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 Species I (figs. 2a-2e, 5a-5c) directed to claims 1, 4-13 and 15 in the reply filed on 2/23/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected subject matter.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 states in the last line of the claim “and the .”. The claim must be amended to clarify the meaning. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 states, “the plurality of contact means” however this appears to have been changed to “compression mount technology (CMT) contact pads” earlier in the claim and should continue this terminology throughout the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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(s) 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leigh et al. (US PG. Pub. 2020/0383207) in view of Rao et al. (US PG. Pub. 2021/0321516).
Regarding claim 1 – Leigh teaches an apparatus (fig. 7), comprising: a contact module (714) comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) ([paragraph 0057] Leigh states, “base board 714”) or substrate; first (716-1 & 718-1) and second (716-2 & 718-2) fold modules, each having a plurality of memory devices (718-1 & 718-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “electronic devices 718-1 and 718-2 respectively (e.g., electronic devices may include memory, processing resource, etc.)”) coupled to a fold module PCB (716-1 & 716-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “wiring boards 716-1 and 716-2”); a first flexible interconnect (720-1 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “flexible circuit 720-1”) coupling the contact module (714) to the first fold module (716-1 & 718-1); and a second flexible interconnect (720-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “flexible circuit 720-2”) coupling the contact module (714) to the second fold module (716-2 & 718-2), wherein the contact module (714), first and second fold modules (716-1/718-1 & 716-2/718-2), and the first (720-1) and second (720-2) interconnects provide signal paths between the plurality of contact means and the plurality of memory devices ([Abstract] Leigh states, “A flexible circuit flexibly links at least one of the wing boards to the base board and has a signal path to communicatively couple the planar signal interface and an electronic device packaged the wing board”), and wherein the apparatus is configured to be installed such that portions of the first (716-1 & 718-1) and second (716-2 & 718-2) fold modules are folded over the contact module (714) and the .
Leigh fails to teach a compression contact module comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) or substrate having a plurality of compression mount technology (CMT) contact pads arranged in one or more arrays on an underside thereof.
Rao teaches a compression contact module (fig. 2A-2C, 220 [paragraph 0042] Rao states, “Connector array 212 is illustrated as being compressed under pad array 224 when module 220 is secured to system board 210”) comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) or substrate (see substrate shown as contact module 220) having a plurality of compression mount technology (CMT) contact pads (224) arranged in one or more arrays (see array shown in figure 2A) on an underside thereof (claimed structure shown in figure 2A).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus having a contact module bonded to a motherboard as taught by Leigh with the contact module being a compression contact module with a plurality of compression mount technology contact pads arranged in an array on an underside thereof as taught by Rao because Rao states, “The pad layout matching and the short interconnection length do not introduce impedance mismatches and introduce very little impedance at all. Thus, the module can allow signaling at high transfer frequencies with very little skew in the propagation time and very little crosstalk.” [paragraph 0021]. Additionally compression mount technology is known to improve reliability over alternative connecting means such as solder joints.
Regarding claim 4 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the contact module (Leigh; fig. 7, 714) includes at least two clearance holes (see fig. 4 showing clearance holes through contact module 414 similar to 714) that are sized and arranged for respective fastener means (see fasteners shown on system board 402) passing therethrough when the apparatus is installed (claimed structure shown in figure 4A & 7).
Regarding claim 6 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to be installed such that at least a portion of the first fold module (Leigh; fig. 7, 716-1 & 718-1) is folded over the contact module (714) and at least a portion of the second fold module (716-2 & 718-2) is folded over the contact module (714) and the first fold module (716-1 & 718-1). Rao teaches wherein the contact module is a compression contact module as discussed in the rejection to claim 1.
Regarding claim 8 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory devices (Rao; fig. 2A, 230 [paragraph 0037] Rao states, “memory chip 230”) comprise double data rate 5th generation (DDR5) ([paragraph 0091] Rao states, “A memory subsystem as described herein may be compatible with a number of memory technologies, such as…DDR5 (DDR version 5, originally published by JEDEC in July 2020)”) or double data rate 6th generation (DDR6) dynamic access random memory (DRAM) devices.
Regarding claim 9 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the contact module (Leigh; fig. 7, 714), first (720-1) and second (720-2) interconnects, and the first (716-1 & 718-1) and second (716-2 & 718-2) fold modules are integrally formed as a single part (figure 7 shows the structure being formed together and is considered a “single part”. Rao teaches wherein the contact module is a compression contact module as discussed in the rejection to claim 1.
Additionally 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 structure as claimed integrally formed as a single part, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. Howard v. Detroit Stove Works, 150 U.S. 164 (1893). Integral construction will allow for a structurally stronger apparatus.
Regarding claim 11 – Leigh teaches an electronic assembly (fig. 7), comprising: a contact module (714) comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) ([paragraph 0057] Leigh states, “base board 714”) or substrate; first (716-1 & 718-1) and second fold modules (716-2 & 718-2), each having a plurality of memory devices (718-1 & 718-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “electronic devices 718-1 and 718-2 respectively (e.g., electronic devices may include memory, processing resource, etc.)”) coupled to a fold module PCB (716-1 & 716-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “wiring boards 716-1 and 716-2”); a first flexible interconnect (720-1 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “flexible circuit 720-1”) coupling the contact module (714) to the first fold module (716-1 & 718-a); a second flexible interconnect (720-2 [paragraph 0058] Leigh states, “flexible circuit 720-2”) coupling the contact module (714) to the second fold module (716-2 & 718-2), a motherboard or system board (702 [paragraph 0057] Leigh states, “system board 702”); wherein respective portions of the first (716-1) and second (716-2) fold modules PCBs are folded over the contact module (714), and wherein a plurality of signal paths are provided to enable transfer of signals between the plurality of memory devices ([Abstract] Leigh states, “A flexible circuit flexibly links at least one of the wing boards to the base board and has a signal path to communicatively couple the planar signal interface and an electronic device packaged the wing board”). Leigh fails to teach a compression contact module comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) or substrate having a first plurality of compression mount technology (CMT) contact pads arranged in one or more first arrays on an underside thereof; a motherboard or system board, having a second plurality of CMT contact pads arranged in one or more second arrays on a topside thereof; and CMT connector, disposed between the compression contact module and the motherboard or system board and including CMT pin in contact with CMT contact pads in the first plurality of CMT contact pads and in the second plurality of CMT contact pads; and wherein a plurality of signal paths are provided to enable transfer of signals between CMT contact pads in the second plurality of CMT contact pads and the plurality of memory devices
Rao teaches a compression contact module (fig. 4A, 420 [paragraph 0064] Rao states, “Connector array 442 of connector 440 is illustrated as being compressed in contact with pad array 424 when module 420 is secured to system board 410”) comprising a first printed circuit board (PCB) or substrate (see substrate 420) having a first plurality of compression mount technology (CMT) contact pads (424) arranged in one or more first arrays on an underside thereof (see array as shown in figure 4A); a motherboard or system board (410 [paragraph 0061] Rao states, “system board 410”), having a second plurality of CMT contact pads (412 [paragraph 0064] Rao states, “pad array 412”) arranged in one or more second arrays on a topside thereof (see fig. 4A); and CMT connector (440), disposed between the compression contact module (420) and the motherboard or system board (410) and including CMT pin ([paragraph 0062] Rao states, “connector 440 is a board with spring connectors on both surfaces”) in contact with CMT contact pads (424) in the first plurality of CMT contact pads and in the second plurality of CMT contact pads (412); and wherein a plurality of signal paths are provided to enable transfer of signals between CMT contact pads (424) in the second plurality of CMT contact pads and the plurality of memory devices (430 [paragraph 0066] Rao states, “Module 420 includes pad array 422 electrically connected to pad array 424 through the module board to enable electrical connection of memory chip 430 to pad array 412 of system board 410 through connector 440”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus having a contact module bonded to a system board as taught by Leigh with the contact module being a compression contact module with a plurality of compression mount technology contact pads arranged in an array on an underside thereof and connected through a CMT connector to CMT contact pads on the system board as taught by Rao because Rao states, “The pad layout matching and the short interconnection length do not introduce impedance mismatches and introduce very little impedance at all. Thus, the module can allow signaling at high transfer frequencies with very little skew in the propagation time and very little crosstalk.” [paragraph 0021]. Additionally compression mount technology is known to improve reliability over alternative connecting means such as solder joints.
Regarding claim 15 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory devices (Rao; fig. 4A, 230 [paragraph 0058] Rao states, “memory chip 430”) comprise double data rate 5th generation (DDR5) ([paragraph 0091] Rao states, “A memory subsystem as described herein may be compatible with a number of memory technologies, such as…DDR5 (DDR version 5, originally published by JEDEC in July 2020)”) or double data rate 6th generation (DDR6) dynamic access random memory (DRAM) devices.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leigh et al. in view of Rao et al. as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Fujii (US Patent 5519578).
Regarding claim 10 – Leigh in view of Rao teach the apparatus of claim 9 and a compression contact module (discussed in the rejection to claim 1), but fails to explicitly teach wherein the first and second interconnects comprise one or more flexible PCB layers, at a least a portion of the one or more PCB layers are part of PCB structures for the PCB of the contact module and the PCBs of the first and second fold modules.
Fujii teaches wherein the first (fig. 1A-3, left interconnect 111 [column 2 lines 43-47] Fujii states, “a printed wiring board 101 has an exploded shape constituted by a rectangular flexible printed wiring board 111 having a size equal to that of the entire exploded shape of the printed wiring board 101”) and second interconnects (right interconnect 111) comprise one or more flexible PCB layers (flexible PCB layers of 111), at a least a portion of the one or more PCB layers are part of PCB structures for the PCB of the contact module (112 [column 2 lines 46-48] Fujii states, “a rectangular hard printed wiring board 112 which overlaps and adheres to the flexible printed wiring board 111”) and the PCBs of the first (113 [column 2 lines 50-51] Fujii states, “a pair of elongated hard printed wiring boards 113 and 114”) and second (114) fold modules (claimed structure shown in figure 3).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus having first and second interconnects as taught by Leigh in view of Rao with the first and second interconnects being a flexible PCB layer that are part of the PCBs of the contact module and the PCBs of the first and second fold modules as taught by Fujii because Fujii states regarding this structure, “It is another object of the present invention to provide a printed wiring board structure in which a printed wiring board is decreased in volume to miniaturize a device.” [column 1 lines 49-51]. Using a single integral flexible wiring board through each of the component members will create a compact and mechanically strong assembly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7 and 12-13 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Dean et al. (US PG. Pub. 2015/0261265) discloses a self-supporting thermal tube structure for electronic assemblies.
Ingraham et al. (US Patent 5926369) discloses a vertically integrated multi-chip circuit package.
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/STEVEN T SAWYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847