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 § 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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (US 20230171917 A1) in view of Kim (US 11937411 B2).
As to Claim 1, Wang discloses:
A device (heat dissipation assembly 1), comprising:
a housing (bottom plate 10) for accommodating a heat generating element (Par. 0048 “The plurality of fins 20 are thermally coupled to a heat-generating element (not shown) through the bottom plate 10 for heat dissipation”; 10 at least houses a top portion of a heat generating element);
a cover portion (frame 30) that is disposed to cover a cooling surface (top surface of 10, including fins 20) of the housing 10 from above and forms a flow path (heat conduction channel 23) of a refrigerant between the cover portion 30 and the cooling surface of the housing 10 (Par. 0050 “The frame 30 includes a first lateral wall 30a and a second lateral wall 30b, which are assembled with the bottom plate 10 to form a heat conduction channel 23”); and
a fan unit 40 disposed downstream of the flow path 23 for causing the refrigerant to flow through the flow path 23 (Par. 0048 “The required cooling airflow is inhaled through the airflow intake 31 by the fan 40, and the airflow passing through the plurality of fins 20 is discharged through the outlet 42 of the fan 40”; fan 40 downstream of 23), wherein
the fan unit 40 is provided at a position above and away from the cooling surface of the housing (top surface of 10, including fins 20; fan 40 is disposed on frame 30 above and away from top surface of 10).
Wang does not disclose:
An electronic device, comprising:
a housing for accommodating an electric board.
However, Kim discloses:
An electronic device (converter 100), comprising:
a housing (110, corresponds to 10 of Wang) for accommodating an electric board 107 (col. 5, Lines 24-28 “A plurality of electronic components for driving the converter 100 may be disposed in a space inside the housing 110. For example, a printed circuit board 107 on which one or more devices are mounted may be disposed inside the housing 110”);
in order to house heat generating electronic components of an electronic device (col. 5, Lines 24-39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Wang as further suggested by Kim e.g., providing:
An electronic device, comprising:
a housing for accommodating an electric board;
in order to house heat generating electronic components of an electronic device.
As to Claim 2, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
the cover portion (30 of Wang) is formed with a ventilation hole 32 that communicates between an inside and an outside of the flow path 23 (see Fig. 2 of Wang, 32 formed in 30 and communicates with fan 40 and channel 23),
the fan unit 40 has an impeller 43 facing the ventilation hole 23 from above (impeller 23 of Wang faces 32 from above), and
the ventilation hole 32 is located inside an outer periphery of the impeller 43 (see Fig. 7, 32 located inside an outer periphery of impeller 43; Wang).
As to Claim 3, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
the ventilation hole (32 of Wang) is positioned so as to overlap a center of the impeller 43 in a plan view (32 of Wang overlaps center of 43, see Fig. 2).
As to Claim 5, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
the housing (10 of Wang) has a fin 20 provided on the cooling surface of the housing (top side of 10; and extending along a flow direction of the refrigerant in the flow path 23 (Par. 0048 “The plurality of fins 20 are disposed on the bottom plate 10, spaced apart from each other and extend in a direction from the front end 11 to the rear end 12”), and
a part of the fin 20 is positioned so as to overlap with the fan unit 40 in a plan view (see Figs. 7-8, a portion of fin 20 at second end 22 is overlapping with fan unit 40; Wang).
As to Claim 6, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
an upper end of a part of the fin 20 is located lower than an upper end of other part of the fin 20 (upper end of fin 20 at 21 and 22 are located lower than the upper end of middle portion of fin 20; Wang).
As to Claim 7, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
the flow path (23 of Wang) has an inlet (airflow intake 31) formed between the cooling surface of the housing (top side of 10, including fins 20) and the cover portion 30 (airflow intake 31 is below 30 and top side of 10), and
the housing 10 includes an inclined portion (inclined portion of fins 20 at first ends 21) provided at a position connected to the inlet 31 and formed to incline downward in a direction opposite to a flow direction of the refrigerant in the flow path 23 (fins 20 at first end 21 are inclined downward; fins 20 are part of housing 10; Par. 0055 “The first end 21 of the fin 20 is disposed adjacent to the airflow intake 31 and has a first chamfered structure, and the first chamfered structure forms a first inclined angle A1 relative to a horizontal plane of the bottom plate 10. With the design of the diversion inclined angle of the fins 20 adjacent to the airflow intake 31, it helps to exert the rectification effect when the airflow is transported from the airflow intake 31 into the head conduction channel 23”; Wang).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (US 20230171917 A1) in view of Kim (US 11937411 B2) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kho (US 10240615 B1).
As to Claim 4, the obvious modification of Wang in view of Kim discloses:
wherein
a ventilation hole (32 of Wang) communicating between an inside and an outside of the flow path 23 (see Fig. 2 of Wang, 32 formed in 30 and communicates with fan 40 and channel 23).
Wang and Kim do not disclose:
wherein
a ventilation hole has a plurality of holes communicating between an inside and an outside of the flow path.
However, Kho discloses:
wherein
a ventilation hole (fan openings 306,308 of Fig. 6, between hard drives 604 and apparatuses 200A,B) has a plurality of holes (attenuator 100) communicating between an inside and an outside of the flow path (flow path is region within chassis 602; col. 7, Lines 52-55 “attenuator 100 may be positioned over fan openings 306 and 308 such that attenuator 100 both dampens acoustic waves generated by fans 204 and 206 and secures fans 204 and 206 within cage 202”; col. 4, Lines 55-57 “attenuator 100 may represent a sheet or panel that contains a group of holes and/or openings”);
in order to dampen acoustic waves and secure the fans in place (col. 7, Lines 52-55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the related art(s) before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Wang and Kim as further suggested by Kho e.g., providing:
wherein
a ventilation hole has a plurality of holes communicating between an inside and an outside of the flow path;
in order to dampen acoustic waves and secure the fans in place.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen (US 20180347915 A1), Peng (US 7443672 B2) and Matsui (US 6657860 B2) disclose a heat dissipation apparatus with fins and a fan.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW S MUIR whose telephone number is (571)270-1329. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.
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 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW SINCLAIR MUIR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/Jayprakash N Gandhi/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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