Manish Arora et al.

Patent Trials and Appeals BoardJan 7, 2021

2020000467 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 7, 2021)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE 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 APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 14/194,701 03/01/2014 Manish Arora 120674-US-NP 1184 163037 7590 01/07/2021 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. c/o Kennedy Lenart Spraggins LLP 301 Congress Avenue Suite 1350 Austin, TX 78701 EXAMINER CLARKE, ADAM S ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2867 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 01/07/2021 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): eofficeaction@appcoll.com kate@klspatents.com office@klspatents.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte MANISH ARORA and NUWAN JAYASENA Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 Technology Center 2800 Before TERRY J. OWENS, JEFFREY T. SMITH, and DEBRA L. DENNETT, Administrative Patent Judges. OWENS, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL STATEMENT OF THE CASE Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), the Appellant1 appeals from the Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1–4, 6–13, and 15–21. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We REVERSE. 1 We use the term “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. The Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Appeal Br. 1). Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 2 CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER The claims are directed to a circuit board with phase change material. Claim 1 and 10, reproduced below, are illustrative of the claimed subject matter: 1. An apparatus, comprising: a circuit board having a first means for holding a phase change material;[2] and plural pins projecting into the circuit board to make thermal contact with the first means for holding the phase change material and projecting out of the circuit board to make thermal contact with a component configured to be mounted on the circuit board. 10. A method of manufacturing, comprising: providing a circuit board; forming an internal space in the circuit board; and after forming the internal space positioning a phase change material in the internal space to contact a surface of the circuit board. REFERENCES The prior art relied upon by the Examiner is: 2 Such means include the corresponding structure disclosed in the Appellants’ Specification and equivalents thereof. See In re Donaldson Co., 16 F.3d 1189, 1195 (Fed. Cir. 1994). The corresponding structure in the Appellant’s Specification is phase change material pockets (Spec. ¶¶ 28, 29). Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 3 Name Reference Date Im US 2012/0280382 A1 Nov. 8, 2012 Gavillet US 2014/0369005 A1 Dec. 18, 2014 REJECTION Claim(s) Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis 1–4, 6–13, 15–21 103 Im, Gavillet OPINION We need address only the independent claims (1, 10, and 18). Claims 1 and 18 Claims 1 and 18 require pins projecting into a circuit board to make thermal contact with a means for holding a phase change material (claim 1) or with a phase change material pocket (claim 18), and projecting out of the circuit board to make thermal contact with a component on the circuit board. Im discloses a semiconductor package comprising, between a substrate (100) and a chip (110), an under filler (140) having scattered therein temperature control members (192) including phase change materials (M1, M2) (¶ 84; Fig. 6C). Gavillet discloses an electrical component thermal management device (2) comprising a monocrystalline silicon support (14) having cavities (16) enclosed by a cover (18) and “comprising cells containing a solid/liquid phase-change material [(12)], where the walls [(10)] of the cells are formed by carbon nanotubes [(8)], and where the nanotubes [(8)] form a thermal short-circuit between the heat source [(SC)] and the thermal dissipator [(SF)]” (¶¶ 10, 49, 50; Figs. 1A, 2A, 2B). The thermal management device (2) can include through-silicon vias (TSVs) (19) between the support (14) and the heat source (SC) (¶ 60; Fig. 1C). “The Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 4 thermal management device [(2)] is transferred on to an electronic component by microelectronic techniques well known to those skilled in the art” (¶ 130). The Examiner finds that “Gavillet teaches carbon nanotubes [(]as a heat transfer pin) projecting into the circuit board to make thermal contact with the first means for holding the phase change material (Gavillet; Fig 2A', Element 12) and projecting out of the circuit board to make thermal contact with a component configured to be mounted on the circuit board (Gavillet; Fig 2A', Element 18 and Par 0123)” (Final Rej. 5). Gavillet’s nanotubes (8) project into and out of a monocrystalline silicon substrate (14), not into and out of a printed circuit board (Fig. 2B). The Examiner finds that Gavillet’s monocrystalline silicon support (14) “is the substrate for the hot source, Fig 1C, Element SC, which can be an electronic chip, as stated in paragraphs [0059] and [0060]” (Ans. 4), “[a]s several electronic chips, Fig 1C, Element SC, are mounted to the substrate and electrically connected, this substrate can be considered a printed circuit board to one of ordinary skill in the art” (id.), and “printed circuit boards are known to one of ordinary skill in the art to use monocrystalline silicon in their construction (id.).3 Gavillet’s hot source (SC) can be an electronic system and is in contact with the first face (4) of a monocrystalline silicon support (14) having cavities (16) containing carbon nanotubes (8) and phase change material (12) (¶¶ 46–50; Fig. 1A). Having a face (4) in contact with an 3 The Examiner’s reliance upon two additional references in support of the last of these findings (Ans. 4) is improper because those references are not in the statement of the rejection. See In re Hoch, 428 F.2d 1341, 1342 n.3 (CCPA 1970). Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 5 electronic system does not make the monocrystalline silicon support (14) an electronic system. Also, even if printed circuit boards use monocrystalline silicon in their construction, that does not make the monocrystalline silicon a printed circuit board. The Examiner finds that Gavillet’s “electronic chips has [sic] TSVs (Through-silicon Vias) connecting them electronically through the support 14, as stated in paragraph [0060]” (Ans. 4). Gavillet discloses that “TSV (Through-Silicon Via) interconnections 19 are produced between the hot sources, for example microelectronic devices of the electronic chip type, and the heat exchange device” (¶ 60). The Examiner does not establish that Gavillet’s disclosure that the TSVs are between hot sources and a heat exchange device would have indicated to one of ordinary skill in the art that the TSVs function as conductors of electricity rather than heat. Claim 10 Claim 10 requires forming an internal space in a circuit board and then positioning a phase change material in the internal space to contact a surface of the circuit board. The Examiner finds that “Gavillet teaches forming an internal space in the circuit board (Gavillet; Fig 1A, Element 16, Par 0050 and 0110)” (Final Rej. 8). Gavillet forms an internal space (16) in a monocrystalline silicon support (14), not in a circuit board (¶ 49; Figs. 2A, 2B). CONCLUSION The Examiner has not set forth a factual basis that is sufficient to support a conclusion of obviousness of the Appellant’s claimed invention. Appeal 2020-000467 Application 14/194,701 6 See In re Warner, 379 F.2d 1011, 1017 (CCPA 1967) (“A rejection based on section 103 clearly must rest on a factual basis, and these facts must be interpreted without hindsight reconstruction of the invention from the prior art”). Accordingly, we reverse the rejection. DECISION SUMMARY Claim(s) Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 1–4, 6–13, 15–21 103 Im, Gavillet 1–4, 6–13, 15–21 Overall Outcome 1–4, 6–13, 15–21 REVERSED