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 .
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.
Claim 16 is is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DARRYL TW 456162 B.
DARRYL discloses rigid circuit board with a flexible portion, comprises a rigid portion (54, 56) configured at a first end of the circuit board, and a flexible portion (see claims) configured at a second end of the circuit board, wherein the flexible portion is prepared by removing partial material from a top of the rigid circuit board or inversely (see claims at a designated area so that the flexible portion comprises at least a laver of bottommiost signal traces extended from the rigid portion.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dibene US 20030156400 A1 in view of KOYAMA JP 2004343021 A.
Dibene discloses a first circuit board (222): a plurality of first signal traces (see paragraph 0307) longitudinally configured on the first circuit board, a second circuit board (202) configured on a bottom side of the first circuit board, a plurality of second signal traces longitudinally configured on the second circuit board; and a plurality of first metal vias (210) configured at a first end of the second circuit board: wherein each first metal via (204) is electrically coupled with a corresponding first signal trace; the first end of the first circuit board and the first end of the second circuit board are fixed with each other through a plurality of metal balls (212, 224). However, Dibene fails to disclose a flexible connecting structure, and the second end of the second circuit board
floats, deflectable up and down. KOYAMA discloses a flexible connecting structure, and the second end of the second circuit board (see paragraph 0054, 0064, 0067)
floats, deflectable up and down. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to add a flexible such as disclosed in KOYAMA in order to improve the signal connection with more direct signal paths and reduce interference in Dibene’s device.
Conclusion
Claims 7-15 are allowed.
Claims 2-6 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jean F. Duverne whose telephone number is (571) 272-2091. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00-5:30, Monday-Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, RENEE S LUEBKE can be reached on (571)272-2009.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEAN F DUVERNE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833
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