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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35
U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-7) in the reply filed
on March 2, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CPR
1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
DETAILED ACTION
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C.
119 (a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Specification
The title is objected to for failure to be sufficiently descriptive.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Element 21 in Figure 1 is not described in the specification. Please amend the specification to include a description of element 21 shown in Figure 1.
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the
presence of all possible minor errors. The applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which the applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of AIA 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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-7 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being
anticipated by Oikawa et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20140361663; hereinafter “Oikawa”).
Regarding claim 1, Oikawa discloses an acoustic wave device comprising: a wiring substrate (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 5; [0034]); a device chip (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 19; [0037]-[0038]) mounted on (Figs. 3-4/6) the wiring substrate (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 5; [0034]); a photocurable resin film (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 43) disposed (Figs. 3-4/6) so as to surround (Figs. 3-4/6) an air gap (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, S; [0034]) between (Figs. 3-4/6) the wiring substrate (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 5; [0034]) and the device chip (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 19; [0037]-[0038]); a ceramics layer (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 11; [0034]-[0035]) formed (Figs. 3-4/6) so as to cover (Figs. 3-4/6) the photocurable resin film (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 43); and a sealing portion (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 9; [0045]) covering (Figs. 3-4/6) the ceramics layer (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 11; [0035]) formed (Figs. 3-4/6).
Regarding claim 2, Oikawa discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the photocurable resin film (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 43) is not formed on (Figs. 3-4/6) at least a part of a non-opposed main surface (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, non-opposed main surface of 5; [0034]) and a surface in a thickness direction of the wiring substrate (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, surface in a thickness direction of 5; [0034]), and is formed in (Figs. 3-4/6) a curved shape (Figs. 3-4/6) in a cross section (Figs. 3-4/6) from a lower end of a surface in a thickness direction of the device chip (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, a lower end of a surface in a thickness direction of 19; [0037]-[0038]) to the wiring substrate (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 5; [0034]).
Regarding claim 4, Oikawa discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the ceramics layer (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 11; [0034]-[0035]) has a thermal conductivity of 145 to 230 W/m K ([0044]).
Regarding claim 5, Oikawa discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the ceramics layer (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 11; [0034]-[0035]) is aluminum nitride or alumina ([0044]).
Regarding claim 6, Oikawa discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein a metal layer (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 20) is formed on (Figs. 3-4/6) the sealing portion (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 9; [0045]).
Regarding claim 7, Oikawa discloses a module (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 1) including (Figs. 3-4/6) the acoustic wave device (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 7) according to claim 1.
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 of this title, 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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oikawa
in view of Katsurada et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20220155684; hereinafter
“Katsurada”).
Regarding claim 3, Oikawa discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the photocurable resin film (Figs. 3-4/6; Fig. 3, 43). Oikawa does not teach a thickness of 5 µm to 100 µm.
Katsurada, however, does teach a thickness of 5 µm to 100 µm ([0119]).
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Oikawa to include the thickness of Katsurada because it would provide crack reduction in a workable supported film thereby improving durability (Katsurada [0119]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to MONICA MATA
whose telephone number is (571) 272-8782. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
supervisor, Dedei Hammond, can be reached on (571) 270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/MONICA MATA/
Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
8 May 2026
/EMILY P PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights