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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-15, in the reply filed on February 16, 2026 is acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 February 16, 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 19, 2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “second electronic component” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 4 and 15 recite a “second electronic component.” However, the originally filed specification and the drawings do not mention or show a second electronic component. Thus, the claims do not convey to one of ordinary skill in the art that the applicants had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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) 1-3 and 8-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zheng et al (US Pub 2022/0020659).
In re claim 1, Zheng et al discloses an electronic device, comprising: a substrate (i.e. 10) comprising a dielectric structure and a conductive structure (i.e. it is inherent and well known in the art that the substrate would have a dielectric structure and a conductive structure for use in a packaged chip in order for the chip to function; in addition, at least Figures 2 and 9f shows solder balls on the backside of the substrate, making at least conductive structure a necessity in the substrate); a first electronic component (i.e. 20) over a top side of the substrate and coupled with the conductive structure (i.e. see at least Figure 1: through solder ball 50); a lid (i.e. 301) over the first electronic component and coupled with a top side of the substrate (i.e. see at least Figure 1: through 302, 303), wherein the lid comprises a top plate having a plurality of holes (i.e. 3011); and a covering material (i.e. 40) covering a lateral side of the first electronic component and extending between the top side of the substrate and a bottom side of the top plate of the lid (i.e. see at least Figure 9e; paragraph 0071).
In re claim 2, Zheng et al discloses wherein: the covering material comprises: a thermal interface material (i.e. 40) between the first electronic component and the top plate; and infilling material (i.e. 70) surrounding thermal interface material (i.e. see at least Figure 9e; paragraph 0071).
In re claim 3, Zheng et al discloses wherein the covering material comprises a liquid thermal interface material (i.e. see at least paragraph 0079).
In re claim 8, Zheng et al discloses an electronic device, comprising: a substrate (i.e. 10) comprising a dielectric structure and a conductive structure (i.e. it is inherent and well known in the art that the substrate would have a dielectric structure and a conductive structure for use in a packaged chip in order for the chip to function; in addition, at least Figures 2 and 9f shows solder balls on the backside of the substrate, making at least conductive structure a necessity in the substrate); a first electronic component (i.e. 20) over a top side of the substrate and coupled with the conductive structure (i.e. see at least Figure 1: through solder ball 50); a lid (i.e. 301) over the first electronic component and coupled with a top side of the substrate (i.e. see at least Figure 1: through 302, 303), wherein the lid comprises a top plate having a plurality of holes (i.e. 3011); and a covering material (i.e. 40) covering a lateral side of the first electronic component (i.e. see at least Figure 9e; paragraph 0071).
In re claim 9, Zheng et al discloses wherein: the covering material (i.e. 40) is between a top side of the first electronic component and a bottom side of the top plate of the lid; and a bottom side of the first electronic component is free of the covering material (i.e. see at least Figure 1).
In re claim 10, Zheng et al discloses comprising hole plugs in the plurality of holes (i.e. see at least paragraph 0084).
In re claim 11, Zheng et al discloses wherein the covering material comprises a liquid metal (i.e. see at least paragraphs 0074, 0079).
In re claim 12, Zheng et al discloses wherein the covering material contacts a sidewall of the lid (i.e. see at least Figures 9e, 9f; paragraph 0084).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 13, and 14 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY HO whose telephone number is (571)270-1432. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM, Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marlon Fletcher can be reached at 571-272-2063. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817