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 Objections
Claims 1 and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“the fist top” in second last line of claim 1 should read –the first top--.
Two occurrences of “fist top” in on page 3 of claim 12 should read –first top--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 5-7 and 10-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin (US PGPub No. 2019/0364694).
Regarding claim 1, Lin discloses a liquid cooling device (Figs. 1A-1D), comprising:
a bottom plate (112);
a cooling fin assembly disposed on the bottom plate (an assembly having fins 140, 160 and 170, and partition plate 150 on the bottom plate 112), comprising:
a plurality of first cooling fins (fins 160 alone; or fins 140 and 160, see annotated figure 1C below), wherein each of the plurality of first cooling fins has a first front end, a first rear end (see annotated figure 1C below), and a first top (top side of the fins 140 and 160), the first top connects the first front end and the first rear end (the first top side connects the first two ends);
a plurality of second cooling fins (fins 170 alone; or fins 140 and 170, see annotated figure 1C below), wherein each of the plurality of second cooling fins has a second front end, a second rear end (see annotated figure 1C below), and a second top (top side of the fins 140 and 170), the second top connects the second front end and the second rear end (the second top side connects the second two ends); and
at least one third cooling fin (partition plate 150 having a structure of a fin) disposed between the plurality of first cooling fins and the plurality of second cooling fins (see Fig. 1B), wherein the third cooling fin has a third front end, a third rear end (see annotated figure 1C below), a third top (top side of the partition plate 150), a first lateral side (a side facing the first cooing fins), and a second lateral side (a side facing the second cooing fins), and the first lateral side and the second lateral side are arranged in two opposite sides of the third top (opposite sides of the top side of the partition plate 150 facing respectively the first and second cooing fins) and both connect the third front end and the third rear end (the opposite sides of the top side both connect the adjacent sides facing the first and second cooing fins), and the first lateral side faces the plurality of first cooling fins (see above), the second lateral side faces the plurality of second cooling fins (see above); and
a base (111, 113, 114 and 115) covering on the cooling fin assembly and the bottom plate (see Fig. 1A), and having an inlet (120) and an outlet (130), wherein the inlet faces the first top, and the outlet faces the second top.
Regarding claim 2, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein the base comprises a liquid inlet recess (a cylindrical space of the inlet 120 recessed from an interior side of the top plate 111) and a liquid outlet recess (a cylindrical space of the outlet 130 recessed from an interior side of the front plate 113), and the inlet is disposed in the liquid inlet recess (the inlet 120 is disposed in the cylindrical space of the inlet 120), the outlet is disposed in the liquid outlet recess (the outlet 130 is disposed in the cylindrical space of the outlet 130).
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Regarding claim 5, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein the liquid cooling device further comprises a flow-limiting structure (tube walls of the inlet 120 and outlet 130 that limits or blocks a fluid flow in radial direction), which is arranged around the periphery of the inlet to block the inlet and the outlet (tube walls are arranged around the inlet and outlet to block the inlet 120 and outlets 130).
Regarding claim 6, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein the plurality of first cooling fins has a first arrangement density, the plurality of second cooling fins has a second arrangement density, and the first arrangement density is greater than the second arrangement density (the fins 140 in the first cooling fins have greater density than the fins 170 in the second cooling fins).
Regarding claim 7, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein the plurality of first cooling fins has a first arrangement density, the plurality of second cooling fins has a second arrangement density, and the first arrangement density is the same as the second arrangement density (the fins 140 in the first cooling fins have the same density as the fins 140 in the second cooling fins).
Regarding claim 10, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein a height of the third cooling fin (the height of the partition plate 150) is greater than the height of each first cooling fin and the height of each second cooling fin (in the case of the fins 160 alone as the first cooling fins and the fins 170 alone as the second cooling fins, the height of the partition plate 150 is greater than each of the fins 160 and 170).
Regarding claim 11, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein a length of the third cooling fin is greater than the length of each first cooling fin and the length of each second cooling fin (the length of the partition plate 150 along a length direction LD is greater than the each of each fin 140 and 170 in the first cooling fins, and each fin 140 and 170 in the second cooling fins).
Regarding claim 12, Lin discloses a liquid cooling device (Figs. 1A-1D), comprising:
a bottom plate (112);
a cooling fin assembly disposed on the bottom plate (an assembly having fins 140, 160 and 170, and partition plate 150 on the bottom plate 112), comprising:
a plurality of first cooling fins (fins 140 and 160, see annotated figure above);
a plurality of second cooling fins (fins 140 and 170, see annotated figure above); and
at least one third cooling fin (partition plate 150 having a structure of a fin) disposed between the plurality of first cooling fins and the plurality of second cooling fins (see Fig. 1C above); and
a base (111, 113, 114 and 115) covering on the cooling fin assembly and the bottom plate (see Fig. 1A), and having an inlet (120) and an outlet (130),
wherein the inlet faces a first top of the plurality of first cooling fins (the inlet 120 faces a top side of the fins 140 and 160 of the first cooling fins, see Fig. 1E), and the outlet faces a second top of the plurality of second cooling fins (the outlet 130 faces a top side of the fins 140 and 170 of the second cooling fins, see Fig. 1E), wherein when a working fluid flows in from the inlet, it flows to the fist top of the plurality of first cooling fins along a Z-axis direction (a fluid flows from the inlet 120 to the top side of the fins 140 and 170 along an A1 direction, Fig. 1E), then flows to two ends of the plurality of first cooling fins along a X-axis direction (the fluid flows to two ends of the fins 140 and 160 of the first cooling fins at channel PA along a direction LD, Fig. 1C), and flows to two sides of the second cooling fins along a Y-axis direction (the fluid then flows to two ends of the fins 140 and 170 of the second cooling fins along the channel PA along a direction A2, Figs. 1A and 1C), finally flows to the outlet through the second cooling fins along the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (the fluid then flows through the fins 140 and 170 of the second cooling fins in the direction LD and to the outlet 130 in the direction A2), so as to form a three axial circulation path of the Z-axis direction, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (the flow has all the A1, LD and A2 directions).
Regarding claim 13, please see the rejection of claim 5 above.
Regarding claim 14, please see the rejection of claim 6 above.
Regarding claim 15, please see the rejection of claim 8 above.
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) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US PGPub No. 2019/0364694) in view of Wu (US PGPub No. 2018/0213677).
Regarding claim 3, Liu fails to disclose wherein the liquid inlet recess comprises a guiding slope connected to the inlet.
Wu (Figs. 3C and 4) discloses wherein the liquid inlet recess (input chamber 5) comprises a guiding slope connected to the inlet (a tapered space of the input chamber 5).
It is noted that when an installation of the liquid cooling device of Lin requires a side connection of the inlet 120, one of ordinary skill in the art would replace the cylindrical inlet 120 and a circular opening in the top plate 111 for a tapered input chamber 5 and a triangular opening 71 (Fig. 4 of Wu) connecting the inlet (51) to guide the fluid flow uniformly into the first cooling fins 140 and 160.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided wherein the liquid inlet recess comprises a guiding slope connected to the inlet in order to guide the fluid into the first cooling fins when a side inlet connection is required based on different installations of the liquid cooling device.
Regarding claim 4, Liu as modified in claim 3 further discloses wherein the guiding slope is a portion of a bottom surface of the liquid inlet recess (the input chamber 5 having the tapered space as modified in Liu is a bottom interior surface of the modified top plate 111).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US PGPub No. 2019/0364694) alone.
Regarding claim 8, Lin in claim 1 further discloses wherein each of the first cooling fins (the fins 140 in the first cooling fins), each of the second cooling fins (the fins 140 in the second cooling fins) and the third cooling fin of the cooling fin (partition plate 150) assembly are sheet structures (a sheet structure, Fig. 1E) with the same size (the fins 140 in the first cooling fins, the fins 140 in the second cooling fins and the partition plate 150 have at least the same height, see Fig. 1E).
Lin fails to explicitly disclose sheet metal structures.
Examiner takes official notice that heat transfer fins are commonly made of metal having a greater heat conductivity.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have provided sheet metal structures in Lin in order to increase thermal conductivity for more efficient heat transfer.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US PGPub No. 2019/0364694) in view of Lee (US PGPub No. 2022/0316817).
Regarding claim 9, Liu fails to disclose wherein a thickness of the third cooling fin is greater than the thickness of each first cooling fin and the thickness of each second cooling fin.
Lee discloses a thickness of the third cooling fin (a thickness of stop section 15, which is also a fin structure) is greater than the thickness of each first cooling fin and the thickness of each second cooling fin (the thickness of the stop section 15 is greater than the thickness of adjacent fins 18 and 137, Fig. 1C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have provided wherein a thickness of the third cooling fin is greater than the thickness of each first cooling fin and the thickness of each second cooling fin in Lin as taught by Lee in order to increase a strength of the partition plate 150. Also, the thickness increase of the plate is a mere change in size and is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Conclusion
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/JIANYING C ATKISSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3763
/F.K.L/Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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