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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. TW113116999, filed on 05/08/2024.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: HEAT DISSIPATION ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT WITH PLURALITY OF WATER COOLING RADIATOR AND HEAT EXCHANGER.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites
“A heat dissipation assembly for electronic equipment, comprising…
at least one water cooling radiator (22) connected to the at least one water block (21) via pipes; and
the power heat source (50) being mounted on a motherboard (5) in a chassis (4) of the(an) electronic equipment;
the water block (21) being correspondingly mounted on and in contact with the power heat source (50); and
the water cooling radiator (22) and the water block (21) being connected via pipes to allow the working fluid to circulate therebetween;
the water cooling radiator (22) being mounted in a remaining space in the chassis (4)…
the working fluid in the water block (21) absorbing heat produced by the power heat source (50), and the working fluid having absorbed the heat and flowing into the water cooling radiator (22) undergoing a front stage heat dissipation to be cooled down preliminarily;…
ensure the working fluid flowing back to the water block (21) has been sufficiently cooled to a desired low working temperature”, to avoid antecedent issues and for clarity and consistency, the limitations should be changed to read
“A heat dissipation assembly for electronic equipment, comprising…
at least one water cooling radiator (22) connected to the at least one water block (21) via pipes to allow the working fluid to circulate therebetween; and
the power heat source (50) being mounted on a motherboard (5) in a chassis (4) of an electronic equipment;
the at least one water block (21) being correspondingly mounted on and in contact with the power heat source (50); and
(Examiner notes duplication of limitations previously recited in lines 9-10 and recommends shifting part of the limitations in line 16-17 to lines 9-10)
the at least one water cooling radiator (22) being mounted in a remaining space in the chassis (4)…
the working fluid in the at least one water block (21) absorbing a heat produced by the power heat source (50), and the working fluid having absorbed the heat and flowing into the at least one water cooling radiator (22) undergoing a front stage heat dissipation to be cooled down preliminarily;…
ensure the working fluid flowing back to the at least one water block (21) has been sufficiently cooled to a desired low working temperature”.
Claim 2 recites “further comprising… wherein the water block (21) internally defines a heat exchange space (213) and… the water cooling radiator (22) internally defines a flow passage (223) and… the first pipe (71) being connected at an end to the water inlet (211) of the water block (21), and the second pipe (72) being connected at an end to the outlet (222) of the water cooling radiator (22);…”, to avoid antecedent issues and for clarity and consistency, the limitations should be changed to read “further comprising… wherein the at least one water block (21) internally defines a heat exchange space (213) and… the at least one water cooling radiator (22) internally defines a flow passage (223) and… the first pipe (71) being connected at an end to the water inlet (211) of the at least one water block (21), and the second pipe (72) being connected at an end to the outlet (222) of the at least one water cooling radiator (22);…”.
Claim 3 recites “wherein the water outlet (212) of the water block (21) is adapted to connect to one of the water inlet (211) of the water block (21) and the inlet (221) of the water cooling radiator (22)”, to avoid antecedent issues and for clarity and consistency, the limitations should be changed to read “wherein the water outlet (212) of the at least one water block (21) is adapted to connect to one of the water inlet (211) of the at least one water block (21) and the inlet (221) of the at least one water cooling radiator (22)”.
Claim 4-5 recites “and a heat-exchanger cooler connected to the coolant distribution unit (30); and the coolant distribution unit (30) having an input distribution unit (31) and…”, to avoid antecedent issues and for clarity and consistency, the limitations should be changed to read “and a heat-exchanger cooler connected to the at least one coolant distribution unit (30); and the at least one coolant distribution unit (30) having an input distribution unit (31) and…”.
Claim 8-12 recites “wherein there is a plurality of water cooling radiators (22) included in the internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (2); and the water cooling radiators (22) being located above or below the motherboard (5) to be parallelly spaces from but communicable with each other”, to avoid antecedent issues and for clarity and consistency, the limitations should be changed to read “further comprising a plurality of water cooling radiators (22) included in the internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (2); and the plurality of water cooling radiators (22) being located above or below the motherboard (5) and spaced parallel to and communicable with each other”.
The Claim 2-22 are also objected to since they depend on Claim ## and inherit the deficiency therein.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Branton (US 8,724,315 - hereinafter, "Branton").
With respect to Claim 1, Branton teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
A heat dissipation assembly [for electronic equipment] (Examiner notes
“disposed within a server rack” is intended use, as stated in the MPEP, 2114 (ii): Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does. A claim containing a "recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus" if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Above statement within brackets “[ ]” does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations.), comprising
an internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (20+30, see Figure 2C) and an external forced cooling assembly (40, see Figure 4) connected to the internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (20+30) to allow a working fluid (22, in column 4, lines 42-46, “Further, it is also contemplated that in some embodiments, the liquid cooling system 20 may be an open loop system instead of a closed loop system. In such an embodiment, the heated coolant 22 from the HEX 16 may be replaced with cooler coolant from outside the cooling system”) to circulate between the two assemblies (internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (20+30) and an external forced cooling assembly (40));
the internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (20+30, see Figure 2C) including
at least one water block (26, see Figure 2C) mounted on a power heat source (14, see Figure 2C), and
at least one water cooling radiator (16, see Figure 2C) connected to the at least one water block (26) via pipes (conduit, see Figure 2C) to allow the working fluid (22) to circulate therebetween; and
the power heat source (14) being mounted on a motherboard (12) in a chassis (chassis of (10)) of an electronic equipment (10C);
the at least one water block (26) being correspondingly mounted on and in contact with the power heat source (14); and
the at least one water cooling radiator (16) being mounted in a remaining space (see Figure 2C) in the chassis (chassis of (10)), and the remaining space (see Figure 2C) being located between (the remaining space is between the top portion of the chassis (chassis of (10)) and the motherboard (12)) the chassis (chassis of (10)) and the motherboard (12) and parallel with the motherboard (12);
the working fluid (22) in the at least one water block (26) absorbing a heat (heat, in column 4, line 55 to column 5, line 2, “To directly cool an electronic device 14, a cold plate 26 of the liquid cooling system 10 may be placed in thermal contact (directly in contact, or in contact through a heat transfer medium, such as, for example, thermal grease or a thermal pad) with the electronic device 14. Because of thermal contact, heat may be transferred from the electronic device 14 to the cold plate 26. The coolant 22 of the liquid cooling system 20 may pass through the cold plate 26 to remove heat from, and thereby cool, the cold plate 26. Any type of cold plate 26 configured to transfer heat from the electronic device 14 to the coolant 22 circulating within liquid cooling system 20 may be used as the cold plate 26. The cold plate 26 may include fins, pins, or other such features to assist in transferring the heat from the cold plate 26 to the coolant 22”) produced by the power heat source (14), and the working fluid (22) having absorbed the heat (heat) and flowing into the at least one water cooling radiator (16) undergoing a front stage heat dissipation (see Figure 2C, fan (26) is directing air flow at the at least one water cooling radiator (16), the fan (26) would dissipate some heat of the working fluid (22) within the water cooling radiator (16) after receiving heated working fluid from the water block (26)) to be cooled down preliminarily; and
the working fluid (22 in the open loop system configuration, in column 4, lines 42-46) entering the external forced cooling assembly (40) being subjected to a rear stage forced cooling (in column 6, lines 28-38, “The second cooling system 40 may consist of one or more cold plate elements 48, a cooling device 46 disposed external to server room 100, and conduits to transfer the thermal transfer medium 42 between the cooling device 46 and the cold plate elements 48. The thermal transfer medium 42, may be circulated between the cooling device 46 and the cold plate elements 48 of the modules 10 of several servers positioned in the server room. The circulating thermal transfer medium 42 may thus draw heat from the hot plates 18 of these modules 10 and discharge the heat external to the server room 100.”, in the open loop system configuration, working fluid (22) would be the mentioned thermal transfer medium (42), see Figure 4) through heat exchange to enhance a cooling efficiency (in column 6, lines 41-47, “Transferring the heat generated by the servers outside the server room 100 avoids heating the air in the server room, and thus reduces the cooling load of the server room cooling system. It is also contemplated that the heat removed from the server room by thermal transfer medium 42 may be used to do useful work. For instance, this removed heat may be used in an HVAC system to heat a building”) of the working fluid (22) and ensure the working fluid (22) flowing back to the at least one water block (26) has been sufficiently cooled to a desired low working temperature (in column 6, line 67 to column 7, line 3, “The cooling device 46 may be any type of device (such, as a chiller, a heat exchanger, etc.) adapted to remove heat from the thermal transfer medium 42 passing therethrough”).
With respect to Claim 2, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4), further comprising
a cooling water manifold assembly (see Figure 4) consisting of a first pipe (see Figure 4, pipes that lead to the inlet side of component (48)) and a second pipe (see Figure 4, pipes that are connected to the outlet side of component (48) and lead to heat-exchanger cooler (46)); and
wherein the at least one water block (26) internally defines a heat exchange space (internal space of the water block (26) that contains the working fluid (22)) and has a water inlet (see Figure 2C, inlet of the water block (26), where the working fluid (22) enters the water block (26)) and a water outlet (see Figure 2C, outlet of the water block (26), where the working fluid (22) exits the water block (26)) communicable with the heat exchange space (internal space of the water block (26) that contains the working fluid (22)); and
the at least one water cooling radiator (16) internally defines a flow passage (see Figure 2C) and has an inlet (see Figure 2C, inlet of the water cooling radiator (16), where the working fluid (22) enters the water cooling radiator (16)) and an outlet (see Figure 2C, outlet of the water cooling radiator (16), where the working fluid (22) exits the water cooling radiator (16)); and
the first pipe (see, Figure 4, pipes that lead to the inlet side of component (48)) being connected (in column 4, lines 42-46, in the open loop system configuration, component (18 & 48) would not be present and the working fluid (22) would flow into the external forced cooling assembly (40) and proceed with the cooling system as shown in Figure 4 and the inlet to component (48) would be connected to the inlet of the water block (26) as shown in Figure 2C) at an end to the water inlet (see Figure 2C, inlet of the water block (26), where the working fluid (22) enters the water block (26)) of the at least one water block (26), and the second pipe (see Figure 4, pipes that are connected to the outlet side of component (48) and lead to heat-exchanger cooler (46)) being connected (in column 4, lines 42-46, in the open loop system configuration, component (18 & 48) would not be present and the working fluid (22) would flow into the external forced cooling assembly (40) and proceed with the cooling system as shown in Figure 4 and the outlet to component (48) would be connected to the outlet of the water cooling radiator (16) as shown in Figure 2C) at an end to the outlet (see Figure 2C, outlet of the water cooling radiator (16), where the working fluid (22) exits the water cooling radiator (16)) of the at least one water cooling radiator (16); and
the first (see, Figure 4, pipes that lead to the inlet side of component (48)) and the second pipe (see Figure 4, pipes that are connected to the outlet side of component (48) and lead to heat-exchanger cooler (46)) being respectively connected at another end to the pipes (see Figure 4) of the external forced cooling assembly (40).
With respect to Claim 3, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
wherein the water outlet (see Figure 2C, outlet of the water block (26), where the working fluid (22) exits the water block (26)) of the at least one water block (26) is adapted to connect to one of the water inlet (see Figure 2C, inlet of the water block (26), where the working fluid (22) enters the water block (26)) of the at least one water block (26) and the inlet (see Figure 2C, inlet of the water cooling radiator (16), where the working fluid (22) enters the water cooling radiator (16)) of the at least one water cooling radiator (16).
With respect to Claims 4 and 5, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
wherein the external forced cooling assembly (40) includes at least one coolant distribution unit (piping system as shown in Figure 4) and a heat-exchanger cooler (46) connected to the at least one coolant distribution unit (piping system as shown in Figure 4); and
the at least one coolant distribution unit (piping system as shown in Figure 4) having an input distribution unit (see Figure 4, piping that connects to the pipes that lead to the inlet side of component (48)) and an output distribution unit (see Figure 4, piping that connects to pipes that are connected to the outlet side of component (48) and lead to heat-exchanger cooler (46)) connected via pipes to the first pipe (see, Figure 4, pipes that lead to the inlet side of component (48)) and the second pipe (see Figure 4, pipes that are connected to the outlet side of component (48) and lead to heat-exchanger cooler (46)), respectively.
With respect to Claims 6 and 7, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
wherein the heat-exchanger cooler (46) is selected from the group consisting of an air heat-exchanger cooler and a liquid heat-exchanger cooler (in column 6, line 67 to column 7, line 3, “The cooling device 46 may be any type of device (such, as a chiller, a heat exchanger, etc.) adapted to remove heat from the thermal transfer medium 42 passing therethrough”).
With respect to Claims 8-12, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
further comprising a plurality of water cooling radiators (16, see Figure 2C) included in the internal circulation heat dissipation assembly (20+30); and
the plurality of water cooling radiators (16) being located above (see Figure 2C) or below the motherboard (12) and spaced parallel (see Figure 2C) to and communicable with each other (see Figure 2C).
With respect to Claims 13-22, Branton further teaches (in Figure 2C and 4)
wherein the chassis (chassis of (10)) is internally provided in at least a middle area (see Figure 2C) with at least one enhanced pushing fan (26).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 2022/0316773 to LIN et al., which teaches an integrated cooling system including heat exchanger and refrigeration system. Heat exchanger has cold fluid inlet, cold fluid outlet, hot fluid inlet and hot fluid outlet. Refrigeration system includes first thermal expansion valve, first manifold, second thermal expansion valve, air-cooling unit, second manifold, compressor and heat dissipation assembly.
US 2021/0033952 to Dai et al., which teaches a heat dissipating module configured to dissipate heat of at least one heating element of a projection device. The heat dissipating module includes a first radiator, a second radiator, a pipe, and at least one fan. The second radiator is disposed opposite to the first radiator. The heating element, the first radiator, and the second radiator are connected to each other through the pipe to form a loop. A working fluid is configured to be filled in the pipe, and the working fluid flows through the first radiator after flowing through the second radiator for heat exchange, and the working fluid flowing into the first radiator flows to the heating element for cyclic heat dissipation after heat exchange again through the first radiator. The fan is configured between the first radiator and the second radiator.
US 2017/0181322 to SHELNUTT et al., which teaches an Information Handling System (IHS) includes at least one node provisioned with heat-generating components and an air passage that enables air to pass through the node and exit the node as exhaust air. An air-to-liquid heat exchanger (ATLHE) block is placed in a path of the exhaust air. The ATLHE block has an air directing structure, one or more air movers to move the exhaust air through the air directing structure, and an ATLHE. The ATLHE includes a liquid transfer conduit having at least one liquid supply port extending into a heat transfer section, which terminates into at least one liquid return port, the liquid transfer conduit enabling cooling liquid transfer through the ATLHE. A liquid cooling subsystem includes supply and return conduits. The supply conduit is sealably mated to the at least one supply port and the return conduit is sealably mated to the at least one return port.
US 2017/0049009 to Steinke et al., which teaches a system includes a chassis, a plurality of nodes, a coolant distribution unit (CDU), and one or more air movers. The chassis includes multiple node bays, a CDU bay, a coolant supply manifold with an inlet in the CDU bay and an outlet in each node bay, and a coolant return manifold an inlet in each node bay and an outlet in the CDU bay. Each node is received into a node bay with an internal heat exchanger connected between a coolant supply and return manifolds. The CDU is received in the CDU bay and includes an air-to-coolant heat exchanger in fluid communication between the supply and return manifolds, and a pump for circulating a coolant through a coolant loop.
US 2005/0259397 to Bash et al., which teaches a 1U modular computer system having a computer chassis configured for mounting in the multi-tiered support, and computer components that need cooling within the computer chassis. A cold plate is in thermal communication with at least one of the computer components, and convectively removes heat from that component using a liquid coolant. A heat exchanger dissipates heat from the liquid coolant, and provides liquid coolant back to the cold plate. An air mover within the chassis cools the heat exchanger, blows air across other components needing cooling, and removes heated air from the chassis.
US 6,754,076 to Cox et al., which teaches an electronic system components are cooled using a field configurable pump comprising a selectable plurality of identical or nearly identical modular pump units. The pump units are disposed in a stacked arrangement and are fluidly connected to adjacent modular pump units via a removable coupling, preferably one of the quick-disconnect variety. Each modular pump unit comprises a housing, an impeller and a sealing mechanism.
US 5,323,847 to Koizumi et al., which teaches an electronic apparatus comprises an electronic circuit unit having heat-generating electronic parts and cooling jackets fed with a coolant so as to cool the heat-generating electronic parts, and a coolant cooling unit having a heat exchanger for cooling the coolant from the cooling jackets and a pump for pressurizing and feeding the cooled coolant to the cooling jackets. The electronic circuit unit and the coolant cooling unit are housed in the same cabinet, and a partition plate is provided between the electronic circuit unit and coolant cooling unit to partition the two so that in the event of occurrence of liquid leakage, the coolant may be prevented from migrating from the coolant cooling unit to the electronic circuit unit.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Steven Ngo whose telephone number is (571)272-4295. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jayprakash Gandhi can be reached at (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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/S.N./Examiner , Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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