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 2, FIG. 2 in Group 1, Claims 17-32 in the reply filed on 05/05/26 is acknowledged. The Examiner has found the Applicant’s arguments for Group 2 persuasive and restriction for Group 2 has been withdrawn.
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 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Takeda et al. (US PG Pub 2014/0226689 A1, 02/02/23 IDS).
Regarding claim 17, Takeda discloses a laser diode device (FIG. 1B), comprising:
at least one laser diode (52, FIG. 1B, [0020]), the laser diode being an edge emitter (FIG. 1B); and
a housing (FIG. 1B) having a transparent optical window (40, FIG. 1B, where 40 is made of borosilicate glass, [0020] and [0026]), the transparent optical window being configured as a first side wall of the housing (FIG. 1B), and the housing being configured to shield hermetically ([0029]), the laser diode from an external environment of the laser diode device (FIG. 1B), the transparent optical window being configured to transmit at least one laser beam (53, FIG. 1B) generated by the laser diode into the external environment (FIG. 1B), the laser diode being at least indirectly fastened to a base of the housing (52 is indirectly fastened to 26 via 50, FIG. 1B, [0020]-[0021]), wherein side walls of the housing (40, FIG. 1B) and a housing cover (comprising 30/60, FIG. 1B) situated opposite the housing base are developed from at least three wafers (40/30/60, FIG. 1B).
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(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.
Claims 17, 19-22, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a2 as being anticipated by MIYATA et al. (US PG Pub 2021/0091532 A1).
Regarding claim 17, MIYATA discloses a laser diode device (100, FIG. 19, [0090]), comprising:
at least one laser diode (10, FIG. 19), the laser diode being an edge emitter (FIG. 19); and
a housing (FIG. 19) having a transparent optical window (40A, FIG. 19, where 40 is made of glass, [0058]), the transparent optical window being configured as a first side wall of the housing (FIG. 19), and the housing being configured to shield hermetically (“the laser diode 10 may be sealed airtight,” [0053]), the laser diode from an external environment of the laser diode device (FIG. 19), the transparent optical window being configured to transmit at least one laser beam (14, FIG. 19) generated by the laser diode into the external environment (FIG. 19), the laser diode being at least indirectly fastened to a base of the housing (10 is indirectly fastened to 30 via 20, FIG. 19, [0049]), wherein side walls of the housing (40A/40B, FIG. 19, [0058]) and a housing cover (40B, FIG. 19, [0058]) situated opposite the housing base are developed from at least three wafers (40A/40B/40C, FIG. 19).
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Regarding claim 19, MIYATA discloses the side walls have a rectangular cross-section (FIG. 19).
Regarding claim 20, MIYATA discloses the housing has a cuboidal configuration (FIG. 19).
Regarding claim 21, MIYATA discloses the laser diode device has a fastening element (20, FIG. 19, [0049]), which is situated separately from the housing, the fastening element being configured to fix the laser diode in position inside the housing in such a way that the at least one laser beam generated by the laser diode is transmitted directly into the external environment (FIG. 19).
Regarding claim 22, MIYATA discloses the housing base is a carrier substrate (30, FIG. 19, [0041] and [0050]).
Regarding claim 24, MIYATA discloses the housing cover has at least one second recess (see annotated FIG. 19 above, [0098]-[0099]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIYATA et al.
Regarding claim 18, MIYATA has disclosed the side walls of the housing and the housing cover outlined in the rejection to claim 17 above and further discloses the first side wall of the housing is produced from a glass wafer (40A is made of glass, [0058]), and a third side wall of the housing (40Tu, FIG. 18), a fourth side wall of the housing (40Su, FIG. 18), and the housing cover (40T, FIG. 18) are produced from a second silicon wafer (“the second glass portion 40B may be made of an alkaline glass, or made of a non-alkaline glass or a semiconductor (monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, carbon nitride, etc.),” [0061]) except a second side wall of the housing situated opposite the first side wall is produced from a first silicon wafer. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to modify the second side wall of the housing with a silicon wafer in order to minimize unwanted emission through the second side wall of the housing, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MIYATA et al. in view of HUANG et al. (US PG Pub 2010/0148210 A1).
Regarding claim 23, MIYATA has disclosed the carrier substrate outlined in the rejection to claim 22 above except the carrier substrate is provided with at least one first circumferential recess on an underside of the carrier substrate. HUANG discloses the carrier substrate (100, FIG. 1A, [0018]) is provided with at least one first circumferential recess (102a’, FIG. 1A, [0019]) on an underside (100b, FIG. 1B, [0018]) of the carrier substrate. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the carrier substrate of MIYATA with the at least one first circumferential recess on an underside of the carrier substrate as taught by HUANG in order to facilitate electrical connections between the upper and lower sides of the carrier substrate.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 25-32 are allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
MIYATA (US PG Pub 2021/0119409 A1) discloses a laser diode device (100) comprising an edge emitting laser diode (10) mounted inside a hermetically sealed housing (40) and an optical detector (50) for detecting light reflected by an emission surface of the housing (see FIG. 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUANDA ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1439. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM.
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, MINSUN HARVEY can be reached at (571)272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YUANDA ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
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