DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-14 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Siu (US 20060196640).
Regarding claim 1, Siu teaches a cooling system for a computing device (101) and comprising: a cold plate configured for conducting heat away from a heat source (e.g. 710; Fig. 23A); and a phase change coolant module (400) disposed between an din thermal contact with the heat source and the cold plate (Fig. 23a), the phase change coolant module containing a phase-change coolant (Para. [0060]).
Regarding claim 9, Siu teaches a cooling system for a computing device (101) and comprising: a cold plate for conducting heat from a heat source (e.g. 710; fig. 23a); and a phase change coolant module (400) disposed below and in thermal contact with a base of the cold plate (Fig. 23a), at least a potin of the phase change coolant module extending above the base of the cold plate (440, the phase change coolant module disposed above and in thermal contact with the heat source (401; Fig. 8) and containing a phase change coolant (Para. [0060]).
Siu further teaches that: the phase change coolant module (pccm) is in thermal contact with the cold plate through at least a base of the cold plate (portion of 710 making contact with 400 in Fig. 23a) and the portions extending above the base (e.g. 440), the pccm is above and in thermal contact with the heat source (e.g. Fig. 8; 401), per claims 2 and 10; the phase change coolant of the pccm at least partially vaporizes in response to heat flow from the heat source (Para. [0060]), rises inside the pccm in the vapor state (Fig. 8; Para. [0060]); at least partially condenses from the vapor state in response to heat flow to the cold plate (Fig. 8; Para. [0060]), and falls inside the pccm in the liquid state (Fig. 8; Para. [0060]), per claims 3 and 11; the phase change coolant may be water (Para. [0013]), per claims 4 and 12; the cold plate further has an internal flow channel including at least one fin (e.g. fins 450; see Figs. 9-10; channels are between these fins) that is in thermal contact with the base of the cold plate (all of the devices are in thermal contact with each other via the intermediate structures and/or liquids) the internal flow channel is configured to receive a liquid water coolant (Para. [0062]; flowing from 711 to 712; Fig. 23a), per claims 5-6, 13, and 16; the cold plate has a liquid coolant inlet (711) and outlet (712) in fluid communication with the internal flow channel, per claims 7 and 17; the pccm has a bottom surface with a larger area than the heat source (see Fig. 8), per claims 8 and 18; facing sides of the pccm and cold plate have approximately equal areas (see Fig. 23a), per claim 19; a portion of the pccm extending above the base of the cold plate (i.e. 440) has a first height (at the top of 440) which is greater than a second height of a second portion of the pccm disposed below the base of the cold plate (e.g. the bottom surface of the pccm), per claim 20; the portion of the pccm which extends above the base (440) is disposed in thermal contact with the at least one fin (450; see Figs. 9-10) and at least in part in the internal flow channel (see Fig. 23a), per claim 14.
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Siu in view of Chen.
Regarding claim 15, Siu does not specify the formation of the pccm extensions as “tubes”.
Chen teaches that in identical pccm systems (see Fig. 1) tubes are an alternative shape to the hollow fins (Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to form the pccm of Siu with the tubes, as taught by Chen, in order to increase the surface area for thermal transfer.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Devon Lane whose telephone number is (571)270-1858. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, 9-4.
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/DEVON LANE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
