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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3-6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yoshihara et al. (“Yoshihara” US 2012/0227952).
The applied reference has a common assignee and joint inventor with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement.
Regarding claim 1, Yoshihara discloses:
A semiconductor module (Figures 18, 19) comprising:
a fin base (1) including a first surface (lower surface of fin base 1 in Figure 19) and a second surface (upper surface of fin base 1 in Figure 19), the second surface being a surface opposite to the first surface (see Figure 19);
an insulating sheet (10, para. [0034]) arranged on the first surface (lower surface of fin base 1, see Figure 19);
a plurality of frame patterns (7) arranged on the first surface (see Figure 19) with the insulating sheet (10) interposed therebetween (see Figure 19);
a semiconductor element (9) arranged on at least one of the plurality of frame patterns (7, see Figure 19); and
a plurality of fins (4) swaged onto the second surface (upper surface of fin base 1, see Figure 19, para. [0037]) so as to be spaced apart from each other in a first direction (spaced apart laterally in Figure 19, the first direction is the left/right horizontal direction in Figures 18 and 19), wherein
the second surface is provided with a plurality of rising wall portions (flat portions between fins, see labeled in annotated Figure 19 below) and a plurality of swaging portions (grooves 2), the plurality of rising wall portions extending along a second direction (in/out of the page direction in Figure 19, vertical up/down direction in Figure 18) that intersects with the first direction and being spaced apart from each other in the first direction (see Figure 18), each of the plurality of swaging portions (2) extending along the second direction (in/out of the page direction in Figure 19, vertical up/down direction in Figure 18, see Figures 18/19) between adjacent two of the plurality of rising wall portions (see Figure 18),
at least one of the plurality of swaging portions (2) includes a contact portion (tilted portions of swaging portions directly contacting fins 4, and wall portions of the groove 2 that are on the left and right ends of the fin base 1, labeled in modified Figure 19) and a spaced-apart portion (flat portion between contact portions, see Figure 19 and labeled in modified Figure 19), the contact portion (tilted portion of groove) being in contact with a corresponding one of the plurality of fins (4, see Figure 19), the spaced-apart portion being spaced apart from the corresponding one of the plurality of fins (spaced apart from the fins, not directly contacting the fins), and wherein the contact portion (tilted portions of swaging portions directly contacting fins 4, and wall portions of the groove 2 that are on the left and right ends of the fin base 1, labeled in modified Figure 19) and the spaced-apart portion (flat portion between contact portions, see Figure 19 and labeled in modified Figure 19) are aligned in the second direction (Figure 18 shows the contact portions and spaced apart portions are aligned in the second direction, which is interpreted to mean that each portion extend along a straight line in the second direction, the second direction being the vertical direction in Figure 18),
the first direction is along a longitudinal direction of the fin base (lateral/horizontal direction of the fin base in Figures 18, 19),
the first surface (lower surface of fin base 1) includes a first end (left end in Figure 19) and a second end (right end in Figure 19) in the first direction, the second end being an end opposite to the first end (left and right ends are opposite one another),
the plurality of frame patterns (7) include a first frame pattern (7 shown in Figure 19) and a second frame (farthest frame patter 7 shown in Figure 17) pattern extending along the first direction (extend laterally in Figures 17, 19) and being spaced apart from each other in the second direction (in/out of page in Figures 17, 19, see Figure 17, spaced apart in the in/out of the page direction) on a central portion of the first surface (central portion is a center line of the fin base 1 on the first surface in the second direction),
both ends of each of the first frame pattern and the second frame pattern (left and right ends) are located outside a first fin (leftmost fin in Figures 17, 19) of the plurality of fins located closest to the first end (left end in Figures 17, 19) and a second fin (rightmost fin in Figures 17, 19) of the plurality of fins located closest to the second end (right end, see Figures 17, 19), and
the spaced-apart portion (flat portion of the grooves 2) is arranged at a position that overlaps with a space between the first frame pattern (7 in Figure 19) and the second frame pattern (farthest frame pattern in second direction in Figure 17), when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the first surface (when viewed from the top in Figure 18, spaced apart portions would overlap both the first and second frame patterns, thus would also overlap a space in between the first and second frame patterns).
Regarding claim 3, Yoshihara discloses:
The semiconductor module according to claim 1, wherein a first swaging portion and a second swaging portion (leftmost and rightmost swaging portions, shown in Figure 18 and labeled in annotated Figure 18) of the plurality of swaging portions (2) are adjacent to the first fin and the second fin (leftmost and rightmost fins 4), respectively, and include only the contact portion (only the contact portion is provided on the outside of the fin base 1 as seen in Figures 18, 19, and in contact with outer surfaces of the first and second fins).
Regarding claim 4, Yoshihara discloses:
The semiconductor module according to claim 1 further comprising a wire (8), wherein
the first frame pattern (7 in Figure 19) is divided into a first divided frame pattern (left portion) and a second divided frame pattern (right portion) in the first direction (see Figure 19), and
the first divided frame pattern (left portion of 7) and the second divided frame pattern (right portion of 7) are connected by the wire (8, see Figure 19).
Regarding claim 5, Yoshihara discloses:
The semiconductor module according to claim 1, wherein
the first frame pattern (7) includes a first portion (flat portion connected to insulating sheet 10), a second portion (downward extending portion outside of the molding compound 6), and a step portion (diagonally extending portion in between) connecting the first portion and the second portion (see Figure 19) and protruding toward an opposite side of the first surface (step portion protrudes toward the right side of the first surface, opposite the left side).
Regarding claim 6, Yoshihara discloses:
The semiconductor module according to claim1, wherein
a first length is longer than a second length, the first length being a length of the contact portion in the second direction (see annotated Figure 18 below), the second length being a length of the spaced-apart portion in the second direction (see annotated Figure 18 below, the length of the contact portion, which is the tilted portion of the swaging portion and the lateral walls of the swaging portions on the left and right ends of the fin base 1, is greater than the length of the spaced apart portions which is the flat portion between the tilted walls of the contact portion).
Regarding claim 8, Yoshihara discloses:
A power conversion device comprising:
a main conversion circuit (diode of converter part, para. [0032]) including the semiconductor module as recited in claim 1, to convert input electric power and output the input electric power (para. [0032]); and
a control circuit (IGBT, MOSFET, or a GTO switching element, switching element is interpreted to be a control circuit element because the switching controls the power conversion) to output, to the main conversion circuit, a control signal for controlling the main conversion circuit (para. [0032]).
PNG
media_image1.png
604
724
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
482
741
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
192
369
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshihara.
Regarding claim 7, Yoshihara shows in Figure 18 (and see annotated close-up of Figure 18 below) that the second length is less than the first length, but does not explicitly show that the second length is 30-60% of the first length. Rather, Figure 18 implicitly shows that the second length is closer to about 80-90% of the first length.
Thus, Yoshihara does not explicitly disclose:
The semiconductor module according to claim 6, wherein a value obtained by dividing the second length by the first length is not less than 0.3 and not more than 0.6.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art under routine optimization and experimentation that a value obtained by dividing the second length by the first length is not less than 0.3 and not more than 0.6 because “[t]he normal desire of scientists or artisans to improve upon what is already generally known provides the motivation to determine where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges is the optimum combination of percentages” See MPEP 2144.05(II).
Specifically, one having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to optimize the ratio of the second length to the first length under routine experimentation/optimization because a certain amount of a swaging portion spaced apart from the fin compared to a certain amount of a swaging portion that contacts the fin can be altered based on criteria such as, but not limited to, suitable anchoring of the fin to the fin base and manufacturing demands according to the characteristics of the swaging blade (swaging force, blade fabrication, disposition of the swaging blade, etc.). For example, one having ordinary skill in the art would be able to determine during experimentation sufficient anchoring of the fin by varying the length of the spaced-apart portion compared to the length of the contact portion. Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to determine the optimal ratio of the second length to the first length based on these criteria under routine optimization.
PNG
media_image3.png
192
369
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed December 23 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Yoshihara does not disclose or suggest wherein the contact portion and the spaced-apart portion are aligned in the second direction as recited in amended claim 1. However, the interpretation or a definition of “aligned” can require that an element be arranged in a straight line, i.e. the element be primarily extending in the direction in which the element is aligned). The contact portions and spaced apart portions of Yoshihara are indeed straight, and extend primarily in a straight line in the second direction, which is the vertical up/down direction in Figure 18 and the in/out of the page direction in Figure 19. Further, the alignment of the contact and spaced apart portions of the instant application ,12b and 12c, respectively, is the same as the alignment of the contact and spaced apart portion of Yoshihara. See below:
PNG
media_image2.png
482
741
media_image2.png
Greyscale
The second direction in Yoshihara’s Figure 18 above is the vertical up/down direction of the plan view shown.
PNG
media_image4.png
670
642
media_image4.png
Greyscale
The second direction of the instant application is shown as the vertical direction in Figure 3 above, which has been rotated to the same orientation as Yoshihara’s Figure 18 above.
Thus, Yoshihara teaches the configuration claimed, specifically that the contact and spaced apart portions are aligned in the second direction.
The Examiner would like to note that it is unclear what Applicant has intended the term “aligned” to require. Whether two elements are “aligned” in a certain direction might require that the elements extend primarily along the same certain direction (i.e., that the longest edge of an element is parallel to the longest edge of the other element), or that both elements intersect a line drawn in the certain direction (however this interpretation would raise the question as to whether Applicant has support for this configuration, as shown above in Figure 3, the spaced apart portion is offset from the contact portion in the first direction, or the horizontal direction in the rotated Figure 3 above, thus some lines drawn in the second direction wouldn’t intersect both the contact portion and the spaced-apart portion). Thus, the Examiner suggests amending the claims to more specifically require the configuration Applicant is intending to claim, as Yoshihara teaches the amended limitation as demonstrated above.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Genevieve G Bullard-Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-0609. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 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, Dale Page can be reached at 571-270-7877. 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.
/GENEVIEVE G BULLARD CONNOR/Examiner, Art Unit 2899 /DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899
Prosecution Insights