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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-9, in the reply filed on 12 December 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-9 are considered for examination and 10-15 are withdrawn for prosecution because the applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed error in the restriction.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda [JP 2002222712 A] in view of Otsuki et al. [JP 2002324730 A].
Regarding claim 1, Fukuda discloses an electronic component comprising:
a substrate (e.g., 21, page 4 of translation, Fig. 2); and
a plurality of conductor layers (e.g., internal electrodes 2 and spiral coil conductor 10, page 5, Fig. 2) and a plurality of insulating resin layers (e.g., insulating magnetic layers with resin) which are alternately stacked on the substrate 12,
wherein the plurality of insulating resin layers includes a first insulating resin layer (e.g., insulating resin layer 13 coated on ferrite layer 9) positioned in a lowermost layer and second insulating resin layer (e.g., epoxy resin containing ferrite powder as magnetic layer 11) positioned on the first insulating resin layer (e.g., insulating resin layer 13 coated on ferrite layer 9),
wherein the plurality of conductor layers includes a first conductor layer (e.g., electrode 2, page 4, similar to electrodes 2 of Fig. 1) embedded in the first insulating resin layer and second conductor layer (e.g., coil conductor 10) embedded respectively in the second insulating resin layer (e.g., 11),
wherein the first conductor layer includes a capacitor (e.g., 6, page 4, Fig. 2) constituted by a lower electrode (e.g., electrode 2) and an upper electrode (e.g., another one of electrode 2) stacked on the lower electrode through a dielectric film (e.g., SrTio3 containing dielectric powder, page 4) made of an inorganic insulating material, wherein the plurality of second conductor layers includes a coil pattern (e.g., spiral coil 10),
wherein the first insulating resin layer (e.g., insulating resin layer 13 coated on ferrite layer 9, about 43µm in thickness, page 4) is smaller in thickness than each of the second insulating resin layers (e.g., 11 has about 100µm, page 5).
Fukuda discloses the instant claimed invention discussed above except for wherein the second insulating resin layer are smaller in thermal expansion coefficient than the first insulating resin layer.
However, Fukuda discloses the second insulating resin layer is made of epoxy resin paste with ferrite powder (epoxy resin has a thermal expansion coefficient of about 50, https://www.bing.com/search?q=epoxy+coefficient+of+thermal+expansion&FORM=R5FD1), while the first insulating layer includes polyimide resin with a thermal expansion coefficient of 56 ppm/°C, https://www.bing.com/search?q=cte%20of%20polyimide%20resin&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=cte%20of%20polyimide%20resin&sc=12-22&sk=&cvid=859EA3C430244D27972B2FE42A2C7089).
Therefore, the second insulating resin layer are smaller in thermal expansion coefficient than the first insulating resin layer.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the second insulating resin layer smaller in thermal expansion coefficient than the first insulating resin layer to avoid cracking on the multilayer second insulating resin of the coil component.
Fukuda discloses the instant claimed invention discussed above except for a plurality of the second insulating layer, and a plurality of the second conductor layer.
Otsuki discloses a plurality of second insulating layer (e.g., insulating magnetic layer 6, Paragraph 0029, Fig. 2), and a plurality of the second conductor layer (e.g., conductor layers of coil 8, Paragraph 0029, Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a plurality of the second insulating layer and a plurality of the second conductor layer as taught by Otsuki to the component structure of Fukuda to provide the coil component with more conductive layers alternately insulated to improve the inductance value of the inductor.
Regarding claim 2, Fukuda discloses wherein the first insulating resin layer is made of polyimide-based resin (e.g., insulating resin layer 13 coated on ferrite layer 9, see page 4).
Regarding claim 3, Fukuda discloses wherein the second insulating resin layer (e.g., 11) is made of a material obtained by adding fillers to epoxy-based resin (page 5 of translation).
Regarding claim 4, Fukuda discloses wherein the second conductor layer (e.g., conductor layer of coil 10) has a larger thickness (e.g., 100µm, page 5) than a total thickness of the upper and lower electrodes (e.g., thickness of each capacitor electrode 2 is about 5µm, page 4).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fukuda in view of Otsuki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Seo et al. [U.S. Patent No. 6590473].
Regarding claim 5, Fukuda discloses a first via conductor (e.g., via 3 at the edge of the device, page 5, Fig. 2f) connecting the first and second conductor layers (e.g., first conductor layer 2 and second conductor of coil 10) has a rectangular planar shape (e.g., top view of via electrode 3), and a second via has a circular shape (e.g., via 3 at the center has circular planar shape, see Fig. 3a).
Fukuda discloses the instant claimed invention discussed above except for the second via conductor provided so as to penetrate the second insulating resin layer and connecting different second conductor layers.
Otsuki discloses the plurality of second insulating layer (e.g., insulating magnetic layer 6, claim 1), and a plurality of the second conductor layer (e.g., conductor layers of coil 8, Paragraph 0029, Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Otsuki discloses second via conductor provided so as to penetrate the second insulating resin layer 6 and connecting different second conductor layers (different layers of coil 8) to provide connectivity of the conductor layers to increase the inductance of the coil.
Fukuda in view of Otsuki discloses the instant claimed invention discussed above except for wherein the first via conductor provided so as to penetrate the first insulating resin layer.
Seo discloses via conductor (e.g., via 86 as extension of vertical portion 85a of connecting portion 85) provided so as to penetrate insulating layer 55 (column 5, lines 44-49, Fig. 7).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have first via conductor provided so as to penetrate the first insulating resin layer as taught by Seo to the coil component of Fukuda in view of Otsuki to provide the component the shortest connectivity between coil and capacitor of the filter component when used in multilayer circuit board layer for reduction of materials used in production to cut manufacturing cost.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 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.
Reason for allowable subject matter:
Claim 6 recites, inter alia,
the first insulating resin layer partly removed, and wherein one of the plurality of second insulating resin layers that contacts the first insulating resin layer is embedded in a portion where the first insulating resin layer has been removed.
Claim 7 recites, inter alia,
the second conductor layer has a first via conductor and a second via conductor, the first via conductor being provided so as to penetrate the first insulating resin layer and connecting the first conductor layer and one of a plurality of the second conductor layers that is positioned in a lowermost layer, the second via conductor being provided so as to penetrate the second insulating resin layers and connecting the plurality of second insulating resin layers,
wherein the first via conductor has a flat bottom,
wherein a surface of the plurality of second conductor layers each have a recess at a portion thereof connected to the second via conductor, and
wherein a bottom of the second via conductor is projected so as to bite into the recess.
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitation, would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please refer to PTO-892.
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/J.S.B/ Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837