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 .
Drawings
The drawings were received on 8/27/25. These drawings are acceptable.
Response to Arguments
Objections to claims 2 and 4 are moot in view of applicant’s amendments. The objections to claims 2 and 4 are withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 10 under 35 U.S.C. 102 has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments with respect to the rejection of claims 1, 2, 9 under 35 U.S.C. 103, filed 8/27/25, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues new limitations that have not yet been considered by the examiner. However, the limitations are considered to be obvious in view of the prior art including newly-cited Paci et al. (US20180335326): Paci teaches the attachment of a body structure 51, Fig. 5A, to a support 54 which can be a substrate [0071]. Therefore, it is known to attach a body structure to any substrate surface and would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to attach the housing 210 of MacNeil to the surface of substrate 204 or substrate 223 in order to create a desired cavity.
The use of the water-resistant encapsulation, as taught by MacNeil, is to prevent moisture, liquid, or other environmental aggressors from contacting the pressure sensing element and the pressure sensor circuitry [0046] while allowing the translation of pressure from the ambient environment to the sensor 202. Encapsulating the substrate 204 with a water-resistant encapsulation 600 produces no new or unexpected results. Likewise, positioning the encapsulation material within an access opening results in the same function as when the material is not within the access opening: transmission of ambient pressure to the sensor.
Therefore, applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 15 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 15 under 35 U.S.C. 103 has been withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 14 depends from canceled claim 13. As understood by the examiner, claim 14 depends from claim 10. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim is grammatically incorrect: The device of claim 1, wherein the second die further includes a plurality of contact pads [[are]] in close proximity to a first sidewall of the second die.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “close” in claim 21 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close proximity” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. There is no clear definition of what the distance is or what would be considered close proximity versus not close proximity. For examination purposes the claim will be treated as if the term “close” is not present.
Claim 22 recites the limitation “the temperature sensor”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear whether this claim should depend from claim 7, which previously recites “a temperature sensor” or if a temperature sensor is being introduced. For purposes of examination, “the temperature sensor” will be treated as “a temperature sensor”.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 9, 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MacNeil (US20190086284) in view of applicant-cited DeLuca et al. (US20200049539) further in view of Paci et al. (US20180335326).
Claim 1: MacNeil teaches a device (pressure sensor 102, Fig. 6, [0046-0047]), comprising: a first die (substrate 204) including a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a plurality of first sidewalls that extend from the first surface to the second surface, and the plurality of first sidewalls are transverse to the first surface and the second surface (see Fig. 6);
a second die (die 200) stacked on the second surface of the first die (see Fig. 6), the second die (die 200) including: a third surface facing away from the first die; a plurality of second sidewalls that are transverse to the third surface (see Fig. 6); a pressure detection structure along the third surface, the pressure detection structure including a membrane (membrane 202) and a detection element (sensing elements 203) associated with the membrane; and
a heating structure (heating elements 104); a package contains the first die and second die (see Fig. 6), the package including a base structure (substrate 223) and a body structure (housing 210) on the base structure (see Fig. 6), the package having an access opening (port 211) in fluid communication with an external environment ([0037]) and internally defining a housing cavity (volume of air above sensing membrane 202, [0037]), in which the second die is arranged and in which the second die is covered with a coating material (water-resistant encapsulation 600, [0046-0047]), wherein heating structure (heating elements 104) is configured to heat the pressure detection structure from an inside of the package (the heating elements 104 are positioned within the package (substrate 204 and housing 210), see Fig. 2-6, [0034-0035, 0040-0047]).
MacNeil fails to teach the detection element within the membrane.
However, DeLuca teaches a piezo-element (piezo-resistors [0033]) embedded within a membrane (Figs. 3,9; [0033]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a detection element within the membrane of MacNeil, as taught by DeLuca in order to protect the detection elements from environmental damage.
MacNeil in view of DeLuca fails to teach wherein the first surface of the first die is coupled to the base structure, the first die arranged in the cavity and is covered with a coating material, and the coating material is within the housing cavity, is within the access opening, covers the plurality of first sidewalls of the first die and the second surface, and covers the plurality of second sidewalls of the second die and the third surface.
Paci teaches the attachment of a body structure 51, Fig. 5A, to a support 54 which can be a substrate [0071]. Therefore, it is known to attach a body structure to any substrate surface and would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to attach the housing 210 of MacNeil to the surface of substrate 204 or substrate 223 in order to create a desired cavity.
The use of the water-resistant encapsulation, as taught by MacNeil, is to prevent moisture, liquid, or other environmental aggressors from contacting the pressure sensing element and the pressure sensor circuitry [0046] while allowing the translation of pressure from the ambient environment to the sensor 202. Encapsulating the substrate 204 with a water-resistant encapsulation 600 produces no new or unexpected results. Likewise, positioning the encapsulation material within an access opening results in the same function as when the material is not within the access opening: transmission of ambient pressure to the sensor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to arrange the first die in the cavity encapsulate the first die with a coating material, and the coating material is within the housing cavity, is within the access opening, covers the plurality of first sidewalls of the first die and the second surface, and covers the plurality of second sidewalls of the second die and the third surface for the obvious benefit of transmitting ambient pressure to a sensor while protecting the cavity interior from moisture, liquid, or other environmental aggressors (MacNeil, [0046]).
Claim 2: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 1. MacNeil teaches wherein the second die (pressure sensing element 200) further includes: a first portion at which the pressure detection structure (sensing elements 203) is integrated; and a second portion separate and distinct from the first portion at which the heating structure (heating elements 104) is integrated (Fig. 6 shows the sensing elements 203 and the heating elements 104 at distinct locations on the element 200).
Claim 9: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 1. MacNeil teaches wherein the heating structure is configured to implement heating of the pressure detection structure from the inside of the package during an electrical test procedure ([0049-0055], Fig. 8 shows the flow chart for an example process for pressure sensor calibration), and wherein output signals from the pressure detection structure are acquired at different temperature reference values ([0049-0055], Fig. 8, several measured temperatures).
Claim 21: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 1. MacNeil in view of DeLuca fails to teach wherein the second die further includes a plurality of contact pads are in close proximity to a first sidewall of the second die.
Paci teaches contact pads/paths 11’, 11”, 42’, 42”, 64, 66, 72, Figs. 5A, 5B. The conductive pads in cooperation with electrical wires 62 and vias 69 are used to create electrical pathways [0035]. The placement of the electrical pads does not result in any new or unexpected result. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a plurality of contact pads are in close proximity to a first sidewall of the second die for the obvious benefit of creating conductive connections needed for signal transmission and reception (Paci [0078]).
Claim 22: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 21. MacNeil teaches a temperature sensor 103 but fails to teach wherein the temperature sensor is between the plurality of contact pads and the membrane of the pressure detection structure.
However, the placement of the temperature sensor is not limited, as taught by MacNeil ([0033] temperature sensor 103 may be formed on or within die 200). The placement of the temperature sensor achieves no new or unexpected result.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to place a temperature sensor between the plurality of contact pads and the membrane of the pressure detection structure for the obvious benefit of detecting the temperature of the device.
Claims 3-7, 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman et al. (US20090100924).
Claim 3: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 2, but fails to teach wherein the heating structure includes a plurality of resistive elements at the third surface of the second die, the plurality of resistive elements are parallel-connected to each other for being traversed by a heating electric current to implement the heating of the pressure detection structure.
However, Zimmerman teaches a heating structure (heating circuit 36, Fig. 6) which includes a plurality of resistive elements at the third surface of the second die, the plurality of resistive elements are parallel-connected to each other for being traversed by a heating electric current to implement the heating of the substrate 26 ([0037] The heating circuit 36 is connected in parallel to the two legs of the bridge circuit 34. The heating resistor R1 may have a rating of as high as 4 to 6 watts, and as low as 0.5 to 1.5 watts. It should be understood that more than one heating resistor in parallel or in series may be provided in the heating circuit 34 without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.) Therefore, the number and arrangement of resistors is known to be configurable in order to achieve a desired heating result.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a plurality of resistors in parallel, as taught by Zimmerman, for the obvious benefit of providing sufficient heating
Claim 4: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device of claim 3. MacNeil teaches wherein the membrane (the membrane 202) is provided at the surface of the first die and is arranged over a cavity (inherently there must be a volume underneath the membrane 202 in order for the membrane to deflect) buried within the first die; and wherein the detection element is of a piezoresistive type (sensing elements 203 [0040] sensing elements 203 may be capacitive, MEMS-based, piezoelectric, or other elements that sense deformations caused by pressure changes) and is configured to detect deformations of the membrane due to impinging pressure waves, and wherein the plurality of resistive elements of the heating structure (heating elements 104) are arranged adjacent to and in proximity of the membrane (see Fig. 6).
Claim 5: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device of claim 3.
MacNeil teaches wherein the plurality of resistive elements are lateral to the membrane (Fig. 6 shows the heating elements 104 which are lateral to the membrane).
wherein the plurality of resistive elements include respective polysilicon regions at the third surface of the second die (DeLuca teaches wherein the heating element can be made of poly-silicon [0016, 0022], claim 13.)
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use resistive elements including respective polysilicon regions as taught by DeLuca, with the device of MacNeil in order to engineer the thermo-mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness, temperature profile distribution, etc.) of the membrane and/or the fluid dynamic interaction between the fluid and the membrane ([0016] DeLuca).
Claim 6: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device of claim 3.
MacNeil teaches wherein the first die (second circuitry substrate 204) includes a processing circuit, implemented as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) ([0035] ASIC), and the processing circuit including a temperature adjustment module configured to control supply of the heating current to the heating structure ([0042] heating elements 104 are controlled by processing circuitry 206 of ASIC 204, claim 3); the second die (die 200) being in the housing cavity of the package (see Fig. 6).
Claim 7: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device of claim 6. MacNeil teaches wherein: the second die further includes a temperature sensor (temperature sensor 103 [0022]) configured to detect a temperature of the pressure detection structure ([0022] Temperature sensor 103 may be integrally formed with pressure sensor 102 and arranged to sense the temperature of a pressure sensing element of pressure sensor 102.), and the temperature adjustment module is configured to control the supply of the heating current to the heating structure based on a feedback control of the temperature of the pressure detection structure detected by the temperature sensor during a test and temperature calibration procedure ([0051] Operating the heater may include (e.g., using system processing circuitry 128 and/or integrated circuit elements 206 of pressure sensor ASIC 204) running a current through one or more resistive heating elements to heat pressure sensing element 200, substrate 204, substrate 223, and/or other portions of pressure sensor 102.).
Claim 23: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci teaches the device of claim 22, but fails to teach wherein the heating structure includes a plurality of resistive elements at the third surface of the second die, the plurality of resistive elements are parallel-connected to each other for being traversed by a heating electric current to implement the heating of the pressure detection structure.
However, Zimmerman teaches a heating structure (heating circuit 36, Fig. 6) which includes a plurality of resistive elements at a first surface of the first die, the plurality of resistive elements are parallel-connected to each other for being traversed by a heating electric current to implement the heating of the substrate 26 ([0037] The heating circuit 36 is connected in parallel to the two legs of the bridge circuit 34. The heating resistor R1 may have a rating of as high as 4 to 6 watts, and as low as 0.5 to 1.5 watts. It should be understood that more than one heating resistor in parallel or in series may be provided in the heating circuit 34 without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.) Therefore, the number and arrangement of resistors is known to be configurable in order to achieve a desired heating result.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a plurality of resistors in parallel, as taught by Zimmerman, for the obvious benefit of providing sufficient heating.
Claim 24: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device of claim 23, but fails to teach a first group of resistive elements of the plurality of resistive elements between a respective second sidewall of the second die and the membrane of the pressure detection structure; and a second group of resistive elements of the plurality of resistive elements between a respective third sidewall of the second die and the membrane of the pressure detection structure, and the respective third sidewall is opposite to the respective second sidewall; the plurality of resistive elements are coupled to the plurality of pads by conductive tracks.
However, MacNeil teaches a plurality of heating elements 104 used to achieve even heating of the device by placing the heating elements on and within the sensor circuitry substrate [0041]. Therefore, the placement and number of heating elements is known to be result effective and therefore obvious to optimize.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a first group of resistive elements of the plurality of resistive elements between a respective second sidewall of the second die and the membrane of the pressure detection structure; and a second group of resistive elements of the plurality of resistive elements between a respective third sidewall of the second die and the membrane of the pressure detection structure, and the respective third sidewall is opposite to the respective second sidewall; the plurality of resistive elements are coupled to the plurality of pads by conductive tracks in order to more evenly heat the device (MacNeil [0041]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman further in view of Chen et al. (US20120290747).
Claim 8: MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman teaches the device according to claim 6. MacNeil teaches wherein the first (pressure sensing element 200) and second (substrate 204) dies are stacked (see Fig. 6).
MacNeil in view of DeLuca further in view of Paci further in view of Zimmerman fails to teach the third surface of the second die is coupled to the second surface of the first die by a bonding region.
However, Chen teaches a sensing device 100, Fig. 1A, wherein substrates 110 and 120 are bonded [0034], therefore there must be a bonding region, i.e. where the two substrates meet and are bonded.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-11, 15-18 are allowed.
Claim 14 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objection set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The closest prior art includes MacNeil and Tumpold (US20190017893).
MacNeil and Tumpold both teach sensor arrangements including internal heating for calibration. MacNeil uses a pressure sensor 200 including membrane 202 within a housing 210, and heating element 104 . Tumpold uses a heating element 150 to calibrate a sensor. Both MacNeil ([0054]) and Tumpold ([0127]) teach that the objective to remove the need for external heating or an external heating device.
There is no reasonable teaching, suggestion, or motivation for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use internal and external heat sources in cooperation such that a first temperature is reached using external heat and thereafter heating using internal heating.
(claim 10) enable a temperature adjustment through the external testing equipment; and subsequently enable the heating structure when the temperature of the pressure detection structure is in a first range around a temperature reference value.
Or (claim 15) wherein the external testing equipment heats is configured to heat the pressure sensor device to a temperature within a first range of temperature detected by the temperature sensor within the pressure sensor device, and, after the temperature is within the first temperature range, the heating structure is configured to be activated to heat an interior of the pressure sensor device.
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 JEAN MORELLO whose telephone number is (313)446-6583. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-4.
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/JEAN F MORELLO/Examiner, Art Unit 2855 10/23/25
/KRISTINA M DEHERRERA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855