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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 25-26 are 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.
Claims 25-26 include the limitation “the weave.” It is unclear as to what constitutes “the weave.” In efforts to further the prosecution the limitation will be interpreted as requiring the substrate of claim 13 as being the core/prepreg layer.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 9-19 and 21-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO-0105840 to Vedagiri in view of WO-2016/108223 to Naigertsik.
Regarding Claims 1-3, 9-19 and 21-26
Vedagiri teaches a support for microelectronics and a microelectronics assembly comprising a woven glass fabric such as a triaxial woven glass fabric and a prepreg formed from said fabric (Vedagiri, abstract, page 8, lines 13-25). A triaxial fabric necessarily meets the limitations of three pluralities of parallel fibers crossing each other at various angles. Vedagiri teaches that the prepreg fabric may be alternated with metal layers on the surface and/or intermediate portions of the composite which would necessarily meet the limitations of a metal/glass/metal/glass/metal configuration (Id., page 62, line 3- page 63, line 2). Vedagiri teaches that the substrate comprises conductive vias (Id., page 63, lines 3-18).
Vedagiri does not appear to teach the specific arrangement of the fibers. However, Oishibashi teaches one or more layers of glass cloth having a weave including a first, second, third and fourth plurality of parallel glass fibers interwoven with one enough at an angle in a range between 30 and 60 degrees such as 45 degrees which encompasses the same or different angles (Oishibashi, paragraph [0007]-[0021]). Oishibashi teaches gaps between the three fiber types which would necessarily result in hexagonal or triangular shapes and may be interwoven with the fourth glass fiber (Id., paragraph [0003]). Oishibashi teaches that the woven fabric may be formed into a prepreg (Id.). Oishibashi teaches that the woven fabric has an improved density and isotropic strength (Id.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to form the substrate of Vedagiri with the fiber angles and arrangement of Oishibashi, motivated by the desire to form a conventional substrate having improved strength and density.
Vedagiri does not appear to specifically teach a fourth plurality of parallel glass fibers orthogonally interwoven in spaces between adjacent parallel glass fibers of the first second and third pluralities of glass fibers. However, Naigertsik teaches a glass fiber substrate for electronics comprising a woven glass fiber substrate and a z-axis-oriented plurality of parallel glass fibers orthogonal to pluralities of fibers of the woven glass fiber substrate (Naigertsik, abstract, page 12, line 11- page 14, line 13). Vedagiri teaches that this arrangement provides enhanced durability to the substrate (Id.). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to form the substrate of Vedagiri and to include the orthogonally woven z-axis-oriented fibers of Naigertsik, motivated by the desire to form a conventional substrate having enhanced durability and strength in all directions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed May 20, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the structure of Naigertsik teaches at most a biaxial fabric interlaced orthogonally with a plurality of fibers. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Naigertsik is relied upon only to teach the plurality of z-direction fibers. Naigertsik teaches that these may be applied in an orthogonal weaving pattern to multiple layers of woven fibers (Naigertsik, column 28, line 16 to column 29, line 17). As set forth above, Vedagiri and Oishibashi both individually and in combination teach triaxial planar fabrics which may be applied in multilayer configurations. The combination of the triaxial fabrics and the orthogonally woven plurality of fibers taught by Naigertsik would necessarily result in the claimed invention including the claimed first, second, third and fourth plurality of fibers.
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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/VINCENT TATESURE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1786