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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-6, 9 and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamada al. (2016/0260873).
As for claim 1, Yamada et al. show in Fig. 8 and related text a light emitting diode (LED) package 600, comprising:
an LED chip 14 comprising a first face, a second face, and a chip sidewall therebetween, and a first contact 13 (left) and a second contact 13 (right);
a lead frame 12 comprising a first lead frame portion 12 (left) and a second lead frame portion 12 (right), wherein the first contact is attached to the first lead frame portion and the second contact is attached to the second lead frame portion;
an insulating material 11 at least partially surrounding the lead frame, the insulating material forming a recess with recess sidewalls such that the LED chip resides within the recess;
a underfill material 16 arranged between the LED chip and the lead frame, wherein an interface between the first contact and the first lead frame portion and another interface between the second contact and the second lead frame portion are devoid of the underfill material, and wherein the underfill material covers a portion of the chip sidewall and extends from the chip sidewall to the recess sidewalls; and
an encapsulant material 17/18/19/20 arranged on the LED chip and the underfill material, the encapsulant material filling the recess between the underfill material and the recess sidewalls.
As for claim 2, Yamada et al. show the first contact of the LED chip is flip-chip mounted to the first lead frame portion, and the second contact of the LED chip is flip-chip mounted to the second lead frame portion (Fig. 8; [0077]).
As for claim 3, Yamada et al. show the underfill material is arranged between the first lead frame portion and the second lead frame portion (Fig. 8).
As for claim 4, Yamada et al. show the underfill material is arranged between the first contact of the LED chip and the second contact of the LED chip (Fig. 8).
As for claim 5, Yamada et al. show the underfill material is arranged between lateral edges of the LED chip and the lead frame (Fig. 8).
As for claim 6, Yamada et al. show the underfill material is configured to redirect light from the LED chip away from the lead frame ([0082]).
As for claim 9, Yamada et al. show the underfill material comprises epoxy ([0086]).
As for claim 11, Yamada et al. show the underfill material comprises a material with a durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale of at least 40 ([0081]; note: the durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale of epoxy is in range from 70-90).
As for claim 12, Yamada et al. show the durometer value is in a range from 40 to 100 ([0081]; note: the durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale of epoxy is in range from 70-90).
As for claim 13, Yamada et al. show recess sidewalls comprise reflective sidewalls (Fig. 8; [0161]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamada et al. (2016/0260873) in view of Ikeda et al. (2017/0092817).
As for claim 7, Yamada et al. disclosed substantially the entire claimed invention, as applied to claim 1 above, except the underfill material comprises titanium dioxide (TiO2).
Ikeda et al. teach in Fig. 11 and related text the underfill material 205 comprises titanium dioxide (TiO2) ([0150]).
Yamada et al. and Ikeda et al. are analogous art because they are directed to a semiconductor package and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Yamada et al. with the specified feature(s) of Ikeda et al. because they are from the same field of endeavor.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the underfill material comprising titanium oxide, as taught by Ikeda et al., in Yamada et al.’s device, in order to improve the light extraction efficiency of the device.
As for claim 8, the combined device shows the underfill material further comprises silicone (Yamada: [0081]; Ikeda: [0150]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Yamada et al. (2016/0260873) in view of Puschner et al. (2006/0049532).
Yamada et al. disclose the underfill material comprises a material with a durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale that is higher than a durometer value of the encapsulant material ([0081]: epoxy; [0085]: phenyl silicone; note: epoxy has a higher durometer value on a Shore D hardness than phenyl silicone).
Alternatively, Puschner et al. teach in Fig. 1 and related text the underfill material 3 comprises a material with a durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale that is higher than a durometer value of the encapsulant material 6 ([0019], [0022], [0033] and [0040]).
Yamada et al. and Puschner et al. are analogous art because they are directed to a semiconductor package and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Yamada et al. with the specified feature(s) of Puschner et al. because they are from the same field of endeavor.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the underfill material comprising a material with a durometer value on a Shore D hardness scale that being higher than a durometer value of the encapsulant material, as taught by Puschner et al., in Yamada et al.'s device, in order to provide a better flexibility, prevent the device from cracking and improve the performance of the device.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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/MEIYA LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2811