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, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Takao (JP20211996086A).
Regarding claim 1, Takao discloses a heat dissipation device (see Fig. 8-10) for an energy storage converter, configured to dissipate heat from a plurality of heating element, each heating element of the plurality of heating elements (10A-10C) including a respective plurality of heating units, the heat dissipation device comprising: a liquid-cooling plate (cooling device 1) and a plurality of heat pipes (heat pipes 3A-3D) arranged in a plurality of heat pipe assemblies, and each heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies including at least one respective heat pipe, wherein: a respective heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies is configured to be in contact with at least one corresponding heating element of the plurality of heating elements; each heat pipe of the respective heat pipe assembly is configured to be in contact with at least one heating unit of the at least one corresponding heating element, each heating unit of the at least one corresponding heating element is in contact with at least one heat pipe of the respective heat pipe assembly; and the liquid-cooling plate includes a liquid-cooling flow channel (path 50), and at least a portion of each heat pipe of the plurality of heat pipes is in thermal contact with the liquid-cooling flow channel and configured to transfer heat generated by the plurality of heating elements to the liquid-cooling flow channel.
Regarding claim 2, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 1, and Takao further teaches
each heat pipe of the plurality of heat pipes (heat pipes 3A-3D) has at least one of a configurable length or a configurable width, to enable control a temperature difference between every two heating units within a preset range of each other among the plurality of heating units.
Regarding claim 18, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 2, and Takao further teaches
each heat pipe (heat pipes 3A-3D) of the at least one respective heat pipe has a straight shape.
Regarding claim 19, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 2, and Takao further teaches each heat pipe of the at least one respective heat pipe (heat pipes 3A-3D) is embedded in the liquid-cooling plate (via recesses 21A-21D).
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, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takao (JP20211996086A) in view of Terakado (JP2012075251A).
Regarding claim 3, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 2, and Takao does not teach the plurality of heat pipe assemblies are arranged at intervals along a flowing direction of liquid in the liquid-cooling flow channel, and the one respective heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies is arranged in contact with a same number of corresponding heating elements of the plurality of heating elements.
Terakado teaches (see Fig. 1-3) the plurality of heat pipe assemblies (see array of heat pipes 41) are arranged at intervals along a flowing direction of liquid in the flow channel (see flow through fins 2), and the one respective heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies is arranged in contact with a same number of corresponding heating elements of the plurality of heating elements (see respective heating elements 3 for each grouping of three heat pipes).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takao to include the heat pipe arrangement of Terakado, in order to improve cooling efficiency (Page 3).
Regarding claim 16, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 3, and Terakado further teaches the plurality of heating elements are arranged in rows and columns (3, see columns and rows thereof); a number of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies (41) is equal to a number of the columns of the plurality of heating elements; heating elements of the plurality of heating elements in a same column are arranged in contact with a corresponding heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies, and each heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies is arranged in contact with one respective column of heating elements.
Regarding claim 17, Takao teaches the limitations of claim 16, and Terakado further teaches the respective plurality of heating units (3) arranged on each heating element of the plurality of heating elements are arranged in rows and columns; a number of the at least one respective heat pipes (41) of each heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies is equal to a number of the columns of the respective plurality of heating units arranged on each heating element of the plurality of heating elements; each column of heating units arranged on the at least one corresponding heating element of the plurality of heating elements is in contact with one respective heat pipe of the one respective heat pipe assembly of the plurality of heat pipe assemblies, and each heat pipe of the one respective heat pipe assembly is in contact with one respective column of heating units arranged on the at least one corresponding heating element.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-15, and 20 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC S RUPPERT whose telephone number is (571)272-9911. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 pm.
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/ERIC S RUPPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3763
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