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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant is advised that the new art unit number is 2692. Please use the new art unit number for all future communications.
This Office action is in response to the Amendment filed on 11/4/2025.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rombach et al. (US 2020/0169818) in view of Nakazawa et al. (JP 2018-201083 using an English machine translation).
Regarding claim 1, Rombach discloses a package on which a microphone element is to be mounted, the package comprising:
a substrate (CB) comprising a mounting portion (portion of CB under MC) of a microphone element (MC) in the package (Fig. 8); and at least one recessed portion positioned in a region corresponding to the mounting portion (Fig. 8: portion of CB under MC is recessed from the top of CB down to the top of GRD), wherein
a bottom surface of the recessed portion in the substrate is a thin plate portion (GRD portion) that is thinner than a thickness of another region (as seen in Fig. 8: GRD portion is thinner than other parts of CB), and
the substrate comprises a plurality of through holes in the thin plate portion (Fig. 8: see holes in GRD),
wherein the substrate is a
the substrate is a wiring board provided with a wiring conductor on a surface and an inner portion of the wiring board (¶ 0046), and
the substrate comprises
a first
a second
Additionally, Rombach discloses that the substrate (CB) is formed from HTCC (high temperature co-fired ceramics) (¶ 0046).
Rombach is not relied upon to disclose the body, the plurality of layers, the first layer, and the second layer are a laminate body, a plurality of insulation layers, a first insulation layer, and a second insulation layer, respectively.
In a similar field of endeavor, Nakazawa discloses a substrate (20) formed from HTCC (¶ 0021), wherein the substrate is a laminate body (¶ 0021) comprising a plurality of insulation layers (20a and 20b), and
the substrate is a wiring board provided with a wiring conductor on a surface (by way of 28 or 24) and an inner portion (by way of 26) of the wiring board (Fig. 1 and ¶ 0021).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to: configure the substrate (CB of Rombach) to be a laminate body, and to configure the plurality of layers of the substrate to be a plurality of insulation layers which would include configuring the first layer and the second layer of Rombach to be a first insulation layer and a second insulation layer, respectively, while also maintaining that the substrate is a wiring board provided with a wiring conductor on a surface and an inner portion of the wiring board, based on the teachings of Nakazawa,
the motivation being to design the substrate of Rombach in such a way that allows for the substrate to be formed from HTCC (Rombach - ¶ 0046) (Nakazawa - ¶ 0021).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rombach in view of Nakazawa in view of Axelsson et al. (US 2015/0358708).
Regarding claim 14, Rombach-Nakazawa discloses the package according to claim 1.
Rombach-Nakazawa is not relied upon to disclose wherein the insulation layer is a ceramic insulation layer.
In a similar field of endeavor, Axelsson discloses a ceramic type material as an electrically insulating material suitable for reducing or preventing moisture penetration (¶ 0044).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to: wherein the insulation layer is a ceramic insulation layer, the motivation being to reduce or prevent moisture penetration (Axelsson – ¶ 0044).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-3549. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 1-6, 7:30-11:59pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CAROLYN R EDWARDS can be reached on 571-270-7136. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARK FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692