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 .
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Claim limitation “control system” has/have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use a generic placeholder “system” coupled with functional language “receive temperature signals from at least one or more temperature sensors, wherein the control system is configured to direct the refrigerant flow through the supplemental heat exchanger when the refrigerant temperature is above the ambient temperature” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim 7 has/have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation:
Control system→ specialized computer programmed to receive temperature signals from the temperatures sensors and open and close valves when the signal from the one or more valves indicates the refrigerant temperature is above the ambient temperature.
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitations "thereat" in line 5, “therethrough” in line 6, and “thereof” in line 12. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim and it is therefore unclear the structure, “thereat”, “therethrough”, and “thereof” are referring to. For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it the limitations were “at the refrigerant source”, “through the first heat exchanger” and “of the refrigerant”, respectively.
Claim 5 recites the limitation of “further comprising an inlet valve. . . and a supplemental valve. . . configured to direct the refrigerant either through or around the supplemental heat exchanger”. It is unclear how these two valves relate to the “at least one valve configured to direct the refrigerant either though or around the supplemental heat exchanger. For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it read, “further comprising wherein the at least one valve comprises an inlet valve positioned at an inlet of the supplemental heat exchanger and a supplemental valve positioned at the supplemental bypass line, wherein the inlet valve and the supplemental valve are configured to direct the refrigerant either through or around the supplemental heat exchanger.”.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “from at least one or more temperature sensors” in line 2. It is unclear how these temperature sensors relate to the “one or more temperature sensors” of claim 6. For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it read, “from at least the one or more temperature sensors”.
Claim 8 recites the limitation “all heat exchangers”, it is unclear which exact heat exchangers are encompassed by “all heat exchangers”. Is it just all of the previously recited heat exchangers? Or all heat exchangers that may be present in the system? For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it read, “the first and second or more heat exchangers”.
Claim 9 recites the limitation “the first refrigerant inlet” in line 2 and “the first refrigerant outlet” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it read, “a first refrigerant inlet” and “a first refrigerant outlet”.
Claim 13 recites the limitation “therethrough” in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim and it is therefore unclear the structure “therethrough” is referring to. For the purposes of examination, the examiner is going to treat the claim as if it the limitation was “through the first heat exchanger”.
Claims 2-4, 6, 10-12, and 14-18 are also rejected by virtue of dependency.
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 1-3, 8, 9, 11-13, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US2021/0051819 to Gao, hereinafter referred to as Gao.
In reference to claim 1, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
A cooling system (see figure 5) for a facility (data center) employing equipment (servers) requiring active cooling, the cooling system comprising:
a refrigerant supply line (see annotated reference below for the examiner’s definition of the refrigerant supply line) providing refrigerant from a refrigerant source (250),
a refrigerant return line (see annotated reference below for the examiner’s definition of the refrigerant supply line) directing the refrigerant toward the refrigerant source (256) for cooling and recirculating of the refrigerant at the refrigerant source (250),
a first heat exchanger (258) configured to use the refrigerant circulating though the first heat exchanger (258) to cool air or liquid which passes through the first heat exchanger and is used for active cooling of the equipment in the facility (liquid to air heat exchanger), and
a supplemental heat exchanger (252) fluidly connected to and positioned in-line and downstream of the first heat exchanger (258), the supplemental heat exchanger is configured to accept the refrigerant from the first heat exchanger for supplemental cooling of the refrigerant and directing the refrigerant toward the refrigerant return line (see figure 5), the supplemental heat exchanger is positioned at a location with an ambient temperature lower than that of the refrigerant coming into the supplemental heat exchanger, at least at some periods during operation of the facility, see [0058-0059] where the “external liquid” analogous to Applicant’s claimed refrigerant is cooled by ambient air.
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In reference to claim 2, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
the supplemental heat exchanger (252) is positioned outside the facility (implied by the disclosure of being inside an external cooling unit (248).
In reference to claim 3, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
a supplemental bypass line (see annotated reference above with respect to claim 1 for the examiner's definition of the supplemental bypass line) configured to direct the refrigerant from the first heat exchanger (258) directly to the refrigerant return line and not through the supplemental heat exchanger.
In reference to claim 8, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
a second or more heat exchanger (260), wherein the supplemental heat exchanger (252) is positioned downstream of the first and second or more heat exchangers (258/260) and prior to directing the refrigerant to the refrigerant return line.
In reference to claim 9, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
at least one temperature sensor (203) configured to measure refrigerant temperature at a first refrigerant outlet (223) of the first heat exchanger (see figure 4 for details of the sensor and outlets.
In reference to claim 11, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
the refrigerant and/or the liquid passing through the first heat exchanger is water. Use of a cooling tower as disclosed in [0006 & 0058] implies water is used in the external fluid loop.
In reference to claim 12, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
the facility is a computer data center [0063] and the air or liquid passing through the first heat exchanger is used for active cooling of computer equipment of the data center.
In reference to claim 13, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
A method for cooling a facility employing equipment requiring active cooling, the method comprising the following steps:
directing a refrigerant from a refrigerant supply line (see annotated reference above with respect to claim 1 for the examiner's definition of the refrigerant supply line) through a first heat exchanger (258), wherein the first heat exchanger is configured to use the refrigerant circulating through the first heat exchanger to cool air or liquid which passes through the first heat exchanger and is used for active cooling of the equipment in the facility [0063], and
directing the refrigerant from the first heat exchanger (258) to a supplemental heat exchanger (252) prior to directing the refrigerant to a refrigerant return line.
In reference to claim 17, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
in step the flow of refrigerant after passing through the supplemental heat exchanger (252) is directed to the refrigerant return line, (see annotated reference above with respect to claim 1 for the examiner's definition of the refrigerant return line).
In reference to claim 18, Gao discloses the claimed invention including:
the facility is a computer data center [0063] and the air or liquid passing through the first heat exchanger is used for active cooling of computer equipment of the data center.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao in view of US 2022/0390178 to Hnayno et al., hereinafter referred to as Hnayno.
In reference to claims 4 and 5, Gao and Hnayno disclose the claimed invention.
Gao fails to disclose at least one valve that includes an inlet valve positioned at an inlet of the supplemental heat exchanger and a supplemental valve positioned at the supplemental bypass line, wherein the inlet valve and the supplemental valve are configured to direct the refrigerant either through or around the supplemental heat exchanger.
Hnayno teaches that in the art of data center cooling, that it is a known method to provide an inlet valve (82) positioned at an inlet of a supplemental heat exchanger (330) and a supplemental valve (86) positioned at a supplemental bypass line (80), wherein the inlet valve (82) and the supplemental valve (86) are configured to direct the refrigerant either through or around the supplemental heat exchanger (330). This is strong evidence that modifying Gao as claimed would produce predictable results (i.e., direct the external cooling fluid either through or around the ambient heat exchanger). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Gao by Hnayno such that, the at least one valve included an inlet valve positioned at an inlet of the supplemental heat exchanger and a supplemental valve positioned at the supplemental bypass line, wherein the inlet valve and the supplemental valve are configured to direct the refrigerant either through or around the supplemental heat exchanger since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of selectively bypassing the heat exchanger (252).
In reference to claim 6, Gao and Hnayno disclose the claimed invention.
Gao is silent regarding the one or more temperature sensors configured to detect refrigerant temperature and ambient temperature.
Hnayno teaches that in the art of data center cooling, that it is a known method to provide the system with one or more temperature sensors (161/107) configured to detect refrigerant temperature (107) and ambient temperature (161) [0080 & 0096]. Hnayno teaches using these sensors to control valves pumps of the system [0100]. This is strong evidence that modifying Gao as claimed would produce predictable results (i.e., control the external fluid flowing through the supplemental heat exchange only when the conditions are favorable for cooling the refrigerant within the external cooling loop). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Gao by Hnayno such that the system included one or more temperature sensors configured to detect refrigerant temperature and ambient temperature, since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of control the external fluid flowing through the supplemental heat exchange only when the conditions are favorable for cooling the refrigerant within the external cooling loop.
In reference to claim 7, Gao and Hnayno disclose the claimed invention.
Hnayno teaches a control system (512) configured to receive temperature signals from at least one or more temperature sensors, wherein the control system is configured to direct the refrigerant flow through the supplemental heat exchanger when the refrigerant temperature is above the ambient temperature [0100]. Accordingly, when modifying Gao by Hnayno as applied in claim 6 supra, the limitations of claim 7 would be met by the combination, in order to control the external fluid flowing through the supplemental heat exchange only when the conditions are favorable for cooling the refrigerant within the external cooling loop.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao in view of CN108834366 to Cai et al., hereinafter referred to as Cai, (see English language translation provided herewith).
In reference to claim 10, Gao and Cai disclose the claimed invention.
Gap fails to disclose a return line temperature sensor positioned in the refrigerant return line downstream of the first heat exchanger, wherein the return line temperature sensor is configured to measure refrigerant temperature in the refrigerant return line prior to reaching the refrigerant source.
Cai teaches that in the art of data center cooling that it is a known method to provide a return line temperature sensor (15) positioned in the refrigerant return line wherein the return line temperature sensor (15) is configured to measure refrigerant temperature in the refrigerant return line prior to reaching a refrigerant source (11). This is strong evidence that modifying Gao as claimed would produce predictable results (i.e., control the cooling power of the refrigerant source based on the refrigerant return temperature). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Gao by Cai such that the return line included a return line temperature sensor positioned in the refrigerant return line downstream of the first heat exchanger (258), wherein the return line temperature sensor is configured to measure refrigerant temperature in the refrigerant return line prior to reaching the refrigerant source (250), since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of controlling the refrigeration system based on the temperature of the refrigerant within the cooling loop.
.
Claim14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao in view of US2015/0233967 to Thordarson et al., hereinafter referred to as Thordarson.
In reference to claim 14, Gao and Thordarson disclose the claimed invention.
Gao fails to disclose a step of monitoring refrigerant temperature before entering the supplemental heat exchanger and a step of monitoring ambient temperature at a location of the supplemental heat exchanger.
Thordarson teaches that it is a known method in the art of cooling systems to provide a step of monitoring refrigerant temperature (at T1) before entering a supplemental heat exchanger (105) and a step of monitoring ambient temperature 9at T0) at a location of the supplemental heat exchanger (105). Thordarson teaches that this method allows for adjusting the fan speed of the heat exchanger to meet cooling demands [0054-0055]. This is strong evidence that modifying Gao as claimed would produce predictable results. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed, to modify Gao by Thordarson such that the cooling method included a step of monitoring refrigerant temperature before entering the supplemental heat exchanger and a step of monitoring ambient temperature at a location of the supplemental heat exchanger, since all claimed elements were known in the art, and one having ordinary skill in the art could have modified the prior art as claimed by known methods with no changes in their respective functions and the combination would have yielded a predictable result of adjusting the fan speed of the heat exchanger to meet cooling demands.
In reference to claim 15, Gao and Thordarson disclose the claimed invention.
Gao as modified supra fail to disclose or teach a step of directing the refrigerant to flow through the supplemental heat exchanger if the refrigerant temperature is above the ambient temperature, thereby causing supplemental passive cooling of the refrigerant. However, it is noted that the recitation of, “to flow through the supplemental heat exchanger” is contingent upon the condition of “if the refrigerant temperature is above the ambient temperature”, which may never occur. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met, see MPEP 2111.04 (II). Accordingly, the Examiner does not need to present evidence of the obviousness of the method steps of claims that are not required to be performed under a broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim.
In reference to claim 16, Gao and Thordarson disclose the claimed invention.
Gao as modified supra fail to disclose or teach if the refrigerant temperature is at or lower than the ambient temperature, directing the refrigerant to flow outside the supplemental heat exchanger and through a supplemental bypass line prior to flowing to the refrigerant return line. However, it is noted that the recitation of, “directing the refrigerant to flow outside the supplemental heat exchanger and through a supplemental bypass line prior to flowing to the refrigerant return line” is contingent upon the condition of “if the refrigerant temperature is at or lower than the ambient temperature”, which may never occur. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a method (or process) claim having contingent limitations requires only those steps that must be performed and does not include steps that are not required to be performed because the condition(s) precedent are not met, see MPEP 2111.04 (II). Accordingly, the Examiner does not need to present evidence of the obviousness of the method steps of claims that are not required to be performed under a broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASSEY D BAUER whose telephone number is (571)270-7113. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs: 10AM-8PM (ET).
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/CASSEY D BAUER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763 /FRANTZ F JULES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763