DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the amendment filed on 6/18/2025.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office 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 (see the Filing Receipt mailed on 12/4/2024).
Priority
This application discloses and claims only subject matter disclosed in prior application no. 13/762,497, filed 2/8/2013, which claims benefit of provisional 61/597,105, filed 2/9/2012, and names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application. Accordingly, this application may constitute a continuation or division. Should applicant desire to claim the benefit of the filing date of the prior application, attention is directed to 35 U.S.C. 120, 37 CFR 1.78, and MPEP § 211 et seq. It is noted if the applicant wishes to claim benefit to the prior applications they must file a properly signed, properly marked up ADS to add the domestic benefit information.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-5 are objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 2, last line insert - - . - - after “over said electronic assemblies” for form. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation “the flowed liquid material” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation (i.e. the liquid material) in the claim.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 6/18/2025 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 has been reviewed and is NOT accepted.
The terminal disclaimer does not comply with 37 CFR 1.321 because:
The power of attorney (POA) submitted on 6/18/2025 was not accepted (please reference the letter N572 6/25/2025). It is further noted the terminal disclaimer was not properly signed (improper S-signature). No additional fee is required with the resubmission.
Double Patenting
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 optionally in view of Nagamatsu (U.S. Patent 5,846,621) or Ahn et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2004/0124119) or Takahira et al. (U.S. Patent 5,952,713). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 fully encompass claims 2 and 4 of the instant application wherein the limitation “flowing a material having properties of a liquid along said first continuous sheet of plastic in directions defined by the plurality of strips” is considered either necessarily taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 (see e.g. claims 1, 6, 15, 17, 18, 20, etc.) or as would have been the prima facie obvious result to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention following that taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 of spraying/applying a (first and/or second) liquid material between at least two of said strips wherein said strips are “a plurality of strips of damming material”. Further, the limitation of claim 3 “moving, by said moving conveyor, a plurality of electronic assemblies to a plurality of indexed positions” as taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 is considered to teach robotically placing electronic assemblies (plural) wherein the extending a second continuous sheet step is to cover the placed electronic assemblies (plural). Alternatively, in the event it is considered claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 do not necessarily teach “electronic assemblies” are placed and covered the following optional rejection is made. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the robotically placing and extending a second continuous sheet steps as taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 are to place and cover electronic assemblies (plural) as is not only suggested by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 but as is conventional to perform packaging methods not for just a single electronic assembly but electronic assemblies as evidenced by Nagamatsu (Figures 3-5 and Column 8, lines 23-29) or Ahn (Figure 3 and Paragraph 0035) or Takahira (Figures 6 and 12 and Column 8, lines 7-11). Further, regarding claim 4 the transparent clamping mechanism taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 is considered to comprise clamps of a clamp for clamping/contacting the portion of the first continuous sheet of plastic and a clamp for clamping/contacting the portion of the second continuous sheet of plastic for clamping the sheets onto the electronic assembly.
Claims 3 and 5 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 and optionally Nagamatsu or Ahn or Takahira as applied to claims 2 and 4 above, and further in view of Takahira. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 fully encompass claims 3 and 5 of the instant application but for a specific teaching pressing the electronic assemblies between the first and second continuous sheets of plastic with a roller mechanism as taught by claim 7 of U.S. Patent 9,710,745 includes to achieve a substantially uniform thickness and a specific teaching of singulating the electronic assemblies into individual devices by sheering sections from the continuous sheets of plastic following curing wherein it is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art including pressing electronic assemblies (4) between first and second continuous sheets of plastic (2) with a roller mechanism (43) achieves a substantially uniform thickness as evidenced by Takahira (as shown in Figures 6 and 12) and further including following forming the continuous laminate, i.e. following the pressing and the pressing including curing, singulating the electronic assemblies into individual devices of a standard shape/size by sheering using a cutter (38) sections from the continuous sheets of plastic as also evidenced by Takahira (Figures 6 and 12 and Column 3, lines 11-13 and Column 6, lines 10-19 and Column 7, line 65 to Column 8, line 14). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the method taught by claims 1-24 of U.S. Patent No. 9,710,745 including pressing the electronic assemblies between the first and second continuous sheets of plastic with a roller mechanism achieves a substantially uniform thickness as is the conventional and predictable thickness achieved by such pressing as evidenced by Takahira and further includes singulating the electronic assemblies into individual devices by sheering sections from the continuous sheets of plastic following curing as is the conventional technique to provide individual devices of a standard shape/size from the continuous laminate as also evidenced by Takahira.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
It is known in the art to contain a material applied to a sheet and onto an electronic assembly using a damming material applied as a strip of a small closed frame as evidenced by Slager (U.S. Patent 6,399,004 and see Figure 2 and Column 3, lines 37-54) and Vogt (U.S. Patent 5,804,026 and see Column 11, lines 57-64). It is further known in the art to contain a material applied to a continuous sheet and onto an electronic assembly further covered with a second continuous sheet using a damming material applied as a strip with holes for each electronic assembly as evidenced by Takahira et al. (U.S. Patent 5,952,713 and see Figure 12), Hoppe et al. (U.S. Patent 5,637,858 and see Figure 7a), and Hirai et al. (U.S. Patent 6,607,135 and see Figure 13). The prior art of record fails to teach or suggest a method as claimed and including each step of spraying a curable liquid polymer material onto the polymer sheet within boundaries defined by the parallel damming strips, robotically positioning pre-tested electronic assemblies onto the sprayed liquid polymer material, and spraying a second layer of the curable liquid polymer material over the electronic assemblies at varied flow rates.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 6/18/2025 have been fully considered.
Applicant remarks “Applicant respectfully submits that the current submission resolves the issues with the ADS, thereby establishing Dynamics Inc. as the applicant which then established the priority claim applicant attempted to make in the original filing.”
The application data sheet (ADS) submitted on 6/18/2025 was not accepted (please see the IMPROPER CFR REQUEST mailed on 6/25/2025 and including if the applicant wishes to claim benefit to the prior applications they must file a properly signed, properly marked up ADS to add the domestic benefit information). The power of attorney (POA) submitted on 6/18/2025 was not accepted (please see the IMPROPER CPOA LETTER mailed on 6/25/2025) and subsequently the terminal disclaimer (TD) is not accepted.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN L GOFF II whose telephone number is (571)272-1216. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM EST Monday - Friday.
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/JOHN L GOFF II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746