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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/30/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
2. Applicant’s amendment and accompanying remarks filed 3/30/26 have been fully considered and entered. Claims 1 and 6 have been amended. Claims 3, 5, 15 and 20 are canceled. Applicant’s amendments are found sufficient to overcome the obviousness type rejections over Aramaki et al., US 20160118316 alone and in combination with Tanka et al., US 20140374648. Specifically, the cited prior art references fail to teach the presently claimed heat conducting sheet wherein the unit layers do not comprise fibers and the filler is oriented in the claimed direction. However, the following new ground of rejection is set forth herein below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6-8 ,11-14 and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP2009094110A in view of Aramaki et al., US 20160118316 A1
The published JP reference teaches (1) a sheet-shaped heat-dissipating member containing a resin and an anisotropic inorganic powder, anisotropic inorganic particles are oriented in a sheet thickness direction, and X-rays are applied to the sheet-shaped heat-dissipating member sheet (the peak ratio (<002> / <100>) of the <002> plane to the <100> plane of the X-ray diffraction diagram obtained by irradiating the sheet at an angle of 90 ° with respect to the length direction of the sheet in the thickness direction Is 10 or less.) (2) The heat radiation as described in (1) above, wherein the inorganic powder having anisotropy is one or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of boron nitride, graphite, and metal powder processed into a scale or plate shape. The inorganic powder having anisotropy preferably has a median diameter (diameter) of 1 to 100 μm. (3) The heat dissipating member according to (1) or (2), wherein the resin is 80 to 30% by volume and the anisotropic inorganic powder is 20 to 70% by volume. (4) The heat dissipation member according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the resin is a silicone resin or an acrylic resin. (5) The heat dissipation member according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the heat dissipation member is a sheet. (6) In a method of molding a resin composition containing a resin and an inorganic powder having anisotropy into a sheet, the resin composition containing the resin and the inorganic powder having anisotropy is formed in a molding die. A method for producing a sheet that passes through the provided orientation section and compression section. (see machine translation and figures). Silicone resins are preferred from the viewpoint of moldability, weather resistance and heat resistance. The mixing ratio of the resin and the inorganic powder having anisotropy is preferably 80 to 30% by volume of the resin, 20 to 70% by volume of the inorganic powder having anisotropy, and 60 to 40% by volume of the resin. It is particularly preferable that the inorganic powder having anisotropy is 40 to 60% by volume (see machine translation). After passing through the orientation portion of the die, the orientation state of the inorganic particles having anisotropy is reduced by compressing to 95 to 20% of the total cross-sectional area of the orientation slit by a continuously provided compression portion. An extruded body can be obtained from the die outlet by molding into a block while maintaining it. In the present invention, in order to obtain a molded article having excellent orientation, it is necessary to pass the resin composition through the orientation section and then through the compression section (see machine translation). The molded product having undergone the curing reaction is thinly cut so that the scale-like particles having anisotropy with respect to the sheet are vertically oriented in the thickness direction, so that a sheet-like material suitable for a heat radiation member can be obtained. In this case, a thickness of 0.1 mm to 3 mm is preferable (see machine translation). Based on the teachings of the published JP reference the Examiner is of the position that claimed features of not comprising fibers, the type of resin and anisotropy fillers and the orientation of the anisotropy fillers is met.
The published JP reference does not teach the claimed plurality of the unit layers and the lamination of said unit layers.
The published patent Application issued to Aramaki et al., teach a thermally conductive sheet comprising a curable resin composition and thermally conductive fibers and scaly particles wherein further said sheet has a compressibility of 40% or more (abstract, paragraph 0007-0008 and figures 2,6,7 and 7a-b). The Examiner is of the position that such a compressibility meets the claimed compressibility as set forth in claim 1. Aramaki et al., teach cutting sheets from a composite cube made of a plurality of columnar (units) that are mutually adhered (claim 8), molded and cured (paragraph 0124-0125, 0146, figures 6, 7 and 7a-b). The Examiner is of the position that the cut sheet from the cured extruded columnar product/cube meets the limitation of the claimed heat conducting sheet and the plurality of the columnar shaped resin articles sufficient to meet the claimed “units”. Aramaki et al., teach that the cured extruded columnar product is cut such that the orientation of anisotropic filler is maintained in the thickness direction of the thermally conductive sheet (paragraph 0130). With regard to claim 2, it appears that the columnar units are laminated or adhered together via heat and/or molding (paragraphs 0126-0129). With regard to claims 11 and 16, it appears that the adhesion surfaces of the columnar units cut form the block of the JP reference would be directed perpendicular to the cut sheet (figures 2, 6, 7 and 7a-b). With regard to claim 12, Aramaki et al., disclose an instance wherein the anisotropic filler protrudes from the surface (paragraph 0127). With regard to claim 13, Aramaki et al., teach several cut sheets (figure 2). The Examiner is of the opinion that each surface is a “cut” surface. With regard to claim 14, it appears that at least one sheet of the thermal conducting sheet would be adhesive (paragraph 0127). With regard to claims 1 and 15, it appears that the published JP reference and Aramaki et al., intends the total amount of anisotropic filler (about 70 wt. %) oriented in the thickness direction of the thermal conducting sheet (paragraph 0090 and 0130). The Examiner is of the position that such a disclosure meets the limitation of “wherein a proportion of a number of the anisotropic fillers whose major axes make an angle of smaller than 30° against the thickness direction of the heat-conducting sheet exceeds 50% with respect to a total amount of the anisotropic filler”. Applicants are invited to prove otherwise. With regard to claims 17 and 18, Aramaki et al., also teach particle fillers of boron nitride (paragraphs 0007 and 0116). The average diameter of the thermally conductive fibers is preferably 5 μm or more and 20 μm or less (paragraph 0109).
The published JP reference and Aramaki et al., are analogous since both references are concerned with forming similar heat conducting sheets/blocks comprising anisotropic fillers oriented in the same vertical direction. The Examiner is of the position that absent evidence to the contrary a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that the heat conducting block of published JP reference can be cut into a plurality of unit layers and further laminated together to provide a thermally conductive sheet having excellent flexibility and good thermal conductivity in the thickness direction. Applicants are invited to prove otherwise.
Conclusion
5. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LYNDA SALVATORE whose telephone number is (571)272-1482. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marla McConnell can be reached on 571-270-7692. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LYNDA SALVATORE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1789
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