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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-9, 11, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanabe et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0262265).
As to claim 1, Tanabe discloses a wiring circuit board (fig. 1) comprising:
a base insulating layer 100, a conductive layer 15 disposed on one surface of the base insulating layer in a thickness direction, and a cover insulating layer 43 disposed on one surface of the base insulating layer in the thickness direction and covering a portion of the conductive layer (fig. 3A), wherein
the conductive layer has a terminal 21-24, and a wiring 15 connected to the terminal and having a width narrower than the width of the terminal (fig. 3A);
the wiring has a body portion (fig. 3A, see horizontal wirings), and a connecting portion (fig. 3, see vertical portions connecting to the terminals) connecting the body portion to the terminal; and
the cover insulating layer has a cover body portion covering the body portion (fig. 3A), and a protruding portion (fig. 3A, see portion protruding towards the terminals) covering the connecting portion and protruding from the cover body portion.
As to claim 2, Tanabe discloses that a direction in which the connecting portion extends is different from a direction in which the body portion extends (fig. 2A).
As to claim 3, Tanabe disclsoes wherein the cover body portion has an end edge (fig. 3A, see edge portion along the wiring in a horizontal direction at the top of the board) along a first direction perpendicular to the thickness direction, and the protruding portion protrudes in a second direction being perpendicular to the thickness direction and crossing the first direction (fig. 3A, see protruding portion protruding vertically away from the cover body portion).
As to claim 4, Tanabe discloses that the body portion is along the first direction (fig. 3A).
As to claim 5, Tanabe discloses that the terminal includes a first terminal and a second terminal, the wiring includes a first wiring and a second wiring, the first wiring includes a first body portion and a first connecting portion, the second wiring includes a second body portion and a second connecting portion, and the first wiring and the second wiring are a differential wiring (¶0055; fig. 3A).
As to claim 7, Tanabe discloses that the protruding portion is in contact with the base insulating layer between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion (fig. 3A).
As to claim 8, Tanabe discloses that the protruding portion has a protruding end edge along the first direction (fig. 3A).
As to claim 9, Tanabe discloses wherein the protruding portion is in contact with the base insulating layer on the opposite side of the second connecting portion with respect to the first connecting portion, and on the opposite side of the first connecting portion with respect to the second connecting portion (fig. 3A).
As to claim 11, Tanabe discloses that a width of the connecting portion is 5µm or more and 30µm or less (¶0090).
As to claim 15, Tanabe discloses that the conductive layer has a metal underlayer 42 disposed on one surface of the base insulating layer in the thickness direction and a conductive body layer 15 disposed on one surface of the metal underlayer in the thickness direction (figs. 4A-4C).
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(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanabe et al. (Pub. No. US 2016/0262265) in view of WO2021/124879.
As to claim 16, Tanabe does not disclose that a material for the metal underlayer contains chromium. However, WO2021/124879 discloses that a material for the metal underlayer contains chromium(Fig 1, 6; see written description provided)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the metal underlayer contain chromium as disclosed by WO2021/124879 with the circuit board of Tanabe et al. , since this is a common material used for its strength. Additionally, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 10, 12-14 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.
Regarding dependent claim 6, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claims 1, 3, 4, and 5, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the lengths of the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are the same. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding dependent claim 10, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claims 1, 3, 4, and 5, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion have a generally Y-shape branching toward a protruding direction of the protruding portion. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Regarding dependent claim 12, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest, in combining with other limitations within the claim and limitation recited in claim 1, a combination of limitations that discloses wherein the conductive layer has a ground terminal, and a ground wiring connected to the ground terminal and having a width narrower than the width of the ground terminal; the ground wiring has a ground body portion covered with the cover insulating layer; and a length of the terminal in a protruding direction of the protruding portion is shorter than the length of the ground terminal in the protruding direction. None of the reference art of record discloses or renders obvious such a combination.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMOL H PATEL whose telephone number is (571)270-7833. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30AM-6:00PM.
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/AMOL H PATEL/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847