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
Regarding claims 2 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), applicant amendment has been fully considered. The amendment overcomes the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections, hence 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection is withdrawn for claims 2 and 8.
Applicant's arguments filed 01/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding the amended flange limitation, Yoshida teaches, in plan view 24c sits on the opening surface 22b of the resin package 22. In plan view (see Fig. 2A/2B), the outer edge of the package's base portion 22 is polygonal, while the flange 24c appears centrally on the top face around the exposure hole 22a. Because 24c is seated on 22b (see Fig 3A), and the flange 24c does not extend beyond an outer edge portion of the base portion 22, therefore it is deemed to be located inside the outer edge portion of the base portion 22. Hence Applicant’s argument is not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 regarding “an outer side surface of the projecting portion is bonded by an adhesive to an inner circumferential surface of the tube” 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. The Office now relies on Okawa (US 20200393318 A1) for the newly added “adhesive” limitation in claim 1.
Further, Kobayashi’s disclosure of projection 106 elastically sealing against detection tube 140 does not teach away from adhesive bonding. Kobayashi does not discourage adhesive bonding at a tube/package sidewall interface. At most, Kobayashi teaches one known sealing technique. Okawa teaches that adhesive at a protruding-portion/inner surface clearance increases bonding area and stably fixes the tubular structure. Hence, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 for claim 1 is maintained.
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.
Claims 1, 7-10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (WO 2019208127 A1) in view of Kobayashi (US 20090266173 A1) further in view of Okawa (US 20200393318 A1).
Re: Independent Claim 1 (Currently amended), Yoshida discloses a semiconductor device comprising:
a base substrate (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, #12);
a detector assembly mounted on an upper surface of the base substrate, the detector assembly including a detector to detect pressure (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, detector assembly including pressure detection element 16 and connection member 20 mounted on the substrate);
a resin package on the upper surface of the base substrate (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, resin package 22), the detector assembly being embedded in the resin package (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, resin package 22 embeds the detector 16 and connection member 20), the resin package including an exposed hole exposing the detector of the detector assembly upward (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, resin package has an exposure hole 22a opening upward to expose the detector part 16d of the detector element 16);
and a tube supported by the resin package (Yoshida, Fig 1, Abstract, cylindrical member 24 (tube) that is attached to the resin package 22);
wherein the resin package includes a base portion on the upper surface of the base substrate and in which the detector assembly is embedded (Yoshida, Fig 3A, DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS-(Embodiment 1), paragraph 10, resin package 22 which includes detector 16 is provided on first surface 12a of the base substrate 12);
the tube includes a tubular body portion and a flange portion that overhangs from an outer side surface of the body portion and is supported by the base portion (Yoshida, Fig 3A, tube 24 has tubular body portion 24b and flange portion 24c overhangs at one end, the flange portion supported on the base portion at 22/22b);
at least a portion of an outer edge portion of the flange portion is located inside an outer edge portion of the base portion of the resin package in plan view (Yoshida, in plan view 24c sits on the opening surface 22b of the resin package 22. In plan view (see Fig. 2A/2B), the outer edge of the package's base portion 22 is polygonal, while the flange 24c appears centrally on the top face around the exposure hole 22a. Because 24c is seated on 22b (see Fig 3A), and the flange 24c does not extend beyond an outer edge portion of the base portion 22, therefore it is deemed to be located inside the outer edge portion of the base portion 22);
Yoshida is silent regarding a projecting portion including the exposed hole and projecting upward into the tube from the base portion; and an outer side surface of the projecting portion is bonded by an adhesive to an inner circumferential surface of the tube.
However, Kobayashi teaches a projecting portion including the exposed hole and projecting upward into the tube from the base portion (Kobayashi, Fig 9a, a projecting pressure-introducing tube 103 (i.e., projecting portion 103) formed on body 101/102 that projects upward into detection tube 140). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Kobayashi's projecting portion geometry into Yoshida's interface in order to reduce the number of parts since this geometry makes it unnecessary to separately provide a seal member such as an O-ring (Kobayashi, ¶ [0079]).
Kobayashi further teaches an outer side surface of the projecting portion is bonded to an inner circumferential surface of the tube (Kobayashi teaches the outer side surface of a projecting portion 103 engaging the inner circumferential surface of the tube 140 along the sidewall (see Fig 9a, 9b); projection 106 contacting the inner wall.
Kobayashi does not expressly teach that the outer side surface of the projecting portion is bonded by an adhesive to an inner circumferential surface of the tube.
However, Okawa teaches, in pressure sensor packaging art, in Fig. 1 and ¶ [0025], a tubular cap 50 attached to a substrate/frame part 25 using adhesive 70, wherein a protruding part 58 fits to the inner side of the frame part 25, and adhesive 70 enters the clearance between the protruding part 58 and the inner circumferential surface of the frame part 25. Okawa further teaches that, because the cap has protruding part 58, the bonding area between cap 50 and frame part 25 is increased and the cap can be stably fixed by the frame part.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to bind the outside surface of the modified projecting portion to the inner circumferential surface of Yoshida’s cylindrical member/tube 24 using adhesive, as suggested by Okawa’s teaching of adhesive 70 entering a clearance between protruding part 58 and an opposing inner circumferential surface, in order to increase bonding area, stably fix the tube to the package, and seal the annular sidewall interface.
Re: Claim 7 (Original), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida further discloses,
wherein the body portion of the tube is cylindrical or elliptic- cylindrical (Yoshida, Fig 2A and DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) paragraph 13, body portion 24b is cylindrical).
Re: Claim 8 (Currently amended), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida further discloses,
wherein the flange portion of the tube overhangs from the outer side surface of the body portion over an entire circumference of the body portion (Yoshida, Fig 1, shows the tube 24 with a body portion 24b and flange 24c that projects radially outward all the way around the body portion. Because the flange extends around the tube's perimeter, it necessarily overhangs from the outer side surface of 24b over the entire circumference).
Re: Claim 9 (Original), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida and Kobayashi further teach,
wherein the projecting portion of the resin package projects above the flange portion of the tube (Yoshida teaches the tube 24 seated on the package's opening surface 22b by its flange 24c, thereby defining plane at the package top. Kobayashi teaches projecting pressure-introducing tube 103 formed on the body 101/102 that extends upward into detection tube 140. Because the projecting portion 103 extends into the tube, it necessarily rises above the flange plane when implemented on Yoshida's package).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to dimension Kobayashi's projected portion's height to extend above the flange 24c plane of Yoshida in order to seal a gap with the detection tube (Kobayashi, ¶ [0077]).
Re: Claim 10 (Original), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida further discloses,
wherein the tube is made of a metal (Yoshida DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) paragraph 13, tube 24 is made of metal material).
Re: Claim 12(Original), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida further discloses,
further comprising a circuit element (Yoshida, Fig 1, circuit element 14) mounted on the upper surface of the base substrate (Yoshida, Fig 1, 14 is on upper surface of base substrate 12) and electrically connected to the detector assembly (Yoshida, Fig 2B, DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) paragraph 7, the detection element 16 includes a plurality of pads 16 c provided on the first surface 16 a and electrically connected to the plurality of second pads 14 d of the circuit element 14).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (WO 2019208127 A1) in view of Kobayashi (US 20090266173 A1) further in view of Okawa (US 20200393318 A1) and
further in view of Yoshida'527 (2019176527).
Re: Claim 2 (Currently amended), Yoshida and Kobayashi disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida further teaches,
wherein the base portion of the resin package is polygonal in plan view (Yoshida, Fig 2A, the resin package 22 surrounds the exposure hole 22a with a polygonal outline, i.e., resin package is polygonal in plan view).
Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa are silent regarding the flange portion of the tube is circular in plan view.
However, Yoshida'527 teaches the flange portion of the tube is circular or substantially circular in plan view. Yoshida’527, in Fig 2A and DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) paragraph 16, teaches the package provides a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 22c and flange portion 22d that receive an O-Ring OR i.e., an annular/circular sealing land. While Yoshida'527 forms this flange on the package (not the tube), it expressly teaches circular peripheral geometry of the pressure interface.
Yoshida, Kobayashi, Okawa and Yoshida'527 teach pressure sensor, hence analogous art. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention implementing the tube + flange of Yoshida with the projecting side-bond of Kobayashi to select circular plan view flange on the tube to cooperate with round O-rings and bores in order to yield uniform compression and predictable sealing (Yoshida'527, DESCRIPTION-OF-EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) paragraph 16).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (WO 2019208127 A1) in view of Kobayashi (US 20090266173 A1) further in view of Okawa (US 20200393318 A1) and further in view of Moritake (JP 2014059046 A).
Re: Claim 11 (Original), Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa disclose all the limitations of claim 1 on which this claim depends.
Yoshida, Kobayashi and Okawa are silent regarding wherein the tube is made of a resin.
However, Moritake teaches wherein the tube is made of a resin. As stated on Moritake’s claim 9, at least one of the first tube portion and the second tube portion is made of resin, and the abstract describes a joint for a resin pipe 500 coupled via a tubular portion and a flange. Thus, Moritake teaches that tubular members used to convey pressurized fluid can be resin.
Yoshida, Kobayashi, Okawa and Moritake teach tube-to-package pressure-port geometries and sealing interfaces, hence analogous art. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the tube of the assemble from resins as taught by Moritake in order to enable the manufacturing process formed by extrusion molding (Moritake, Description).
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 BIPANA ADHIKARI DAWADI whose telephone number is (571)272-4149. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11:30am-7:30pm.
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/BIPANA ADHIKARI DAWADI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/JESSICA S MANNO/ SPE, Art Unit 2898
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