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 Objections
Claims 4, 6, 10, 12 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities.
In Claim 4, “an open” (line 2) should be changed to –the open--.
In Claim 6, “a short” (line 2) should be changed to –the short--.
In Claim 10, “an open” (line 2) should be changed to –the open--.
In Claim 12, “a short” (line 2) should be changed to –the short--.
In Claim 16, “a short” (line 2) should be changed to –the short--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 9 and 10 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.
In Claim 9, the phrase of “the multiple second conductor pads” (lines 2-3) lacks antecedent basis. It appears that the phrase should be recited as –the plurality of second conductor pads--, which is previously recited (at line 13 of 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, 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, 3 through 6, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication 2019/0335594 to Matsuura et al (hereinafter “Matsuura”) in view of U.S. Publication 2020/0141978 to Ishimatsu et al (hereinafter “Ishimatsu”).
Claim 1: Matsuura discloses a method for manufacturing a wiring substrate, comprising:
preparing a first support plate having a metal foil (e.g. 16) formed on a surface of a support substrate (e.g. 12, Fig. 1a);
forming a wiring substrate (e.g. 26) on the metal foil of the first support plate such that the wiring substrate has a first (bottom) surface facing the metal foil of the first support plate (e.g. Fig. 1b);
attaching a second support plate (e.g. 28, 30) to a second (top) surface of the wiring substrate on an opposite side with respect to the first surface (e.g. Fig. 1c); and
separating the support substrate from the metal foil of the first support plate after the attaching of the second support plate (e.g. Figs. 1c to 2d, ¶ [0050]) such that the metal foil of the first support plate is removed from the first surface of the wiring substrate and that the first surface of the wiring substrate is exposed (e.g. Fig. 2e, ¶ [0051]),
wherein the wiring substrate has a plurality of first conductor pads (e.g. 18f, 18fp) formed on the first surface, and a plurality of second conductor pads (e.g. 18n, 18np) formed on the second surface, and the method for manufacturing the wiring substrate includes conducting a first conduction inspection (with top 38) such that conduction between the plurality of second conductor pads (e.g. 18n, 18np) is inspected after the attaching of the second support plate to the second surface of the wiring substrate (e.g. ¶ [0057]), and conducting a second conduction inspection (with bottom 38) such that conduction between the plurality of first conductor pads (e.g. 18f, 18fp) is inspected after the removing of the metal foil from the first surface of the wiring substrate (e.g. Fig. 2f, ¶ [0058]).
The first and second conduction inspections by Matsuura are each a continuity test (e.g. ¶ [0060]). No continuity from this test would mean no continuity of electrical current as this would be an open defect or a short-circuit defect.
Claim 3: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 1, wherein the first conduction inspection includes an open inspection (of continuity) between the multiple second conductor pads (e.g. ¶ [0060]).
Claim 4: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 3, wherein the first conduction inspection includes the open inspection between the plurality of second conductor pads that electrically connect to different conductor pads (e.g. 18 in top layer 20) of the first conductor pads via different conductor paths, respectively.
Claim 5: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 1, wherein the second conduction inspection includes a short inspection (continuity or no continuity) between the plurality of first conductor pads of the wiring substrate (e.g. ¶ [0060]).
Claim 6: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 5, wherein the second conduction inspection includes the short inspection (continuity or no continuity) between the plurality of first conductor pads that are to be electrically separated (by material of insulating layer 20).
Claim 15: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 3, wherein the second conduction inspection includes a short inspection (continuity or no continuity) between the plurality of first conductor pads of the wiring substrate (e.g. ¶ [0060]).
Claim 16: Matsuura discloses the method for manufacturing a wiring substrate according to claim 15, wherein the second conduction inspection includes the short inspection between the plurality of first conductor pads that are to be electrically separated (by material of insulating layer 20).
Matsuura does not teach conducting a first conduction inspection (with top 38) such that conduction between the plurality of second conductor pads (e.g. 18n, 18np) is inspected before the attaching of the second support plate to the second surface of the wiring substrate.
Ishimatsu discloses a method of manufacturing a wiring substrate (e.g. 21, Fig. 3) including a plurality of second conductor pads (e.g. 22) formed on a second (top) surface of the wiring substrate. Ishimatsu conducts a first conduction inspection (with 50, Fig 4) such that a conduction between the plurality of second conductor pads is inspected without attaching of any second support plate to the second (top) surface of the wiring substrate, or without any second support plate at all. This teaching by Ishimatsu means that Matsuura can be modified to conduct the first conduction inspection such that the conduction between the plurality of second conductor pads can be inspected without, or before, attaching a second support plate to the second surface of the wiring substrate. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Matsuura in this manner, based on this teaching of Ishimatsu, to achieve the very same purpose of a first conduction inspection.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter.
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art does not teach wherein the first conduction inspection is conducted in a state in which the first support plate is attached to the first surface.
Regarding Claims 7, 17 and 19, the prior art does not teach wherein the metal foil of the first support plate includes a first layer and a second layer.
Regarding Claim 8, 18 and 20, the prior art does not teach forming any solder resist layer.
Furthermore, it would not be obvious to modify the primary reference of Matsuura by adding any of these above features, because to do so would destroy the overall structure of Matsuura’s wiring substrate.
Accordingly, Claims 2, 7, 8, 11 through 14 and 17 through 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 9 and 10 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2018-018968, discloses manufacturing a wiring substrate (e.g. Fig. 2) that includes first conductor pads (e.g. 15) and second conductor pads (e.g. 20).
b) Non-Patent Literature of Material Science and Engineering Publication to Kuczynski et al, entitled “Thermally conductive dielectrics for insulated metal core cards”, discloses a wiring substrate with first conductor pads and second conductor pads (e.g. Scheme 1, 14, also see entire document).
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/ Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896