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
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 February 12 2026 has been entered.
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.
Claim 1 is 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "each of the metal terminals of the two specific arms" in line 15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since the claim has only defined a plurality of arms, not specifically two specific arms.
Claims depending from the rejected claims noted above are rejected at least on the same basis as the claim(s) from which the dependent claims depend.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 6-7, 23, and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tang et al. (“Tang” US 2024/0038611).
Regarding claim 1, Tang discloses a semiconductor device (400) comprising a plurality of arms (300, Figure 1) each including:
a heat dissipation plate (430/432, configured for thermal conduction and thus is interpreted as a heat dissipation plate, para. [0032]);
one or more switching elements (155/156/157/158) electrically connected to one surface of the heat dissipation plate (430/432, lower surface of 430 in Figure 2);
a metal terminal (431/433, metal material para. [0032], interpreted as a metal terminal because external terminals constitute or are connected to element 431/433, bringing electrical connection to the switching elements 155/156/157/158) connected to a surface of each switching element (lower surface 155/156/157/158) on a side opposite to the heat dissipation plate side (430/432, see Figure 2 which shows metal terminal 431/433 connected to the switching element(s) 155/156/157/158 on the lower side, opposite the side that the heat dissipation plates 430/432 is connected to the switching elements); and
a sealing material (360) sealing the heat dissipation plate (430/432), each switching element (155/156/157/158), and the metal terminal (431/433, see Figure 2 showing sealing material sealing above elements), wherein
the heat dissipation plates (430/432) of the plurality of arms (300) are provided on a same plane (see Figure 3) so as to be aligned in a first direction (horizontal direction in Figure 1, see also labeled below in annotated Figure 1) which is a specific direction parallel to the same plane (see modified Figure 1, the horizontal direction, first direction, is parallel to the plane on which the heat dissipation plates are provided, which is the plane of the plan view of Figure 1),
a direction which is parallel to the same plane (plan view plane of Figure 1) and orthogonal to the first direction (horizontal direction in Figure 1) is defined as a second direction (vertical direction in Figure 1 which is orthogonal to the horizontal/first direction),
a direction orthogonal to the same plane (plan view plane of Figure 1) is defined as a third direction (in/out of the page in Figure 1, which also is the vertical direction in Figure 2),
each of the metal terminals (431/433) of the two specific arms (300) adjacent to each other (center and rightmost arms 300 in Figure 1) in the first direction (horizontal direction in Figure 1) has a first protruding portion (319B of center arm, 315B of rightmost arm) which protrudes from a portion of the sealing material (360) on a first side (lower surface of the device in Figure 1) in the second direction (second direction is the vertical direction in Figure 1, the first side is the lower surface of the device in Figure 1, and the first protruding portions protrude from the lower side, the one side, of the device in Figure 1 in the vertical/downward direction),
the first protruding portion (319B of center arm in Figure 1) of a first specific arm (center arm 300 in Figure 1) of the two specific arms (center and rightmost arms 300 in Figure 1) is arranged, at the portion of the sealing material (360) on the first side (lower side surface in Figure 1) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figure 1), on a side closer to a second specific arm (rightmost arm 300 in Figure 1) of the two specific arms (center and rightmost arms 300) than a center portion of the first specific arm (center arm 300) in the first direction (horizontal direction, see Figure 1, which shows the distance between the right side of 319B of the first, center arm in Figure 1 and the left side of the second specific arm, the rightmost arm 300, is less than a distance between the right side of 19B of the first, center arm in Figure 1 and the center line of the first, center specific arm 300 in Figure 1, see also annotated Figure 1 which demonstrates this relationship), and
the first protruding portion (315B) of the second specific arm (rightmost arm 300 in Figure 1) is arranged at the portion of the sealing material (460) on the first side (lower side surface in Figure ) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figure 1), on a side closer to the first specific arm (center arm 300 in Figure 1) than a center portion of the second specific arm (rightmost arm 300 in Figure 1) in the first direction (horizontal direction, see Figure 1, which shows the distance between the left side of 315B of the second, rightmost specific arm 300 and the first, center specific arm is less than the distance between the center portion of the second, rightmost specific arm 300 and the first, center specific arm, see also annotated Figure 1 which demonstrates this relationship).
Regarding claim 2, Tang discloses wherein the first protruding portion of the first specific arm (319B of center arm) and the first protruding portion of the second specific arm (315B of rightmost arm) are arranged so as to be line-symmetric about a center line between the two specific arms (see Figure 1, the first protruding portions are equidistant from the center line between the two specific arms).
Regarding claim 3, Tang discloses wherein each of the first protruding portions of the two specific arms (319B of center arm and 315B of rightmost arm) protrudes from the portion of the sealing material (360) on the first side (lower side of the device in Figure 1) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figure 1, the first protruding portions protrude from the lower side of the device/sealing material in Figure 1 in the vertical/downward direction), toward the first side in the second direction or in the third direction.
Regarding claim 6, Tang discloses wherein each of the two specific arms (center and rightmost arms 300) includes a heat dissipation plate metal terminal (320B, see Figures 1 and 13) connected to the one surface of the heat dissipation plate (430/432, see Figure 13), and a control terminal (325K, 325U, see Figures 1 and 13) connected to the switching element (155/156/157/158),
the heat dissipation plate metal terminal (320B) has a heat dissipation plate protruding portion (see Figures 1 and 13) which protrudes from a portion of the sealing material (360) on another side (upper side of device in Figures 1 and 13) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figures 1 and 13, see Figure 1),
the heat dissipation plate protruding portion (320B, portion protruding) protrudes from the portion of the sealing material (360) on the another side (upper side of device in Figure 1) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figures 1 and 13, see Figures 1 and 13), toward the another side in the second direction or in the third direction,
the control terminal (325K, 325U) has a control terminal protruding portion (see Figures 1 and 13) which protrudes from the portion of the sealing material (360) on the another side (upper side of the device in Figures 1 and 13) in the second direction (vertical direction, see Figures 1 and 13), and
the control terminal (325K, 325U) protruding portion (see Figures 1 and 13) protrudes from the portion of the sealing material (360) on the another side (upper side in Figures 1 and 13) in the second direction (vertical direction in Figures 1 and 13, see protrusion of the control terminal in the second direction in Figures 1 and 13), toward the another side in the second direction or in the third direction.
Regarding claim 7, Tang discloses wherein the heat dissipation plate metal terminal (320B) of the one specific arm (center arm in Figure 1) and the heat dissipation plate metal terminal (320B) of the other specific arm (rightmost arm in Figure 1) are arranged so as to be line-symmetric about the center line between the two specific arms (rightmost and center arms 300, see Figure 1, 320B of each arm are symmetrical about the line separating the arms), and
the control terminal of (325K, 325U) the one specific arm (center arm in Figure 1) and the control terminal (325K, 325U) of the other specific arm (rightmost arm in Figure 1) are arranged so as to be line-symmetric about the center line between the two specific arms (see Figure 1, shows that 325K, 325U of each arm are symmetrical about the center line separating the two specific arms).
Regarding claim 23, Tang further discloses a heat dissipation sheet (metal foil 444) thermally connected to another surface of the heat dissipation plate (upper surface of 430/432 in Figure 2) via an insulating layer (resin insulating layer 442), wherein
a surface of the heat dissipation sheet (444) on a side opposite to the heat dissipation plate side (430/432, upper side of heat dissipation sheet 444) is exposed from the sealing material (360, see Figure 2, showing that the upper side of heat dissipation sheet 444 is not directly contacting the sealing material 360).
Regarding claim 25, Tang discloses wherein a joining material (para. [0032]) electrically connecting each switching element (155/156/157/158) and the heat dissipation plate (430/432) is Ag or solder (para. [0032]).
Regarding claim 26, Tang discloses a power conversion device comprising:
the semiconductor device according to claim 1 (300, 400);
a control circuit unit (172) which controls the semiconductor device (para. [0086]); and
a cooler (340) which is thermally connected to the semiconductor device (300, 400).
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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 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ashida et al. (“Ashida” US 2024/0006256).
Regarding claim 24, Tang does not explicitly disclose the material of the sealing material (360).
Ashida discloses wherein the sealing material (26) is composed of mold resin or silicone gel (para. [0051]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the teachings of Ashida into the teachings of Tang to include a silicone gel material for the sealing material for the purpose of protecting devices in the sealing material (Ashida, para. [0051]). Additionally, the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use is prima facie obvious. See MPEP 2144.07.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any interpretation of the reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s amendments, filed February 12 2026, with respect to the objection to and 112 rejection of claim 1 have been fully considered and overcome the objection and the 112 rejection. The objection and 112 rejection to claim 1 has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, other issues of claim 1 have been addressed above under 112.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Genevieve G Bullard-Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-0609. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dale Page can be reached at 571-270-7877. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Genevieve G Bullard-Connor/Examiner, Art Unit 2899 /DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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