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 .
This action is responsive to Applicant's amendments/remarks filed 02/18/2026.
Claims 1, 2, and 4-15 are currently pending, of which claims 10-14 are withdrawn.
Claims 1, 2, 4-9, and 15 are currently under examination.
The rejection of claims 1-9, 15, and 16 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishi (US 2016/0060112 A1) is withdrawn in view of the above amendments.
The following rejections and/or objections are either reiterated or newly applied. They constitute the complete set presently being applied to the instant application.
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.
1. Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 8-9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishiˈ695 (WO 2017/155110 A1, see US 2019/0092695 A1, hereinafter Nishiˈ695).
Regarding claims 1 and 4-6, Nishiˈ695 teaches that a boron nitride sintered body is prepared by molding and sintering the mixture containing amorphous boron nitride having an average particle diameter of 6 µm, hexagonal boron nitride having an average particle diameter of 18-30 µm, and a sintering aid ([0078]; Table 1, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G).
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the boron nitride sintered body has a monolithic structure in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles are three-dimensionally continuous (para [0025]), and the bonding of the non-oxide ceramic primary particles by sintering is observed in a cross section ([0038]), which reads on the claimed plurality of coarse particles intersecting with each other when viewed in a cross-section, and also reads on the claimed boron nitride sintered body having a region surrounded by the plurality of coarse particles.
Nishiˈ695 further teaches that a state where two or more non-oxide ceramic primary particles are bonded together by sintering and agglomerated is defined as a “non-oxide ceramic sintered body” having a three-dimensionally continuous monolithic structure ([0037]). Thus, in Nishiˈ695, the hexagonal boron nitride (which is used to form the boron nitride sintered body) is the non-oxide ceramic primary particles, and reads on the claimed coarse particles. The amorphous boron nitride (which is used to form the boron nitride sintered body) reads on the claimed fine particles. The amorphous boron nitride having an average particle diameter of 6 µm, is smaller than the hexagonal boron nitride having an average particle diameter of 18-30 µm, which reads on the claimed fine particles being smaller than the plurality of coarse particles.
The instant invention discloses that the length of the coarse particle refers to a length of one coarse particle in a longitudinal direction (instant US [0008]).
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) has an average major diameter of 20 to 60 µm (Table 4, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G, Examples 1, 3-12, and 15), which falls within the claimed range of “20 µm or more”.
Nishiˈ695 does not explicitly teach that the fine particles (i.e. the amorphous boron nitride) are in the region which is surrounded by the plurality of coarse particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride).
However, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to expect that the amorphous boron nitride would be present in the monolithic structure of Nishiˈ695 in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) are three-dimensionally continuous with a reasonable expectation of success, because the boron nitride sintered body of Nishiˈ695 has a monolithic structure and is prepared by sintering the mixture containing amorphous boron nitride, hexagonal boron nitride, and a sintering aid, and the two or more non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) are bonded together by sintering to form the boron nitride sintered body having a three-dimensionally continuous monolithic structure as recognized by Nishiˈ695.
Furthermore, Nishiˈ695 teaches that boron nitride for the boron nitride sintered body has a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m·K ([0047]), which falls within the claimed range of “20 W/m·K or more”.
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the boron nitride sintered body is impregnated with a thermosetting resin composition to form a ceramic-resin composite body ([0025]-[0026]), the ceramic-resin composite body is processed to form a thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet ([0030]), and the thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet has high thermal conductivity such as in a range of 80-101 W/m·K ([0035]; Table 4, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G, Examples 1, 3-12, and 15), which falls within the claimed range of “20 W/m·K or more”.
Nishiˈ695 does not teach the thermal conductivity of the boron nitride sintered body.
However, Nishiˈ695 teaches that the boron nitride sintered body is impregnated with a thermosetting resin composition to form a ceramic-resin composite body ([0025]-[0026], claim 1), and the ceramic-resin composite body has a proportion of the thermosetting resin composition in a range of 31-63 vol.% (Table 4, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G, Examples 1, 3-12, and 15). Nishiˈ695 also teaches that Porosity (%) of boron nitride sintered body equals to percentage (%) of thermosetting resin composition ([0044]). Thus, the boron nitride sintered body of Nishiˈ695 can have a porosity of 31-63 vol.%, which falls within the claimed range of “30 to 65% by volume”.
The instant invention discloses (instant US [0042]) that the porosity can be determined by Calculation Formula (1) below from the bulk density [B (kg/m3)] and the theoretical density [2280 (kg/m3)] of boron nitride:
Porosity (% by volume)=[1−(B/2280)]×100 (1).
Thus, according to Calculation Formula (1) above, the boron nitride sintered body of Nishiˈ695 can have a bulk density [B (kg/m3)] of 844 to 1573 kg/m3, which overlaps with the claimed range of “800 to 1500 kg/m3”.
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the boron nitride sintered body has an average pore diameter of 0.8-1.7 µm (Table 4, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G, Examples 1, 3-12, and 15), which falls within the claimed range of “less than 5 µm”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to reasonably expect that the claimed property of the boron nitride sintered body having a thermal conductivity of 20 W/m·K or more, would flow naturally from the teaching of Nishiˈ695, because the teaching of Nishiˈ695 provides substantially the same boron nitride sintered body comprising the same plurality of coarse particles each having a length of 20 µm or more, and the same fine particles smaller than the plurality of coarse particles, wherein, when viewed in a cross-section, the same plurality of coarse particles intersect with each other, and the same boron nitride sintered body has a region surrounded by the plurality of coarse particles and the fine particles in the region, wherein the boron nitride sintered body has the same porosity, the same bulk density, and the same average pore diameter as claimed, and also because boron nitride for the boron nitride sintered body of Nishiˈ695 has a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m·K, and the thermally conductive sheet comprising the boron nitride sintered body has high thermal conductivity in a range of 80-101 W/m·K as recognized by Nishiˈ695. Therefore, the invention as a whole would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 2, Nishiˈ695 teaches that two or more non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) are bonded together by sintering and agglomerated to form a boron nitride sintered body having a three-dimensionally continuous monolithic structure ([0037]), and the bonding of the non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) by sintering is observed in a cross section ([0038]), which reads on the claimed three or more coarse particles being continuous when viewed in the cross-section.
Regarding claim 8, Nishiˈ695 teaches that a ceramic-resin composite body comprising the boron nitride sintered body and a thermosetting resin composition, wherein the boron nitride sintered body is impregnated with the thermosetting resin composition ([0025]-[0026], claim 1), which reads on the claimed resin filled in at least some of pores of the boron nitride sintered body.
Regarding claim 9, Nishiˈ695 teaches that a thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet comprises the ceramic-resin composite body ([0030]), and the thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet has heat dissipation property ([0106], [0024]), which reads on the claimed heat dissipation member comprising the composite body.
Regarding claim 15, Nishiˈ695 teaches that amorphous boron nitride (the claimed fine particles) has an average particle diameter of 6 µm (Table 1, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G), which falls with the claimed range of “less than 15µm”.
2. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishiˈ695 (WO 2017/155110 A1, see US 2019/0092695 A1, hereinafter Nishiˈ695) as applied to claims 1, 2, 4-6, 8-9, and 15 above, and further in view of Nishi (US 2016/0060112 A1, hereinafter Nishi).
The disclosure of Nishiˈ695 is relied upon as set forth above.
Regarding claim 7, the instant invention discloses that the orientation index is an index for quantifying the orientation degree of boron nitride crystals; the orientation index can be calculated by a peak intensity ratio [I(002)/I(100)] of (002) plane to (100) plane of boron nitride as measured by an X-ray diffractometer (instant US [0049]).
Nishiˈ695 teaches that the boron nitride sintered body is prepared by sintering the mixture containing amorphous boron nitride, hexagonal boron nitride, and a sintering aid ([0078]; Table 1, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G).
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the boron nitride sintered body has a monolithic structure in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) are three-dimensionally continuous (para [0025]).
Nishiˈ695 does not teach the orientation index of the boron nitride sintered body.
However, Nishi teaches that a boron nitride powder (i.e. a boron nitride sintered body) is prepared by sintering a mixture containing amorphous boron nitride, hexagonal boron nitride, and a sintering aid ([0068], Table 1).
Nishi also teaches that the hexagonal boron nitride acts as a primary particle to be bonded to each other by sintering to form a boron nitride powder (i.e. a boron nitride sintered body) with a continuous structure ([0038], [0034]).
Nishi also teaches that the orientation of the boron nitride powder (i.e. the boron nitride sintered body) can be measured as the peak intensity ratio I(002)/I(100) by the powder X-ray diffraction method ([0053]); the lower limit of the peak intensity ratio I(002)/I(100) is practically about 2.0, because the hexagonal boron-nitride primary particles are scale-shaped ([0053]), which overlaps with the claimed range of “20 or less”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to expect that the boron nitride sintered body having a monolithic structure in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles (i.e. the hexagonal boron nitride) are three-dimensionally continuous as taught by Nishiˈ695, would have an orientation index (e.g. the peak intensity ratio I(002)/I(100)) of 2 or more as taught by Nishi with a reasonable expectation of success, because the boron nitride sintered body of Nishi has a peak intensity ratio I(002)/I(100) of 2 or more, due to the scale shape of the hexagonal boron-nitride primary particles which are bonded to each other by sintering to form the boron nitride sintered body as recognized by Nishi. Therefore, the invention as a whole would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant's arguments with respect to the prior rejections have been considered but are moot, because the arguments do not apply to all of the references being used in the current rejection. The current rejection utilizes a new reference, Nishiˈ695 (WO 2017/155110 A1, see US 2019/0092695 A1), under a new ground(s) of rejection which renders obvious the instant claims.
As stated above, claims 1, 2, 4-6, 8-9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nishiˈ695 (WO 2017/155110 A1, see US 2019/0092695 A1).
2. Applicant argues that amended claim 1 recites a distinctly different structure: a boron nitride sintered body having "a region surrounded by the plurality of coarse particles and the fine particles in the region"; this "surrounding structure" describes a monolithic, integrally grown framework of coarse particles that forms a continuous, three-dimensional network; this structural distinction is directly responsible for a significant and unexpected improvement in thermal conductivity "20 W/mK or more" (p. 7).
In response, Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The new reference Nishiˈ695 teaches that a boron nitride sintered body has a monolithic structure in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles are three-dimensionally continuous (para [0025]), which is the same or substantially the same structure “a monolithic, integrally grown framework of coarse particles that forms a continuous, three-dimensional network” as Applicant indicated in the argument.
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that boron nitride for the boron nitride sintered body has a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m·K ([0047]), which falls within the claimed range of “20 W/m·K or more”.
Nishiˈ695 also teaches that the boron nitride sintered body is impregnated with a thermosetting resin composition to form a ceramic-resin composite body ([0025]-[0026]), the ceramic-resin composite body is processed to form a thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet ([0030]), and the thermally conductive insulating adhesive sheet has high thermal conductivity such as in a range of 80-101 W/m·K ([0035]; Table 4, Non-Oxide Ceramic Sintered Body A and C-G, Examples 1, 3-12, and 15), which falls within the claimed range of “20 W/m·K or more”.
As discussed in claim 1 above, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to reasonably expect that the claimed property of the boron nitride sintered body having a thermal conductivity of 20 W/m·K or more, would flow naturally from the teaching of Nishiˈ695, because the teaching of Nishiˈ695 provides substantially the same boron nitride sintered body comprising the same plurality of coarse particles each having a length of 20 µm or more, and the same fine particles smaller than the plurality of coarse particles, wherein, when viewed in a cross-section, the same plurality of coarse particles intersect with each other, and the same boron nitride sintered body has a region surrounded by the plurality of coarse particles and the fine particles in the region, wherein the boron nitride sintered body has the same porosity, the same bulk density, and the same average pore diameter as claimed, and also because boron nitride for the boron nitride sintered body of Nishiˈ695 has a thermal conductivity of at least 40 W/m·K, and the thermally conductive sheet comprising the boron nitride sintered body has high thermal conductivity in a range of 80-101 W/m·K as recognized by Nishiˈ695. Therefore, the invention as a whole would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
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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/JIAJIA JANIE CAI/Examiner, Art Unit 1761
/ANGELA C BROWN-PETTIGREW/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1761
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