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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 27 May 2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed on 29 April 2026, with respect to non-statutory double patenting have been fully considered and are persuasive. The examiner notes that the claim in the co-pending application has been amended. The non-statutory double patenting rejection of claims 1 and 26 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 26 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.
In summary, the instant application is not place in a condition for an allowance.
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.
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.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7-12, 14, 17-18, 23-26, 37 and 39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Featherby (US 2003/0013235 A1) in view of Ben Zaken (US 2025/0071883 A1) as evidenced by Kirkpatrick (US 2021/0239171 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Featherby teaches a device comprising:
device parts (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28; see Fig. 5 and ¶ [0035] );
a composite coating material (300 & 400; ¶ [0063]-[0064]: 300 made of dielectrics such as aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, etc.; ¶ [0066]-[0070]: 400 made of parylene or sol-gel hybrids, such as fluoropolymer-silica hybrids ) arranged on one or more of the device parts; and
a molding compound (12; ¶ [0078] ) arranged on and/or around one or more of the device parts,
wherein the composite coating material comprises a polymer matrix (¶ [0068]-[0069]: 400 made of sol-gel hybrids such as fluoropolymer-silica hybrids; ¶ [0070]: 400 contains silica network; hence 400 is a polymer matrix ); and
wherein the composite coating material is arranged on surfaces (surfaces of 22 & 14 that directly contact 300&400) of one or more of the device parts that contact the molding compound (22 & 14 have other surfaces that directly contact 12).
As taught by Featherby above, the polymer matrix is a thin polymer film (¶ [0050], [0069]) applied on surfaces of electronic parts. However, Featherby does not teach the polymer film including and/or incorporating ceramic particles.
Ben Zaken, in the same field of invention, teaches a thin polymer film (120) including and/or incorporating ceramic particles (¶ [0081], [0104], [0117]: several types of boron-nitrides such as h-BN are known in the art as ceramics, as evidenced by ¶ [0042] of Kirkpatrick).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Ben Zaken into the device of Featherby to include and/or incorporate ceramic particles into the polymeric film that is used as part of the composite coating material. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the electrical isolation of the composite coating material (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081] ).
Regarding claim 3, Featherby teaches a device comprising:
device parts (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28; see Fig. 5 and ¶ [0035] );
a composite coating material (300 & 400; ¶ [0049],[0064]: 300 made if dielectrics such as aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, etc.; ¶ [0068]-[0069]: 400 made of parylene or sol-gel hybrids ) arranged on one or more of the device parts; and
a molding compound (12; ¶ [0078]) arranged on and/or around one or more of the device parts,
wherein the composite coating material comprises a polymer matrix (¶ [0068]-[0069]: 400 made of sol-gel hybrids such as fluoropolymer-silica hybrids; ¶ [0070]: 400 contains silica network; hence 400 is a polymer matrix ); and
wherein the device parts comprise one or more of a first lead (left 22), a second lead (right 22), at least one device component (16), a mount (14), at least one interconnect (18), a component attach (20), and/or at least one connection (26);
wherein the molding compound is at least partially on the composite coating material that is at least partially on one or more of the device parts (Fig. 5 shows portions of mold 12 on surrounding portions of composite coating material 300&400 that is on said device parts) .
As taught by Featherby above, the polymer matrix is a thin polymer film (¶ [0050], [0069]) applied on surfaces of electronic parts. However, Featherby does not teach the polymer film including and/or incorporating ceramic particles.
Ben Zaken, in the same field of invention, teaches a polymer film (120) including and/or incorporating ceramic particles (¶ [0081], [0104], [0117]: several types of boron-nitrides such as h-BN are known in the art as ceramics, as evidenced by ¶ [0042] of Kirkpatrick).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Ben Zaken into the device of Featherby to include and/or incorporate ceramic particles into the polymeric film that is used as part of the composite coating material. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the electrical isolation of the composite coating material (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081] ).
Regarding claim 4, the device according to claim 1
wherein the device parts comprise at least one lead frame (14 and 22; Featherby ¶ [0035]: 22 are leads and 14 is a die attach substrate ); and
wherein the molding compound (12) is at least partially (portions of 12 are directly contacting the portions of 300&400 that directly contact 14 and 22) on the composite coating material (portions of 300&400 that directly contact 22 and 14) that is at least partially on the at least one lead frame.
Regarding claim 5, the device according to claim 1 wherein the composite coating material (300&400; Featherby Fig. 5) is arranged on all exposed surfaces (all surfaces of 16, 18, and 20) of one or more of the device parts.
Regarding claim 7, the device according to claim 1 wherein the composite coating material is formulated and/or configured to reduce failures of the device parts associated with interfacial stress exhibited during high temperature operation of the device (Featherby: ¶ [0068]: mentions heat dissipation as a problem solved by thicker coating of parylene; ¶ [0069]-[0070]: fluoropolymer-silica hybrids, as an alternative to parylene, have thermal stability above 200 C and have better flexibility and other mechanical strengths;).
Regarding claim 8, the device according to claim 1 wherein the polymer matrix comprises a polyimide, a silicon, a fluoropolymer (Featherby ¶ [0070]: fluoropolymer-silica hybrid), and/or copolymers of a polyimide- silicon.
Regarding claim 9, the device according to claim 1
wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ); and
wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles comprise 5 nm to 5 µm sized h-BN particles (¶ [0019]: 3 to 35 microns ).
Regarding claim 10, the device according to claim 1
wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ); and
wherein the composite coating material comprises a filler (¶ [0104]: graphene particles mixed with h-BN; alternatively, Featherby ¶ [0070]: silica in the fluoropolymer-silica hybrid matrix ).
Regarding claim 11, the device according to claim 1
wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ); and
wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles comprise h-BN in forms of h-BN nano-particles, h-BN microparticles (¶ [0019]: 3 to 35 microns ), h-BN nanotubes (NT), and/or h-BN pallets.
Regarding claim 12, the device according to claim 1 wherein the composite coating material comprises one of the following: a dispensed coating on one or more of the device parts, an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts, a spray coating (Ben Zaken ¶ [0105]: “the liquid binder sprayed over them” ) on one or more of the device parts, a screen printed coating on one or more of the device parts, a screen printed coating on one or more of the device parts, and/or a cured coating on one or more of the device parts.
Regarding claim 14, the device according to claim 1 wherein the composite coating material comprises a spray coating (Ben Zaken ¶ [0105]: “the liquid binder sprayed over them”; see also ¶ [0164] ) on one or more of the device parts.
Regarding claim 17, the device according to claim 1
wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ); and
wherein the composite coating material comprises a mixture (¶ [0117]: “a mixture of high thermal conductivity flakes 230 and high thermal conductivity particles 210 in a matrix of binder 220” ) of at least the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles and the polymer matrix.
Regarding claim 18, the device according to claim 1
wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ); and
wherein the composite coating material comprises a mixture (¶ [0117]: “a mixture of high thermal conductivity flakes 230 and high thermal conductivity particles 210 in a matrix of binder 220” ) of at least the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles and the polymer matrix together with other fillers (¶ [0117]: graphene ).
Regarding claim 23, the device according to claim 3 wherein the at least one device component comprises one or more active devices, passive devices, dies (Featherby ¶ [0035]: 16 is an integrated circuit die), chips, and/or transistors.
Regarding claim 24, the device according to claim 3 wherein the at least one interconnect comprises one or more wires (Featherby ¶ [0035]: 18 are wires ), wire bonds, and/or leads.
Regarding claim 25, the device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a package (10; see Featherby ¶ [0035] ), a power device package, and/or a power module.
Regarding claim 26, Featherby teaches a process of manufacturing a device comprising:
providing device parts (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28; see Fig. 5 and ¶ [0035] );
arranging a composite coating material (300 & 400; ¶ [0049],[0064]: 300 made of dielectrics such as aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, etc.; ¶ [0068]-[0070]: 400 made of parylene or sol-gel hybrids, such as fluoropolymer-silica hybrids) on one or more of the device parts; and
arranging a molding compound (12; ¶ [0078]) on and/or around one or more of the device parts,
wherein the composite coating material comprises a polymer matrix (¶ [0068]-[0069]: 400 made of sol-gel hybrids such as fluoropolymer-silica hybrids; ¶ [0070]: 400 contains silica network; hence 400 is a polymer matrix ); and
wherein the molding compound is at least partially on the composite coating material that is at least partially on one or more of the device parts (Fig. 5 shows mold 12 at least partially on coating material 300&400 that is on the said device parts).
As taught by Featherby above, the polymer matrix is a thin polymer film (¶ [0050], [0069]) applied on surfaces of electronic parts. However, Featherby does not teach the polymer film including and/or incorporating ceramic particles.
Ben Zaken, in the same field of invention, teaches a thin polymer film (120) including and/or incorporating ceramic particles (¶ [0081], [0104], [0117]: several types of boron-nitrides such as h-BN are known in the art as ceramics, as evidenced by ¶ [0042] of Kirkpatrick).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Ben Zaken into the device of Featherby to include and/or incorporate ceramic particles into the polymeric film that is used as part of the composite coating material. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the electrical isolation of the composite coating material (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081] ).
Regarding claim 37, the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26 further comprising one of the following: dispensing the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a dispensed coating on one or more of the device parts, ink jetting the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts, spray coating (Ben Zaken ¶ [0105]: “the liquid binder sprayed over them” ) the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a spray coating on one or more of the device parts, screen printing the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a screen printed coating on one or more of the device parts, and/or curing the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a cured coating on one or more of the device parts.
Regarding claim 39, process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26 further comprising spray coating (Ben Zaken ¶ [0105]: “the liquid binder sprayed over them” ) the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a spray coating on one or more of the device parts.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Featherby (US 2003/0013235 A1) in view of Ben Zaken (US 2025/0071883 A1), as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Kawabata (US 2018/0374799 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1, but does not teach: wherein the molding compound is further arranged on one or more of the device parts implemented without the composite coating material coated thereon.
Kawabata, in the same field of invention, teaches a device wherein the molding compound (40; see Fig. 4) is further arranged on one or more of the device parts (23G) implemented without the composite coating material (52) coated ( ¶ [0055]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Kawabata into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to arrange the molding compound on one or more of the device parts such that the composite coating material is not coated on said device parts. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of providing magnetic shielding by using mold having magnetic properties that would be connected to the uncoated device parts as part of a grounding pattern (Kawabata ¶ [0059] ), for the further purpose of improving the performance of the device (¶ [0002]).
Claims 13, 16, 22, 38 and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Featherby (US 2003/0013235 A1) in view of Ben Zaken (US 2025/0071883 A1), as applied to claims 1, 3, and/or 26 above, and further in view of Fuergut (US 2017/0287880 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the composite coating material comprises a coating using various coating techniques (Featherby: ¶ [0047]-[0056]: sputtering, CVD, PECVD, ALD, CCVD, Nanomiser technology; Ben Zaken ¶ [0164]: brushing, spraying, CVD, dipping ) deposited on one or more of the device parts.
However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not teach: wherein the composite coating material comprises an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts.
Fuergut, in the same field of invention, teaches a device wherein the composite coating material comprises an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts (Fuergut ¶ [0010], [0040]; Fig. 2C).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to substitute one of the various methods known in the art for forming the composite coating material on the device parts with that of an inkjet coating method (Fuergut ¶ [0010] ).
Regarding claim 16, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1, but does not teach: wherein the composite coating material comprises a cured coating on one or more of the device parts.
Fuergut, in the same field of invention, teaches a composite coating material that is a cured coating (Fuergut ¶ [0044]: cured at temperatures 200 °C to 400 °C with nitrogen).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Fuergut into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to form a cured coating as the composite coating material on the device parts. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the adhesive property of the composite coating materials (Fuergut ¶ [0044] ).
Regarding claim 22, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 3, wherein the at least one device component is an integrated circuit die (Featherby ¶ [0035] ). However, they do not teach the integrated circuit die to be comprised of one or more MOSFETs and/or diodes.
Fuergut, in the same field of invention, teaches the integrated circuit die to be a MOSFET (Fuergut ¶ [0020]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Fuergut into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to have the integrated circuit die be comprised of a MOSFET. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of designing an intelligent power module that is comprised of an IGBT MOSFET (Fuergut ¶ [0020]).
Regarding claim 38, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26, wherein the composite coating material comprises a coating using various coating techniques (Featherby: ¶ [0047]-[0056]: sputtering, CVD, PECVD, ALD, CCVD, Nanomiser technology; Ben Zaken ¶ [0164]: brushing, spraying, CVD, dipping ) deposited on one or more of the device parts.
However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not teach: ink jetting the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts.
Fuergut, in the same field of invention, teaches a method comprising: ink jetting the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form an inkjet coating on one or more of the device parts (Fuergut ¶ [0010], [0040]; Fig. 2C).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to substitute one of the various methods known in the art for forming the composite coating material on the device parts with that of an inkjet coating method (Fuergut ¶ [0010] ).
Regarding claim 41, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26, but does not teach: curing the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a cured coating on one or more of the device parts.
Fuergut, in the same field of invention, teaches a method comprising: curing the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts to form a cured coating on one or more of the device parts (Fuergut ¶ [0044]: cured at temperatures 200 °C to 400 °C with nitrogen).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Fuergut into the method of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to cure the composite coating material on the device parts. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the adhesive property of the composite coating materials (Fuergut ¶ [0044] ).
Claims 15 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Featherby (US 2003/0013235 A1) in view of Ben Zaken (US 2025/0071883 A1), as applied to claim 1 and/or 26 above, and further in view of Gmunder (US 2020/0111717 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1, wherein the composite coating material comprises a coating using various coating techniques (Featherby: ¶ [0047]-[0056]: sputtering, CVD, PECVD, ALD, CCVD, Nanomiser technology; Ben Zaken ¶ [0164]: brushing, spraying, CVD, dipping ) deposited on one or more of the device parts.
However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not specifically teach the coating to be a screen printed coating.
Gmunder, in the same field of invention, teaches coating device parts using a screen printed coating (¶ [0008]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Gmunder into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to coating the device parts using a screen printed coating. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of using the screen printing method as an alternative method of coating and/or encapsulating device parts in a pressure-less way (Gmunder ¶ [0073]) to avoid mechanical stress and to improve device reliability (¶ [0005]).
Regarding claim 40, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26, further comprising using various coating techniques (Featherby: ¶ [0047]-[0056]: sputtering, CVD, PECVD, ALD, CCVD, Nanomiser technology; Ben Zaken ¶ [0164]: brushing, spraying, CVD, dipping ) to form a coating of the composite coating material on one or more of the device parts.
However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not specifically teach screen printing to form the coating on the device parts.
Gmunder, in the same field of invention, teaches a screen printing (¶ [0008]) to form the coating on the device parts.
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Gmunder into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to use a screen printing method to form the composite coating on one or more device parts. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of using the screen printing method as an alternative method of coating and/or encapsulating device parts in a pressure-less way (Gmunder ¶ [0073]) to avoid mechanical stress and to improve device reliability (¶ [0005]).
Claim 19-21 and 44-46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Featherby (US 2003/0013235 A1) in view of Ben Zaken (US 2025/0071883 A1), as applied to claim 1 and/or 26 above, and further in view of Zhu (US 2020/0163255 A1).
Regarding claim 19, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ). However, Fuergut in view of Walsh does not teach: wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles comprise a surface functionalization.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a device (¶ [0004]) wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) comprise a surface functionalization (¶ [0008], ¶ [0014], ¶ [0034]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to provide hexagonal boron-nitride particles comprising a surface functionalization. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059]) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 20, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN). However, Fuergut in view of Walsh does not teach: wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles are grafted to the polymer matrix.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a device (¶ [0004]) wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) are grafted to the polymer matrix (¶ [0034] using plain meaning, the h-BN particles are grafted, i.e., united with, the polymer matrix due to the functionalization that formed hydrogen or ionic bonds to form an interpenetrating network).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to provide hexagonal boron-nitride particles that are grafted to a polymer matrix. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059]) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 21, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the device according to claim 1 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]: h-BN ). However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not teach: wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles comprise surface functionalization and the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles are grafted to the polymer matrix.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a device (¶ [0004]) wherein the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) comprise surface functionalization (¶ [0008], ¶ [0014], ¶ [0034]) and the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles are grafted to the polymer matrix (¶ [0034] using plain meaning, the h-BN particles are grafted, i.e., united with, the polymer matrix due to the functionalization that formed hydrogen or ionic bonds to form an interpenetrating network).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the device of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to provide hexagonal boron-nitride particles comprising a surface functionalization and are grafted to a polymer matrix. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view of Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059]) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 44, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken teaches the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]). However, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken does not teach the process further comprising processing the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles to form a surface functionalization.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a process of manufacturing a device (¶ [0004]) comprising processing the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) to form a surface functionalization (¶ [0008], ¶ [0014], ¶ [0034]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the process of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to process the hexagonal boron-nitride particles to form a surface functionalization. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Featherby in view Ben Zaken in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059]) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 45, Fuergut in view of Walsh teaches the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]). However, Fuergut in view of Walsh does not teach the process further comprising grafting the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles to the polymer matrix.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a process of manufacturing a device (¶ [0004]) comprising grafting (¶ [0034]: using plain meaning, the h-BN particles are grafted, i.e., united with, the polymer matrix due to the functionalization that formed hydrogen or ionic bonds to form an interpenetrating network) the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) to the polymer matrix (¶ [0028], ¶ [0034], ¶ [0036]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the process of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to graft hexagonal boron-nitride particles to a polymer matrix .The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Fuergut in view of Walsh in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Regarding claim 46, Featherby in view of Ben Zaken the process of manufacturing a device according to claim 26 wherein the ceramic particles comprise hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (Ben Zaken ¶ [0081]). However, Fuergut in view of Walsh does not teach the process further comprising:
processing the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles to form a surface functionalization; and
grafting the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles to the polymer matrix.
Zhu, in the same field of invention, teaches a process of manufacturing a device (¶ [0004]) comprising:
processing the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles (¶ [0008], ¶ [0013], ¶ [0028]: non-conductive polymer coating comprises 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % boron nitride fillers) to form a surface functionalization (¶ [0008], ¶ [0014], ¶ [0034]); and
grafting (¶ [0034]: using plain meaning, the h-BN particles are grafted, i.e., united with, the polymer matrix due to the functionalization that formed hydrogen or ionic bonds to form an interpenetrating network) the hexagonal boron-nitride (h-BN) particles to the polymer matrix (¶ [0028], ¶ [0034], ¶ [0036]).
A person of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective date of the claimed invention, will find it obvious to combine the teachings of Zhu into the process of Featherby in view of Ben Zaken to process hexagonal boron-nitride particles to form a surface functionalization and to graft the hexagonal boron-nitride particles to a polymer matrix. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Fuergut in view of Walsh in the manner set forth above for at least the purpose of improving the functionality of the composite coating material to have better mechanical elasticity (Zhu ¶ [0005]) and thermal conductivity (¶ [0045], ¶ [0059]) for optical transparent composite coating materials (¶ [0006]) and for the further purpose of using this composite coating materials as insulators in electronic devices that require reduced sizes and increased performance (¶ [0004]).
Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS YAP whose telephone number is (703)756-1946. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET.
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/DOUGLAS YAP/Assistant Examiner, Art Unit 2899
/JOHN M PARKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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