DETAILED 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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP 2018-203806, filed on 10/30/2018.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Status of the Claims
Claim 1 is amended. Claims 2-20 are as previously presented. Therefore, claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on February 18, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 6-9, filed 02/18/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of applicant’s amendment and newly found prior art regarding the first and second surfaces not in contact with the terminal and connection members.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki).
Regarding claim 1, Tsurumaru discloses a board-like structure (Page 2, Para. 5, “As shown in FIG. 2, the heating resistor 2 is a linear pattern having a plurality of folded portions, and is formed on almost the entire upper surface of the first ceramic layer 1.”, where Fig. 2 shows that the heater is a board-like structure being rectangular from a plan view) comprising:
an insulating base body (Page 1, last Para., “A second ceramic layer 4”) comprising an upper surface (Page 1, last Para., “upper surface of the second ceramic layer 4 is a heating surface 6 for heating the sample.”) and a lower surface on an opposite side to the upper surface (Page 3, Para. 3, “The lower surface of the second ceramic layer 4 is opposed to the upper surface of the first ceramic layer 1 with the adhesive layer 3 interposed therebetween”);
an internal conductor which runs along the upper surface and the lower surface inside the base body (Page 1, last Para., “A second ceramic layer 4 and an internal electrode 5 provided inside the second ceramic layer 4 are provided.”), and comprises a first surface on a side of the upper surface and a second surface on a side of the lower surface (Modified Fig. 4, where the first surface and second surface of the internal conductor are shown);
a connection conductor connected to the internal conductor near the base body (Page 5, Para. 2, “Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the lead 7 may be provided from the side surface of the second ceramic layer 4 to the side surface of the first ceramic layer 1 through the side surface of the adhesive layer 3.”), and comprising a first end surface on the side of the upper surface (Modified Fig. 4, where the first end surface is shown); and
a terminal member exposed at the lower surface to an external portion of the base body (Page 5, Para. 1, “electrode terminal 8 may be attached to the side surface”, where the terminal 8 is shown in modified Fig. 4 to have an exposed lower surface external to the base body), electrically connected to the connection conductor (Page 5, Para. 1, “whereby the lead 7 and the electrode terminal 8 may be connected.”) and comprising a second end surface on the side of the upper surface (Modified Fig. 4, where the second end surface is shown),
wherein the connection conductor has a length in a vertical direction longer than a thickness of the internal conductor in the vertical direction (Modified Fig. 4, where the connection conductor or lead 7 is shown to have a length in the vertical direction longer than the thickness of the internal conductor or internal electrode 5),
the first end surface is closer to the upper surface than the first surface (Modified Fig. 4, where the first end surface is shown to protrude above the first surface of the internal conductor, where this means that the first end surface is closer to the upper surface than the first surface),
at least a side surface of the terminal member is connected to a side surface of a connection conductor (Modified Fig. 4, where the terminal member 8’s side surface is connected to the connection conductor 7’s side surface), and
at least a central part of the second end surface in a plan view is not covered by the connection conductor and any internal conductors (Modified Fig. 4, where the second end surface is shown to not be covered by any conductors external or internal), and
the first surface and the second surface are not in contact with the connection conductor and the terminal member (Modified Fig. 4, where the first and second surfaces of the internal conductor are shown to not touch the connector conductor and terminal member, where all the connections are done through sideways contact).
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Modified Figure 4, Tsurumaru
Tsurumaru does not disclose:
where the connection conductor is connected to the internal conductor inside the base body;
where the terminal member is electrically connected to the connection conductor inside the base body, and the second end surface is closer to the upper surface than the first surface.
However, Kamiya discloses, in the similar field of board-like structures (Abstract, “wafer holding member which comprises an electrode on a plate-shaped ceramic body”), where a connection conductor is connected to an internal conductor inside the base body and where the terminal member is electrically connected to the connection conductor inside the base body (Para. 0006, “A metal power supply terminal 25 electrically connected to the electrode 24 is joined to the power supply hole 22h with a conductive resin 27.”, where Fig. 3 shows a similar sideways connection between the terminal to the connection conductor to the internal conductor, where they are all located within the base body). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the connection between the internal conductor to connection conductor to terminal member in Tsurumaru to be all located within the base body as taught by Kamiya.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to easily anchor and reliably attach the terminal member to the base body, where the drilled hole within the base body that attaches to the terminal member would provide this advantage, as stated by Kamiya, Para. 0038, “The terminal 5 can be reliably electrically connected, and since the power supply hole 2h is formed in the green sheet, it can be easily drilled, and the power supply terminal 5 can be connected and fixed easily and reliably.”.
Further, Masaki discloses, in the similar field of board like structures with heaters (Page 1, Para. 1, “ceramic member such as a ceramic heater or an electrostatic chuck that is suitably used in a semiconductor wafer heating process”), where the second end surface can be located closer to the upper surface compared to the first surface (Modified Fig. 2B, where the second end surface of the terminal member is shown to be connected to the internal conductor through a sideways connection, where the terminal member could be extended as shown in different arrangements from Fig. 1A and 1B; Page 5, Para. 3, “or as shown in FIGS. 1 (B) and 2 (B). Thus, the ceramic protective substrate 6 side can also be used as the mounting surface of the heated body 7. If the ceramic support substrate 2 side is the mounting surface of the heated body, the temperature of the heated body can be rapidly increased, and if the ceramic protection substrate 6 side is the mounting surface of the heated body, the heated body is leveled. Since it can be heated to heat, it can be selected depending on the purpose of use.”, where the location of the second end surface of the terminal member can be selected to be on the ceramic substrate 6 depending on how much heat leveling is needed by a user). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal member in modified Tsurumaru to include the vertical length being extended as taught by Masaki.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to select the location of the terminal member’s contact with the internal conductor, where a terminal member closer to the upper surface can provide a more level heated body and be desired depending on how the board structure is to be used, as stated by Masaki, Page 5, Para. 3, “or as shown in FIGS. 1 (B) and 2 (B). Thus, the ceramic protective substrate 6 side can also be used as the mounting surface of the heated body 7. If the ceramic support substrate 2 side is the mounting surface of the heated body, the temperature of the heated body can be rapidly increased, and if the ceramic protection substrate 6 side is the mounting surface of the heated body, the heated body is leveled. Since it can be heated to heat, it can be selected depending on the purpose of use.”.
Regarding the specific location of the terminal member being closer to the upper surface compared to the first surface, it has been held that mere changes in size are obvious modifications to make. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Masaki discloses where the size of the terminal member can be altered depending on the specific location of contact with the internal conductor through Fig. 1A and 1B and states that the different locations allow for different heating distributions throughout the entire structure. As a result, it is the Examiner’s position that altering the terminal member to be even higher up on the ceramic substrate would allow for a more level heated body and that would be an obvious design choice for a user to select.
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Modified Figure 2B, Masaki
Claims 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in further view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto).
Regarding claim 2, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, where there is complete enclosure of the terminal member when connected to the connection conductor (Teaching from Kamiya, Para. 0006, “A metal power supply terminal 25 electrically connected to the electrode 24 is joined to the power supply hole 22h with a conductive resin 27.”, where the power supply hole completely encloses the terminal member)
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, when viewed on a plane, the connection conductor is located only in a partial range of a circumferential direction centered about the terminal member and only a portion in the side surface of the terminal member is connected to the connection conductor.
However, Goto discloses, in the similar field of terminals connected to heating elements (Abstract, “…power supply terminal of the than the heating body, and the hole is located closer to a side of the heating element…”), where the connection conductor is only in partial range of the circumferential direction of the terminal member and only a portion of the side surface is connected (Fig. 12, where the external terminals are 102 and 103, Page 12, Para. 3, “…external terminals 102, 103…”; where the conductive connector is 104, Page 12, Para. 3, “…fusible conductor 104 along the direction from the external terminal 102 extends toward the direction (X-axis direction) of the external terminal 103.”; where the internal conductor is 105, Page 12, Para. 3, “…heating substrate 105…”; where the external terminal 102 is connected only partially with the side surface to the conductive connector 104, where the conductive connector 104 is connected only partially with the side surface of the heating substrate on the other side). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the connection between the terminal and connective conductor in modified Tsurumaru to be partial only on the side surface as taught by Goto.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another configuration for connecting the terminal to the heating element, where Goto states that both a X or Y extension can be possible, Page 12, Para. 3, “…the fusible conductor 104 along the direction from the external terminal 102 extends toward the direction (X-axis direction) of the external terminal 103.”, and Page 12, last Para., “…external terminal 106 side at one end direction (Y axis direction) intersecting with the extending direction of the soluble conductor 104…”.
It has also been held that a mere rearrangement of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). Goto shows that different configurations are possible for the metal terminal and the connective conductor, specifically Figs. 12 and 13, where the connection can be partially located on a side surface or on a top surface. It is the Examiner’s position that Tsurumaru’s circumferential surrounding connection if made to be partially on a side surface as taught by Goto would achieve the same end results of transferring energy to heat the electrode. Thus, the rearrangement of the connection would be a mere matter of user design choice.
Regarding claim 6, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, when viewed on a plane, an area of the connection conductor is smaller than the area of the terminal member.
However, Goto discloses where the connection conductor is only in partial range of the circumferential direction of the terminal member and only a portion of the side surface is connected (Fig. 12, where the external terminals are 102 and 103, Page 12, Para. 3, “…external terminals 102, 103…”; where the conductive connector is 104, Page 12, Para. 3, “…fusible conductor 104 along the direction from the external terminal 102 extends toward the direction (X-axis direction) of the external terminal 103.”; where the internal conductor is 105, Page 12, Para. 3, “…heating substrate 105…”; where the external terminal 102 is connected only partially with the side surface to the conductive connector 104, where the conductive connector 104 is connected only partially with the side surface of the heating substrate on the other side). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the connection between the terminal and connective conductor in modified Tsurumaru to be partial only on the side surface as taught by Goto.
Examiner notes that when the partial side surface connection of Goto is combined with Tsurumaru, the connective conductor would only be located partially on a side of the terminal in Tsurumaru, which has a cross shape when view from above. In a top view, the terminal of Tsurumaru already has a greater area than the connective conductor, where in the modified configuration of the conductor only being on one side this area difference would be maintained.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another configuration for connecting the terminal to the heating element, where Goto states that both a X or Y extension can be possible, Page 12, Para. 3, “…the fusible conductor 104 along the direction from the external terminal 102 extends toward the direction (X-axis direction) of the external terminal 103.”, and Page 12, last Para., “…external terminal 106 side at one end direction (Y axis direction) intersecting with the extending direction of the soluble conductor 104…”.
Claims 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Passe et al. (WO 2006034767 A1, hereinafter Passe).
Regarding claim 3, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above, discloses wherein the connection conductor comprises a first portion which is connected to a terminal member, and a second portion which is located on an opposite side to the terminal member relative to the first portion (Teaching from Goto, Fig. 12, where the external terminals are 102 and 103, Page 12, Para. 3, “…external terminals 102, 103…”; where the conductive connector is 104, Page 12, Para. 3, “…fusible conductor 104 along the direction from the external terminal 102 extends toward the direction (X-axis direction) of the external terminal 103.”; where the internal conductor is 105, Page 12, Para. 3, “…heating substrate 105…”; where the external terminal 102 is connected only partially with the side surface to the conductive connector 104, where the conductive connector 104 is connected only partially with the side surface of the heating substrate on the other side).
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
where the connection conductor has a length in a direction perpendicular to a direction of arrangement of the terminal member and the connection conductor, the length being longer than that of the first portion.
However, Passe discloses, in the similar field of terminals connected to conductors (Page 7, Para. 3 from end, “…the portion of the conductor 18 forming the terminal contact 19…”), where the length of the connection conductor can be longer than the first portion (Modified Fig. 3.1, where the location where the terminal and connective conductor split is unclear, however in either a X or Y plane split, shown in the red and blue lines, the perpendicular length from the contact location would be longer than the contact surface). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the connection between the terminal and connective conductor in modified Tsurumaru to have the specific lengths as taught by Passe.
It has been held that the mere change in size is an obvious modification to make. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Regarding the perpendicular distance being greater than the contact location length, it is the Examiner’s position that such a change in the size of the connective conductor would not change the overall end result of delivering energy from the terminal to the heating element. Thus, the use of Passe’s specific dimensions would be a mere matter of user design choice.
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Modified Fig. 3.1., Passe
Regarding claim 10, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, in the side surface of the terminal member, at least a portion in a part other than the portion which is connected to the connection conductor abuts against the base body or is joined with the base body.
However, Passe discloses where the terminal member is connected to a connection conductor (Page 7, Para. 4 from end, “…electrical conductor 18 is arranged as a connection element or connection contact 19 on the substrate 9 and connected to a further conductor 20…”), but where the terminal member also abuts the base body (Page 7, Para. 4 from end, “Conductor 18 extends at right angles out of the connecting plane and is supported by a housing 22…”, where parts of the terminal touch the housing instead of just the connector). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal and ceramic substrate in modified Tsurumaru to include the sideways connection that would cause the terminal to touch the ceramic substrate as taught by Passe.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a housing that can support the terminal to provide protection against mechanical forces, as stated by Passe, Page 7, Para. 4 from end, “The housing thus absorbs the external mechanical forces acting on the terminal contact and thus protects the connection.”.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Ito (JP 2005026120 A).
Regarding claim 4, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein the connection conductor comprises a recessed portion in the side surface, the terminal member comprises a projecting portion at the side surface, and the recessed portion and the projecting portion are connected.
However, Ito discloses, in the similar field of ceramic heaters with a terminal (Abstract, “…a ceramic heater capable of surely securing electric conduction between a resistive heating element and an external terminal and stably supplying power to the resistive heating element…”), where the connection member includes a recessed portion on the side surface (Para. 0023, “An internally threaded screw hole 13a opened on the bottom surface 11b side of the ceramic substrate 11 is formed therein…”), where the terminal member includes a projecting portion on the side surface (Para. 0023, “…the screw portion 21 of the external terminal 20 composed of the screw portion 21 and the main body portion 22 is screwed into the screw hole 13a of the through hole 13 having the above structure…”), and where the recessed and projecting portions are connected (Para. 0024, “…external terminal 20 comes into contact with the exposed portion of the through hole 13 on the bottom surface 11b side of the ceramic substrate 11. Can be screwed into the through hole 13…”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductive connective member and the terminal in modified Tsurumaru to include a screw configuration as taught by Ito, where the internally threaded screw hole 13a is located in the equivalent location as the conductive connector element in Tsurumaru.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a more secure connection between the terminal and the connection member, where a screw feature would help to prevent disassembly, as stated by Ito, Para. 0032, “The screw hole 13a formed in the through hole 13 is appropriately adjusted to a size that allows the screw portion 21 of the external terminal 20 to be just screwed together. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, it is desirable that the outer periphery of the through hole 13 is formed with a threaded portion in a male screw shape. This is because the through hole 13 can be easily replaced and the through hole 13 is less likely to drop off from the ceramic substrate 11.”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 4, as set forth above, discloses wherein the recessed portion configures a female screw, and the projecting portion configures a male screw which is screwed with the female screw (Teaching from Ito, Para. 0023, “…the screw portion 21 of the external terminal 20 composed of the screw portion 21 and the main body portion 22 is screwed into the screw hole 13a of the through hole 13 having the above structure…”; Para. 0023, “An internally threaded screw hole 13a opened on the bottom surface 11b side of the ceramic substrate 11 is formed therein…”).
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Hardin et al. (AU 2011355721 A1, hereinafter Hardin).
Regarding claim 7, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein a plurality of the connection conductors are connected to the internal conductor, surround the terminal member, and are connected to the terminal member.
However, Hardin discloses, in the similar field of terminals and conductive elements (Abstract, “…printed circuit board while allowing electrical connection to internal conductive planes…”), where there are a plurality of connection conductors that surround the terminal member and connect to the terminal member (Para. 0040, “Given that a Z-directed component may be a multi-terminal device…”, where the Z-directed component can be a terminal, Para. 0026, “As illustrated two concave wells or channels 18 and 20 are provided in the outer surface of Z-directed component 10 extending the length of body 12. When plated or soldered, these channels allow electrical connections to be made to Z-directed component 10, through the PCB, as well as to internal conductive layers within the PCB.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the singular connection conductor connected to an internal conductor and the terminal member in modified Tsurumaru to be a plurality of connection conductors as taught by Hardin, where the connection conductor to the internal conductor is a feature present in Tsurumaru.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the use of many different shapes for both the conductor and terminal features, as stated by Hardin, Para. 0027, “The conductor 14 is shown as a cylinder extending through the center of Z directed component 10. Other shapes may also be used for conductor 14. Traces 16t and 16b can be seen extending from conductor ends 14t and 14b, respectively to the edge of body 12 is a conductor that connects the top trace 16t to the bottom trace 16h.”, and Para. 0028, “Other shapes and combinations of those illustrated may also be used for a Z directed component.”.
Regarding claim 8, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 7, as set forth above, discloses wherein the plurality of connection conductors have point symmetrical positional relationships when viewed on a plane (Teaching from Hardin, Para. 0040, “Given that a Z-directed component may be a multi-terminal device…”, where the Z-directed component can be a terminal, Para. 0026, “As illustrated two concave wells or channels 18 and 20 are provided in the outer surface of Z-directed component 10 extending the length of body 12. When plated or soldered, these channels allow electrical connections to be made to Z-directed component 10, through the PCB, as well as to internal conductive layers within the PCB.”, where the channels 18 and 20 would have point symmetrical positional relationships when viewed a bird’s eye plane).
Claims 9 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Jeong et al. (EP 3364715 A1, hereinafter Jeong).
Regarding claim 9, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, in the side surface of the terminal member, at least a portion in a part other than the portion which is connected to the connection conductor is connected to the internal conductor.
However, Jeong discloses, in the similar field of a heater with a terminal and conductive connections (Para. 0058, “…heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part…”), where the terminal member includes a side connection that is directly connected to the internal conductor (Para. 0058, “The heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part 31 to the second terminal part 32 in a predetermined shape.”, where Fig. 1 shows that the heating element 30 is directly connected to the first and second terminals 31 and 32 on a side surface of the terminal). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal and internal conductor in modified Tsurumaru to be a direct connection as taught by Jeong.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another configuration for the terminal and internal conductor, where a direct connection can also supply electricity to the heater, as stated by Jeong, Para. 0086, “The heater layer 130 includes a first terminal part 131 positioned at an initial end part and a second terminal part 132 positioned at a terminal end part based on a flow direction of supplied electricity.”.
Regarding the direct connection, it is the Examiner's position that one of ordinary skill in the art would have also found it obvious to try as both a direct connection and a connection through a connective member would achieve similar end results. The Examiner believes that in both cases, power could be supplied from the terminal to the heating element and that modified Tsurumaru provides space for both a connective member and a direct connection on either side of the terminal.
Regarding claim 12, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein an upper surface of the connection conductor and the internal conductor are connected.
However, Jeong discloses, in the similar field of a heater with a terminal and conductive connections (Para. 0058, “…heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part…”), where the terminal member includes a side connection that is directly connected to the internal conductor (Para. 0058, “The heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part 31 to the second terminal part 32 in a predetermined shape.”, where Fig. 1 shows that the heating element 30 is directly connected to the first and second terminals 31 and 32 on a side surface of the terminal). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal and internal conductor in modified Tsurumaru to be a direct connection as taught by Jeong, where positioning for such a connection would be a mere matter of rearrangement of parts.
Regarding the direct connection, it is the Examiner's position that one of ordinary skill in the art would have also found it obvious to try as both a direct connection and a connection through a connective member would achieve similar end results. The Examiner believes that in both cases, power could be supplied from the terminal to the heating element and that modified Tsurumaru provides space for both a connective member and a direct connection on either side of the terminal.
Regarding the positioning of the connection, it has been held that the mere rearrangement of parts is an obvious modification to make. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). It is the Examiner’s position that a side connection between the terminal and the internal conductor verse an upper surface connection between the terminal and the internal conductor would not change the overall function of the system, which is to supply energy from the terminals to the heater.
Regarding claim 13, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose :
wherein the side surface of the connection conductor and the internal conductor are connected.
However, Jeong discloses, in the similar field of a heater with a terminal and conductive connections (Para. 0058, “…heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part…”), where the terminal member includes a side connection that is directly connected to the internal conductor (Para. 0058, “The heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part 31 to the second terminal part 32 in a predetermined shape.”, where Fig. 1 shows that the heating element 30 is directly connected to the first and second terminals 31 and 32 on a side surface of the terminal). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal and internal conductor in modified Tsurumaru to be a direct connection as taught by Jeong.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of another configuration for the terminal and internal conductor, where a direct connection can also supply electricity to the heater, as stated by Jeong, Para. 0086, “The heater layer 130 includes a first terminal part 131 positioned at an initial end part and a second terminal part 132 positioned at a terminal end part based on a flow direction of supplied electricity.”.
Regarding the direct connection, it is the Examiner's position that one of ordinary skill in the art would have also found it obvious to try as both a direct connection and a connection through a connective member would achieve similar end results. The Examiner believes that in both cases, power could be supplied from the terminal to the heating element and that modified Tsurumaru provides space for both a connective member and a direct connection on either side of the terminal.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Kim (KR 101388600 B1).
Regarding claim 11, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, in the side surface of the terminal member, at least a portion in a part other than the portion which is connected to the connection conductors faces the base body through a space in which there is a gas or which is a vacuum.
However, Kim discloses, in the similar field of heaters connected to terminals within ceramic substrates (Abstract, “…ceramic heater including an electric terminal structure for connecting a heating wire and an electrostatic generating electrode…”), where a side portion of the terminal member that is not connected to the connection conductors includes a gap or space (Page 3, last Para., “The groove portion 23 is a pair formed on the upper end of the main body portion 21, the groove recessed inward in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 21 from the surface of the main body portion 21 ( groove).”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal in modified Tsurumaru to include the grooves or gaps as taught by Kim.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of improving the heat absorption of terminal member, as stated by Kim, Page 4, last Para., “…the electric terminal structure 100 of the ceramic heater has a depth L1 of the groove portion 23 that is 0.5 times to a value of 0.9 times the maximum diameter D of the upper end of the main body portion 21. Since it is deeply formed to have, as shown in FIG. 7, the left-right width D-L1 of the connection part 24 may be formed relatively thin, and the elastic deformation of the wing part 22 is increased. There is an advantage that the heat deformation of the main body portion 21 can be easily absorbed.”.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Goto et al. (CN 107006076 A, hereinafter Goto) in further view of Fujita (JP 2006114250 A1).
Regarding claim 14, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, between an upper surface of the connection conductor and the base body, a space in which there is a gas or which is a vacuum is located.
However, Fujita discloses, in the similar field of terminals connected to heaters (Page 1, Para. 2, “…a metal member embedded in ceramics of a structural body such as a ceramic heater or electrostatic chuck.”), where there is a gap between the connection conductor and the base body as there is a metal member/ the internal connector that is connected to the conductive material (Page 4, Para. 2, “…the metal member 3 is electrically connected to the metal power supply terminal 4 via the conductive material 7.”), where the metal member is also connected to the base body (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “…a metal member embedded ceramic base material…”), where the metal member/internal conductor can be made from molybdenum (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “…tungsten or molybdenum is preferable for the metal member.”, which can be a mesh, Page 6, Para. 3, “The shape of the metal power supply terminal is made so that a gap of 200 μm is created between the metal power supply terminal and the molybdenum mesh…” , where the internal conductor is connected to the connective conductor and the base body, where it can be made of molybdenum mesh which would cause gaps to be present between the connective conductor and the base body). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the connective conductor and the base body in modified Tsurumaru to include the gaps from molybdenum mesh as taught by Fujita.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of using molybdenum for the metal member as there is little difference in thermal expansion, as stated by Fujita, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “The metal power supply terminal may be arbitrarily determined from the process conditions at the time of embedding, conductive film production conditions, brazing conditions, etc., but tungsten or molybdenum can be applied in that there is little difference in thermal expansion from ceramics. preferable. For the same reason, tungsten or molybdenum is preferable for the metal member.”.
Regarding claim 15, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 2, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, between an upper surface of the terminal member and the base body, a space in which there is a gas or which is a vacuum is located.
However, Fujita discloses where there is a gap between the connection conductor and the base body as there is a metal member/ the internal connector that is connected to the conductive material (Page 4, Para. 2, “…the metal member 3 is electrically connected to the metal power supply terminal 4 via the conductive material 7.”), where the metal member is also connected to the base body (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “…a metal member embedded ceramic base material…”), where the metal member/internal conductor can be made from molybdenum (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “…tungsten or molybdenum is preferable for the metal member.”, which can be a mesh, Page 6, Para. 3, “The shape of the metal power supply terminal is made so that a gap of 200 μm is created between the metal power supply terminal and the molybdenum mesh…” , where the internal conductor is connected to the connective conductor and the base body, where it can be made of molybdenum mesh which would cause gaps to be present between the connective conductor and the base body, where that would mean that the terminal member to the base body also includes gaps). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal, connective conductor and the base body in modified Tsurumaru to include the gaps from molybdenum mesh as taught by Fujita.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of using molybdenum for the metal member as there is little difference in thermal expansion, as stated by Fujita, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “The metal power supply terminal may be arbitrarily determined from the process conditions at the time of embedding, conductive film production conditions, brazing conditions, etc., but tungsten or molybdenum can be applied in that there is little difference in thermal expansion from ceramics. preferable. For the same reason, tungsten or molybdenum is preferable for the metal member.”.
Claims 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 20080116187 A1, hereinafter Sugimoto).
Regarding claim 16, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, between the terminal member and the connection conductor, a conductive bonding material configured by a plurality of particles of metal having an ionization tendency not more than nickel is interposed.
However, Sugimoto discloses, in the similar field of ceramics with terminals and heaters (Abstract, “A heating device includes an electrode embedded near the heating surface of the ceramic base…”), where between the terminal member and the connection conductor is a brazing material (Para. 0060, “The metallic conductive member 21 and stress relieving member 15 are brazed to electrically connect the stress relieving member 15 connected to the terminal 13 and the high frequency electrode 12 through the metallic conductive member 21…”), where that brazing material has an ionization tendency less than nickel (Para. 0030, “…Ni terminal 13…”, where brazing material is a filler that has a lower melting point than the adjoining metals, meaning that the ionization tendency would not be more than the surrounding metals in order to allow for the brazing material to melt first). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal and connective conductor in modified Tsurumaru to include the brazing material as taught by Sugimoto.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of using brazing to ensure that there is a continuous electrical connection between the terminal and the heating element, as stated by Sugimoto, Para. 0006, “…joined by brazing to the terminal inserted in the hole so as to be electrically continuous to the terminal. This terminal is connected to a power supply for supply of power to the high frequency electrode.”.
Claims 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 20080116187 A1, hereinafter Sugimoto) and Serge et al. (EP 3242537 A1, hereinafter Serge).
Regarding claim 17, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein the terminal member comprises a vertically passing through-hole.
However, Serge discloses, in the similar field of terminals for board-like structures (Page 7, Para. 3 from end, “one of the connection terminals of the electronic component or components 4 being in contact with one of the two conductors 10 or 11), where the terminal member extends through a vertically passing through-hole (Page 8, Para. 5 from end, “the connectors 14 and 15 comprise, or each consists of a conductive part, preferably a metal part, engaging in and extending beyond, a through-hole formed in the support 2 and welded”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the terminal member in modified Tsurumaru to be within a through hole as taught by Serge.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to connect the terminal member to different areas within the substrate or holder, where this allows a user to connect multiple connections along a vertical area, as stated by Serge, Page 8, Para. 5 from end, “a through-hole formed in the support 2 and welded, to the support 2 or to the conductive layer 3, by a conductive paste 13, preferably a silver-based paste with more than 50% of solid. This embodiment has the advantage of making it possible to supply electricity to the two surfaces 7 and 8 of the same support 2.”.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Sugimoto et al. (US 20080116187 A1, hereinafter Sugimoto) in further view of Ito (JP 2005026120 A).
Regarding claim 18, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 16, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein the connection conductor comprises a female screw, the terminal member comprises a male screw which is screwed with the female screw, and the bonding material is interposed between the male screw and the female screw.
However, Ito discloses where the connection member includes a recessed portion on the side surface (Para. 0023, “An internally threaded screw hole 13a opened on the bottom surface 11b side of the ceramic substrate 11 is formed therein…”), where the terminal member includes a projecting portion on the side surface (Para. 0023, “…the screw portion 21 of the external terminal 20 composed of the screw portion 21 and the main body portion 22 is screwed into the screw hole 13a of the through hole 13 having the above structure…”), and where the recessed and projecting portions are connected (Para. 0024, “…external terminal 20 comes into contact with the exposed portion of the through hole 13 on the bottom surface 11b side of the ceramic substrate 11. Can be screwed into the through hole 13…”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductive connective member and the terminal in modified Tsurumaru to include a screw configuration as taught by Ito, where the internally threaded screw hole 13a is located in the equivalent location as the conductive connector element in Tsurumaru.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a more secure connection between the terminal and the connection member, where a screw feature would help to prevent disassembly, as stated by Ito, Para. 0032, “The screw hole 13a formed in the through hole 13 is appropriately adjusted to a size that allows the screw portion 21 of the external terminal 20 to be just screwed together. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, it is desirable that the outer periphery of the through hole 13 is formed with a threaded portion in a male screw shape. This is because the through hole 13 can be easily replaced and the through hole 13 is less likely to drop off from the ceramic substrate 11.”.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Hori (JP 2016225557 A).
Regarding claim 19, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
wherein, in the connection conductor, areas of cross-sections parallel to the upper surface differ according to the positions in the vertical direction.
However, Hori discloses, in the similar field of board-like devices (Page 1, Para. 2, “ample holder for holding a semiconductor wafer or the like, for example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit”, where the wafer is a board-like structure), where the connector conductor has areas of cross-sections parallel to the upper surface that differ according to positions in the vertical direction (Modified Fig. 4, where the connection conductor is shown; where slicing that conductor vertically shows that from the top, the cross section is smaller and then increases; this means that the cross-sections have different positions in the vertical direction). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified connection conductor in modified Tsurumaru to include the different cross-sections as taught by Hori.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of the cross-sections differing in order to reduce thermal stress concentrations within the connection conductor, as stated by Hori, Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “Thereby, the thickness of the electrode 5 can be changed gradually. Therefore, the possibility that the thermal stress is partially concentrated on the electrode 5 can be reduced. For example, the portion of the electrode 5 connected to the via-hole conductor 4 may be dome-shaped as the structure gradually increases from the portion connected to the lead terminal 9 to the portion connected to the via-hole conductor 4.”.
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Modified Figure 4, Hori
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsurumaru (JP 2018032571 A) in view of Kamiya (JP 2005012143 A) and Masaki et al. (JP 5236927 B2, hereinafter Masaki) in view of Jeong et al. (EP 3364715 A1, hereinafter Jeong).
Regarding claim 20, modified Tsurumaru teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses, wherein a heater system comprises the board-like structure and a power supply part connected to the terminal member (Tsurumaru, Claim 1, “A heater comprising: an electrode terminal provided in one ceramic layer.”, and Page 4, Para. 5, “The electrode terminal 8 is a member for connecting the internal electrode 5 and an external power source.”).
Modified Tsurumaru does not disclose:
a power supply part which is electrically connected to the terminal member,
wherein the internal conductor is a resistance heating element.
However, Jeong discloses where there is a power supply part electrically connected to the terminal member (Para. 0041, “…a power supply part 50 of supplying the electricity to the heater layer 30.”, which is connected to the terminals, Para. 0058, “…heating element may have a shape which is connected in series from the first terminal part 31…”) and where the internal conductor is a resistance heating element (Para. 0037, “…stably securing the resistance of the heating element…”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the system in modified Tsurumaru to include the power supply part and the resistance heating element as taught by Jeong.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to supply power to a commonly known heater type that can reliably output heat, as stated by Jeong, Para. 0041, “…a power supply part 50 of supplying the electricity to the heater layer 30.”.
Conclusion
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
05/01/2026
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