DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of claims 1-13 in the reply filed on 2/10/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
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 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuruoka et al. (Tsuruoka, US 2010/0295187 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tsuruoka shows a semiconductor module (FIG. 1) comprising: a first semiconductor chip (chip 8 in FIG. 1) including a first main electrode (conductor 5); a first connection conductor (conductor 6) electrically connected to the first main electrode (conductor 5); a housing portion (housing 10) surrounding the first semiconductor chip (chip 8) and at least a part of the first connection conductor; a first sealing (resin 17a) material filled in a space surrounded by the housing portion (housing 10); and a connection unit (connection conductor 14) fixed to the housing portion (housing 10), wherein a first conductive portion is exposed ( interface between 11 and 14 in FIG. 1) from a surface of the first sealing material (resing17a), the first conductive portion being a part of the first connection conductor ( connection conductor 14), and the connection unit includes: a first terminal (terminal 11) joined to the first conductive portion of the first connection conductor; and a support that is configured separately from the housing portion and supports the first terminal (see FIG. 1 and related text).
Regarding claim 2, Tsuruoka shows a semiconductor module (FIG. 1) comprising, wherein a recess ( resin portion of 17b) is formed in the housing portion (housing 10), the support is accommodated in the recess, and a surface of the first sealing material (resin 17a) is at a position lower than a bottom surface of the recess (see FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 4, Tsuruoka shows a semiconductor module (FIG. 1) further comprising a second sealing material (resin 17b) filled in a space surrounded by the housing (housing 10) portion and the support (see FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 5, Tsuruoka shows a semiconductor module (FIG. 1) further comprising a protrusion ( see portion terminal 11) that protrudes from an inner wall surface of the support and is in contact with a bottom surface of the first terminal (see FIG. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6-13 are 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 ELIAS M ULLAH whose telephone number is (571)272-1415. The examiner can normally be reached M-F at 8AM-5PM EST.
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/ELIAS ULLAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893