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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 15-20 in the reply filed on 07/14/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/14/2026.
Additionally, nonelected claims 1-14 have been canceled via the amendment submitted 07/14/2026.
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) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nishimura (US20210223512A1).
Nishimura discloses a cover for an image sensor package comprising:
an optically transmissive cover comprising a largest planar side comprising a perimeter having four corners (Figs. 22-24); and
a black mask layer applied onto the largest planar side adjacent to the perimeter forming a mask pattern (Fig. 22, black mask 321a, paras 0268-0272 and 0277);
wherein the mask pattern of the black mask layer exposes all four corners of the perimeter (Fig. 24, para 0277 stating “[n]ote that the glass substrate 231 may be provided on the solid-state imaging element 11 instead of the glass substrate 12.”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 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:
After search the prior art regarded as nearest the claimed invention is Nishimura (US20210223512A1). Nishimura discloses a cover for an image sensor package comprising: an optically transmissive cover comprising a largest planar side comprising a perimeter having four corners (Figs. 22-24); and a black mask layer applied onto the largest planar side adjacent to the perimeter forming a mask pattern (Fig. 22, black mask 321a, paras 0268-0272 and 0277); wherein the mask pattern of the black mask layer exposes all four corners of the perimeter (Fig. 24, para 0277 stating “[n]ote that the glass substrate 231 may be provided on the solid-state imaging element 11 instead of the glass substrate 12.”). Nishimura and the remaining prior art available fail to teach wherein the mask pattern comprises four segments and only two of the four segments are connected (claim 16) or wherein the mask pattern comprises a stipple pattern (claim 17, from which claims 18-20 depend). The Office is unable to discern a reasonable rationale from the prior art that such features are taught, suggested, or otherwise rendered obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yamamoto (US20210211595A1)
Lin (US20170125467A1)
Wang (US20240210663A1)
Ahn (US20140263962A1)
Mienko (US20180096186A1)
Ha (US20230163148A1)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW L SWANSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1724. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 0800-1900 and every other Friday 0800-1600.
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, Phillip Tucker can be reached at (571)272-1095. 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.
/ANDREW L SWANSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1745
Prosecution Insights