Invalidity dossier
US 5467609
Modular floor sub-structure for the operational support of computer systems
Current assignee: Vertiv Corp
Added 9/23/2026, 5:10:32 PM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview: US5467609A
Title: Modular floor sub-structure for the operational support of computer systems
Patent number: US5467609A
Application number: US08/201,587
Inventor: Edward K. Feeney
Original assignee: Liebert Corp (current assignee listed as Vertiv Corp)
Priority date: 1993-04-23 (claimed from US08/051,534)
Filing date: 1994-03-03
Publication/grant date: 1995-11-21
Legal status: Expired – Lifetime (anticipated expiration 2013-04-23)
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US5467609](/patent/US5467609)/en
Purpose. The patent concerns a modular floor sub-structure that operationally supports computer systems. The recurring concepts in the supplied text—cooling, distribution, transfer of a cooling fluid, air, coupling, isolation, and heat generation—indicate the sub-structure addresses cooling and air distribution for equipment supported on the floor.
Plain-language scope. According to the supplied text, the invention is a floor sub-structure built from modules (the prior-art keywords include "floor," "air," "assemblage," "module," and "modules"). Modules are coupled together into an assemblage. One described feature is a blocking effect (a "blocking" concept appears among the claims abstract description terms), and the text refers to peripheral effects, isolation, environmental effects, and communication. The sub-structure also involves cooling-fluid distribution and transfer, and condensation is mentioned, suggesting management of cooling and moisture. The text references water, air, and refrigerants including dichlorodifluoromethane and fluoromethane among described substances—these are listed only as terms appearing in the description, not as claimed matter.
What the excerpt does not establish. The supplied text is an excerpt only and omits the full claims, abstract, and description. It does not establish: the exact wording or number of claims; the precise structural configuration of the modules; the specific claimed cooling or airflow pathways; what the "blocking," "isolation," or "communication" features structurally consist of; the relationship to the priority application US08/051,534 (also listed as patent US5345779A); or the current legal status as an adjudicated matter. No litigation, ownership-transfer, validity, or prior-art analysis is presented here. Chemical and material terms listed are extracted keyword data, not claim language, and should not be read as the invention's scope.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:43:47 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.
Obviousness
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.