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.
Claims 1, 2, 7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 9596767 to Dote.
Regarding Claim 1, Dote teaches a semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate 10;
a first electroconductive member 20 that is formed on the semiconductor substrate and that has a first linear portion extending along a principal surface of the semiconductor substrate (see Figs. 1A-1C);
and an organic insulation layer 30 that is formed on the semiconductor substrate and that covers the first electroconductive member, wherein the first linear portion includes a first side edge portion formed by a curve that is alternately bent to one side and to an opposite side in a direction intersecting a longitudinal direction of the first linear portion in a plan view (see Fig. 18B).
Regarding Claim 2, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 1, wherein the first linear portion includes a base portion 20 to which a joining member is connectable (top surface of 20 is for receiving a joining member) and a first side portion including a convex portion that protrudes from the base portion in the direction intersecting a longitudinal direction of the first linear portion and a concave portion that is hollowed with respect to the convex portion, and the first side edge portion is formed by a curve that continuously connects the convex portion and the concave portion along the longitudinal direction of the first linear portion in a plan view (see again Fig. 18B).
Regarding Claim 7, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 2, wherein the organic insulation layer has a pad opening that exposes the base portion of the first linear portion as a pad (see Fig. 10B for example).
Regarding Claim 12, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 1, comprising an integrated circuit element that is formed at the semiconductor substrate and that is electrically connected to the first electroconductive member (2:62-64).
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.
Claims 4, 5, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dote in view of U.S. Pat. No. 7067412 to Fukumoto.
Regarding Claims 4 and 5, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 1, but does not explicitly teach that the first electroconductive member includes a forward end portion including a part of the first linear portion and a second linear portion connected to the first linear portion through a corner portion, and the first side edge portion is selectively formed at the first linear portion that is one of the first linear portion and the second linear portion, wherein the forward end portion of the first electroconductive member has a first side surface formed by a first circular arc having a first curvature radius in a plan view, and the first side edge portion of the first electroconductive member has a second side surface formed by a second circular arc having a second curvature radius smaller than the first curvature radius in a plan view.
However, in analogous art, Fukumoto teaches in Fig. 6 at least electroconductive members 601 having first and second linear portions (vertical and horizontal) joined by curves having first and second radii. It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to include the teaching of Fukumoto to optimally route conductive traces around the surface of an IC.
Regarding Claim 8, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 1, but does not explicitly teach a second electroconductive member connected to the base portion of the first linear portion in the organic insulation layer. However, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)). In this case, nothing on the record indicates a new or unexpected result aside from greater integration, which is expected.
Regarding Claim 9, Dote teaches the semiconductor device according to Claim 8, wherein the second electroconductive member has a third linear portion that extends along the principal surface of the semiconductor substrate, and the third linear portion includes a second side edge portion formed by a curve that is alternately bent to one side and to an opposite side in a direction intersecting a longitudinal direction of the third linear portion in a plan view (duplicating Dote’s electroconductive member would similarly duplicate the curved pattern).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, 10 and 11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited prior art does not show the further limitations of these dependent claims.
Conclusion
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/EVREN SEVEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812