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 .
Summary of the Claims
The present application (18/430,960) was filed on February 2, 2024 and claims priority to JP 2023-017727 filed on February 8, 2023. Claims 1-4 are pending. Claim 1 is the only independent claim.
References and Documents Cited in this Action
Okada (US 2012/0045161 A1)
Almalfi (US 2023/0024390 A1)
Summary of Rejections and Objections in this Action
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada in view of Almalfi.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada in view of Almalfi.
Regarding independent claim 1, Okada discloses an optical transmission module (Figures 1 and 6), comprising:
a metal stem 1 having a signal terminal 2 extending in a first direction and a support portion 5 extending in the first direction (paragraphs [0019]-[0021]);
a dielectric block 10 containing a dielectric material and having a semiconductor mounting surface and a heat conduction surface (paragraphs [0021] and [0023]-[0024]) ;
an optical semiconductor element 13 mounted on the semiconductor mounting surface;
a temperature control element 4 disposed between the metal stem and the heat conduction surface (paragraphs [0020]-[0021]);
a relay board for electrically connecting the signal terminal 2 to the optical semiconductor element 13 (i.e., dielectric substrate 6, which supports signal line 7 and ground conductor 8; paragraphs [0021]-[0022]).
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Further regarding claim 1, Okada discloses that the relay board 6 is supported by support portion 5 (Figure 1), but does not specifically teach a heat insulation spacer having an insulation property and connected between the support portion and the relay board, wherein thermal conductivity of the heat insulation spacer is lower than the thermal conductivity of the support portion, and lower than the thermal conductivity of the relay board. However, Okada teaches that the support portion for the relay board can alternatively be shaped as support body 61 shown in Figure 6, wherein “the support surface of the support body 61 can be reduced in thickness to narrow the heat transfer path between the dielectric substrate 6 and the metal stem 1. This can increase the thermal resistance between the dielectric substrate 6 and the metal stem 1, thereby reducing heat that flows into the temperature control module 4 through the path of the metal stem…” to the support portion, the relay board, and so on to the other connected elements (Okada, paragraph [0044]). In other words, Okada discloses that thermal insulation between the support portion and the relay board is desirable.
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Almalfi teaches an apparatus that is related to the one disclosed by Okada, including photonic component 105, electronic component 103, and heat transfer elements 109 and 111 (paragraphs [0040]-[0042]; Figure 1). Almalfi further teaches a heat insulation spacer 107 having an insulation property and connected between elements, wherein thermal conductivity of the heat insulation spacer is lower than the elements it is between (paragraphs [0050]-[0051], [0058]-0062], [0072]-[0076], and [0087]; Figures 1-3).
Regarding claim 1, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a heat insulation spacer having an insulation property as taught by Almalfi between the support portion and relay board in the apparatus disclosed by Okada in order to advantageously further thermally insulate these elements and reduce unwanted heat flow in the apparatus (Almalfi, paragraphs [0046]; Okada, paragraph [0044]). Again, Okada explicitly discloses that this outcome is desirable.
Regarding claim 2, in the optical transmission module taught by Okada in view of Almalfi, Almalfi teaches that the thermal conductivity of the heat insulation spacer is 10 W/(mK) or less (e.g., Almalfi teaches that the spacer may comprise “an aerogel with a conductivity of a range of 0.021-0.047 W/mK,” or air gaps having thermal conductivity of 0.0273 W/mK; paragraphs [0073] and [0088]).
Regarding claim 3, in the optical transmission module taught by Okada in view of Almalfi, Okada discloses that the relay board has signal wiring 7 and ground wiring 8, and wherein the ground wiring is electrically connected to the metal stem at a first end of the relay board in the first direction and is electrically connected to the optical semiconductor element 13 via a bonding wire 15 at a second end of the relay board opposite to the first end in the first direction (paragraphs [0022]-[0026]).
Regarding claim 4, in the optical transmission module taught by Okada in view of Almalfi, Almalfi teaches that a contact area between the relay board and the heat insulation spacer is smaller than an area of a bottom surface of the relay board (Figure 2; paragraphs [0055]-[0064]). More specifically, Almalfi teaches that the spacer with air gaps 203 provides a contact area between the spacer and the adjacent element (i.e., the relay board disclosed by Okada in the optical transmission module taught by Okada in view of Almalfi), wherein the contact area is smaller than an area of a bottom surface of that adjacent element.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Christina Leung at telephone number (571) 272-3023. If attempts to reach the examiner are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Patricia Engle can be reached at (571) 272-6660.
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/CHRISTINA Y. LEUNG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3991
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