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 § 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 1-2, 4-6 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0162619 (Furuhata) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0271688 (Takizawa) and JP2010-236956 (Ibusuki).
With regards to claim 1, Furuhata discloses a physical quantity sensor comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-39, an inertial measurement device 5000 (e.g. a physical quantity sensor device; paragraph [0210]; Figure 26) comprising a first inertial sensor 4300 (e.g. an acceleration sensor; paragraphs [0232],[0300]; Figures 26,28) including three sensor elements 4,5,6 (e.g. an acceleration sensor or angular rate sensor; paragraphs [0102],[0232]) arranged non-linearly; a first inertial sensor module 4000,1 (e.g. physical quantity sensor module; paragraph [0232], Figures 26,28) in which the first inertial sensor is stored in a first package made of resin 4500 (e.g. resin package; paragraph [0232]; Figures 28-29); a base 5200 (e.g. substrate; paragraph [0218]; Figure 26) having a concave portion (e.g. bottom portion of base forms a concave portion as observed in Figure 26; paragraph [0218]) and made of ceramic (e.g. ceramic; paragraph [0221]) such that the concave portion includes an accommodation portion having a placement surface as a bottom portion and a peripheral edge portion that is equal to a top surface of the first inertial sensor module (e.g. as observed in Figure 26); a lid body 5300 (e.g. lid; paragraph [0218]; Figure 26); the first inertial sensor module is accommodated in an accommodation space S2 (e.g. storage space; paragraph [0219]; Figure 26) between the base and the lid body and is hermetically sealed (e.g. airtightly sealed; paragraphs [0219],[0220]). (See, paragraphs [0100] to [0300]).
The only differences between the prior art and the claimed invention are 1) the first inertial sensor including three or more sensor elements arranged in a line; 2) the concave portion includes an accommodation portion having a placement surface as a bottom portion and a peripheral edge portion that is lower than a top surface of the first inertial sensor module; 3) an electrode terminal of a plurality of electrode terminals of the first inertial sensor module and a coupling terminal of a plurality of coupling terminals of the peripheral edge portion lower than the top surface are directly coupled to each other by a bonding wire.
For difference 1), Takizawa discloses an inertial sensor comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-24, an inertial sensor 1 (e.g. inertial sensor; paragraph [0033]; Figures 1-2) including three sensor elements 3,4,5 (e.g. sensor elements; paragraph [0033]) arranged in a line (e.g. as observed in Figures 1-2). (See, paragraphs [0031] to [0148]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have readily recognize the advantages and desirability of employing the first inertial sensor including three or more sensor elements arranged in a line as suggested by Takizawa in lieu of the non-linear arrangement of the sensor elements in the system of Furuhata is considered to have been a matter of choice possibilities, as acknowledged by Takizawa in paragraph [0034]), to the manufacturer/user how to arrange the sensor elements, in a line or non-linear, based on the allowed region/area for the installation of the inertial sensor without departing from the scope of the invention and would not change/or alter the operation and/or performance of the sensor elements, namely to detect acceleration in the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. (See, paragraph [0034] of Takizawa).
For differences 2) and 3), Ibusuki discloses an inertial sensor module comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-7, an inertial measurement device 101 (e.g. inertial sensor module; paragraph [0022]) comprising a first inertial sensor 100 (e.g. angular velocity sensor; paragraphs [0022],[0023],[0062]); a first inertial sensor module 110 (e.g. resin part; paragraph [0022]) in which the first inertial sensor is stored in a resin package (e.g. observed in Figure 2); a base 120A (e.g. module member; paragraph [0033]) having a concave portion (e.g. bottom portion of base forms a concave portion as observed in Figure 2; paragraphs [0033],[0034]) and made of ceramic (e.g. ceramic; paragraph [0043]) such that the concave portion includes an accommodation portion (e.g. the bottom vertical surface side region of module member 120A in Figure 2 is considered this accommodation portion) having a placement surface as a bottom portion (e.g. the bottom horizontal surface side region of module member 120A in Figure 2 is considered this bottom portion) and a peripheral edge portion (e.g. the top horizontal surface side region of module member 120A in Figure 2 is considered this peripheral edge portion) that is lower than a top surface (e.g. top surface) of the first inertial sensor module 110 (e.g. as observed in Figure 2); a lid body 130 (e.g. cover member; paragraph [0033]); the first inertial sensor module 110 is accommodated in an accommodation space 121A (e.g. recess; paragraph [0033]; Figure 2) between the base 120A and the lid body 130 and is hermetically sealed (e.g. paragraph [0061]); an electrode terminal G (e.g. external terminal; paragraph [0031]; Figure 2) of a plurality of electrode terminals of the first inertial sensor module 110 and a coupling terminal SP (e.g. inertial sensor connection pad; paragraph [0035]) of a plurality of coupling terminals of the peripheral edge portion lower than the top surface are directly coupled to each other by a bonding wire L (e.g. metal wire; paragraph [0035]). (See, paragraphs [0021] to [0064]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have readily recognize the advantages and desirability of employing the concave portion includes an accommodation portion having a placement surface as a bottom portion and a peripheral edge portion that is lower than a top surface of the first inertial sensor module and an electrode terminal of a plurality of electrode terminals of the first inertial sensor module and a coupling terminal of a plurality of coupling terminals of the peripheral edge portion lower than the top surface are directly coupled to each other by a bonding wire as suggested by Maeda et al. in lieu of the concave portion includes an accommodation portion having a placement surface as a bottom portion and a peripheral edge portion that is equal to a top surface of the first inertial sensor module in the system of Furuhata is considered to have been a matter of choice possibilities to the manufacturer/user how to arrange the inertial sensor module based on the allowed region/area, for example lower than, equal to, or upper than a top surface of the first inertial sensor module, for the installation of the inertial sensor module without departing from the scope of the invention and would not change/or alter the operation and/or performance of the sensor element, namely to detect angular velocity and/or acceleration.
With regards to claim 2, Furuhata further discloses the base 5200 and the lid body 5300 are bonded to each other by welding (e.g. seam welding using a seam ring 5400; paragraph [0219]).
With regards to claim 4, Furuhata further discloses an electronic component 5900 (e.g. circuit element; paragraph [0217]; Figure 26) electrically coupled to the first inertial sensor module is stored in the accommodation space (e.g. paragraph [0219],[0223]; Figure 26).
With regards to claim 5, Furuhata further discloses the first inertial sensor module has a first surface (e.g. top surface) including the plurality of electrode terminals P (e.g. as observed in Figures 26,28) and a second surface (e.g. bottom surface) which is an opposite-side surface from the first surface; the concave portion includes an accommodation portion 5212 (e.g. recess portion; paragraph [0228]; Figure 26) having a placement surface as a bottom portion, and a peripheral edge portion that is one step higher than the placement surface and that surrounds the accommodation portion (e.g. as observed in Figure 26); the first inertial sensor module is mounted on the placement surface in a state in which the second surface faces the concave portion (e.g. as observed in Figure 26).
With regards to claim 6, Furuhata further discloses a plate-shaped spacer DA (e.g. die-attach material; paragraphs [0211],[0223]) is disposed between the second surface of the first inertial sensor module and the placement surface (e.g. as observed in Figure 26).
With regards to claim 8, Furuhata further discloses the first inertial sensor module further includes a second inertial sensor 4400 (e.g. an angular rate sensor; paragraph [0232]; Figure 28) configured to detect a physical quantity different from a physical quantity detected by the first inertial sensor; the second inertial sensor is stored in the first package together with the first inertial sensor (e.g. paragraph [0260]; Figure 23).
With regards to claim 9, Furuhata further discloses a substrate 4100 (e.g. base substrate; paragraph [0232]; Figure 29); a second inertial sensor module 4400 including a second inertial sensor (e.g. angular rate sensor; paragraph [0232]) and a second package (e.g. box-like structure is considered as this package; Figure 29) configured to accommodate the second inertial sensor; a first inertial measurement device including the inertial measurement device and the second inertial sensor module are mounted on the substrate (e.g. as observed in Figure 29).
With regards to claim 10, Furuhata further discloses the first inertial sensor 4300 (e.g. three-axis accelerometer; paragraph [0232] has a first axis, a second axis, and a third axis that are orthogonal to one another as detection axes; the second inertial sensor 4400 (e.g. three-axis angular rate sensor; paragraph [0232] has the third axis as the detection axis and has detection accuracy higher than detection accuracy of the first inertial sensor (e.g. improve accuracy of the angular rate sensor due to the structural member 8; paragraphs [0206]).
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0162619 (Furuhata) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0271688 (Takizawa) and JP2010-236956 (Ibusuki), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0105980 (Mori).
With regards to claim 3, Furuhata does not disclose a gettering agent is stored in the accommodation space.
Mori discloses a physical quantity sensor package comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-5, an inertial measurement device (e.g. entire device illustrated in Figure 2) comprising a first inertial sensor module 2 in which a first inertial sensor (e.g. an acceleration sensor; paragraph [0034]) is stored in a first package; a base 4 (e.g. a board; paragraph [0019]; Figure 2) having a concave portion; a lid body 3 (e.g. lid; paragraph [0019]; Figure 2) such that the first inertial sensor module is accommodated in an accommodation space between the base and the lid body and is hermetically sealed (e.g. paragraph [0020]; Figure 2); a gettering agent 11 (e.g. getter material; paragraphs [0030],[0035],[0036]; Figure 2) is stored in the accommodation space. (See, paragraphs [0017] to [0045]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have readily recognize the advantages and desirability of employing a gettering agent is stored in the accommodation space as suggested by Mori to the system of Furuhata, as modified by Takizawa and Ibusuki, to have the capability of adsorption of gas molecules present within the sealing space to achieve more effective reduction in internal pressure within the package. (See, paragraph [0035] of Mori).
Claims 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0162619 (Furuhata) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0271688 (Takizawa) and JP2010-236956 (Ibusuki), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0162745 (Otsuki et al.).
With regards to claim 7, Furuhata further discloses the first inertial sensor module has a first surface (e.g. top surface) including a plurality of electrode terminals P (e.g. as observed in Figures 26,28) and a second surface (e.g. bottom surface) which is an opposite-side surface from the first surface.
The only difference between the prior art and the claimed invention is the plurality of coupling terminals are provided at a placement surface serving as a bottom portion of the concave portion; the first inertial sensor module is mounted on the placement surface in a state in which the first surface faces the concave portion; the electrode terminals and the coupling terminals are coupled to each other by a conductive material.
Otsuki et al. discloses a sensor unit comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-34, an inertial measurement device 300 (e.g. entire device illustrated in Figure 6) comprising a first inertial sensor module in which a first inertial sensor 342 (e.g. a gyro sensor; paragraph [0034]) is stored in a first package; a base 341 (e.g. a base; paragraph [0105]; Figure 6) having a concave portion; a lid body 343 (e.g. lid; paragraph [0105]; Figure 6) such that the first inertial sensor module is accommodated in an accommodation space between the base and the lid; the first inertial sensor module has a first surface (e.g. bottom surface) including a plurality of electrode terminals 364,354,384,394 (e.g. terminals; paragraphs [0107]; Figure 25) and a second surface (e.g. top surface) which is an opposite-side surface from the first surface; a plurality of coupling terminals 350 (e.g. connection pads; paragraph [0107]; Figure 6) are provided at a placement surface serving as a bottom portion of the concave portion; the first inertial sensor module is mounted on the placement surface in a state in which the first surface faces the concave portion; the electrode terminals and the coupling terminals are coupled to each other by a conductive material 358 (e.g. conductive fixing member; paragraph [0106]; Figure 6). (See, paragraphs [0082] to [0227]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have readily recognize the advantages and desirability of employing a plurality of coupling terminals are provided at a placement surface serving as a bottom portion of the concave portion; the first inertial sensor module is mounted on the placement surface in a state in which the first surface faces the concave portion; the electrode terminals and the coupling terminals are coupled to each other by a conductive material of Otsuki et al. to the system of Furuhata et al., as modified by Takizawa and Ibusuki, to have the ability to provide electrical connections among internal terminals within the module and with external terminals. (See, paragraph [0107] of Otsuki et al.).
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-10 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection and/or 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 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.
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/HELEN C KWOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855