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
This office action is in response to application 19/185,004 filed 4/21/25. Claims 1-10 are pending with claims 1 and 6 in independent form.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Unagami et al. US 2019/0088063 A1 in view of US 2015/0373882 A1.
Unagami teaches:
Re: claim 1, A system for conducting an election, causing one or more processing devices to implement one or more types of election functionality (abstract).
Re: claim 6, A method for conducting an election wherein the at least one purpose-built device implements one or more types of election functionality (abstract).
Unagami fails to specifically teach:
Re: claim 1, a containment vessel enclosing a volume, a dielectric thermally conductive fluid at least partially filling the volume of the containment vessel, at least one purpose-built device disposed within the volume of the containment vessel, wherein the at least one purpose-built device comprises one or more processing devices and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer application program instructions that are executed by the one or more processing devices.
Re: claim 6, the method comprising: providing a containment vessel enclosing a volume, filling at least partially the volume of the containment vessel with a dielectric thermally conductive fluid, disposing at least one purpose-built device within the volume of the containment vessel.
However, Smith teaches
Re: claim 1, a containment vessel enclosing a volume, a dielectric thermally conductive fluid at least partially filling the volume of the containment vessel, at least one purpose-built device disposed within the volume of the containment vessel, wherein the at least one purpose-built device comprises one or more processing devices and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer application program instructions that are executed by the one or more processing devices ([0037]-[0044] dielectric thermally conductive fluids contained within an enclosure for cooling electronic devices and servers).
Re: claim 6, the method comprising: providing a containment vessel enclosing a volume, filling at least partially the volume of the containment vessel with a dielectric thermally conductive fluid, disposing at least one purpose-built device within the volume of the containment vessel ([0037]-[0044] dielectric thermally conductive fluids contained within an enclosure for cooling electronic devices and servers).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the enclosure of Smith into the system of Unagami as an obvious matter of design choice thereby enabling cost reductions, operational efficiencies, increased security and extended longevity of electronic devices and servers ([0008]-[0009]).
Re: claim 2, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the election is conducted by a governmental jurisdiction (Unagami – [0002], [0057]).
Re: claim 3, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the system of claim 1, that further comprises cabling extending from the at least one purpose-built device to a location that is external to the containment vessel (Smith – claims 1 and 15).
Re: claim 4, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the containment vessel further comprises a removable panel (Smith – claims 1 and 15 access to containment vessel for providing access).
Re: claim 5, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the system of claim 1, wherein the dielectric thermally conductive fluid is at least partially in a liquid state at normal temperature and pressure (Smith – [0035]-[0036]).
Re: claim 7, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the method of claim 6, wherein the election is conducted by a governmental jurisdiction (Unagami – [0002], [0057]).
Re: claim 8, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the method of claim 6, that further comprises cabling extending from the at least one purpose-built device to a location that is external to the containment vessel (Smith – claims 1 and 15).
Re: claim 9, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the method of claim 6, wherein the containment vessel further comprises a removable panel (Smith – claims 1 and 15 access to containment vessel for providing access).
Re: claim 10, Unagami as modified by Smith additionally teaches the method of claim 6, wherein the dielectric thermally conductive fluid is at least partially in a liquid state at normal temperature and pressure (Smith – [0035]-[0036]).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTY A HAUPT whose telephone number is (571)272-8545 and email address is kristy.haupt@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Sun 5:30 AM- 10PM; Flex during day.
If all attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Lee, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/KRISTY A HAUPT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
KAH