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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION BOARD AND CONNECTING MEMBER WITH DIFFERENT ELECTRICAL PATH LENGTHS FOR REDUCING TIME DELAY--.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 objected to because of the following informalities: in claim 4 lines 3-4, the phrase “a distance between the distance between” should read --a distance between--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Toda (2019/0200449).
With regard to claim 1, Toda teaches, as shown in figures 1-6: “A transmission board, comprising: an insulating carrier 100; a pair of differential channels , comprising a first channel (340 and portions of 205 connected thereto) and a second channel (360 and portions of 205 connected thereto) provided in the insulating carrier 200 and adjacent to each other, wherein an inner side of the first channel 3and an inner side of the second channel are separated from each other and coupled to each other, the first channel has at least one timing compensation section 300 and at least one connecting section 322 connected to the timing compensation section (346, 340, and 344), a distance (distance between the top-right 342 and 362 in figure 3) between an inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second channel is defined as a first distance, a distance (between the top-right portions 322 of the first and second channels in figure 3) between an inner side of the connecting section 322 and the inner side of the second channel is defined as a second distance, the first distance is greater than the second distance, and the timing compensation section bends toward a direction away from the second channel relative to the connecting section 322; and at least one grounding structure 380, provided in the insulating carrier 100, wherein viewing along a perpendicular direction Z perpendicular to a board surface 200 of the transmission board, the grounding structure 380 is located between the inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second channel, and the grounding structure 380 is not located between the inner side of the connecting section 322 and the inner side of the second channel”.
With regard to claim 2, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 67: “wherein each of the first channel and the second channel has a contact portion 212, a conducting portion 222 and a middle portion 205 bending and extending between the contact portion 212 and the conducting portion 222, an extending direction of the contact portion 212 and an extending direction of the conducting portion 222 are perpendicular to each other, the timing compensation section 300 is located in the middle portion of the first channel, the middle portion of the second channel has a coupling section 360, an inner side of the coupling section 360 and the inner side of the timing compensation section face each other, a transmission path length of the coupling section 360 is less than a transmission path length of the timing compensation section, and transmission path lengths of the first channel and the second channel are equal to each other”.
With regard to claim 3, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6: “wherein viewing along a side-by- side direction (direction perpendicular to 362 in the XY plane in figure 1) of the timing compensation section and the second channel, the grounding structure 380 and a projection of the inner side of the timing compensation section overlap with each other, and the grounding structure 380 and a projection of the inner side of the second channel overlap with each other; and viewing from an observation direction perpendicular (direction perpendicular to Z and the side-by-side direction in figure 1) to the side-by-side direction and the perpendicular direction Z, the grounding structure 380 is located between the inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second channel”.
With regard to claim 4, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 68: “wherein viewing from the perpendicular direction, a distance 390 between an outer side edge of the grounding structure 380 and the inner side of the timing compensation section is equal to a distance 392 between the distance between the outer side edge of the grounding structure 380 and the inner side of the second channel”.
With regard to claim 5, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6: “wherein the grounding structure 380 has an outer side edge provided to be adjacent to the inner side of the timing compensation section, and lines of the inner side of the timing compensation section and lines of the outer side edge correspond with each other”.
With regard to claim 8, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 71: “wherein the grounding structure 380 comprises a grounding conducting layer 410 and/or a grounding hole 420, wherein the grounding conducting layer 410 is parallel to the board surface 200 of the transmission board, the grounding hole 420 is concavely provided along the perpendicular direction Z, and an inner wall of the grounding hole is provided with a conducting material (paragraph 71 teaches the grounding hole connecting the grounding structure to the grounding conducting layer) connected to a ground potential 410”.
With regard to claim 9, Toda teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 32: “A connecting member, comprising: an insulating carrier 100; a first conductor (340 and portions of 205 connected thereto) and a second conductor (360 and portions of 205 connected thereto), configured to support a pair of differential signals (paragraph 32 teaches the conductors being differential traces), wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are provided to be adjacent to each other and fixed to the insulating carrier 100, an inner side of the first conductor and an inner side of the second conductor are coupled to each other, each of the first conductor and the second conductor has a contact portion 212 configured to be in contact with a first electrical component, a conducting portion 222 configured to be connected to a second electrical component and a middle portion 205 connecting the contact portion 212 and the conducting portion 222, the middle portion 205 of the first conductor and the middle portion 205 of the second conductor are located on a same plane (plane running through the surface of 200 in figure 3), the middle portion 205 of the first conductor has at least one timing compensation section (346, 340, and 344) and at least one connecting section 322 connected to the timing compensation section, the timing compensation section bends toward a direction away from the second conductor relative to the connecting section 322, a distance between an inner side of the timing compensation section 340 and the inner side of the second conductor 360 is defined as a first distance, a distance between an inner side of the connecting section 322 and the inner side of the second conductor (322 of the second conductor in figure 3) is defined as a second distance, and the first distance is greater than the second distance; and a grounding structure 380, provided in the insulating carrier 100, wherein viewing along a perpendicular direction Z perpendicular to the plane, the grounding structure 380 is located between the inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second conductor, and the grounding structure 380 is not located between the inner side of the connecting section 322 and the inner side of the second conductor”.
With regard to claim 10, Toda teaches: “The connecting member according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 71: “wherein the connecting member is a circuit board 100, the grounding structure 380 comprises a grounding conductive layer 410 and/or a grounding hole 420, the grounding conductive layer 410 is parallel to the plane, the grounding hole 420 is concavely provided along the perpendicular direction Z perpendicular to the plane, and an inner wall of the grounding hole is provided with a conductive material (paragraph 71 teaches the grounding hole connecting the grounding structure to the grounding conducting layer) connected to a ground potential”.
With regard to claim 11, Toda teaches: “The connecting member according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 67: “wherein transmission path lengths of the first conductor and the second conductor are equal to each other, a portion of the second conductor and the timing compensation section 340 face each other and are coupled to each other along a side-by-side direction; viewing along the side- by-side direction (direction perpendicular to 362 in the XY plane in figure 1), the grounding structure 380 and a projection of the inner side of the timing compensation section overlap with each other, and the grounding structure 380 and a projection of the inner side of the second conductor overlap with each other; and viewing from an observation direction (direction perpendicular to Z and the side-by-side direction in figure 1) perpendicular to the perpendicular direction Z and the side-by-side direction, the grounding structure 380 is located between the inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second conductor”.
With regard to claim 12, Toda teaches: “The connecting member according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 68: “wherein viewing along the perpendicular direction Z perpendicular to the plane, a distance 390 between an outer side edge of the grounding structure 380 and the inner side of the timing compensation section 362 is equal to a distance 392 between the distance between the outer side edge of the grounding structure 380 and the inner side of the second conductor 360”.
With regard to claim 13, Toda teaches: “The connecting member according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6: “wherein the grounding structure 380 has an outer side edge provided to be adjacent to the inner side of the timing compensation section, and lines of the inner side of the timing compensation section and lines of the outer side edge correspond with each other”.
With regard to claim 14, Toda teaches: “The connecting member according to claim 9”, as shown above.
Toda also teaches, as shown in figures 1-6 and taught in paragraph 71: “wherein the first conductor and the second conductor are both terminal structures, the connecting member comprises a shielding sheet 410 located at a side of the plane, the shielding sheet 410 is electrically isolated from the first conductor and the second conductor, the shielding sheet 410 is provided with a main body portion and the grounding structure 420 extending from the main body portion toward a separation region between the inner side of the timing compensation section and the inner side of the second conductor”.
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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toda (2019/0200449).
With regard to claim 7, Toda teaches: “The transmission board according to claim 1”, as shown above.
Toda does not specifically teach: “wherein the first distance is not less than 1.5 times of the second distance, and the first distance is not greater than 3 times of the second distance”. However, in figures 1-6, Toda shows the first distance being at least 1.5 times the second distance and approximately 3 times the second distance. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the claimed invention to limit the range of the first distance to be 1.5 to 3.5 times the second distance in order to prevent interfering with other parts of the board. Also, it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN M KRATT whose telephone number is (571)270-0277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah A Riyami can be reached at (571)270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN M KRATT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831