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 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(s) 1 and 3 is/are rejected / under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable US 2016/0025783 to The Research Foundation Of The State University Of New York et al. (hereinafter, "SUNY") in view of US 3,694,746 to Hopfer.
Regarding Claim 1, SUNY discloses a liquid-cooled termination for calorimic RF power measurement (radio frequency (RF) power calorimeter, ¶0006) comprising: an RF transmission line (RF power calorimeter 100 comprises RF input 2, ¶0067; RF input 2 can be configured as a transmission line of copper, ¶0068; fig. 2), a coolant flowpath having a coolant input and a coolant output (thermal medium 4 is a mineral oil cooling fluid in thermal medium channels 5 that contacts load 3... Thermal medium cooling fluid 4 is moved through thermal medium channels 5 by pump 12, ¶0069; fig. 2), and an RF load (thermal medium in thermal contact with an RF load, ¶0038; load 3, par. 67); said RF transmission line being electrical communication with said RF load (RF input 2 can be configured as a transmission line of copper that provides an electrical path to load 3 and current return path 17 from load 3, ¶0068) having a resistor (Load 3 is a resistor, ¶0068); said RF load is in said coolant flowpath, such that said heat generated by said RF power being applied to said RF load through said RF transmission line is convected to said coolant while said coolant flows past said RF load (Load 3 is a resistor...that absorbs electrical energy and converts the electrical energy to heat, ¶0068; thermal medium 4 is a mineral oil cooling fluid in thermal medium channels 5 that contacts load 3...The thermal medium cooling fluid 4 receives heat from load 3, ¶0069).
SUNY fails to explicitly disclose said RF load having a heat sink.
Hopfer is in the field of calorimeters (title; abstract), and teaches a load having a heat sink (metallic plate 22 functions as a heat sink...rear heat sink 26 is of smaller diameter than the front sink 22 and is spaced from the inner wall of the cylindrical housing 12 which surrounds it. The housing 12 and heat sinks 22 and 26 are preferably constructed of a good thermal conductor, cal. 2, In 40-60; microwave load in the form of a thermopile unit 46 is mounted between heat sinks 22 and 26, col. 3, In 22-27 [thermopile unit 46 as load with mechanically Joined heat sinks 22, 26 taken as one unit]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify SUNY by providing a heat sink as taught by Hopfer for the purpose of improving the coupling of heat energy from the source into the fluid surrounding the source (conducting the high level of heat energy produced with absorption of input power by the load to a heat sink...to a finned housing that receives the heat by conduction from the heat sink and is effective for transferring the heat energy to the ambient air by convection, Hopfer, Abstract).
Regarding Claim 3, SUNY discloses a calorimeter having a liquid-cooled termination for RF power measurement (radio frequency (RF) power calorimeter, par. 6; thermal medium 4 is a mineral oil cooling fluid, par. 69) comprising: an RF transmission line (RF power calorimeter 100 comprises RF input 2, par. 67; RF input 2 can be configured as a transmission line of copper par. 68; fig. 2), a coolant flowpath having a coolant input and a coolant output (thermal medium 4 is a mineral oil cooling fluid in thermal medium channels 5 that contacts load 3... Thermal medium cooling fluid 4 is moved through thermal medium channels 5 by pump 12, par. 69; fig. 2), and an RF load (thermal medium in thermal contact with an RF load, par. 38; load 3, par. 67); said RF transmission line being electrical . communication with said RF load (RF input 2 can be configured as a transmission line of copper that provides an electrical path to load 3 and current return path 17 from load 3, par. 68) having a resistor (Load 3 is a resistor, par. 68); said RF load is in said coolant flowpath, such that said heat generated by said RF power being applied to said RF load through said RF transmission line is convected to said coolant while said coolant flows past said RF load (Load 3 is a resistor ... that absorbs electrical energy and converts the electrical energy to heat, par. 68; thermal medium 4 is a mineral oil cooling fluid in thermal medium channels 5 that contacts load 3..-The thermal medium cooling fluid 4 receives heat from load 3, par.69).
SUNY fails to explicitly disclose said RF load having a heat sink.
Hopfer is in the field of calorimeters (title; abstract), and teaches a load having a heat sink (plate 22 functions as a heat sink...rear heat sink 26 is of smaller diameter than the front sink 22 and is spaced from the inner wall of the cylindrical housing 12 which surrounds it. The housing 12 and heat sinks 22 and 26 are preferably constructed of a good thermal conductor, col. 2, In 40-60; microwave load in the form of a thermopile unit 46 is mounted between heat sinks 22 and 26, col. 3, In 22-27 [thermopile unit 46 as load with mechanically joined heat sinks 22, 26 taken as one unit]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify SUNY by providing a heat sink as taught by Hopfer for the purpose of improving the coupling of heat energy from the source into the fluid surrounding the source (conducting the high level of heat energy produced with absorption of input power by the load to a heat sink...to a finned housing that receives the heat by conduction from the heat sink and is effective for transferring the heat energy to the ambient air by convection, Hopfer, Abstract).
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SUNY and Hopfer as applied to claims 1 and 3 respectively above, and further in view of US 3,300,746 to Franz.
Regarding Claims 2, 4, modified SUNY discloses the liquid-cooled termination of claims 1 and 3. SUNY fails to explicitly disclose said liquid cooled termination further comprises a turbulent mixer located along said coolant flowpath between the RF load and the coolant output. Franz is in the field of fluid cooled load resistors for high frequency testing (see col. 1, In 9-17), and teaches a liquid cooled apparatus comprises a turbulent mixer located along a coolant flowpath between the load and a coolant output (grid resistor 10 Is centrally positioned in a box or container of generally rectangular configuration ... fluid inlet 16 and outlet 18 are formed in oppositely disposed end walls ... a liquid is circulated from the inlet 16 through the grid resistor to the outlet 18 … the grid resistor consists of a multiplicity of parallel and longitudinally extending conducting strands 20 equipped with transversely extending spacing strands 22 of the same or other material, col. 2, In 45-61; The mesh of both the conductor and insulation screens inherently causes the liquid flowing through the resistor to thoroughly mix and assume a multiplicity of different parallel flow paths ... The highly turbulent condition of the liquid therefore permits the uniform dissipation of heat by the conductors with consequent absorption by the liquid so effectively that wire having a cross section of mils may be used safely, col. 3, In 56-61). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the combination of SUNY and Hopfer by including a turbulent mixer as taught by Franz for the purpose of permitting effective and uniform dissipation of heat and absorption by the liquid (Franz, col. 3, In 56-61).
Conclusion
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/PARESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
December 12, 2025