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 .
This office action is a response to the election of species filed on 6/29/2026.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A, Sub-Species AB, claims 1, 3 and 17-19, in the reply filed on 6/29/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 4-16 and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 6/29/2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --METHOD OF MANUFACTURING AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE--.
Claim Objections
Claim1, 3 and 17-19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re. claim 1: Ther phrase “A method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising” as recited in line 1 appears to be --A method of manufacturing an electronic device comprising;--.
Re. claim 6: The phrase “wherein the method further comprises disposing exogenously the filler material within the first metal material to form the composition” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be --wherein the filler material is disposed exogenously within the first metal material to form the composition--.
Re. claim 7: The phrase “the method further comprising adding the filler material to the first metal material in the form of” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be --wherein the filler material is added to the first metal material in the form of--.
Re. claim 8: The phrase “the method further comprising disposing the filler material within the first metal material without sintering the first metal material” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be --wherein the filler material is disposed within the first metal material without sintering the first metal material--.
Re. claim 13: The phrase “the method further comprising coupling the first circuit component to the second circuit component with the composition to form the interconnect” as recited in lines 1-2 appears to be --wherein the first circuit component is coupled to the second circuit component with the composition to form the interconnect--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1, 3 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (PGPub 2021/0305720 A1) in view of Applicant Admitted Prior Art (APA hereinafter), further in view of Matayabas, Jr. et al. (PGPub 2004/0124526 A1).
Zhang et al. teach a process of making an electronic device comprising; forming a first circuit component (511, Fig. 6B) at a first portion of a deformable substrate; forming a second circuit component (512, Fig. 6B) at a second portion of the deformable substrate (105, fig. 6B); and electronically coupling the first circuit component and the second circuit component with a composition, an interconnect (502-1, Fig. 6B, paragraphs [0116]-[0118] and [0134]-[0135]).
However, Zhang et al. silent a composition including a first metal material comprising a first weight percent (w%) of the composition, wherein the first metal material is gallium indium alloy, gallium tin alloy, gallium indium tin alloy, gallium indium tin zinc alloy, or a combination thereof, and a filler material disposed within the first metal material, wherein the filler material comprises a second w% of the composition, thereby forming an interconnect between the first circuit component and the second circuit component. APA teaches a process of making a flexible circuit by using a liquid metal such as gallium (Ga) based liquid metal (paragraph [0004]), which is well known in the art, and Matayabas, Jr. et al. teach a process of making an electronic device including a thermal interface material (TIM) with a first filler of the first filler is aluminum or a combination of aluminum and zinc oxide (paragraph [0027]) and a second filler made of solder materials such as indium, tin, indium-tin alloy, indium-silver alloy tin-bismuth alloy, tin-indium-bismuth alloy, gallium-tin-indium alloy, gallium-indium-tin-zinc alloy, and indium-bismuth alloy (paragraph [0028]) in order to produce a high performance microprocessors. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify a process of fabricating an electronic device Zhang et al. by a first metal of Ga -based liquid metal as taught by APA combined with a filler material as taught by Matayabas, Jr. et al. in order to produce a high performance microprocessors (or the electronic device) with an excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and stretchability.
Re. claim 3: Zhang et al., modified by APA and Matayabas, Jr. et al., teach all limitations including a composition of the first metal and the filler material. However, Zhang et al., modified by APA and Matayabas, Jr. et al., silent whether the composition is homogenous mixture. Since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable mixtures involves only routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 (il-A). The applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations. Therefore, since such a modification would have been an obvious design consideration that is within the purview of one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the well-known benefit of obtaining desirable composition of the electronic device.
Re. claim 17: Zhang et al., modified by APA and Matayabas, Jr. et al., teach all limitations as set forth above, but silent a width of the interconnect. 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. MPEP 2144.04 (il-A). The applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations. Therefore, since such a modification would have been an obvious design consideration that is within the purview of one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the well-known benefit of obtaining desirable composition of the electronic device.
Re. claim 18: Zhang et al. also teach that the first circuit component and the second circuit component form part of an active-matrix array as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
Re, claim 19: Zhang et al. also teach that the interconnect is free of degradation in conductivity when the deformable substrate is bent around a cylinder or cylindrical shape (Figs. 3 and 4). However, Zhang et al., modified by APA and Matayabas, Jr. et al., silent that the interconnect having a radius of between 2 cm and 10 cm for a period of time between 10 seconds and five minutes and then released. 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. MPEP 2144.04 (il-A). The applicant has not disclosed any criticality for the claimed limitations. Also, Figs. 2 and 3 of Zhang et al. also show that the layers of a flexible substrate is formed either in a planar or a non-planar (bent state) and corresponding components (paragraphs [0073] and [0091]). Therefore, since such a modification would have been an obvious design consideration that is within the purview of one having ordinary skill in the art to provide the well-known benefit of obtaining desirable composition of the electronic device.
The Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hubbard et al. (PGPub 2004/0259289 A1), Raby et al. (US PAT. 7,116,557), and Turovskiy (US PAT. 9,066,713) are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to a process of making an electronic component.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-4565. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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/PAUL D KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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