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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 02/08/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 02/08/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are as originally filed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR 102070317 B1, based on the machine translation.
KR 102070317 B1 (KR ‘317) teaches a lead-free solder alloy comprising an alloy and an additive (abstract) including W, Sr, Cu, Ni, Ag, Au, Fe, Co, Ti, Pt, Mo, Pd, and Cr [0028]. The nanopowder (“core”) includes a coating layer of metallic material on at least a portion of the surface [0025]. The nanopowder surface can have an irregular rough structure formed by plasma etching and sputtering treatment [0027]. The metal coated on the surface of the nanopowder includes Cu, Ni, Ag, Au, Fe, Co, Ti, Pt, Pd, and Cr [0030], which reads on the metal “core” and “protrusion portions” include only one metal. The coating layer is an irregular, uneven structure [0056], which reads on “protrusion portions extending from a surface of the metal core.” Regarding the limitation of “flower-shaped,” KR ‘317 teaches protrusion portions as claimed. KR ‘317 anticipates the claimed invention.
Regarding Claim 2, the lead-free solder alloy includes Sn-Bi, Sn-Bi-Ag, and Sn-Bi-In [0026].
Regarding Claim 3, the metal nanopowder includes Ag, Au, Pt, Cu, and W [0028].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 4, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR ‘317 as applied to claim 1 above.
KR ‘317 discloses the invention substantially as claimed.
Regarding Claim 4, KR ‘317 does not teach the metal coating melts at 120-140 °C as claimed. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the nanopowder coating that was subjected to etching and sputtering in KR ‘317 would have at least a melting temperature of 120-140 °C, since KR ‘317 teaches an overlapping range of particle size (further explained below) and the same metal nano-particles as claimed.
Regarding Claim 6, the metal nanopowder has an average particle size of 1-500 nm 0054], which overlaps the claimed range.
Regarding Claim 7, the metal coating is 0.01-1.0 wt% [0031], which overlaps the claimed range.
In the case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because the prior art discloses the utility of the composition over the entire disclosed range. See MPEP § 2144.05.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding Claim 5, KR ‘317 teaches the thickness of the coated metal is approximately 300 Å [0119], or 30 nm. The surface is plasma etched and sputtered [0120], but KR ‘317 does not suggest a length of the etched and sputtered surface as claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kuboyama et al (US 2021/0213530 A1) teaches a metal paste used as a bonding agent for element mounting [0007] containing composite particles comprising microparticles containing a metal (metal core) and nanoparticles adhered to a surface of the microparticle containing a metal of the same kind as in the microparticle (abstract). The metal includes Ag, Al, Si, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Zr, Nb, Mo, In, and Co [0027]. When the nanoparticle is spherical or plate-shaped (protrusion portions extending form a surface of the metal core), the composite can have a larger specific surface area [0034], which reads on a “flower-shaped metal nano-particle.” The claimed limitation of “a flower-shaped nano-particle” does not provide for any range for the metal core. Kuboyama et al teaches the composite particles are 0.6-10 μm, or 600-10,000 nm. Therefore, the microparticles as taught by Kuboyama et al reads on the claimed nano-particle. Regarding the claimed limitation “a flower-shaped,” Kuboyama et al teaches a composite with a larger specific surface area with nanoparticles adhered to the surface of the microparticle.
Zheng et al (US 2024/0238910 A1) teaches a composite metal material and a low-temperature solder paste (abstract). The composite metal material is a Cu@Ag@Sn core-shell metal powder or a Cu@Ni@Sn core-shell metal powder [0008]. The shell layer is Sn [0043]. No “flower-shaped metal nano-particle” or other particles with high surface areas.
CN 11583343 A teaches a composite brazing filler metal comprising 95-99.9 wt% Sn based lead-free solder alloy powder and 0.1 to 5 wt% core-shell structure of reinforced particles (abstract). The reinforcing particles as described at the bottom of page 2 of the machine translation comprises Si or Si compounds.
Sohn et al (US 2020/0238443 A1) teaches a lead-free solder alloy composition in which a nanosized ceramic powder additive is added to a lead-free alloy of Sn-Cu-Bi, Sn-Ag-Bi, or Sn-Ag-Cu-Bi (abstract). Sohn et al does not suggest a metal core.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tima M. McGuthry-Banks whose telephone number is (571)272-2744. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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Tima M. McGuthry-Banks
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1733
/TIMA M. MCGUTHRY-BANKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733