Ex Parte Best et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardJun 6, 201813057881 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 6, 2018) Copy Citation UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE 13/057,881 02/07/2011 22208 7590 06/08/2018 The Marbury Law Group, PLLC 11800 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE 15THFLOOR RESTON, VA 20191 FIRST NAMED INVENTOR Christiaan Scott Best UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www .uspto.gov ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 34872-00lUS 6048 EXAMINER ZERPHEY, CHRISTOPHER R ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 3744 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 06/08/2018 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address( es): ptonotices@marburylaw.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte CHRISTIAAN SCOTT BEST and MARK GARNETT Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 Technology Center 3700 Before LYNNE H. BROWNE, MICHELLE R. OSINSKI, and ERIC C. JESCHKE, Administrative Patent Judges. BROWNE, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the rejections, under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a), of claims 17, 21, 23, 53-58, 60-62, 67, 68, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 81-84, and 91-93 as unpatentable over Attlesey (US 2007/0267741 Al, pub. Nov. 22, 2007) and Knight (US 2007/0199340 Al, pub. Aug. 30, 2007) and claims 70, 71, 77, and 87-90 as unpatentable over Attlesey, Knight, and Campbell (US 2008/0002364 Al, pub. Jan. 3, 2008). We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse. Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER Claims 17, 73, 78, and 83 are independent. Claim 17, reproduced below with emphasis added, is illustrative of the claimed subject matter: 17. An apparatus for cooling a plurality of rack-mountable servers containing heat generating electronic components, the cooling apparatus comprising: at least one tank defining an open interior volume and having a coolant inlet for receiving a dielectric liquid coolant within the open interior volume and having a coolant outlet for allowing the dielectric liquid coolant to flow from the open interior volume, the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet being fluidly coupled to each other, wherein the at least one tank comprises an open or openable top sized to receive at least one row comprising a plurality of rack-mountable servers, each of at least two of the plurality of rack-mountable servers in the at least one row comprising a motherboard and heat producing components mounted to the motherboard; one or more mounting members positioned within the interior volume and configured to mountably receive the plurality of rack-mountable servers within the interior volume, wherein the mounting members are configured to hold each of at least two of the rack-mountable servers in the at least one row in a horizontally stacked relationship with one another, with the rack-mountable servers in a vertical orientation such that one of the two smallest sides of the rack-mountable server faces upward and the motherboard of the rack-mountable server is vertically oriented, wherein at least two of the rack-mountable servers are independently operable from one another, wherein each of at least two of the rack-mountable servers is configured to connect to a computer network; a volume of dielectric coolant at least partially held in the at least one tank; and a multi-circuit fluid cooling apparatus, wherein, when the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are mountably received in at least one row in the at least one tank, at least a portion of at least two of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers being mountably received are held in the at least one tank such that the vertically oriented rack- 2 Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 mountable servers are commonly at least partially submerged in the volume of the dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank for cooling the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers, wherein, when the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are mountably received in the at least one tank and commonly at least partially submerged in the volume of dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank, the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are thermally coupled to a remote heat exchanger via the external fluid circuit, wherein the multi-circuit fluid cooling apparatus comprises: a dielectric liquid cooling apparatus; a secondary cooling apparatus comprising the remote heat exchanger; and a liquid-to-liquid or liquid-to-refrigerant heat exchanger; wherein the dielectric liquid cooling apparatus includes one or more pumps, and a plurality of fluid velocity augmentation devices in the volume of dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank, wherein at least one of the pumps, the coolant inlet, the coolant outlet, and the mounting members are configured such that the at least one pump moves at least a portion of the dielectric liquid coolant vertically across heat producing components on the vertically oriented motherboard of one of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers in parallel flow with dielectric liquid coolant moved vertically across heat producing components on the vertically oriented motherboard of at least one other of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers, wherein each of at least two of the fluid velocity augmentation devices is configured to increase upward fluid velocity of flow of dielectric liquid coolant through the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers or upwardly between adjacent ones of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers, wherein the volume of dielectric liquid coolant comprises at least one passage in the tank that is outside of the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers, wherein, when the at least one pump is operated to move the dielectric liquid coolant vertically across the heat producing components on the vertically oriented motherboards, a circuit is formed in which a first portion of dielectric liquid coolant is moved vertically upward across the 3 Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 heat producing components on the vertically oriented motherboards and then downward outside of the rack mountable servers in the at least one passage, while a second portion of the dielectric liquid coolant flows out of the tank and through the liquid-to-liquid or liquid-to-refrigerant heat exchanger, wherein the liquid-to-liquid or liquid-to-refrigerant heat exchanger is configured to transfer heat from the second portion of dielectric liquid coolant in the circuit to liquid or refrigerant moving in the secondary cooling apparatus, wherein the secondary cooling apparatus is configured to reject, by way of the remote heat exchanger, at least part of the heat transferred from the second portion of the dielectric liquid coolant, wherein the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are mountable in the at least one tank such that, when the vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are commonly at least partially submerged in the volume of dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank and the dielectric liquid coolant is moved within the at least one tank, at least one of the vertically oriented rack- mountable servers is independently vertically removable from the volume of dielectric liquid coolant in which the at least two vertically oriented rack-mountable servers are commonly at least partially submerged and from the at least one tank through the top of the tank while at least two of the other vertically oriented rack-mountable servers in the at least one row remain commonly at least partially submerged in the volume of dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank and the dielectric liquid coolant in the at least one tank continues to flow across heat producing electronic components of the at least two other vertically oriented rack-mountable servers remaining at least partially commonly submerged in the at least one row. DISCUSSION Rejection Based on Attlesey and Knight The Examiner finds that Attlesey and Knight disclose or suggest all of the limitations of claims 17, 73, 78, and 83. See Final Act. 9--14. In particular, the Examiner finds that Attlesey discloses "at least one passage in 4 Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 the tank that is outside of the rack-mountable servers (throughout the figures space is shown between the walls of the tank and the server structure 30)" and that in Attlesey a circuit is formed in which a first portion of the heated dielectric liquid coolant is moved vertically upward across the heat producing components and then downward outside of the rack mountable servers in the at least one passage (as the entirety of the liquid cannot simultaneously pass through the outlet, at least some liquid must circulate within the container). Id. at 12. Appellants contend that Attlesey does not disclose such a circuit. Appeal Br. 18-19. Specifically, Appellants argue that Attlesey fails to disclose "a first portion of dielectric liquid coolant is moved vertically upward across the heat producing components on the vertically oriented motherboards and then downward outside of the rack mountable servers in the at least one passage, while a second portion of the dielectric liquid coolant flows out of the tank." Id. Noting that Attlesey "discloses pumping the liquid from the warm upper area of the case through the discharge pipe," Appellants assert that "[ n ]othing in Attlesey teaches or suggests that the opening in the discharge pipe would not be able to receive whatever moving liquid was moving in the warm upper area, let alone that pumping would cause a portion of the liquid to move downward in a passageway outside of the rack-mountable servers." Id. at 19. Responding to these arguments, the Examiner finds that Attlesey explicitly teaches the first portion "cooling liquid flows form the heat exchanger through a passageway 48 back into the case near the bottom thereof where it is warmed by the heat- generating electronics and components and rises back to the top of the case and the cycle begins again" (p0078) and "the holes 5 Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 234 are in the top of the branches 232 to direct liquid upwardly" (p0115). Ans. 16-17. The Examiner further finds that "Attlesey explicitly teaches at pO 115 that the flow is directed downwardly, where downward flow occurs in passageway 132A." Id. at 17. However, the Examiner does not adequately explain what portion of Attlesey's coolant moves vertically upward across the heat producing components and then downwardly outside of the rack mountable servers as required by claims 17, 73, 78, and 83. See Appeal Br. 48, 55, 59, 62 (Claims App.). In paragraph 115, Attlesey describes direct impingement cooling where a spray bar 230 is used to cool areas where there is significant heat. See Attlesey i-f 115. Specifically, Attlesey states The spray bar assembly 230 includes a central passageway 231 extending along the vertical channel 132A, and plurality of branches or vents 232 that extend along the horizontal channels 134A-C (and at the bottom of the space 106). The branches 232 include holes 234 (FIG. 20) to direct cooled liquid directly onto the components 124, 126, 127, 128, 130. The holes 234 are in the top of the branches 232 to direct liquid upwardly. However, holes could also be provided at the bottom of the branches to direct[] liquid downwardly onto the components. Id. (emphasis omitted). Although this paragraph provides support for the Examiner's findings that Attlesey discloses coolant that moves upwardly and coolant that moves downwardly, there is no indication in paragraph 115 that the same portion of coolant moves vertically upward across the heat producing components and downwardly outside of the rack mounted servers as required by claims 17, 73, 78, and 83. See Appeal Br. 48, 55, 59, 62 (Claims App.). Thus, the Examiner's findings are insufficient to set forth a prima facie case of obviousness. 6 Appeal2017-004861 Application 13/057,881 For this reason, we do not sustain the Examiner's decision rejecting claims 17, 73, 78, 83, and their dependent claims 21, 23, 53-58, 60-62, 72, 75, 76, 81, 82, 84, and 91-93. Rejection Based on Attlesey, Knight, and Campbell The rejection of claims 70, 71, 77, and 87-90 relies upon the same incomplete findings as the rejection discussed supra. Accordingly, we do not sustain the Examiner's decision rejecting these claims for the same reason. DECISION The Examiner's rejections of claims 17, 21, 23, 53-58, 60-62, 67, 68, 70-73, 75-78, 81-84, and 87-93 are REVERSED. REVERSED 7 Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation