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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot 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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the prior art taken either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or fairly suggest the limitations of the independent claim 5, in such a manner that a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 would be improper.
The prior art fails to teach a combination of all the claimed features as presented in independent claim 5 with the allowable feature being: a semiconductor apparatus comprising: a semiconductor module; main surfaces of a shield respectively face and are parallel to first main surface of a busbar and first surface of the control unit, so as to overlap each other when viewed from the thickness direction of the busbar, wherein the busbar includes a first portion that extends in parallel to the first surface of the control unit and a second portion that is bent in a direction toward the control unit so as to extend in parallel to a second surface of the control unit, the first and second surfaces of the control unit forming an acute angle between them; and the shield includes a first shield member arranged between the first surface of the control unit and a surface of the first portion of the busbar, which face each other, and a second shield member arranged between, and parallel to, the second surface of the control unit and a surface of the second portion of the busbar.
One close prior art Kanazawa (US 2011/0221268 A1) teaches of semiconductor apparatus comprising: a semiconductor module; a substrate having a control unit disposed thereon, the control unit being configured to control an operation of the semiconductor module; a busbar having a flat plate shape with first and second main surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the busbar, and being configured to allow a current to flow through the semiconductor module, the busbar being arranged such that the first main surface of the busbar faces and is parallel to a first surface of the control unit; however Kanazawa does not teach a shield having a plate shape and having main surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction thereof, the shield being arranged between the control unit and the busbar, such that the main surfaces of the shield respectively face and are parallel to the first main surface of the busbar and the first surface of the control unit, so as to overlap each other when viewed from the thickness direction of the busbar, wherein the busbar includes a first portion that extends in parallel to the first surface of the control unit and a second portion that is bent in a direction toward the control unit so as to extend in parallel to a second surface of the control unit, the first and second surfaces of the control unit forming an acute angle between them; and the shield includes a first shield member arranged between the first surface of the control unit and a surface of the first portion of the busbar, which face each other, and a second shield member arranged between, and parallel to, the second surface of the control unit and a surface of the second portion of the busbar.
Therefore claim 5 is allowed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 – 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa (US 2011/0221268 A1) in view of Fukumasu (US 2017/0194872 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Kanazawa (US 2011/0221268 A1) discloses a semiconductor (Abstract) apparatus (Fig 8), comprising: a semiconductor module (500; [0033-0036]); a substrate (100; [0036-003]) having a control unit (10a,60,70; [0036-0037]) disposed thereon, the control unit (10a,60,70) being configured to control an operation ([0036-0037]) of the semiconductor module (500); a busbar (11,12,14) having a flat plate shape (see Fig 8) with first (surface seen in Fig 8 towards the right side of 11,12) and second (surface not seen in Fig 8 towards the left side of 11,12) main surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction (left-right direction of Fig 8) of the busbar, and being configured to (structure shown could perform this function) allow a current ([0036-0037]) to flow through the semiconductor module (500), the busbar (11,12,14) being arranged such that the first main surface (right side of 11,12) of the busbar faces and is parallel to a first surface (left side face of 60,70 facing 11,12; surface of 60,70 facing 40 in Fig 8) of the control unit (60,70);.
Kanazawa does not disclose a shield having a plate shape and having main surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction thereof, the shield being arranged to cover the control unit between the control unit and the busbar, such that the main surfaces of the shield respectively face and are parallel to the first main surface of the busbar and the first surface of the control unit, so as to overlap each other when viewed from the thickness direction of the busbar.
Fukumasu (US 2017/0194872 A1) teaches of a semiconductor apparatus (Fig 1-3), comprising: a semiconductor module (10; [0019] “power module 10 possesses a plurality of switching power semiconductors 11, 13”); a substrate (400; [0024] “circuit board”) having a control unit (40; [0021,0025] “control circuit is mounted in a board region 400a above the metal base plate 300”) disposed thereon (about 400a; [0025]), the control unit being configured to control an operation ([0021] “pulses”, “signals”) of the semiconductor module (10; 11,13); a busbar (2,3; [0018-0020]) having a flat plate shape (see Fig 2-3; [0030] “bus bars 2a, 2b is configured by a wide-width conductive plate”) with first and second main surfaces (upper and lower surfaces of 2,3 seen in Fig 2; upper surface seen in Fig 3) opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the busbar (2,3), and being configured to allow a current to flow (see Fig 1; [0018-0024,0030]) through the semiconductor module (10; 11,13), the busbar (2,3) being arranged such that the first main surface (surface of 2 towards 300) of the busbar (2,3) faces and is parallel to a first surface (lower surface of 400 about 400a) of the control unit; and a shield (300; [0024]; “a metal base plate 300 for noise shielding”) having a plate shape ([0024] “plate”) and having main surfaces (upper and lower surfaces of 300 in Fig 2) opposite to each other in a thickness direction thereof, the shield (300) being arranged to cover (see Fig 2 showing 300 covers 400a and thus would cover the control circuit 40) the control unit (40) between the control unit (400a) and the busbar (2,3), such that the main surfaces (lower surface of 300 is facing and parallel to upper surface of 2,3 and lower surface of 400a) of the shield (300) respectively face and are parallel to the first main surface (surface of 2 towards 300) of the busbar (2,3) and the first surface (surface of 400 about 400a facing 300) of the control unit (40 at 400a; [0025]), so as to overlap each other when viewed from the thickness direction (up-down direction of 2 in Fig 2) of the busbar (2,3).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as disclosed by Kanazawa, comprising a shield having a plate shape and having main surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction thereof, the shield being arranged to cover the control unit between the control unit and the busbar, such that the main surfaces of the shield respectively face and are parallel to the first main surface of the busbar and the first surface of the control unit, so as to overlap each other when viewed from the thickness direction of the busbar as taught by Fukumasu, in order to provide shielding for noise, prevent noise and reduce noise (Fukumasu, [0024-0038]). The shielding as taught in view of Fukumasu would provide a shield arranged between the surface of the control unit and the surface of the busbar as disclosed by Kanazawa.
Claim states “configured to control an operation of the semiconductor module” and “configured to allow a current to flow” however it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987)
Regarding Claim 2, Kanazawa in view of Fukumasu teaches the limitations of the preceding claim and Fukumasu further teaches the semiconductor (Fig 1-3) apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main surface (surface of 300 facing 400) of the shield (300) faces a part (at least a portion of 400 at 400a comprising control unit 40 faces 300) or all of the first surface of the control unit (40).
Regarding Claim 4, Kanazawa in view of Fukumasu teaches the limitations of the preceding claim and Kanazawa further teaches a vehicle (title, [0001,0002,0009,0012]) comprising the semiconductor apparatus according to claim 1.
Regarding Claim 6, Kanazawa in view of Fukumasu teaches the limitations of the preceding claim and Fukumasu further teaches the semiconductor apparatus (Fig 1-3) according to claim 1, wherein the shield (300) is arranged adjacent (near; note that this is a relative term not quantified in the claim language) to the control unit (40) without any electrical component intervening between them (see Fig 2 showing 300 directly in the line of sight of 400a).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanazawa (US 2011/0221268 A1) in view of Fukumasu (US 2017/0194872 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Takahashi (US 2016/0181940 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, Kanazawa in view of Fukumasu teaches the limitations of the preceding claim.
Kanazawa does not disclose the semiconductor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shield includes a first shield member arranged between the first surface of the control unit and the first main surface of the busbar that face each other, and a second shield member arranged to face a second surface of the control unit.
Takahashi teaches of a semiconductor apparatus (Fig 12), wherein a shield (2,3,10) includes a first shield member (2) arranged between a first surface (surface of 11 towards 2) of a control unit (11) and a first main surface (surface of 21 towards 2) of a busbar that face each other, and a second shield member (3) arranged between a second surface (surface of 11 towards 3) of the control unit (11).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the apparatus as taught by Fukumasu, wherein the shield includes a first shield member arranged between the first surface of the control unit and the first main surface of the busbar that face each other, and a second shield member arranged to face a second surface of the control unit as taught by Takahashi, in order to prevent noise from affecting a capacitor or other component in the assembly, suppress propagation of noise, provide a simple configuration, shunt noise from a vertical polarized component, reduce noise from a vertical polarized component, and improve reliability (Takahashi, [0004-0009,0033-0042,0053-0056]). The combination of Kanazawa in view of Fukumasu and Takahashi would teach wherein the shield includes a first shield member arranged between the first surface of the control unit and the first main surface of the busbar that face each other, and a second shield member arranged to face a second surface of the control unit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROSHN K VARGHESE whose telephone number is (571)270-7975. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 900 am-300 pm.
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/ROSHN K VARGHESE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896