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 .
The preliminary amendment filed 2/22/2023 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 2/22/2023 is/are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7, 11, 14-16, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shigee (JP 2015177151) (refer to IDS filed 2/22/2023).
Claim 1: Shigee discloses a conductive base (base of 21, 22, figs. 1 and 2) of an LED support, the conductive base comprising at least two metal pads (21, 22, fig. 1) insulated and isolated from each other (see fig. 1), wherein the metal pads (21, 22) are bonded to a colloid (3, fig. 1) configured to form a support housing (housing of 3, fig. 1) to form the LED support, upper surfaces of the metal pads (upper surface of 21 and 22) are located at a bottom of a bowl cup (bowl cup formed by 31, fig. 1) defined by the support housing (3), the bowl cup (bowl cup formed by 31) is configured for an LED chip (4, fig. 1) to be placed, at least parts of the upper surfaces of the metal pads are exposed (see fig. 1), the upper surface of at least one of the metal pads (upper surface of 21 and 22, fig. 1) is configured to bear the LED chip (4), and an exposed region of the upper surface of each of the metal pads (upper surface region of 21 and 22) is configured to be electrically connected to an electrode )see fig. 1) of a corresponding LED chip (4); and at least parts of lower surfaces of the metal pads (lower surface of 21, 22, fig. 1) are exposed from the support housing (3), the lower surfaces are surfaces opposite to the upper surfaces (see fig. 1), a first side surface (side surface with 222, fig. 1) of at least one of the metal pads (22) located between the upper surface and the lower surface (see fig. 1) is exposed from the support housing (3), a first notch (notch of 222, fig. 1) is arranged in regions of the lower surfaces exposed from the support housing (see fig. 1), and a region of the first side surface exposed from the support housing is formed as a set soldering shape (shape of 222, see fig. 1).
Claim 2: Shigee discloses the set soldering shape (shape of 222, fig. 1) comprises any of the following: a second notch (notch of 202b, fig. 1) formed on the first side surface (see fig. 1); a protrusion (protrusion of 221a, fig. 1) formed on the first side surface protruding from the support housing; and a non-rectangular shape formed on the first side surface and flush with the support housing.
Claim 3: Shigee discloses at least a part of a second side surface (side surface on side of 21a, fig. 2) of at least one of the metal pads (21) located between the upper surface and the lower surface is exposed from the support housing (see fig. 2), and
the first side surface and the second side surface are two opposite surfaces (see fig. 2).
Claim 5: Shigee discloses he set soldering shape comprises the second notch (notch of 202b, fig. 1) formed on the first side surface (side surface of 222, fig. 1), and a flux layer (solder fillet within 222, fig. 1 and see para [0026]) (bonding material such as solder, see para [0026]) configured to enhance a soldering ability is arranged on an inner wall of at least one of the first notch and the second notch (see figs. 1-2 and para [0026]).
Claim 6: Shigee discloses the set soldering shape (shape of 222, fig. 1) comprises the protrusion (221, fig. 1) formed on the first side surface (see figs. 1 and 2), and a fourth notch (notch of 202b, fig. 1) configured to accommodate a solder is arranged on the protrusion.
Claim 7: Shigee discloses a second side surface (side surface on side of 21a, fig. 2) of at least one of the metal pads (21) located between the upper surface and the lower surface is located inside the support housing (see figs. 1 and 2), and the first side surface and the second side surface are two opposite surfaces (see fig. 2).
Claim 11: Shigee discloses the conductive base comprises three metal pads (21a, 22a, fig. 2) arranged in sequence, and the exposed regions of the upper surface of the metal pad arranged in middle are electrically connected to corresponding electrodes of two LED chips (see fig. 1).
Claim 14: Shigee discloses a part of an upper end of the metal pad (upper end of 21 and 22, fig. 1) is embedded into the support housing (3); and/or a bulge extending outward is arranged on at least one of the metal pads between the upper surface and the lower surface, and at least a part of the bulge is embedded into the support housing.
Claim 15: Shigee discloses the metal pad is a copper substrate (copper, see para [0018]), and a reflective layer (3 includes a reflective layer) (high reflectance for molding resin portion, see para [0017] and [0040]) is arranged at least in the exposed region of the upper surface (see fig. 1).
Claim 16: Shigee discloses the conductive base according to claim 1 and a colloid (3) bonded to the conductive base (base of 21, 22) to form the support housing (see fig. 1).
Claim 18: Shigee discloses an LED lamp bead, comprising the LED support according to claim 16 (see claim 16), an LED chip (4, fig. 1) arranged in the bowl cup (bowl cup of 3, fig. 1), and a packaging layer (5, fig. 1) arranged in the bowl cup and covering the LED chip (4), wherein the electrodes of the LED chip are electrically connected (see fig. 1) to the exposed regions of the upper surfaces of the corresponding metal pads (21, 22).
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) 4 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shigee (JP 2015177151).
Claim 4: Shigee teaches the set soldering shape comprises the second notch (notch of 202b, fig. 1) formed on the first side surface (side surface of 222, fig. 1).
However, Shigee is silent about the first notch is in communication with the second notch.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to change the shape of the first notch be in communication with the second notch to improve soldering connection, since it has been held that the configuration of the first and second notch was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed invention was significant. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Claim 13: Shigee fails to teach a maximum transverse width Wi of an upper end of at least one of the metal pads close to the upper surface is greater than or equal to a maximum transverse width W2 of the region of the first side surface of the metal pad exposed from the support housing; and/or a maximum transverse width W4 of a region of the lower surface of at least one of the metal pads exposed from the support housing is greater than or equal to the maximum transverse width W2 of the region of the first side surface of the metal pad exposed from the support housing.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to change the dimensions of the metal pads where a maximum transverse width Wi of an upper end of at least one of the metal pads close to the upper surface is greater than or equal to a maximum transverse width W2 of the region of the first side surface of the metal pad exposed from the support housing; and/or a maximum transverse width W4 of a region of the lower surface of at least one of the metal pads exposed from the support housing is greater than or equal to the maximum transverse width W2 of the region of the first side surface of the metal pad exposed from the support housing to enhance electrical connection, since it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. In re Rose, 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shigee (JP 2015177151) in view of Shen (US 2020/0292149).
Claim 19: Shigee teaches the first side surface (side surface of 222) is coplanar with the support housing (see fig. 1) or the lower surface is coplanar with the support housing (see fig. 1).
However, Shigee fails to teach the LED lamp bead is a side emitting LED lamp bead, or the LED lamp bead is a front emitting LED lamp bead.
Shen teaches a LED lamp bead is a front emitting LED lamp bead (see fig. 1A).
Therefore, in view of Shen, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the LED lamp bead die of Shigee with the front emitting LED lamp bead of Shen, in order to provide a top light emitting surface LED.
Claim 20: Shigee teaches a substrate (8, fig. 1) and a LED lamp bead (4, fig. 1) according to claim 16, wherein the LED lamp bead (4) are electrically connected to the substrate (8).
However, Shigee fails to teach a plurality of LED lamp beads.
Shen teaches a plurality of LED lamp beads (106, fig. 1H).
Therefore, in view of Shen, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a plurality of LED lamp beads, that are electrically connected to the substrate in order to increase the brightness of the light-emitting module.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to add additional LED lamp beads to increase the total brightness, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working part of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 8-10, 17 and 21-22 is/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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art taken as a whole does not show nor suggest a rough surface having a concave-convex structure configured to enhance a bonding force to the support housing and/or a bonding hole allowing the colloid forming the support housing to flow in is arranged in a region of the upper surface of the metal pad bonded to the support housing with respect to claim(s) 8, the conductive base comprises three metal pads arranged in sequence, and the support housing further comprises an isolation wall arranged on the upper surface of the metal pad arranged in middle, so as to form two bowl cups isolated from each other on the upper surfaces of the three metal pads with respect to claim(s) 17,
A manufacturing method of the LED support according to claim 16, comprising: providing a conductive base assembly, wherein the conductive base assembly comprises at least two conductive bases, one of the conductive bases correspondingly forms an LED support, the other one of the conductive bases comprises at least two metal pads insulated and isolated from each other, and a cutting position is arranged between adjacent conductive bases; placing the conductive base assembly in a corresponding die, wherein a cavity region formed in the die is correspondingly a to-be-formed support housing region; filling the cavity region in the die with a colloid and forming a support housing after the colloid is cured; and removing the die and performing cutting along the cutting position to obtain a single LED support with respect to claim(s) 21,
A manufacturing method of the LED lamp bead according to claim 18 comprising: providing a conductive base assembly, wherein the conductive base assembly comprises at least two conductive bases, one of the conductive bases correspondingly forms an LED support, the other one of the conductive bases comprises at least two metal pads insulated and isolated from each other, and a cutting position is arranged between adjacent conductive bases; placing the conductive base assembly in a corresponding die, and attaching to-be-exposed regions of the metal pads to the die snugly, wherein a cavity region formed in the die is correspondingly a to-be-formed support housing region; filling the cavity region in the die with a colloid, and forming a support housing after the colloid is cured, wherein the support housing of a single LED support defines a bowl cup for placing an LED chip, upper surfaces of the metal pads of the single LED support are located at a bottom of the bowl cup and are at least partially exposed, and the upper surface of at least one of the metal pads is configured to bear the LED chip; removing the die, arranging the LED chip in the bowl cup, and electrically connecting an electrode of the LED chip to a corresponding metal pad; arranging, in the bowl cup, a packaging layer covering the LED chip; and performing cutting along the cutting position to obtain a single LED lamp bead; or manufacturing the LED support through the manufacturing method of the LED support comprising: providing a conductive base assembly, wherein the conductive base assembly comprises at least two conductive bases, one of the conductive bases correspondingly forms an LED support, the other one of the conductive bases comprises at least two metal pads insulated and isolated from each other, and a cutting position is arranged between adjacent conductive bases: placing the conductive base assembly in a corresponding die, wherein a cavity region formed in the die is correspondingly a to-be-formed support housing region; filling the cavity region in the die with a colloid and forming a support housing after the colloid is cured; and removing the die and performing cutting along the cutting position to obtain a single LED support; arranging the LED chip in the bowl cup, and electrically connecting an electrode of the LED chip to a corresponding metal pad; and arranging, in the bowl cup, a packaging layer covering the LED chip with respect to claim(s) 22, as specifically called for in the claimed combinations.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are dependent upon claim(s) 8 and is/are therefore allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shen et al. (US 2015/0204525), Lin et al. (US 2021/0398865), Chu et al. (US 2014/0264403), Gijsbers et al. (US 2020/0287113), Kao et al. (US 2021/0116749) disclose a similar lighting device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZHENG B SONG whose telephone number is (571)272-9402. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9AM - 5PM.
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, Jong-Suk (James) Lee can be reached at 571-272-7044. 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.
/ZHENG SONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875