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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on May 13, 2026 has been entered.
Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated May 13, 2026. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
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.
Claims 18 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Nakada et al. (USPGPub 2006/0275602 A1).
Nakada et al. disclose a double-sided tape having an outer peripheral edge with opposing short sides and opposing long sides for attaching an electronic component to a housing of an electronic device (Paragraph 0038; Figures; Abstract; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. Nakada et al. is designed to be attached to adhered, which could include an electronic component.), the double-sided tape including at least one cut that extends from a short side of the opposing short sides of the outer peripheral edge (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), toward an inner portion of the double-sided tape in a plan view of the double-sided tape (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), a length of the cut is shorter than one half of a shortest distance between the opposing short sides (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), the double-sided tape has an adhesive layer and a separator attached to the adhesive layer (Paragraphs 0038 and 0040), and a part of the cut at the outer peripheral edge is a peeling start position of the separator (Paragraphs 0038 and 0040, wherein the release liner may be removed at any portion) as in claim 18. With respect to claim 19, the double-sided tape includes: a substrate (Figures 1a and 1b, #2); the adhesive layer is a first adhesive layer attached to a first principal surface of the substrate (Figures 1a and 1b, #3); and a second adhesive layer is attached to a second principal surface of the substrate (Paragraph 0038), wherein at least the substrate has the at least one cut (Figures 2a – 5c, #6). For claim 20, the at least one cut extends through the substrate, the first adhesive layer, and the second adhesive layer (Figures 2a – 5c, #6).
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.
Claims 8 – 14, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakada et al. (USPGPub 2006/0275602 A1) in view of Mag et al. (USPN 10,000,018).
Nakada et al. disclose a double-sided tape having an outer peripheral edge with opposing short sides and opposing long sides (Paragraph 0038; Figures; Abstract), the double-sided tape including at least one cut that extends from a short side of the opposing short sides of the outer peripheral edge (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), toward an inner portion of the double-sided tape in a plan view of the double-sided tape (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), a length of the cut is shorter than one half of a shortest distance between the opposing short sides (Figures 2a – 5c, #6), the double-sided tape has an adhesive layer and a separator attached to the adhesive layer (Paragraphs 0038 and 0040), and a part of the cut at the outer peripheral edge is a peeling start position of the separator (Paragraphs 0038 and 0040, wherein the release liner may be removed at any portion) as in claim 8. With respect to claim 9, the double-sided tape includes: a substrate (Figures 1a and 1b, #2); the adhesive layer is a first adhesive layer attached to a first principal surface of the substrate (Figures 1a and 1b, #3); and a second adhesive layer is attached to a second principal surface of the substrate (Paragraph 0038), wherein at least the substrate has the at least one cut (Figures 2a – 5c, #6). Regarding claim 10, the at least one cut extends through the substrate, the first adhesive layer, and the second adhesive layer (Figures 2a – 5c, #6). For claim 12, at least one cut is located on the short side of the outer peripheral edge of the double-sided tape (Figures 2a – 5c, #6). In claim 13, the at least one cut is a plurality of cuts (Figures 2a – 5c, #6). However, Nakada et al. fail to disclose an electronic component comprising: a sensor body; and a double-sided tape attached to a surface of the sensor body, at least one cut is located at the corner portion of the double-sided tape, a separator attached to a principal surface of the double-sided tape such that the double-sided tape is between the sensor body and the separator, and the at least one cut is located at a position overlapping the electronic component in the plan view of the double-sided tape.
Mag et al. teach an electronic component (Abstract; Figures) comprising: a sensor body (Figure 1B, #114; Column 1, lines 18 – 22); and a double-sided tape attached to a surface of the sensor body (Figures 1A and B, #108), wherein the double-sided tape has at least one cut extending from an outer peripheral edge to an inner portion of the double- sided tape in a plan view of the double-sided tape (Column 6, lines 17 – 20), a separator attached to a principal surface of the double-sided tape such that the double-sided tape is between the sensor body and the separator (Figures 1A and 1B; Column 4, line 54 to Column 5, line 53), and the at least one cut is located at a position overlapping the electronic component in the plan view of the double-sided tape (Figure 1B, #108 and 114) for the purpose of adhering a component to the interior surface of a housing (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have an electronic component in Nakada et al. in order to adhere a component to the interior surface of a housing as taught by Mag et al.
With regard to the limitation “at least one cut is located at the corner portion of the double-sided tape”, Nakada et al. teach that the cuts may take on a variety of formations, including a slanted orientation (Figure 5c, #6). It is well settled that a particular shape of a prior invention carries no patentable weight unless the applicant can demonstrate that the new shape provides significant unforeseen improvements to the invention. In the instant case, the application does not indicate any new, significant attributes of the invention due to its shape of the cut which would have been unforeseen to one of ordinary skill in the art. A change in size or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent unexpected results. MPEP 2144.04 (I) and (IV).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 8 – 14 and 16 – 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Patricia L Nordmeyer whose telephone number is (571)272-1496. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6:30pm EST, Monday - Friday.
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 May 28, 2026
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