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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-7, 9-12, and 17-20 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 16, 2024.
The Examiner notes that claims 8 and 13-15 are examined and claims 1-7, 9-12, and 17-20 remain withdrawn.
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. CN202110835755.3, filed on July 23, 2021.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Amendment filed December 1, 2025 Claim 8 is amended. Claims 1-7, 9-12, and 17-20 remain withdrawn. The Examiner notes that claims 8 and 13-15 are examined.
Drawings
The drawings were received on December 1, 2025. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 8 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (JP 2006208177A) in view of Florin (US 8,552,380 B1), Schieferdecker (US 2019/0316967 A1), and Marion (DE 10321640 A1).
With respect to claim 8, Watanabe teaches in Figs, 1-2:
A thermal sensor package (200),
comprising a carrier (case 300 and pedestal 310) defining an opening (opening 321 a) and a space (Fig. 2, area within 300 and above 310);
wherein the carrier has a base (310) and a side wall surroundingly arranged on the base (case 300) and defining the opening (opening 321a), wherein the side wall and the base jointly define the space (area within 310 and 300)
an integrated circuit chip (IC) (processing circuit 400) arranged in the space;
a thermal sensor (infrared sensor element 100) electrically connected to (para. 28, “the infrared sensor element 100 and the processing circuit 300 are also electrically connected by a bonding wire) and stacked (Fig. 2) on the IC, arranged in the space and having a sensing area for receiving thermal radiation entering through the opening, wherein the thermal sensor has a frame (substrate 10), a thermal sensing film (membrane 13 which supports hot junction 20c),
and a cover (infrared filter 321b) arranged at a position corresponding to the opening (Fig. 1) that is defined by the side wall (filter located in opening defined by 300),
Watanabe does not teach:
wherein the base and the side wall are of unitary construction
wherein the thermal sensor has a plurality of thermocouples connected in series or in parallel so as to measure a temperature difference between the sensing area of the thermal sensor and a surface of the IC (Watanabe teaches only one thermocouple, detection unit 20);
wherein the thermal sensing film includes a suspension support film having a plurality of bridging areas that are correspondingly connected to the sensing area and the frame, and wherein the plurality of thermocouples are correspondingly arranged in the plurality of bridging areas;
wherein the base has a recess or a stepped structure, and a plurality of internal contacts are arranged on a top surface of the recess or the stepped structure, wherein the IC includes a plurality of second connection pads electrically connected to the plurality of internal contacts.
wherein the carrier comprises a plurality of lines arranged within the base or the side wall so that each of the plurality of internal contacts electrically connects at least one of a plurality of external contacts arranged on the bottom of the base
With respect to the limitation:
wherein the base and the side wall are of unitary construction
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make the base and side wall of unitary construction, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. In re Larson, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965). See MPEP 2144.04.
Florin teaches in Fig. 1 and 5:
wherein the thermal sensor has a plurality of thermocouples connected in series (Fig. 1, col. 8, lns. 30-34, “A thermopile is formed within the membrane layer consisting of several thermocouples connected together in series. FIG. 1 also shows the thermopile using single crystal silicon N+ 6 and single crystal silicon P+ 7 materials.) or in parallel (col. 5, lns. 56-58 “there may be applications where they can be measured separately, or indeed connected in parallel to reduce the output resistance”) so as to measure a temperature difference (col. 3, lns 37-38 “Thermopiles are relative temperature sensors”) between the sensing area (col. 4, lns. 6-12, “hot junction” portion of thermocouples on membrane) of the thermal sensor and a surface of the IC (col. 4, lns. 6-12, “cold junction” portion of thermocouples outside the membrane, which is in thermal equilibrium with the chip upon which the thermal sensor is attached.)
wherein the thermal sensing film includes a suspension support film (col. 8, lns. 26-32 “membrane layer 2,3,4 which is supported on a silicon substrate 1. The membrane layer includes a buried oxide layer 2, dielectric layers 3 and a passivation layer 4. A thermopile is formed within the membrane layer consisting of several thermocouples”) having a plurality of bridging areas (Figs.1 and 5, portions of 6 and 7 that bridge the center of the membrane to the top of the silicon support substrate) that are correspondingly connected to the sensing area and the frame (see annotated Fig. 1 below), and wherein the plurality of thermocouples (6 and 7) are correspondingly arranged in the plurality of bridging areas (see annotated Fig. 5 below);
The Examiner notes that the limitation “so as to measure a temperature difference between the sensing area of the thermal sensor and a surface of the IC” does not appear to impart any distinguishing structure from the prior art, therefore the prior art meets the claimed limitation in view of MPEP 2112.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Florin into the device of Watanabe to use a thermal sensor in which a plurality of thermocouples are connected in series and are a part of a support film with a plurality of bridging areas. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Watanabe in the manner set forth above for the purpose of producing a thermal sensor in which “there is low noise and good reproducibility.” (col. 3, lns. 25-27 of Florin)
Schieferdecker teaches in Fig. 1a:
wherein the base (bottom substrate 1) has a recess or a stepped structure (recess 30), and a plurality of internal contacts (contact surface 8) are arranged on a top surface of the recess or the stepped structure (arranged on top surface of wall to left of recess 30), wherein the IC (sensor chip 2) includes a plurality of second connection pads (contact pad 25, Fig. 1 shows that there are pads on both sides of the device) electrically connected to the plurality of internal contacts (8).
Watanabe/Florin discloses the claimed invention except for stepped or recessed base to which an internal connection to the substrate is attached. Schieferdecker discloses that it is known in the art to provide a stepped/recessed base with an attached internal connection. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the device of Watanabe/Florin with the base of Scheferdecker, in order to simplify the application of internal contacts by applying them at a same elevation as the substrate. See MPEP 2144.
Marion teaches in Fig. 2:
wherein the carrier (carrier substrate 1) comprises a plurality of lines (metallized through holes 13) arranged within the base or the side wall so that each of the plurality of internal contacts (terminal contacts 6) electrically connects at least one of a plurality of external contacts (connecting contacts/solder balls 14) arranged on the bottom of the base
Watanabe/Florin/Schieferdecker discloses the claimed invention except for the lines in the base of the carrier that connect to external contacts. Marion discloses that it is known in the art to provide lines connecting internal contacts to external contacts. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the device of Watanabe/Florin/Schieferdecker with the lines of Marion, in order provide external connections that are connected to the substrate. See MPEP 2144.
With respect to claim 13, Watanabe further teaches:
wherein the frame defines a cavity (cavity 11), and the thermal sensing film is arranged above the IC through the frame and covers the cavity (Fig. 1);
wherein the frame further has a plurality of pads (not labeled, see annotated Fig. 1b below) arranged on a top surface of the frame (100) and surround the thermal sensing film (13).
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With respect to claim 14, Florin further teaches:
Wherein the thermal sensing film includes an infrared absorber (col. 8, lns. 41-42 of Florin, “material with high IR absorption is grown or deposited on the top of the membrane”),
the plurality of thermocouples connected in parallel (col. 5, lns. 56-58 of Florin “there may be applications where they can be measured separately, or indeed connected in parallel to reduce the output resistance”)
a hot junction (col. 4, lns. 6-12 of Florin, ends of the thermocouple inside the membrane) of each of the plurality of thermocouples (thermocouples made of materials 6 and 7) is connected to the infrared absorber (col. 8, lns. 41-42 of Florin, “material with high IR absorption is grown or deposited on the top of the membrane”, IR absorption material is at least thermally connected to the hot junction),
and a cold junction (col. 4, lns. 6-12 of Florin, “the two ends outside the membrane form a second thermal junction (called the cold junction)”) of each of the plurality of thermocouples is connected to the frame (substrate 1, see annotated Fig. 1 above),
so that a difference between temperature detected by the hot junctions and temperature detected by the cold junctions is converted into a voltage signal or a current signal (col. 8, lns. 34-35 of Florin “terminals of the thermopile where the electrical signal is generated.” Although Florin does not go into detail about what the electrical signal corresponds to, it is known in the art that the purpose of a thermopile is to convert temperature differences between the hot and cold junctions into an electrical signal to detect relative temperatures. Alternatively, the claimed property/function does not structurally differentiate the claim from the prior art per MPEP 2112 and/or 2114.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Watanabe in view of Florin as explained above.
With respect to claim 15, Watanabe further teaches in para. 28:
“Although not shown, the infrared sensor element 100 and the processing circuit 400 are also electrically connected by a bonding wire.” A person of ordinary skill in the art would know that a wire between two components would connect to the components at a pad. Although para. 28 does not specify at least two wires, Fig. 1b shows two unlabeled pads on the frame and it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to connect them to the processing circuit 400. Therefore, Watanabe meets the limitation:
wherein the IC has at least two first connection pads (points where wire connects to processing circuit 400 from infrared sensor element 100) respectively and electrically connected to at least two corresponding ones of the plurality of pads (see annotated Fig. 1b above) through at least two connection wires (para. 28), respectively.
In an alternative interpretation, as the wires connecting the processing circuit 400 to the infrared sensor 100 are not shown, the pads of the infrared sensor and the processing circuit are at least indirectly electrically connected by wires. In this interpretation, this meets the limitation:
wherein the IC has at least two first connection pads (points where wire from terminal T connects to processing circuit 400) respectively and electrically connected to at least two corresponding ones of the plurality of pads (see annotated Fig. 1b above) through at least two connection wires (para. 28), respectively.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 8 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON MICHAEL WEGNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7647. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30 AM - 5 PM.
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/A.M.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JACOB Y CHOI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897