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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 3/27/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-2, 6-11, and 15-18 remain
pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 7 and 16 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.
Regarding Claims 7 and 16, the claims states in part “wherein the heat sink has a heat dissipation body bonded to the thermal conduction layer and the dam….” (Bold added by Examiner for emphasis). However, claim 7 depends on claim 1 (and claim 16 depends on claim 10) which states that the dam and the heat sink are integrally formed, and thus, they are not bonded together. This is also supported in the specification in Para. [0040], which states in part “….In addition, in an electronic package 3 of FIG. 3, a dam 35 can also be made of metal material and is integrally formed with the heat sink 23, that is, the dam 35 is a wall structure extending downward from the heat dissipation body 230. Alternatively, in an electronic package 4 of FIG. 4, the dam 35 of the metal wall structure can be bonded onto the heat dissipation body.”
For the purposes of this examination, Examiner is interpreting Claim 7 as follows: “The electronic package of claim 1, wherein the heat sink has a heat dissipation body bonded to the thermal conduction layer
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 10-11 and 15-18 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 enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Regarding Claim 10, the claim recites method steps that pertain to forming an electronics package where the dam and the heat sink are not integrally formed. The claim and the specification both support the notion that the dam must be disposed on the carrier structure, followed by encapsulating the electronic component by a thermal conduction layer, and then disposing the heat sink on the dam.
For the purposes of the examination, Examiner is interpreting the claim as follows:
A method of manufacturing an electronic package, the method comprising: disposing an electronic component on a carrier structure; with a dam on the carrier structure to cover the electronic componentformed and made of metal material.
Please note that Examiner is unsure whether the above interpretation is adequately disclosed in the specification. Examiner is asking for clarification on this issue from the Applicant.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a2 as being anticipated by US20240371719A1 (Park).
Regarding Claim 1, Park discloses an electronic package (Figs. 1 – 4E), comprising: a carrier structure (Figs. 4A-4E, el. 120, Para. [0028]); an electronic component disposes on the carrier structure (Figs. 4A-4E, el. 104, Para. [0021] – different figure, but refers to the same component); a dam (Figs. 4A-4E, el. 148, Para. [0026]) disposed on the carrier structure and surrounding the electronic component (Fig. 3C, Para. [0027]); a thermal conduction layer (Figs. 4A-4e, el. 150, Para. [0028]) encapsulating the electronic component and located between the electronic component and the dam (Fig. 4e, Para. [0030]); and a heat sink (Figs. 3a-3e, el. 140, Para. [0026]) disposed on the carrier structure (Figs. 4A-E, Para. [0028]) and covering the electronic component, the dam and the thermal conduction layer (Para. [0028]), wherein the thermal conduction layer is further located between the heat sink and the electronic component (Fig. 4e, Para. [0030]), wherein the dam and the heat sink are integrally formed (Fig. 3a, Para. [0026]) and made of metal material (Para. [0026]).
Regarding Claim 2, Park discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the dam is a frame or a wall structure (Para. [0026]).
Regarding Claim 6, Park discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the thermal conduction layer is made of a liquid metal (Para. [0028]).
Regarding Claim 7, Park discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the heat sink has a heat dissipation body bonded to the thermal conduction layer (Para. [0032] - see claim interpretation under 112(b) above) and has a plurality of supporting legs (Fig. 3A, els. 142 and 144, Para. [0026]) disposed on the heat dissipation body (Fig. 3A) and bonded to the carrier structure (Fig. 4C, Para. [0030]).
Regarding Claim 8, Park discloses the electronic package of claim 7, wherein the heat dissipation body and the supporting legs are integrally formed (Fig. 3A).
Claims 10-11 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a2 as being anticipated by Park.
Regarding Claim 10, Park discloses a method of manufacturing an electronic package (Figs. 2A-2C and 4A-4e, Para. [0022] and [0028]), the method comprising: disposing an electronic component on a carrier structure (Fig. 2b, Para. [0023]); encapsulating the electronic component by a thermal conduction layer (Fig. 4a, Para. [0028]); and disposing a heat sink with a dam (see claim interpretation under 112(a) rejection above) on the carrier structure to cover the electronic component and the thermal conduction layer (Figs. 4B-4E, Paras. [0029-0032]), wherein the electronic component is surrounded by the dam (Fig. 4e, Para. [0032]), and the thermal conduction layer is located between the electronic component and the dam (Fig. 4E, Para. [0032]) and between the heat sink and the electronic component (Fig. 4E, Para. [0032]), wherein the dam and the heat sink are integrally formed and made of metal material (Para. [0026]).
Regarding Claim 11, Park discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the dam is a frame or a wall structure (Para. [0026]).
Regarding Claim 15, Park discloses the method of Claim 10, wherein the thermal conduction layer is made of a liquid metal (Para. [0028]).
Regarding Claim 16, Park discloses the method of Claim 10, wherein the heat sink has a heat dissipation body bonded to the thermal conduction layer (Para. [0032] - see claim interpretation under 112(b) above) and has a plurality of supporting legs (Fig. 3A, els. 142 and 144, Para. [0026]) disposed on the heat dissipation body (Fig. 3A) and bonded to the carrier structure (Fig. 4C, Para. [0030]).
Regarding Claim 17, Park discloses the method of Claim 16, wherein the heat dissipation body and the supporting legs are integrally formed (Fig. 3A).
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of 20120098119A1 (Refai-Ahmed).
Regarding Claim 9, Park discloses the electronic package of Claim 7.
Park does not disclose that the heat dissipation body is bonded to the supporting legs via an adhesive material.
Refai-Ahmed discloses an electronic package (Fig. 2, el. 10, Para. [0027]) with a heat sink (Fig. 2, el. 35, Para. [0024]) with a heat dissipation body (Fig. 2, el. 60) and supporting legs (Fig. 2, el. 25, Para. [0024]) where the supporting legs are bonded to the heat dissipation body via an adhesive (Fig. 2, el. 85, Para. [0027]).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to use an adhesive to bond the supporting legs to the heat dissipation body in Liang, as in Refai-Ahmed, as a simple substitution of one known element (the supporting legs with an adhesive) for another (the supporting legs without an adhesive) to obtain predictable results (a heat sink where the supporting legs are bonded to the body via an adhesive).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Refai-Ahmed.
Regarding Claim 18, Park discloses the method of Claim 16.
Park does not disclose that the heat dissipation body is bonded to the supporting legs via an adhesive material.
Refai-Ahmed discloses an electronic package (Fig. 2, el. 10, Para. [0027]) with a heat sink (Fig. 2, el. 35, Para. [0024]) with a heat dissipation body (Fig. 2, el. 60) and supporting legs (Fig. 2, el. 25, Para. [0024]) where the supporting legs are bonded to the heat dissipation body via an adhesive (Fig. 2, el. 85, Para. [0027]).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to use an adhesive to bond the supporting legs to the heat dissipation body in Liang, as in Refai-Ahmed, as a simple substitution of one known element (the supporting legs with an adhesive) for another (the supporting legs without an adhesive) to obtain predictable results (a heat sink where the supporting legs are bonded to the body via an adhesive).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROHIT PARTHASARATHY whose telephone number is (571)272-2572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30a-5p.
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, Dale Page can be reached at 5712707877. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROHIT PARTHASARATHY/Examiner, Art Unit 2899 /DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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