DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the amendments filed on April 30, 2026.
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 .
Specification
The objection to the abstract of the disclosure made on 02/11/2026 has been withdrawn in light of the amended abstract.
Claim Objections
The objection to claim 25 made on 02/11/2026 has been withdrawn due to the cancellation of claim 25.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13, line 4: "the spring sheet to apply a force" should be --the spring sheet applies a force-- or --the spring sheet is to apply a force--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Amendment
The amendments to the claims filed on 04/30/2026 have been entered. Claims 3, 16, 25-26 and 70 have been canceled. New claims 74-76 have been entered.
The present office action is a second non-final rejection due to the discovery of prior art which should have been found in the examiner’s initial search. The examiner apologizes for this error.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 –
(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.
Claims 1-2, 4, 8-9, 12, 15 and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1).
With respect to Claim 1:
Zhang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a back plate 110;
a circuit board 200 between the back plate 110 and a socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); and
a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the spring sheet 120 having a first surface (Fig. 5: the bottom surface of 120 facing 110) to face towards the back plate 110 (Fig. 5) and a second surface (Fig. 5: the top surface of 120) to face towards the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the first surface having a concave curvature (Figs. 7-8).
With respect to Claim 2:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 1.
Zhang also discloses wherein the spring sheet 120 directly abuts the back plate 110 (Figs. 5-8).
With respect to Claim 4:
Zhang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a back plate 110;
a circuit board 200 between the back plate 110 and a socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); and
a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the spring sheet 120 having a first surface (Fig. 5: the bottom surface of 120 facing 110) to face towards the back plate 110 and a second surface (Fig. 5: the top surface of 120) to face towards the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), a first point on the first surface (Figs. 5-8: a point on 120a) to be spaced a first distance away from the back plate 110, a second point on the first surface (Figs. 5-8: a point on 120b) to be spaced a second distance away from the back plate 110, the first distance greater than the second distance (Figs. 7-8).
With respect to Claim 8:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 1.
Zhang also discloses wherein the spring sheet 120 includes: a first spring location 120a having a first curvature (Figs. 6-8); a second spring location 120b having a second curvature (Figs. 6-8); and an intermediate portion (Figs. 6-8: the portion between 120a and 120b) coupling the first spring location and the second spring location (Figs. 6-8).
With respect to Claim 9:
Zhang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a back plate 110;
a circuit board 200 between the back plate 110 and a socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); and
a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the spring sheet 120 including:
a first spring location 120a having a first curvature (Figs. 6-8);
a second spring location 120b having a second curvature (Figs. 6-8); and
an intermediate portion (Figs. 6-8: the portion between 120a and 120b) coupling the first spring location and the second spring location (Figs. 6-8), the first spring location to be closer to a center of the socket 300 than the second spring location is to the center of the socket (Figs. 6-8).
With respect to Claim 12:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 1.
Zhang also discloses wherein the spring sheet 120 is to apply a force on the circuit board 200 near a center of the socket 300 (Figs. 4-8: the spring sheet applies an upward force on the circuit board).
With respect to Claim 15:
Zhang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a back plate 110;
a socket 300 including a plurality of pins;
a circuit board 200 coupled to the socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]);
an integrated circuit package 400 interfaced with the socket 300 via the pins (Figs. 3-4; [0026]); and
a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the spring sheet 120 having a first surface (Fig. 5: the bottom surface of 120 facing 110) to face towards the back plate 110 (Fig. 5) and a second surface (Fig. 5: the top surface of 120) to face towards the circuit board 200 (Fig. 5), a first point on the second surface (Figs. 5-8: a point on 120b) to be spaced a first distance away from the circuit board 200, a second point on the second surface (Figs. 5-8: a point on the top surface of 120a) to be spaced a second distance away from the circuit board 200, the first distance greater than the second distance (Figs. 7-8).
With respect to Claim 20:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 15.
Zhang also discloses a fastener 11 compressively coupling the integrated circuit package 400 to the socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0024]: the connection mechanism 10, which includes bolts 11, mounts the IC package 400 to the socket 300 and applies a pressing force F1).
With respect to Claim 21:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 15.
Zhang also discloses wherein the spring sheet 120 includes: a first spring location 120a having a first curvature (Figs. 6-8); a second spring location 120b having a second curvature (Figs. 6-8); and an intermediate portion (Figs. 6-8: the portion between 120a and 120b) coupling the first spring location and the second spring location (Figs. 6-8).
With respect to Claim 22:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 15.
Zhang also discloses wherein the spring sheet 120 is to urge the socket toward the integrated circuit package 400 (Figs. 4-8).
With respect to Claim 23:
Zhang discloses an apparatus comprising:
a back plate 110;
a socket 300 including a plurality of pins;
a circuit board 200 coupled to the socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]);
an integrated circuit package 400 interfaced with the socket 300 via the pins (Figs. 3-4; [0026]);
a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200, the spring sheet 120 having a first surface (Fig. 5: the bottom surface of 120 facing 110) facing towards the back plate 110 (Fig. 5) and a second surface (Fig. 5: the top surface of 120) facing towards the socket 300 (Fig. 4), the first surface having a concave curvature (Figs. 7-8).
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) in view of Goodwin (US-6282093-B1).
With respect to Claim 11:
Zhang discloses the apparatus of claim 1.
Zhang does not explicitly disclose wherein the spring sheet includes a first end fixedly coupled to the back plate.
However, Goodwin discloses a land grid array clamp mechanism, wherein the spring sheet 80 includes a first end (Fig. 1A: the left end of 80 containing a pair of holes) fixedly coupled to the back plate 50 (via posts 60).
Thus, Zhang and Goodwin each disclose apparatuses for securing a connector to a circuit board. A person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have recognized that the coupling of the spring sheet to the back plate of Goodwin could be combined with the spring sheet of Zhang after the spring sheet flattens out because it would further secure the spring sheet to the back plate. Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to carry out the modification.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 17-18, 24, 69, 71-72, 74 and 76 are allowed.
Claims 13-14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objection to claim 13.
Claim 75 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 5, Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) discloses an apparatus comprising: a back plate 110; a circuit board 200 between the back plate 110 and a socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); a first spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the first spring sheet 120 adjacent to a first location of the back plate 110 (Figs. 4-8).
However, no prior art of record explicitly discloses "a second spring sheet adjacent to a second location." Thus, claim 5 is allowable.
Claims 6-7 are dependent on claim 5 and are therefore allowable.
With respect to claim 13, Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) discloses an apparatus comprising: a back plate 110; a circuit board 200 between the back plate 110 and a socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); and a spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the spring sheet 120 applies a force on the circuit board 200 near a center of the socket 300 (Figs. 4-8: the spring sheet applies an upward force on the circuit board).
However, no prior art of record explicitly discloses wherein "the force to cause the socket to have a profile defined by a convex surface facing away from the circuit board." Thus, claim 13 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objection.
Claim 14 is dependent on claim 13 and would therefore be allowable.
With respect to claim 17, Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) discloses an apparatus comprising: a back plate 110; a socket 300 including a plurality of pins; a circuit board 200 coupled to the socket 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); an integrated circuit package 400 interfaced with the socket 300 via the pins (Figs. 3-4; [0026]); a first spring sheet 120 between the back plate 110 and the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4), the first spring sheet 120 adjacent to a first location of the back plate 110 (Figs. 4-8).
However, no prior art of record explicitly discloses "a second spring sheet adjacent to a second location." Thus, claim 17 is allowable.
Claims 18 and 76 are dependent on claim 17 and are therefore allowable.
With respect to claim 24, Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) discloses a method comprising: coupling a first spring sheet 120 to a first location of a back plate 110 (Figs. 4-8); coupling a socket 300 to a first surface of a circuit board 200 (Figs. 3-4; [0025]-[0026]); disposing the first spring sheet 120 next to the circuit board 200 such that the first spring sheet 120 is between the circuit board 200 and the back plate 110 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]); disposing an integrated circuit (IC) package 400 within the socket 300 (Figs. 3-4; [0026]); and applying, via a tightening of a fastener 11, a compressive force to the circuit board 200 (Fig. 4; [0024], [0027]), the IC package 400, the back plate 110, and the socket 300.
However, no prior art of record explicitly discloses a method comprising: "disposing a second spring sheet adjacent to a second location of the back plate; and the compressive force causing the socket and the IC package to warp in a complementary manner." Thus, claim 24 is allowable.
With respect to claim 69, Zhang, et al. (US-20210143083-A1) discloses an apparatus comprising: a circuit board 200; means 300 for receiving an integrated circuit (IC) package 400 (Figs. 3-4; [0026]), the receiving means 300 carried by the circuit board 200 (Fig. 3); and means 120 for increasing contact between the receiving means 300 and the IC package 400 (Figs. 4-8: the spring force from the arch plate 120 pushes upward on the socket connector 300, thereby increasing contact between the socket connector 300 and the central processing unit 400), the circuit board 200 between the contact increasing means 120 and the receiving means 300 (Fig. 4; [0025]-[0026]), the contact increasing means 120 to urge a center of the receiving means 300 towards the IC package 400 (Figs. 4-8).
However, no prior art of record explicitly discloses wherein "the contact increasing means to cause a load distribution between the IC package and the receiving means to be substantially equal across the IC package." Thus, claim 69 is allowable.
Claims 71-72 and 72 are dependent on claim 69 and are therefore allowable.
Regarding Claim 75, allowability resides, at least in part, with the prior art, taken alone or in combination not showing or fairly teaching or suggesting “wherein the first spring location applies a tensional force to the socket and the second spring location damps vibration associated with the socket,” as recited in claim 75, in conjunction with all the remaining limitations of the base claims. The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest these limitations as substantially described in claim 75. These limitations, in combination with remaining limitations of claim 75, are neither taught nor suggested by the prior art of record, before claim 1 is allowable.
Conclusion
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/AMARA ANDERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2831 /ABDULLAH A RIYAMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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