CTNF 18/264,257 CTNF 93193 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Status Claims 1-7, 9-15 are pending: Claims 8 are canceled Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 08/04/2023 is/are being considered by the examiner. Claim Interpretation - 35 USC § 112(f) 07-30-03 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f): (f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof. 07-30-05 The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked. As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph: (A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function; (B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and (C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function. Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function. Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. 07-30-06 This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “feed structure” as first recited in claim 1 Corresponding structure Electrically conductive ribbon, as informed by original claim 4 Or equivalents Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-36 AIA The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d): (d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph: Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers. 07-36-01 AIA Claim 3, 11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements. Claim 3 Claim 3 is in improper dependent form for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends, as claim 3 depends upon claim 1 and claim 1 requires “a second electrode disposed on and in contact with the electrically insulating layer and the feed structure” , while claim 3 recites “wherein when the second electrode is not placed on the electrically insulating layer or on the feed structure” which directly contradicts the cited limitation required by claim 1. Therefore Claim 3 fails to include all the limitations of Claim 1, as Claim 3 explicitly removes a limitation from Claim 1. Claim 11 is rejected based on dependency of claim 3 and does not fix the issues of claim 3 Allowable Subject Matter 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 1 The prior art of record fails to anticipate or render obvious the limitations of the claim, and in particular “a submount being electrically conductive and thermally conductive, disposed in a second region of the heat sink, the second region being different from the first region; … the second electrode includes an electrode-facing portion and a protruding portion, the electrode-facing portion having a flat surface in contact with the electrically insulating layer, the protruding portion having a flat surface in contact with the feed structure and protruding toward the heat sink with respect to the electrode-facing portion.” in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim. Possible Art Combination Takahashi (US 2021/0257805) in view of Morita (US 2019/0044303) Takahashi discloses: “A semiconductor laser module (Fig3-10) comprising: a heat sink (best seen Fig5, manifold 40; Para76) ; a first electrode (Fig7, upper connector 28; Para72) …; … ; a submount (Fig7, Para61 “each of the laser diodes 31 is fixed on a laser mount 32 by soldering or the like”) … ; a laser diode element to emit a laser beam (Fig7, laser diodes 31, connectors 28) , disposed on the submount (Fig7 shows laser diode element is disposed on the submount) ; … ; a second electrode (Fig7, lower connector 28; Para72) … a fast-axis collimator (Fig7, first collimator lens 36) to collimate a fast-axis direction component of the laser beam emitted from the laser diode element (Para64) ; and a slow-axis collimator (Fig7, second collimator lens 37) to collimate a slow-axis direction component of the laser beam emitted from the laser diode element (Para65) , wherein …” Takahashi is silent to: “… a first electrode disposed in a first region of the heat sink; an electrically insulating layer disposed on the first electrode; a submount being electrically conductive and thermally conductive, disposed in a second region of the heat sink, the second region being different from the first region; … a feed structure being electrically conductive, thermally conductive, and elastic, disposed on the laser diode element; a second electrode disposed on and in contact with the electrically insulating layer and the feed structure; … the second electrode includes an electrode-facing portion and a protruding portion, the electrode-facing portion having a flat surface in contact with the electrically insulating layer, the protruding portion having a flat surface in contact with the feed structure and protruding toward the heat sink with respect to the electrode-facing portion.” Morita teaches: “… a first electrode disposed in a first region of the heat sink (Para29; Fig2A, first electrode 5 is in a first region of the heat sink 3) ; an electrically insulating layer (Para29; Fig2A, insulation plate 6b) disposed on the first electrode (Fig2A, shows insulating layer is on the first electrode 5) ; … a feed structure (Fig2A/B, metallic wires 7a, electrode layer 21) being electrically conductive, thermally conductive, and elastic (Para38/31) , disposed on the laser diode element (Fig2B, shows feed structure on the laser diode) ; a second electrode (Fig2A, electrode plate 4; Para37) disposed on and in contact with the electrically insulating layer and the feed structure (Fig2a/B, show the electrode plate 4 is in contact with the feed structure and insulating layer) ; …” First Art Combination Takahashi (US 2021/0257805) in view of Morita is still silent to: “ a submount being electrically conductive and thermally conductive, disposed in a second region of the heat sink, the second region being different from the first region; … the second electrode includes an electrode-facing portion and a protruding portion, the electrode-facing portion having a flat surface in contact with the electrically insulating layer, the protruding portion having a flat surface in contact with the feed structure and protruding toward the heat sink with respect to the electrode-facing portion.” Further, Morita teaches away from “a submount being electrically conductive and thermally conductive” in Para31 where the submount 2 is thermally conductive and electrically insulating. So, even if a combination of Takahashi and Morita where obvious to oven of ordinary skill in the art the combination would fail to teach the indicated claim limitations above. Claims 2-7, 9-15 are allowable over art based on dependency Claim 3, 11 are rejected above in view of 35 USC 112d, and such rejections would need to be overcome in order for the claims to be allowable . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : US 12,095,220 to Takahashi: US Patent version of Takahashi above Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN HUNTER JR whose telephone number is (571)272-5093. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-18. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ibrahime Abraham can be reached at (571) 270-5569. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JOHN S HUNTER, JR/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 2 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 3 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 4 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 5 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 6 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 7 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 8 Art Unit: 3761 Application/Control Number: 18/264,257 Page 9 Art Unit: 3761
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