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 § 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 . Claim s 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishida et al. (US PG Pub 2009/0140416 A1) in view of Yamauchi et al. (US PG Pub 2009/0092168 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Ishida discloses a cap housing (a cap member 100, FIG. 1, [0095]) comprising: a tubular part ( a cylindrical side wall portion 101 , FIG. 1, [0100]) ; and a top plate (a top face portion 102, FIG. 1, [0100]) , extending from one end of the tubular part toward a center axis of the tubular part (FIG. 1) , and having an opening ( a light exit hole 102a , FIG. 1, [0100]) , wherein the top plate includes an annular first surface (see annotated FIG. 1 below) facing the opening, an annular second surface (see annotated FIG. 1 below) continuous with the first surface and perpendicular to the center axis, and an annular third surface (see annotated FIG. 1 below) continuous with the second surface and inclined from the second surface, the third surface is inclined from the second surface so as to separate farther away from a center of the tubular part in a direction along the center axis as the third surface approaches the tubular part (see annotated FIG. 1 below). Ishida does not explicitly disclose a second size of the second surface on a straight line perpendicular to the center axis and passing through the center axis is smaller than or equal to a first size of the first surface in a direction along the center axis. Yamauchi discloses a second size of the second surface (D2, see annotated FIG. 4 below) on a straight line perpendicular to the center axis and passing through the center axis is smaller than or equal to a first size of the first surface (D1, where D2<D1, see annotated FIG. 4 below) in a direction along the center axis. I t would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the first size of the first surface and the second size of the second surface of Ishida with the second size of the second surface being smaller than the first size of the first surface as taught by Yamauchi in order to secure a larger effective diameter of the opening of the top plate for emission of the laser light ([0032] of Yamauchi ) . Regarding claim 2, the combination has disclosed the cap housing outlined in the rejection to claim 1 above except the second size is larger than or equal to 1/2 times the first size. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the first size and the second size of the combination with the second size being larger than or equal to 1/2 times the first size in order to maximize the effective diameter of the opening of the top plate for emission of the laser light , since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 MPEP 2144.05 (II-A) Regarding claim 3, Ishida discloses the top plate has an annular fourth surface (see annotated FIG. 1 above) continuous with the third surface and the tubular part. Regarding claim 4, Ishida discloses a cap (FIG. 1) comprising: the cap housing according to claim 1 (see rejection to claim 1 above) ; and a transparent member (104, FIG. 1, [0100]) bonded to an inner surface of the top plate via an adhesive (105, FIG. 1, [0100]) so as to close the opening. Regarding claim 5, Ishida discloses the transparent member is made of a first glass (104 is made of glass, [0100]) , and the adhesive is made of a second glass having a melting point lower than a melting point of the first glass (105 is made of low-melting-point glass , [0100]) . Regarding claim 6, the combination has disclosed the cap housing outlined in the rejection to claim 4 above except a volume of an annular region surrounded by a plane including the second surface, the top plate, and the tubular part is smaller than a volume of the adhesive. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the annular region and the adhesive of the combination with the volume of the annular region being smaller than the volume of the adhesive in order to maximize the effective diameter of the opening of the top plate for emission of the laser light , since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 MPEP 2144.05 (II-A) Regarding claim 7, Ishida discloses at least a portion of a side surface of the transparent member is separated from the tubular part (a side surface of 104 is separated from the tubular part by 105, FIG. 1) . Regarding claim 8, Ishida discloses a semiconductor device (FIG. 1) comprising: the cap according to claim 4 (see rejection to claim 4 above) ; and a semiconductor device ( a semiconductor laser chip 30, FIG. 1, [0095]) mounted on an element mounting surface of a header (a stem 1, FIG. 1, [0095]) , wherein the cap is fixed to the header (100 is fixed to 1, FIG. 1) , and the semiconductor device is hermetically sealed by the cap (airtightly sealed, [0042]) . Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Nakazawa (US PG Pub 2018/0175584 A1) discloses a cap housing comprising a top plate including an inclined surface similar to the claimed invention (see FIG. 4). Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT YUANDA ZHANG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1439 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM . Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT MINSUN HARVEY can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1835 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /YUANDA ZHANG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828