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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Traub et al. (US20180090441A1, hereinafter Traub).
Regarding claim 1, Traub discloses a single-sided cooling power module comprising:
a direct bonded copper (DBC) substrate on which a pattern is formed to conduct electricity (Fig. 7, par. 107 substrate 26 “may be formed as direct bonded copper substrate” and has metallization layer 30 formed on its top surface);
a power device chip disposed on the DBC substrate and electrically connected to the pattern (Fig. 7 second substrate disposed on and electrically connected to substrate 26);
a power terminal coupled to the DBC substrate and electrically connected to the pattern (Fig. 7 negative DC-connection 18 coupled to substrate 26 metallization layer 30); and
a signal pin extending in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the DBC substrate and facing the power device chip, the signal pin being electrically connected to the pattern (Fig. 7 AC-connection pin 20 extends in a direction perpendicular to surface of substrate 26 that faces the second substrate 34 and is electrically connected to metallization layer 30).
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 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Traub (US20180090441A1) in view of Tadakuma et al. (JP2011187819A, hereinafter Tadakuma).
Regarding claim 2, Traub teaches the single-sided cooling power module of claim 1.
Traub does not appear to teach
a socket disposed on the surface of the DBC substrate and being electrically connected to the pattern,
wherein the signal pin is coupled to the socket and electrically connected to the socket.
Tadakuma teaches
a socket disposed on the surface of the DBC substrate and being electrically connected to the pattern (Fig. 10B recess 24 formed over circuit pattern 16 and is electrically connected to power semiconductor element 20),
wherein the signal pin is coupled to the socket and electrically connected to the socket (Tadakuma par. 13 “[t]his opening [28] is provided so that an electrical connection with an external configuration can be easily obtained”).
Being in analogous arts, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Traub with the teachings of Tadakuma because the “opening [28] is provided so that an electrical connection with an external configuration can be easily obtained” (Tadakuma par. 13).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Traub and Tadakuma teaches the single-sided cooling power module of claim 2, wherein the socket comprises:
a plate portion comprising a bottom surface bonded to the surface of the DBC substrate and an ultrasonically bondable surface (Tadakuma fig. 10A circuit pattern 16 is bottom plate portion of the socket and par. 16 teaches that “circuit pattern 16…[is] ultrasonically bonded” and so its surface is ultrasonically bondable. As Tadakuma teaches the use of a socket, they also teach the specific shape);
an accommodating portion extending from the plate portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the DBC substrate (Tadakuma fig. 10A cylindrical socket has sidewalls extending from circuit pattern in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 12. As Tadakuma teaches the use of a socket, they also teach the specific shape); and
an accommodating hole configured to receive the signal pin, the accommodating hole being formed in the accommodating portion (Tadakuma fig. 10A cylindrical socket has recess 28 which receives a signal pin and is formed between the sidewalls of cylindrical socket 24. As Tadakuma teaches the use of a socket, they also teach the specific shape).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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: Regarding claim 4, the closest prior art (US20180090441A1, JP2011187819A, US20120127668A1) teaches the single-sided cooling power module of claim 3.
However, the closest prior art does not teach in combination with the other claimed elements
wherein at least one protrusion is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the accommodating portion to press the signal pin into the accommodating portion.
Conclusion
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/COLE LEON LINDSEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2812 /CHRISTINE S. KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2812