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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakaki et al. (US PG. Pub. 2004/0246626) in view of Sato (US PG. Pub. 2021/0090595).
Regarding claim 1 – Wakaki teaches a disk device (figs. 1-2 [paragraph 0024] Wakaki states, “a relay flexible wiring circuit board 1 is a flexible wired circuit board used for connecting between a long-tail type suspension board with circuit 3 equipped with a magnetic head 2 of a hard disk drive”) comprising: a first flexible printed circuit board (1) including a first insulating layer (18 [paragraph 0031] Wakaki states, “insulating base layer 18”), a second insulating layer (20 [paragraph 0031] Wakaki states, “insulating cover layer 20”) covering the first insulating layer (18), a first conductive layer (19 [paragraph 0031] Wakaki states, “conductor layer 19”) between the first insulating layer (18) and the second insulating layer (20), the first conductive layer (19) being provided with a plurality of first terminals (11/13 [paragraph 0030 & 0033] Wakaki states, “terminal portion 11…terminal portions 13”), the second insulating layer (20) being provided with a plurality of holes (figure 2 shows solder bumps 26 within the holes of the second insulating layer 20) through which the plurality of first terminals (11/13) is exposed; and a second flexible printed circuit board (3 [Abstract] Wakaki states, “suspension board with circuit 3”) having a magnetic head (2 [paragraph 0024] Wakaki states, “magnetic head 2”) mounted thereon and includes: a first face (bottom face) facing the second insulating layer (20), a second face (top face) being opposite the first face, and a plurality of second terminals (12 [paragraph 0034] Wakaki states, “terminal portion 12”) provided on the first face (bottom face) and joined to the plurality of first terminals (11/13), respectively, with a conductive bonding material (26 [paragraph 0034] Wakaki states, “solder bumps 26”).
Wakaki fails to teach a plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards each of which has a magnetic head mounted thereon; and wherein the second face of at least one of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards includes a first area being lower in lightness than a part of the first flexible printed circuit board, the part where the first conductive layer is covered by the second insulating layer.
Sato teaches a disk device (figs. 1-6 [title] Sato states, “Disk Device”) having a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards (fig. 2, 43 [paragraph 0029] Sato states, “flexure 43”) each of which has a magnetic head (15 [paragraph 0031] Sato states, “magnetic heads 15”) mounted thereon; and wherein a second face (top face of second flexible printed circuit board 19) of at least one of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards (19 [paragraph 0012] Sato states, “FPC 19”) includes a first area being lower in lightness ([paragraph 0086] Sato states, “The joint 61 may include another dark-color layer or layers instead of the second ground planes 92. For example, the darker-color part of the base layer 19b than the rest thereof may be spaced apart from at least one of the pads 73 in a direction along the surface 71 and cover at least another one of the of pads 73 in the Z direction”) than a part of the flexible printed circuit board (43), the part where the first conductive layer (56 [paragraph 0034] Sato states, “wires 56 are laid on a conductive layer of the flexure 43”) is covered by the second insulating layer ([paragraph 0029] Sato states, “a conductive layer constituting a plurality of wires (wiring patterns) on the insulating layer, and a protective layer (insulating layer) covering the conductive layer”).
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 disk device having a first and second flexible printed circuit boards connected via terminals as taught by Wakaki with the plurality of second flexible PCBs and magnetic heads having an area lower in lightness than the first flexible PCB as taught by Sato because Sato states regarding this feature, “The dark-colored parts are readily heated by means of a laser beam, for example, due to a high absorbance. By placing the second ground planes 92 away from the not-readily coolable pads 73 to cover the readily coolable pads 73, for example, the temperature of the solder 77 on the pads 73 can be adjusted at the time of connecting the pads 73 to the pads 55 by means of the solder 77 fused by a laser beam. Thus, according to the HDD 1 of the present embodiment, the FPC 19 is readily adjustable in temperature at the time of connecting the pads 55 and 73. This can avoid degradation of the quality of the FPC 19, such as a loose connection or the delamination.” [paragraph 0114].
Regarding claim 2 – Wakaki in view of Sato teach the disk device according to claim 1, wherein the second face of at least one of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards (Sato; fig. 2, 19) includes a second area (area shown outside of second terminals 73) spaced farther from the plurality of second terminals (73) than the first area, and the second area is higher in lightness than the first area ([paragraph 0102] Wakaki states, “In the FPC 19, the part having the second ground planes 92 mounted thereon have a darker color and a higher absorbance than the rest”).
Regarding claim 5 - Wakaki in view of Sato teach the disk device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards (Sato; figs. 1-6, 19) includes: a first part (part shown having terminals 73) including the plurality of second terminals (73), and a second part (area outside of terminals 73) located outside the first part apart from the plurality of second terminals (73), the second part includes the first area, and in the first part, the second face is higher in lightness than the first area ([paragraph 0086] Sato states, “The joint 61 may include another dark-color layer or layers instead of the second ground planes 92. For example, the darker-color part of the base layer 19b than the rest thereof may be spaced apart from at least one of the pads 73 in a direction along the surface 71 and cover at least another one of the of pads 73 in the Z direction”).
Regarding claim 10 - Wakaki in view of Sato teach the disk device according to claim 1, wherein the first area is lower in lightness (Sato; figs. 1-6 [paragraph 0086] Sato states, “The joint 61 may include another dark-color layer or layers instead of the second ground planes 92. For example, the darker-color part of the base layer 19b than the rest thereof may be spaced apart from at least one of the pads 73 in a direction along the surface 71 and cover at least another one of the of pads 73 in the Z direction”) than the second face of one of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards (19).
Regarding claim 11 – Wakaki in view of Sato teach the disk device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of second flexible printed circuit boards (Sato; fig. 2, 43) includes a metal plate ([paragraph 0029] Sato states, “The flexure 43 is a multilayered plate including a metal sheet (backing layer) as stainless steel”) including at least a part of the second face (upper surface having backing layer), and the metal plate is provided with the first area (claimed structure described in paragraphs 0028-0029).
Regarding claim 12 – Wakaki in view of Sato teach the disk device according to claim 11, wherein the first area is provided on the entire second face of the metal plate (Sato; figs. 1-6, metal sheet backing layer is considered to extend along the entire length of the flexible printed circuit boards 43 and will meet the claimed limitation).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 15 is allowed.
Claims 3-4, 6-9 and 13-14 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Momose et al. (US PG. Pub. 2020/0154577) discloses a circuit board with a darker area.
Asano (US Patent 6396665) discloses a head suspension assembly with a bonded connection between boards.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN T SAWYER whose telephone number is (571)270-5469. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 am - 5pm.
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/STEVEN T SAWYER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847