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 .
This office action is a response to the restriction requirement filed on 4/30/2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group II, claims 10-16 including newly submitted claims 21-30, in the reply filed on 4/30/2026 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)).
Claims 1-9 and 17-20 are cancelled hereby filed on 4/30/2026. from further Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/30/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a second component attached to the second printed circuit board” as recited in claim 18, “a second cavity in the prepreg, wherein the second component is in the second cavity” as recited in claim 29 and “a plurality of components attached to the second printed circuit board, wherein the prepreg comprises a plurality of cavities, wherein respective ones of the plurality of components are in respective ones of the plurality of cavities, respectively” as recited in claim 30 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 12, 13, 16, 21 and 23-30 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. claim 12: The phrase “The device as in claim 10, comprising a prepreg between” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 10, further comprising a prepreg between--.
Re. claim 13: The phrase “The device as in claim 10, comprising encapsulation material” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 10, further comprising an encapsulation material--.
Re. claim 21: The phrase “The device as in claim 10, comprising a prepreg positioned between” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be –The device as in claim 10, further comprising a prepreg positioned between--.
Re. claim 23: The phrase “The device as in claim 22, comprising encapsulation material” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 22, further comprising an encapsulation material--.
Re. claim 24: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising encapsulation material” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising an encapsulation material--.
Re. claim 25: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising a cavity” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a cavity--.
Re. claim 26: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising a plurality of sintered vias comprising conductive material” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a plurality of sintered vias comprising a conductive material--.
Re. claim 27: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising a plurality of components” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a plurality of components--.
Re. claim 28: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising a second component” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a second component--.
Re. claim 29: The phrase “The device as in claim 28, comprising a second cavity” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a second cavity--.
Re. claim 30: The phrase “The device as in claim 21, comprising a plurality of components” as recited in line 1 appears to be –The device as in claim 21, further comprising a plurality of components--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The phrase “a second component attached to the second printed circuit board” as recited in claim 18, “a second cavity in the prepreg, wherein the second component is in the second cavity” as recited in claim 29 and “a plurality of components attached to the second printed circuit board, wherein the prepreg comprises a plurality of cavities, wherein respective ones of the plurality of components are in respective ones of the plurality of cavities, respectively” as recited in claim 30 was not described in the specification and as originally filed and appear to be new matter.
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 10-14, 16, 21-25 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by OCHI et al. (PGPub 2012/0293965 A1).
OCHI et al. teach a device comprising: a first printed circuit board (130, Fig. 4(A), paragraph [0203]); a component (131, Fig. 4(A), paragraph [0203]) attached to the first printed circuit board; a second printed circuit board (140, Fig. 4(A), paragraph [0203]) proximate the first printed circuit board with the component between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board; and a sintered via (106, Fig. 4(A) by a heat press) comprising conductive material connecting the first printed circuit board with the second printed circuit board as shown in Fig. 4(B) (paragraph [0204]).
Re. claim 11: The sintered via comprises a circular area cross- section (a top portion) parallel to the first printed circuit board as shown in Fig. 4(A).
Re. claim 12: A prepreg (areas indicated reference numbers of 120 and 210 in Fig. 4(A)) is between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board.
Re. claim 13: An encapsulation material (215, Fig. 4(A), paragraph [0204]) is between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board.
Re. claim 14: The conductive material is a conductive sinter paste.
Re. claim 16: The encapsulation material is laminated as shown in Fig. 4B.
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Re. claim 21: A prepreg is positioned between the first printed circuit board and the second printed circuit board and includes the sintered via, whereby the first and second printed circuit boards and the prepreg form a PCB stack as shown in Fig. 4(B).
Re. claim 22: The prepreg comprises a plurality of laminate sheets stacked into a laminate sheet stack to make a prepreg body as shown in Figs. 4(A)-(B).
Re. claim 23: An encapsulation material forms over the component in a cavity of the body, wherein the plurality of laminate sheets and the encapsulation material encapsulate the component as shown in Figs. 4(A)-(B).
Re. claim 24: An encapsulation material forms over the component in a cavity of the prepreg as shown in Figs. 4(A)-(B).
Re. claim 25: A cavity is in the prepreg that receives the component as shown in Figs. 4(A)-(B).
Re. claim 27: A plurality of components is attached to the first printed circuit board.as shown in Figs. 4(A)-(B).
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.
Claims 15 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OCHI et al. as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Takaike (PGPub 2010/0149768 A1).
OCHI et al. teach all limitations as set forth above, but silent a plurality of sintered vias comprising conductive material connecting the first printed circuit board with the second printed circuit board. Takaike teaches an electronic component built-in substrate including a first printed circuit board (11, Fig. 13, paragraph [0100]), a second printed circuit board (12, Fig. 14, paragraph [0102]), and a prepreg (16, Fig. 16, paragraph [0104]), wherein a plurality of sintered vias (19, Fig. 20, paragraphs [0111]-[0112]) having a conductive material is connected the first printed circuit board with the second printed circuit board. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a device of OCHI et al. by providing a plurality of sintered vias comprising conductive material as taught by Takaike in order to electrically connect the first printed circuit board with the second printed circuit board.
It is noted that no art rejections for claims 28-30 have been applied, since there are a great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of claims. Therefore, it would not be proper to reject such claims on the basis of prior art. See MPEP 2173.06.
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hayashi et al. (PGPub 2007/0119617 A1), Hirano et al. (PGPub 2006/0087020 A1), and Coccioli (US PAT. 6,770,955) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a system having a first printed circuit board with second printed circuit board to connect one another.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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