DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
This Office Action is in response to Amendments/Remarks filed on July 28, 2026.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 13, 18, 20-21, and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0254039 A1 to Kim et al. (“Kim”) in view of JP 2021-009898 A to Suzuki (“Suzuki”). As to claim 13, although Kim discloses a light-emitting device comprising: a light source comprising: a support substrate (110) having a first upper face and comprising, on the first upper face, a plurality of first terminal parts (112) disposed in a light-emitting part arrangement region (between 170), a plurality of light-emitting parts (120) disposed in the light-emitting part arrangement region (between 170) and electrically connected to the first terminal parts (112), each of the plurality of light-emitting parts (120) having an emission face (top 140), a resin member (170) disposed on the first upper face adjacent the light-emitting part arrangement region (between 170) in a top view, and a light-shielding member (150) disposed in contact with the resin member (170) while the emission faces (top 140) of the light-emitting parts (120) are exposed from the light-shielding member (150) in the top view, wherein: a height of the resin member (170) is greater than heights of the emission faces (top 140) of the light-emitting parts (120) and greater than a height of the light-shielding member (150) (Fig. 6, Fig. 15, ¶ 0076, ¶ 0081, ¶ 0083, ¶ 0085, ¶ 0108, ¶ 0111, ¶ 0112, ¶ 0178, ¶ 0179), Kim does not further disclose the support substrate comprising one or more first wire-connection parts, the resin member disposed on the first upper face between the light-emitting part arrangement region and the one or more first wire-connection parts in the top view, the one or more first wire-connection parts is exposed from the light-shielding member in the top view, a control unit having a second upper face, the control unit comprising, on the second upper face, a first region where the light source is disposed, and one or more second wire-connection parts disposed in a second region other than the first region; a first wire connecting one or more the first wire-connection parts and the one or more second wire-connection parts; and a first cover member covering the first wire while the emission faces of the light-emitting parts are exposed from the first cover member. However, Suzuki does disclose the support substrate (10) comprising one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12), the resin member (41) disposed on the first upper face between the light-emitting part arrangement region (between 41) and the one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12) in the top view, the one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12) is exposed from the light-shielding member (7) in the top view, a control unit (20) having a second upper face, the control unit (20) comprising, on the second upper face, a first region where the light source is disposed, and one or more second wire-connection parts (21, 22) disposed in a second region other than the first region; a first wire (31, 32) connecting the one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12) and the one or more second wire-connection parts (21, 22); and a first cover member (40) covering the first wire (31, 32) while the emission faces of the light-emitting parts (1) are exposed from the first cover member (40) (See Fig. 2, Fig. 3, ¶ 0011-¶ 0017, ¶ 0028, ¶ 0029, ¶ 0033). In view of the teaching of Suzuki, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Kim to have the support substrate comprising one or more first wire-connection parts, the resin member disposed on the first upper face between the light-emitting part arrangement region and the one or more first wire-connection parts in the top view, the one or more first wire-connection parts is exposed from the light-shielding member in the top view, a control unit having a second upper face, the control unit comprising, on the second upper face, a first region where the light source is disposed, and one or more second wire-connection parts disposed in a second region other than the first region; a first wire connecting one or more the first wire-connection parts and the one or more second wire-connection parts; and a first cover member covering the first wire while the emission faces of the light-emitting parts are exposed from the first cover member because the control unit further provides driver terminals to control the light source via the one or more first and second wire-connection parts and the first wire protected by the first cover member improves light extraction (See ¶ 0014, ¶ 0017, ¶ 0029). As to claim 18, Kim in view of Suzuki further discloses wherein: the support substrate (110/10) comprises a plurality of the one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12) arranged in columns with the light-emitting part arrangement region (between 170/41) interposed between the one or more first wire-connection parts (11, 12) in the top view; and the resin member (170/41) is disposed along a columnar arrangement direction of the first terminal parts (112) (See Kim Fig. 15 and Suzuki Fig. 2, Fig. 3). As to claim 20, Kim in view of Suzuki further discloses wherein, the first cover member (40) is in contact with the resin member (170/41) between an upper edge and a lower edge of the resin member (170/41) (See Suzuki Fig. 3). As to claim 21, Kim in view of Suzuki discloses further comprising a second cover member (42) that covers the one or more second wire-connection parts (21, 22) (See Suzuki Fig. 3). As to claim 24, Kim further discloses wherein each light-emitting part (120) comprises a light-emitting element (123), and a light-transmissive part (140) on the light-emitting element (120) (See Fig. 6).
Claim(s) 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0254039 A1 to Kim et al. (“Kim”) and JP 2021-009898 A to Suzuki (“Suzuki”) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0165224 A1 to Tokunaga (“Tokunaga”). The teachings of Kim and Suzuki have been discussed above.
As to claim 15, although Kim and Suzuki do not further disclose wherein a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the resin member is lower than a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the light-shielding member, Tokunaga does disclose wherein a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the resin member (40) is lower than a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the light-shielding member (30) (See Fig. 3, ¶ 0042, ¶ 0046) (Notes: the resin materials are met as recited in claim 16). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Kim to have wherein a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the resin member is lower than a Young’s modulus of a resin material of the light-shielding member because the light-shielding member contains phenyl silicone further serves as a bonding member and the resin member contains dimethyl silicone further provides reflectivity (See Tokunaga ¶ 0042, ¶ 0046). As to claim 16, Kim in view of Tokunaga further discloses wherein: the resin material of the resin member (170/40) contains dimethyl silicone; and the resin material of the light-shielding member (150/30) contains phenyl silicone (See Tokunaga ¶ 0042, ¶ 0046).
Claim(s) 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0254039 A1 to Kim et al. (“Kim”) and JP 2021-009898 A to Suzuki (“Suzuki”) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0197212 A1 to Ishiyama (“Ishiyama”). The teachings of Kim and Suzuki have been discussed above. As to claim 22, although Kim and Suzuki disclose a light-emitting module comprising: a light-emitting device according to claim 13 (See Kim and Suzuki), Kim and Suzuki do not further disclose a mounting substrate having a third upper face on which the light-emitting device is disposed, the mounting substrate comprising one or more third wire-connection parts disposed on a region of the third upper face other than the region where the light-emitting device is disposed; and a second wire connecting the one or more second wire-connection parts of the control unit and the one or more third wire-connection parts of the mounting substrate. However, Ishiyama does disclose a mounting substrate (provided with Vss) having a third upper face on which the device (A8) is disposed, the mounting substrate (provided with Vss) comprising one or more third wire-connection parts (Vss) disposed on a region of the third upper face other than the region where the device (A8) is disposed; and a second wire (61) connecting the one or more second wire-connection parts (on B8) of the control unit (B8) and the one or more third wire-connection parts (Vss) of the mounting substrate (provided with Vss) (See Fig. 14, ¶ 0158-¶ 0162). In view of the teachings of Kim, Suzuki, and Ishiyama, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Kim and Suzuki to have a mounting substrate having a third upper face on which the light-emitting device is disposed, the mounting substrate comprising one or more third wire-connection parts disposed on a region of the third upper face other than the region where the light-emitting device is disposed; and a second wire connecting the one or more second wire-connection parts of the control unit and the one or more third wire-connection parts of the mounting substrate because the EMI is suppressed and prevented to obtain high reliability (See Ishiyama ¶ 0162). As to claim 23, Kim, Suzuki, and Ishiyama disclose further comprising a third cover member (40) that covers the one or more third wire-connection parts (Vss) (See Suzuki Fig. 3 and Ishiyama Fig. 14) such that the second wire is well protected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 13 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7438. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSHUA BENITEZ can be reached at (571) 270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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