold plate body and the cold plate body to the outlet manifold.
Instead, Zhou (In Fig 2A-2B) further teaches wherein the cold plate (100) further comprises: an inlet manifold (110) connected to the inlet port (116), (Fig 2A), an outlet manifold (110) connected to the outlet port (118), and a plurality of flow channels (flow channels through 120), (Fig 2B) connecting the inlet manifold (110) to the cold plate body (body of 100) and the cold plate body (body of 100) to the outlet manifold (110), (Fig 2B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Zhou with the cold plate comprising an inlet manifold connected to the inlet port, and an outlet manifold connected to the outlet port and a plurality of flow channels connecting the inlet manifold to the cold plate body and the cold plate body to the outlet manifold to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Regarding Claim 5, Lin in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 4, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein: the cooling elements are arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths, each of the flow channels is connected to the cold plate body via a corresponding orifice, and each of the orifices has a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow rate through the parallel coolant flow paths.
Instead, Zhou (In Fig 2A-2B) further teaches wherein: the cooling elements (122) are arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths (flow channels through 120), (Fig 2B), each of the flow channels (flow channels through 120) is connected to the cold plate body (body of 100) via a corresponding orifice (113), and each of the orifices (113) has a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow rate through the parallel coolant flow paths (flow channels through 120), (Fig 2B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Zhou with the cooling elements being arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths , and each of the flow channels being connected to the cold plate body via a corresponding orifice, and each orifice having a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow path through the coolant flow path to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Regarding Claim 7, Lin in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 3, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein the fins are arranged in one of the following configurations: in parallel, serpentine, cylindrical, or staggered.
Instead, Zhou (In Fig 2A-2B) further teaches wherein the fins (126) are arranged in one of the following configurations: in parallel, serpentine, cylindrical, or staggered (Fig 2C).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Zhou with the fins being arrange in parallel to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Sharaf in view of Zhou and further in view of Andry et al (US 7,990,711).
Regarding Claim 6, Lin in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 4, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold are arranged in a different plane than the cold plate body.
Instead, Andry (In Fig 3) teaches wherein the inlet manifold (304) and the outlet manifold (304) are arranged in a different plane than the cold plate body (314), (Fig 3).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Zhou and further with Andry with the inlet and outlet manifolds being at different plane than that cold plate body to benefit from providing a higher degree of freedom in chip stack design, especially in number of tiers and heat flux levels at minimal complexity; and the reduction of silicon carrier warp, increasing packaging yield. Further, the fluid connections to the silicon carrier can be provided from the back side cooler, rather than from the PCB (Andry, Col 3, II. 25-31).
Claims 8, 10-11, 20 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Fricker (US 2020/0286858).
Regarding Claim 8, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however does not disclose wherein the pass through connectors comprise pogo pins.
Instead, Fricker (In Fig 17) teaches wherein the pass through connectors (pogo pins, ¶ 92, II. 9-20) comprise pogo pins (Fig 17).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Fricker with the pass through connectors comprising pogo pins to benefit from providing an electrical pathway connecting the power source and the set of conductive pads, which functions to deliver high voltage/low current power (relative to the integrated circuit power) to the power components (Fricker, ¶ 86, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 10, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Lin does not disclose wherein the electronic components are voltage regulating modules (VRMs).
Instead, Fricker (In Fig 17) teaches wherein the electronic components (1330) are voltage regulating modules (¶ 43, II. 1-5).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Fricker with the electronic components being voltage regulating modules (VRMs) to benefit from providing an electrical pathway connecting the power source and the set of conductive pads, which functions to deliver high voltage/low current power (relative to the integrated circuit power) to the power components (Fricker, ¶ 86, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 11, Lin in view Fricker discloses the limitations of Claim 10, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein: the printed circuit board assembly comprises an array of integrated circuit dies, and the pass through connectors are further configured to connect the array of integrated circuit dies to the array of voltage regulating modules.
Instead, Fricker (In Fig 17) further teaches wherein: the printed circuit board assembly (1320) comprises an array of integrated circuit dies (107), and the pass through connectors (1340) are further configured to connect the array of integrated circuit dies (107) to the array of voltage regulating modules (1330), (¶ 43, II. 1-5), (Fig 17).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Fricker the printed circuit board assembly comprising an array of integrated circuit dies, and the pass through connectors are further configured to connect the array of integrated circuit dies to the array of voltage regulating modules to benefit from providing an electrical pathway connecting the power source and the set of conductive pads, which functions to deliver high voltage/low current power (relative to the integrated circuit power) to the power components (Fricker, ¶ 86, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 20, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 18, however Lin does not disclose wherein the pass through connectors comprise pogo pins.
Instead, Fricker (In Fig 17) teaches wherein the pass through connectors (pogo pins, ¶ 92, II. 9-20) comprise pogo pins (Fig 17).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Fricker with the pass through connectors comprising pogo pins to benefit from providing an electrical pathway connecting the power source and the set of conductive pads, which functions to deliver high voltage/low current power (relative to the integrated circuit power) to the power components (Fricker, ¶ 86, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 22, Lin disclose limitations Claim 1, however Lin does not disclose wherein the pass through connectors are compliant connectors.
Instead, Fricker (In Fig 17) teaches wherein the pass through connectors are compliant connectors (compliant connector, ¶ 92, II. 9-20), (Fig 17).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin with Fricker with the pass through connectors being compliant connectors to benefit from providing an electrical pathway connecting the power source and the set of conductive pads, which functions to deliver high voltage/low current power (relative to the integrated circuit power) to the power components (Fricker, ¶ 86, II. 1-5).
Claims 12 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lin Figs 1A-1C in view of Fig 3.
Regarding Claim 12, Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) discloses a cold plate (110) for cooling an array of electronic components (210), the cold plate (110) comprising:
wherein the body (body of 110) has a plurality of openings (GR/TH) formed therethrough, and each of the openings (Gr/TH) is configured to receive at least one pass through connector (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21), wherein each of the pass through connector (pins, ¶ 24, II.18-21) is configured to electrically connect a corresponding of one the electronic components (210) to a printed circuit board assembly (220), (Fig 1B);
an inlet port (LI) configured to receive a coolant (L) and provide the coolant (L) to the body (body of 110); and
an outlet port (LO) configured to discharge the coolant (L) from the body (body of 110), wherein the cold plate (110) is configured to cool the array of electronic components (210), (Fig 1B), however Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) does not disclose wherein a body including an array of cooling elements.
Instead, Lin (In Fig 3) teaches wherein a body (body of 110) including an array of cooling elements (TS), (Fig 3).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin Figs 1A-1C with Fig 3 with a body including an array of cooling elements to benefit from providing a liquid cooled heat dissipation module that exhibits excellent heat dissipation capability (Lin ¶ 8, II. 1-3).
Regarding Claim 21, Lin discloses the limitations of Claim 18, however Lin (In Figs 1A-1C) does not disclose wherein the cold plate houses a set of fins.
Instead, Lin (In Fig 3) discloses wherein the cold plate (110) houses a set of fins(TS), (Fig 3).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin Figs 1A-1C with Fig 3 with (the cold plate houses a set of fins to benefit from providing a liquid cooled heat dissipation module that exhibits excellent heat dissipation capability (Lin ¶ 8, II. 1-3).
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lin Figs 1A-1C in view of Fig 3 and further in view of Zhou.
Regarding Claim 15, Lin (Fig 1A-1C) in view of Lin (Fig 3) discloses the limitations of Claim 12, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein each of the cooling elements is configured to cool a corresponding electronic component arranged adjacent to the cooling element.
Instead, Zhou (In Figs 1-3) teaches wherein each of the cooling elements (122) is configured to cool a corresponding electronic component (30) arranged adjacent to the cooling element (122), (Fig 3B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Fig 1A-1C) with Lin (Fig 3) and further with Zhou with the cooling element being configured to cool a corresponding electronic component arranged adjacent to the cooling element to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Regarding Claim 16, Lin (Fig 1A-1C) in view of Lin (Fig 3) discloses the limitations of Claim 12, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein each of the cooling elements houses a set of fins configured to increase heat transfer to the coolant.
Instead, Zhou (In Figs 1-2) teaches wherein each of the cooling elements (122) houses a set of fins (126) configured to increase heat transfer to the coolant (fluid, ¶ 26, II. 1-3).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Fig 1A-1C) with Lin (Fig 3) and further with Zhou with each of the cooling elements housing a set of fins configured to increase heat transfer to the coolant to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Regarding Claim 17, Lin (Fig 1A-1C) in view of Lin (Fig 3) and further in view of Zhou discloses the limitations of Claim 16, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein the fins are arranged in one of the following configurations: in parallel, serpentine, cylindrical, or staggered.
Instead, Zhou (In Fig 2A-2B) further teaches wherein the fins (126) are arranged in one of the following configurations: in parallel, serpentine, cylindrical, or staggered (Fig 2C).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Fig 1A-1C) with Lin (Fig 3) and further with Zhou with the fins being arrange in parallel to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (Figs 1A-!C) in view of Lin (Fig 3) further in view of Zhou and further in view of Andry
Regarding Claim 13, Lin (Figs 1A-1C) in View of Lin (Fig 3) discloses the limitations of Claim 12, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein an inlet manifold configured to receive the coolant from the inlet port; a plurality of inlet channels configured to route the coolant from the inlet manifold to the body; an outlet manifold configured to route the coolant to the outlet port; and a plurality of outlet channels configured to route the coolant from the body to the outlet manifold, wherein the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold are arranged in a different plane than the body.
Instead, Zhou (In Figs 1-3) teaches wherein an inlet manifold (110) configured to receive the coolant from the inlet port (116); a plurality of inlet channels (channels through 120) configured to route the coolant (fluid, ¶ 26, II. 1-3) from the inlet manifold (110) to the body (body of 100); an outlet manifold (110) configured to route the coolant (fluid, ¶ 26, II. 1-3) to the outlet port (118); and a plurality of outlet channels (channels through 120) configured to route the coolant (fluid, ¶ 26, II. 1-3) from the body (body of 100) to the outlet manifold (110).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Fig 1A-1B) with Lin (Fig 3) and further with Zhou with an inlet manifold configured to receive the coolant from the inlet port and a plurality of inlet channels configured to route the coolant from the inlet manifold to the body to the outlet manifold configured to route the coolant to the outlet port and a plurality of outlet channels configured to route the coolant from the body to the outlet manifold to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19), however Lin as modified wherein the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold are arranged in a different plane than the body.
Instead, Andry (In Fig 3) teaches wherein the inlet manifold (304) and the outlet manifold (304) are arranged in a different plane than the body (314), (Fig 3).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Figs 1A-1B) with Lin (Fig 3) further with Zhou and further with Andry with the inlet and outlet manifolds being at different plane than that cold plate body to benefit from providing a higher degree of freedom in chip stack design, especially in number of tiers and heat flux levels at minimal complexity; and the reduction of silicon carrier warp, increasing packaging yield. Further, the fluid connections to the silicon carrier can be provided from the back side cooler, rather than from the PCB (Andry, Col 3, II. 25-31).
Regarding Claim 14, Lin (Figs 1A-1C) in View of Lin (Fig 3) further in view of Zhou and further in view of Andry discloses limitation of Claim 13, however Lin as modified does not disclose wherein: the cooling elements are arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths, each of the inlet channels is connected to the body via a corresponding orifice, and each of the orifices has a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow rate through the parallel coolant flow paths.
Instead, Zhou (In Figs 1-3) teaches wherein: the cooling elements (122) are arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths (flow paths through 120), each of the inlet channels (channels through 120) is connected to the body (body of 100) via a corresponding orifice (113), and each of the orifices (113) has a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow rate through the parallel coolant flow paths (flow paths through 120), (Fig 2B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Lin (Figs 1A-1C) with Lin (Fig 3) and further with Zhou with the cooling elements being arranged in a plurality of parallel coolant flow paths, and each of the inlet channels being connected to the body via a corresponding orifice with a diameter to provide a substantially equal flow rate through the parallel coolant flow oaths to benefit from rejecting sufficient heat to maintain a desired operating temperature in the power electronic device (Zhou, ¶ 3, II. 13-19).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMIR JALALI whose telephone number is (303)297-4308. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, Mountain Time. 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.
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/AMIR A JALALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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