CTNF 17/703,730 CTNF 72750 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 6-20, 23-25 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or matter specifically challenged in the argument. 07-50 AIA The indicated allowability of claim s 14-19 and 22 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Boegh-Petersen, Crotzer, and DiStefano . Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow. Drawings 06-36 AIA The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the ‘spring probes or pogo pins’ recited in claim 25 , must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-01 AIA The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a): (a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention. The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112: The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention. 07-31-01 Claim 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 25 depends from Claim 20, which requires compliant pins to be elastomeric pins. Claim 25 recites the compliant pins are ‘spring probes’ or ‘pogo-pins’. It is not clear, if the elastomeric compliant pins could be pogo-pins, as the pogo-pins contains coil spring (see Rathburn ‘067 reference). Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-15 AIA Claim (s) 1 and 11, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Crotzer (US 5,599,193) . Regarding Claim 1, Crotzer, figures 6-8, discloses a socket, comprising: a substrate (100); an opening (where 102 is positioned in fig. 7) through the substrate, wherein the opening comprises a first recess (112, top) into a first surface of the substrate, and a second recess (not numbered) into a second surface of the substrate, wherein the first recess is coupled to the second recess by a hole (where 110b is positioned in fig. 7) through the substrate; and an elastomeric pin (102) inserted into the opening, wherein the elastomeric pin is electrically conductive (surface 22 is conductive, fig. 2), wherein the elastomeric pin has a first head (118, fig. 8) that is positioned in the first recess and a second head (118) that is positioned in the second recess, and wherein a diameter of the first head and a diameter of the second head are greater than a diameter of the hole through the substrate (fig. 7). Regarding Claim 11, Crotzer, figures 6-8, discloses the socket of claim 1, wherein the elastomeric pin is coupled to a package substrate (column 1, lines 52-53) . 07-15 AIA Claim (s) 14, 15, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Boegh-Petersen (US 4,707,657) . Regarding Claim 14, Boegh-Petersen, discloses a socket, comprising: a substrate (12, 33, 35; fig. 3) with a first surface (top of 33) and a second surface (bottom of 35) opposite from the first surface; a first blind recess (where 40 is positioned) into the first surface of the substrate; a second blind recess (where 42 is positioned) into the second surface of the substrate; a first elastomeric pin (40, see column 4, lines 63-column5, lines 1-2; and claim 11) inserted into the first blind recess; and a second elastomeric pin (42) inserted into the second blind recess, wherein the first and second elastomeric pins are electrically conductive (they are conductive elastomers). Regarding Claim 15, Regarding Claim 14, Boegh-Petersen, discloses the socket of claim 14, wherein a first pad (14) is below the first elastomeric pin and a second pad (16) is above the second elastomeric pin. Regarding Claim 17, Boegh-Petersen, discloses the socket of claim 15, wherein the first pad is coupled to the second pad by a via (18). Regarding Claim 18, Boegh-Petersen, discloses the socket of claim 14, wherein the first blind recess is offset from the second blind recess (figure 3). Regarding Claim 19, Boegh-Petersen, discloses the socket of claim 18, wherein the first elastomeric pin and the second elastomeric pin are coupled to each other by a via (18) and a trace (14, 16) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crotzer (US 5,599,193) in view of Rathburn (US 8,758,067) . Regarding Claims 8 and 9, Crotzer discloses the claimed invention, except for interior surfaces of the opening are plated (Claim 8), and the plated interior surfaces are shorted to (or connected to) grounded feature. Rathburn discloses a socket wherein the interior surfaces of the openings (104A, 104B, fig. 2) are plated (column 6, lines 30-35) and the plated surfaces are grounded. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to plate the interior surface of the openings and connect to the ground in Crotzer as suggested by Rathburn, so as to provide shielding effect to the contact . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crotzer (US 5,599,193) in view of Boegh-Petersen (US 4,707,657) . Regarding Claim 10, Crotzer discloses the socket of Claim 1, except for a top of the elastomeric pin is below a top surface of the substrate. Boegh-Petersen, in figure 3, discloses a socket wherein for a top of the elastomeric pin (40) is below a top surface of the substrate (33). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to provide a top of the elastomeric pin below a top surface of the substrate in Crotzer as suggested by Boegh-Petersen, (33) in order to accommodate a portion of the coupling IC device, such as BGA substrate. This will reduce the total height of the assembly . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crotzer (US 5,599,193) in view of Mason et al. (US 7,549,870) . Regarding Claim 12, and 13, Crotzer discloses the claimed invention, except for the package substrate is coupled to the elastomeric pin by a solder ball Claim 12, and the package substrate is coupled to the elastomeric pin by a land grid array (LGA) pad. Mason et al. discloses the package substrate is coupled to the elastomeric pin by a solder ball or the package substrate is coupled to the elastomeric pin by a land grid array (LGA) pad. See figure 1, column 1, lines 12-16). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use the socket of Crotzer to connect to substrate with BGA or LGA, as suggested by Mason et al. in order to connect a PCB to a substrate with BGA or LGA . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 20, 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crotzer (US 5,599,193) in view of DiStefano (US 7,393,214) . Regarding Claim 20, Crotzer discloses a socket (fig. 6) coupled comprising compliant pins (102, figures 6-8) that pass through a thickness of a socket substrate (100), wherein the compliant pins are elastomeric pins (column 2, lines 50-51), wherein the elastomeric pins are positioned in openings through the socket substrate (fig. 6), wherein the openings have a first end (top, fig. 7), a second end (bottom, fig.7), and a middle (about 114) between the first end and the second end, and wherein the middle is narrower than the first end and the second end; and a board (not shown, see column 1, lines 54-58) coupled to the socket. Crotzer however, does not disclose a die and a package substrate coupled to the die. DiStefano, in figure 10, discloses a die (or chip 428) and a package substrate (426) coupled to the die. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use the socket of Crotzer to connect die connected to a substrate of DiStefano and couple the assembly to the socket of Crotzer to make electrical connection between the die and the socket. As to claims 24 and 25, Crotzer discloses the claimed invention except for coupling of elastomeric pins to solder balls or the compliant pins being spring probes or pogo-pins. DiStefano, in figure 3-5, suggests coupling of elastomeric pins to solder balls, as well as suggest use of pogo-pins are known (see column 2, lines 45-47; lines 57-59). DiStefano also discloses spring pins (36) to be elastomeric pins (column 3, lines 57-59). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use the socket of Crotzer to couple elastomeric pins of Crotzer to solder balls or elastomeric spring probes as suggested by DiStefano to make electrical connection between the substrate with solder balls or using spring probes . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 6, 7, 16 and 23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Regarding Claim 6, the recitation of “a plurality of vias through the substrate surround a perimeter of the elastomeric pin”; for claim 16, the recitation of ‘the first pad and the second pad forms a capacitor”; for Claim 23, the recitation of ‘the elastomeric pins are surrounded by conductive vias); all defines the claims over the art of record. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TULSIDAS C PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-2098. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30-3:00. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Wellington can be reached at 571 272 4483. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 2 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 3 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 4 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 5 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 6 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 7 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 8 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 9 Art Unit: 2834 Application/Control Number: 17/703,730 Page 10 Art Unit: 2834
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