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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 13 and 14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions (of Groups II and III), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/3/26.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Page 7, line 1; “31into” should be “31 into”;
Page 7, line 7, “501” should be “510”;
Page 7, line 8, “501” should be “510”;
Page 7, line 20, “30” should be “31”; and
Page 7, line 21, “30” should be “31”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 8, 9, 11, and 12 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 8, page 10, line 4, “the terminal assembly” should be “each of the at least one terminal assembly”; and
Claim 11, page 10, lines 12-13; and Claim 12, page 10, line 14, “each locking plate” should be “each of the two locking plates”;
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 8 and 9 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.
Claim 8, page 10, line 4 requires “a nut” and Claim 1, page 9, line 5 requires “a terminal rack.” Are these the same or different elements being claimed? If the same, then double inclusion. See MPEP 2173.05(o);
Claim 8, page 10, line 5, requires “a screw” and Claim 1, page 9, line 5 requires “a terminal.” Are these the same or different elements being claimed? If the same, then double inclusion. See MPEP 2173.05(o);
Claim 9, page 10, line 6 and Claim 8, page 10, line 4 each require “a nut.” Are these the same or different nuts being claimed? and
Claim 9, page 10, line 7 and Claim 8, page 10, line 5 each require “a screw.” Are these the same or different screws being claimed?
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kashimoto (US 7,589,412).
With respect to Claim 1, Kashimoto teaches a power module (fig. 9, 3), comprising: a circuit substrate (fig. 10, 12), comprising at least one semiconductor component (20) installed on a first surface (fig. 10, top of 12) thereof; at least one terminal assembly (fig. 12, 96,”V” [col. 8, ll. 2-3 should read “fastening the volt V into the internally threaded holes 94 of those terminals 90, 92, 9[6]”), comprising a terminal rack (96) and a terminal (“V”) inserted in the terminal rack, the terminal rack disposed on (see fig. 12) the first surface of the circuit substrate and comprising an insert surface (fig. 12, top of 96), and the terminal combined to the terminal rack by the terminal being inserted into (see fig, 12, “V” into 96) the terminal rack through the insert surface; and a package body (fig. 9, 70), installed on the circuit substrate to package the semiconductor component, and comprising a first external surface (fig. 9, top of 70) substantially aligned (see figs. 9 and 12) with the insert surface of the terminal rack.
With respect to Claims 2-9, Kashimoto the circuit substrate is a ceramic substrate (col. 4, ll. 4-5) (claim 2), the circuit substrate comprises at least one conductive layer (14a) disposed thereon, the terminal rack of the terminal assembly is disposed on (see fig. 12) the conductive layer, and the conductive layer is coupled to the semiconductor component by wire bonding (fig. 10, 82) for electrical conduction (claim 3) (claim 3), the circuit substrate further comprises a second surface (fig. 12, bottom of 12) opposite to the first surface, and a heat dissipation layer (10 and col. 4, ll. 2-3) is disposed on the second surface (claim 4), the heat dissipation layer is exposed (see fig. 12) from a second external surface (fig. 12, bottom of 70) of the package body, and the second external surface and the first external surface are opposite (see fig. 12) to each other (claim 5), the semiconductor component is a power component (col. 4, l. 10) (claim 6), the power component is an insulated gate bipolar transistor (col. 4, l. 10) (claim 7), the terminal assembly comprises a nut (90) and a screw (“V”) (claim 8) and the terminal rack is a nut (90), the terminal is a screw (“V”), the nut is installed on (see fig. 12) the circuit substrate, and the screw passes through a screw hole (fig. 6, 94 and col. 7, ll. 64-65) of the nut to screw and combine with each other (claim 9).
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 of this title, 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 10 is rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kashimoto (US 7,589,412).
Kashimoto discloses the claimed invention including the package body is made of a molding compound (col. 7, l. 61) as a packaging material. Kashimoto fails to disclose an epoxy molding compound (EMC). Official Notice is taken that an epoxy molding compound (EMC) is well-known in the art. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to for the molding compound to be a readily available epoxy molding compound with good insulating properties, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claim 11 is rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kashimoto (US 7,589,412) and Uhlig (US 2022/0310536).
Kashimoto discloses the claimed invention except for two locking plates are separately disposed any two sides of the package body opposite to each other for fixation, and each locking plate is extended out from the package body. Uhlig teaches two locking plates (left and right sides of fig. 2) are separately disposed any two sides of the package body (7) opposite to each other for fixation, and each locking plate is extended out (see fig. 2) from the package body. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the module of Kashimoto with the locking plates of Uhlig for the purpose of having a means to fasten the power module to its mating part.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kashimoto (US 7,589,412) and Li (US 2021/0407873).
Kashimoto discloses the claimed invention except for two locking plates. Li teaches two locking plates (left and right sides of fig. 2A) are separately disposed any two sides of the package body (fig. 4, 121) opposite to each other for fixation, and each locking plate is extended out (see fig. 4B) from the package body (claim 11) and each locking plate is connected by a frame (100 and ¶[0038], ll. 4-5) to be in a one-piece form (see fig. 1), and the frame is at least partially buried (see fig. 4B) in the package body (claim 12). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the module of Kashimoto with the locking plates of Uhlig for the purpose of having a means to fasten the power module to its mating part.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 8,258,618, 8,952,520, 8,987,912 and 11,955,414 discloses a terminal rack on a substrate and a terminal inserted into the terminal rack through an upper surface of a body
US 12,148,718 is the issued patent of US 2022/0310536.
US 11,404,336 and 12,002,724 are the issued patent and in same family as US 2021/0407873.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J HOFFBERG whose telephone number is (571) 272-2761. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon - Fri 9 AM - 5 PM.
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RJH 3/19/2026
/ROBERT J HOFFBERG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835