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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 5, and 8-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Staskus et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,835,345, “Staskus”).
Regarding claim 1, Staskus discloses a jet impingement cooling system configured to cool a high heat flux device via a cooling fluid (fig 12), the system comprising:
a heatsink body (14) coupled to the high heat flux device or capable of being coupled to the high heat flux device (50);
a first heatsink fin (38, see annotated fig 12 below) extending from the heatsink body and including an impingement face, an exit face, a fin thickness, and a plurality of exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 below) extending through the fin thickness from the impingement face to the exit face, the exit orifices being spaced-apart from each other across the impingement face to define impingement surfaces of the impingement face between the exit orifices;
an exit channel in fluid communication with the plurality of exit orifices at the exit face (see fig 12 below),
a first injection wall (38, see annotated fig 12 below) including a supply-side face, an injection-side face (see annotated fig 12 below), a wall thickness between the supply-side face and injection-side face, and a plurality of injection ports extending through a wall thickness from the supply-side face to the injection-side face, the plurality of injection ports being oriented such that impingement jets therefrom are directed to the impingement surfaces, the injection-side face being spaced-apart from the impingement face;
a cooling supply channel (32) in fluid communication with the plurality of injection ports at the supply-side face,
wherein, in operation, the cooling fluid flows from the cooling supply channel through the injection ports, out the injection ports to impinge against the impingement surfaces and exit through the exit orifices into the exit channel (see fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 2, Staskus further discloses wherein the plurality of injection ports is offset from the plurality of exit orifices such that longitudinal axes of the injection ports are not in alignment with longitudinal axes of the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 4, Staskus further discloses a second heatsink fin (see annotated fig 12 below) extending from the heatsink body and including an impingement face, an exit face, a fin thickness, and a plurality of exit orifices extending through the fin thickness from the impingement face to the exit face, the exit orifices being spaced-apart from each other across the impingement face to define impingement surfaces of the impingement face between the exit orifices, the second heatsink fin being spaced-apart from the first heatsink fin to at least in part define the exit channel (such as in the first heatsink fin), the exit channel being in fluid communication with the plurality of exit orifices of the first and second heatsink fins at the respective exit faces thereof.
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Regarding claim 5, Staskus further discloses wherein the exit orifices of the first heatsink fin and the second heatsink fin are offset from each other such that cooling fluid passing through the exit orifices of the first heatsink fin and second heatsink fin into the exit channel do not run into each other head-on (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 8, Staskus discloses a jet impingement cooling system configured to cool a high heat flux device via a cooling fluid (fig 12), the system comprising:
a heatsink (14, 38) coupled to the high heat flux device (50), the heatsink including a first impingement surface having exit orifices and impingement regions (see annotated fig 12 below), the exit orifices spaced-apart from each other and defined in the first impingement surface, and the impingement regions located between adjacent exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 below); and
a first supply surface (see annotated fig 12 below) spaced-apart from the first impingement surface and including injection ports spaced-apart from each other and defined in the supply surface, the injection ports oriented such that impingement jets therefrom are directed to impinge against the impingement regions (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 9, Staskus further discloses wherein, in operation, the cooling fluid flows out of the injection ports as the impingement jets to impinge against the impingement regions and then enters the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 10, Staskus further discloses wherein longitudinal axes of the injection ports are offset from longitudinal axes of the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 11, Staskus further discloses wherein longitudinal axes of the injection ports are generally parallel to the longitudinal axes of the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 12, Staskus further discloses wherein the injection ports are out of alignment with the exit orifices such that no injection port overlaps with any exit orifice when the injection ports and exit orifices are superimposed with each other (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 13, Staskus further discloses a second supply surface and wherein the heatsink further includes a second impingement surface and an exit channel (see annotated fig 12 below), the second supply surface spaced-apart from the second impingement surface, which is spaced-apart from the first impingement surface, the exit channel located between the first and second impingement surfaces (see annotated fig 12 below), the second supply surface including injection ports spaced-apart from each other and defined in the second supply surface (see annotated fig 12 below), the second impingement surface having exit orifices and impingement regions, the exit orifices spaced-apart from each other and defined in the second impingement surface, the impingement regions of the second impingement surface located between adjacent exit orifices of the second impingement surface, the injection ports of the second supply surface oriented such that impingement jets therefrom are directed to impinge against the impingement regions of the second impingement surface, the exit orifices of the first and second impingement surfaces being in fluid communication with the exit channel (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 14, Staskus further discloses wherein the exit orifices of the first and the second impingement surfaces are out of alignment with each other such that cooling fluid flows passing through the exit orifices of the first and the second impingement surfaces into the exit channel do not run into each other head-on (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 15, Staskus further discloses wherein the exit orifices of the first and the second impingement surfaces are out of alignment with each other such that longitudinal axes of the exit orifices of the first impingement surface are not in alignment with longitudinal axes of the exit orifices of the second impingement surface (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 16, Staskus further discloses wherein the longitudinal axes of the exit orifices of the first impingement surface are generally parallel to the longitudinal axes of the exit orifices of the second impingement surface (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 17, Staskus further discloses wherein the exit orifices of the first and the second impingement surfaces are out of alignment with each other such that no exit orifice of the first impingement surface overlaps with any exit orifice of the second impingement surface where the exit orifices of the first impingement surface and exit orifices of the second impingement surface are superimposed with each other (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 18, Staskus discloses a method of cooling a high heat flux device, the method comprising: supplying a cooling fluid to injection ports defined in a supply surface, the cooling fluid exiting the injection ports as impingement jets that impinge against impingement regions of an impingement surface of a heatsink coupled to the high heat flux device, the impingement surface being spaced-apart from the supply surface, the impingement regions being located between adjacent exit orifices defined in the impingement surface, the cooling fluid then flowing to and through the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 below).
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Regarding claim 19, Staskus further discloses wherein the cooling fluid, subsequent to impinging the impingement regions, flows laterally along impingement surface from the impingement regions to the exit orifices before entering the exit orifices (see annotated fig 12 above).
Regarding claim 20, Staskus further discloses wherein the cooling fluid, subsequent to entering the exit orifices, exits the exit orifices to enter an exit channel in which all the exit orifices terminate, and a fluid flow from any of the exit orifices does not flow head-on into any fluid flow from any exit orifices defined in another impingement surface and also terminating in the exit channel (see annotated fig 12 above).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Staskus as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nakahama et al. (U.S. Patent No. 7,114,550, “Nakahama”).
Regarding claim 3, Staskus discloses all previous claim limitations. However, Staskus does not explicitly disclose wherein the plurality of injection ports is offset from the plurality of exit orifices such that no boundary of any injection port overlaps with any boundary of any exit orifice where the plurality of injection ports and plurality of exit orifices are superimposed with each other. Nakahama, however, discloses a cooling system (fig 2B) wherein a plurality of injection ports are offset from a plurality of exit orifices such that no boundary of any injection port overlaps with any boundary of any exit orifice where the plurality of injection ports and plurality of exit orifices are superimposed with each other (see annotated fig 2B below). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for Staskus to have the exit orifices and injection ports not overlap as taught by Nakahama in order to optimize the heat sink fin size of the cooling system and thus optimize the heat transfer performance of the system.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/HARRY E ARANT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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