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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
1. 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by GAO US2022/0312638.
Per claim 1 Gao teaches a liquid cooling cabinet (see fig.1-6B) comprising: a cabinet body (200, fig.2) including an accommodating space having an opening (see fig.2), and further including a bottom plate and side plates (see fig.2), wherein the opening corresponds to the bottom plate ([0022], see fig.2, “the server 203 is disclosed to be slid into 200, therefore there is an opening on a top portion of the server that allows the server 203 to slid into the server rack 200”), and the bottom plate is provided with a liquid inlet pipe (202; [0026], see fig.2, “inlet of 202”); an independent compartment (105, see fig.1, “the server chassis 105 is the server chassis of 203 shown in figure 2”) in the accommodating space (see fig.2), wherein the independent compartment has a device accommodating cavity (see fig.1); and a connector (120 & 212, see fig.1 & 2) in communication with the liquid inlet pipe and the device accommodating cavity (see fig.1-2), wherein the connector is located in the accommodating space (see fig.2), the connector includes a first connecting member (212, see fig.2) and a second connecting member (120, see fig.2), the first connecting member is disposed in the liquid inlet pipe (see fig.2), the second connecting member (120) is disposed in the independent compartment (see fig.1-2), and the first connecting member is detachably connected to the second connecting member (see fig.1-6B; [0022]-[0026]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. In the event that 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 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 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) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO US2022/0312638 in view of Shelnutt et al. US2014/0216686.
Per claim 2 Gao teaches a liquid cooling cabinet of claim 1, and the second connecting member (120) is provided at a bottom of a compartment body (see fig.2), and the first connecting member (212) is connected with the second connecting member in a plug-in mode in a height direction of the cabinet body (see fig.2; [0022]-[0023]).
Gao does not explicitly teach wherein the independent compartment includes a compartment body and a cover body, the compartment body is sealedly connected to the cover body, the compartment body and the cover body form the device accommodating cavity, the cover body is located on a top of the compartment body, the second connecting member is provided at a bottom of the compartment body, and the first connecting member is connected with the second connecting member in a plug-in mode in a height direction of the cabinet body.
Shelnutt et al. however discloses wherein an independent compartment (860A-H, see fig.8) includes a compartment body and a cover body (see fig.8), the compartment body is sealedly connected to the cover body (See fig.8), the compartment body and the cover body form the device (200 or 300) accommodating cavity (see fig.8), the cover body is located on a top of the compartment body (see fig.8).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a compartment body and a cover body as taught by Shelnutt et al. in the liquid cooling cabinet of Gao, because it enables the device within the independent compartment to be well secured and stored for effective cooling and protection.
Per claim 3 Gao in view of Shelnutt et al. teaches the liquid cooling cabinet of claim 2, wherein a plurality of independent compartments are provided and arranged in parallel along a length direction of the cabinet body (see fig.8A-8B), and each independent compartment is connected to the liquid inlet pipe through a plurality of said connectors arranged at intervals along a width direction of the cabinet body (see fig.2-8B).
Per claim 4 Gao in view of Shelnutt et al. teaches the liquid cooling cabinet of claim 3, wherein the cabinet body (200) includes two opposite side plates (fig.2), and the independent compartment (105/chassis of 203, see fig.1-2) is slidably connected to the two opposite side plates in the height direction of the cabinet body (see fig.2).
Per claim 5 Gao in view of Shelnutt et al. teaches the liquid cooling cabinet of claim 4, wherein the liquid cooling cabinet includes a slide rail on a surface of the side plate facing the accommodating space ([0067] & [0129]), wherein the slide rail is arranged along the height direction (see fig.4-5), the independent compartment (860A-H, see fig.8) includes a slide (see fig.2-3 & 8, “see element 200 & 300 in figure 8”) corresponding to the slide rail, the slide rail is slidable along the slide, and the slide rail is at least partially located in the slide ([0007], [0067] & [0129]).
Gao in view of Shelnutt et al. does not explicitly teach a slide groove on the side of the independent compartment
Official notice is taken that having a slide groove on a side of a compartment such as a server to couple to a server rack rail is well known in the art.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have a slide groove in the liquid cooling cabinet of Gao in view of Shelnutt et al., because it ensures that the independent compartment is well secured to the rail to ensure proper sliding of the independent compartment from the rack.
Allowable Subject matter
3. Claims 6-10 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.
Claim 6, includes allowable subject matter because of the liquid cooling cabinet of claim 5, wherein the independent compartment includes a flow equalizing module inside the compartment body, the flow equalizing module is disposed corresponding to the second connecting member, and the flow equalizing module is spaced apart from the second connecting member in the height direction.
Claims 7-10, depends on claim 6 therefore allowable for the same reason.
Email Communication
4. Applicant is encouraged to authorize the Examiner to communicate via email by filing form PTO/SB/439 either via USPS, Central Fax, or EFS-Web. See MPEP 502.01, 502, 502.05.
Conclusion
5. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Saito US2018/0020571 discloses an electronic apparatus which is directly cooled through immersion in a cooling liquid filled in a cooling system, in which: the electronic apparatus is stored in each of a plurality of arrayed storage sections of the cooling system.
Fukunaga US2017/0257980 discloses A fitting assembly comprising: a movable connector block including a connector coupler to which a connector is to be coupled.
Applicants are directed to consider additional pertinent prior are included on the Notice of References Cited (PTOL 892) attached herewith. The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A MATEY whose telephone number is (571)270-5648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5 EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAYPRAKASH GANDHI can be reached at 5712723740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL A MATEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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