DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the application filed on 11/28/2023.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because figures 1, 2A, 3A, and 9 are blurry, faint, and lack sufficient contrast and clarity such that the structural details on the claimed subject matter are not clearly visible. 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 § 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) 1 – 3, 11, 12, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang (US 10276956).
Regarding claim 1, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) an interposer, comprising:
an insulative housing (1) comprising:
a top surface (surface that contacts 5) and a bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) opposite the top surface (see figure 6);
a plurality of first openings (11) extending between the top surface (surface that contacts 5) and the bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) and arranged in a plurality of parallel lines (see lines in annotation; openings 11 is arranged in a straight line); and
a channel (41) extending between the top surface (surface that contacts 5) and the bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) and disposed between two lines of the first openings (see figures 1A and 1B) respectively adjacent opposing sides of the channel (41);
a plurality of electrical contacts (2) each disposed within a respective opening (respective opening of 11 where 2 is disposed on) of the plurality of first openings (11), wherein each electrical contact (2) includes a first contact portion (21) extending above the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1); and
a shield (3) disposed in the channel (4, 41; see figure 4), the shield (3) comprising a plurality of first shield contacts (36) extending from a first edge of the shield (edge that connects with 35 and 36), wherein the plurality of first shield contacts (36) extend through the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1).
~ Please see annotation of figure 2 in the Huang reference, where the plurality of parallel lines L1, L2 can be seen.
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Regarding claim 2, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 1, wherein:
the channel (41) is partially closed on the top surface (see figure 1B) of the insulative housing (1) such that a plurality of second openings (2a) are disposed on the top surface (surface that contacts 5) along an elongated direction of the channel (41; see figure 4); and
shield contacts of the plurality of first shield contacts (36) extend through respective openings of the plurality of second openings (2a; see figure 4).
~ Please see annotation of figure 4 in the Huang reference, where the plurality of second openings 2a, the first line of the plurality of parallel lines L3, and the second line of the plurality of lines L4 can be seen.
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Regarding claim 3, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 1, wherein the shield (3) is disposed between and adjacent to a first group (i.e. group of contacts seen along L3) of electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts (2) in openings (see opening of 1 in figure 4) in a first line of the plurality of parallel lines (L3, see annotation) and a second group (i.e. group of contacts seen along L4) of electrical contacts of the plurality of electrical contacts (2) in openings in a second line of the plurality of parallel lines (L4, see annotation), whereby the shield (3) reduces crosstalk (i.e. column 5, lines 56 – 65) between signals carried by the first group of electrical contacts (group of contacts above 1 in figure 4) and the second group of electrical contacts (i.e. there are multiple groups of contacts inside 1 in addition to the group above 1 in figure 4).
Regarding claim 11, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 1, wherein each electrical contact of the plurality of electrical contacts (2) further includes a second contact portion (see figure 8, portion of 2 that contacts 7) extending below the bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) of the insulative housing (1).
Regarding claim 12, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 1, wherein:
the channel (41) comprises an interior wall (see figure 5), and the shield (3) comprises one or more tabs (321, 33) pressing against the interior wall of the channel (42; column 5, lines 2 – 15) such that the shield (3) is retained in the channel (41).
Regarding claim 17, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) an interposer, comprising:
an insulative housing (1) comprising:
a top surface (surface that contacts 5) and a bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) opposite the top surface (see figure 6);
a plurality of electrical contacts (2) disposed in at least two parallel lines (see figure 4) at least in part within the insulative housing (1), wherein each electrical contact (2) includes a first contact portion (21) extending above the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1); and
a shield (3) comprising:
a body (34) disposed at least in part within the insulative housing (1) between two adjacent parallel lines of the at least two parallel lines (see figure 4); and
a plurality of first shield contacts (36) connected to the body (34; connected via 35), wherein:
the plurality of first shield contacts (36) extend through the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1); and
the plurality of first shield contacts (36) are configured such that when the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the interposer is compressed against a substrate (5; chip modules inherently require a substrate as a component of their structure), shield contacts of the plurality of first shield contacts (36) contact the body of the shield (36 is capable of contacting top portion of 34 in figure 5 when compressed).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 10276956).
Regarding claim 4, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 3, wherein:
for each electrical contact (21) of the first and the second groups of electrical contacts (see groups of contacts along L3 and L4), when the electrical contact (21) is in an uncompressed state (state seen in figure 4), the first contact portion (contacting portion of 21) of the electrical contact (21) extends a first distance (i.e. distance seen in figure 4) above the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1);
for each shield contact (36) of the plurality of first shield contacts of the shield (3), when the shield contact (36) is in an uncompressed state (see uncompressed state in figure 4), a contact portion (contact portion of 36) of the shield contact (36) extends a second distance (i.e. distance seen in figure 4) above the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of the insulative housing (1); and
the second distance is shorter than the first distance (i.e. distances of the contacts seen in figure 4).
Although Huang does not explicitly show the claimed feature that the second distance is shorter than the first distance, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to adjust the relative lengths of the shield and electrical contacts. The modification represents a routine design choice within the skill of the art to ensure proper engagement and mechanical stability of the contacts, and does not produce any unexpected results (MPEP § 2144.04-IV).
Claim(s) 5 – 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 10276956) in view of Vinther (US 20090111289).
Regarding claim 5, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 1.
But Huang does not explicitly disclose wherein: each of the plurality of first shield contacts comprises a beam configured to deflect at least partially in a first plane perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of the insulative housing; and when the shield contact of the plurality of first shield contacts is in a compressed state, a portion of the beam of the shield contact is in contact with a shield body of the shield.
Vinther teaches (figures 2 – 45) a connector assembly wherein:
each of the plurality of first shield contacts (10) comprises a beam (32) configured to deflect at least partially in a first plane perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of the insulative housing (i.e. 32 is capable of deflecting in a first plane perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of the insulative housing; see figure 4); and
when the shield contact (10) of the plurality of first shield contacts (10) is in a compressed state, a portion of the beam (32) of the shield contact (10) is in contact with a shield body of the shield (see figures 9 and 19).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang with the connector as disclosed by Vinther to provide each of the plurality of first shield contacts comprising a beam configured to deflect at least partially in a first plane perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of the insulative housing; and when the shield contact of the plurality of first shield contacts is in a compressed state, a portion of the beam of the shield contact is in contact with a shield body of the shield, to provide a low-self-inductance contact and assembly that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Regarding claim 6, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 5.
But Huang does not explicitly disclose wherein: when the first shield contact is in the compressed state, the first shield contact is in contact with a corner of the first edge, whereby the first shield contact is shunted to the shield body.
Vinther teaches (figures 2 – 45) a connector assembly wherein:
when the first shield contact (10) is in the compressed state, the first shield contact (10) is in contact with a corner of the first edge (32a and 32b; also see 124), whereby the first shield contact (10) is shunted to the shield body (¶0107 – ¶0108).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang with the connector as disclosed by Vinther to provide wherein: when the first shield contact is in the compressed state, the first shield contact is in contact with a corner of the first edge, whereby the first shield contact is shunted to the shield body, to provide a low-self-inductance contact and assembly that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Regarding claim 7, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the interposer of claim 5.
But Huang does not explicitly disclose wherein: when the first shield contact is in the compressed state, the first shield contact is shunted to the shield body via a shunting area at a corner where a side of the body of the shield and the first edge intersect.
Vinther teaches (figures 2 – 45) a connector assembly wherein:
when the first shield contact (10) is in the compressed state, the first shield contact (10) is shunted to the shield body (¶0107 – ¶0108) via a shunting area (see figure 40, area where 124 is located) at a corner where a side of the body of the shield and the first edge intersect (32a and 32b; also see 124 in figure 40).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang with the connector as disclosed by Vinther to provide wherein: when the first shield contact is in the compressed state, the first shield contact is shunted to the shield body via a shunting area at a corner where a side of the body of the shield and the first edge intersect, to provide a low-self-inductance contact and assembly that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Claim(s) 13 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 10276956) in view of Walden (US 20140162472).
Regarding claim 13, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) a method for manufacturing an interposer comprising:
inserting a plurality of electrical contacts (2) into respective first openings (respective opening of 11 where 2 is disposed on) extending between a top surface (surface that contacts 5) and a bottom surface (surface that contacts 6) opposite the top surface (surface that contacts 5) of a housing (1), wherein the first openings (respective opening of 11 where 2 is disposed on) are arranged in a plurality of lines (see lines in annotation; openings 11 is arranged in a straight line);
inserting the shield (3) into a channel (41; see figure 4) of the housing (1) such that the plurality of shield contacts (36) extend through the top surface (surface that contacts 5), wherein the channel (41; see figure 4) is disposed between two adjacent lines of the first openings (see figures 1A and 1B).
But Huang does not explicitly disclose stamping from a sheet of metal a shield including a plurality of shield contacts extending from a first edge of the shield.
Walden teaches (figures 6 – 10) a connector comprising stamping from a sheet of metal (¶0035) a shield (44) including a plurality of shield contacts (54) extending from a first edge of the shield (44).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang with the connector as disclosed by Walden to provide stamping from a sheet of metal a shield including a plurality of shield contacts extending from a first edge of the shield, to reduce cross-talk and enhance signal integrity.
Regarding claim 14, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the method of claim 13, wherein:
the channel (41; see figure 4) of the housing (1) is partially closed at the top surface (see figure 1B) of the housing (1) such that a plurality of second openings (2a) are disposed on the top surface (surface that contacts 5) along an elongated direction of the channel (41; see figure 4); and
inserting the shield (3) into the channel (41; see figure 4) of the housing (1) comprises inserting the shield (3) into the channel such that the plurality of shield contacts (36) of the shield (3) extend through respective openings of the plurality of second openings (2a; also see figure 7) above the top surface (surface that contacts 5).
Regarding claim 15, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the method of claim 13, further comprising:
retaining the shield (3) in the channel (41; see figure 4), wherein:
retaining the shield (3) in the channel (41; see figure 4) comprises engaging the one or more tabs (321, 33) with a wall of the channel (42; column 5, lines 2 – 15).
But Huang does not explicitly disclose wherein: stamping the shield comprises stamping one or more tabs in the shield.
Walden teaches (figures 6 – 10) a connector wherein: stamping the shield (44; ¶0035) comprises stamping one or more tabs (74) in the shield (44; ¶0035).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang with the connector as disclosed by Walden to provide wherein: stamping the shield comprises stamping one or more tabs in the shield, in order to reduce cross-talk and enhance signal integrity.
Claim(s) 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang (US 10276956) in view of Walden (US 20140162472) and further in view of Vinther (US 20090111289).
Regarding claim 16, Huang teaches (figures 1 – 8, annotation) the method of claim 13.
But Huang and Walden do not explicitly disclose further comprising: bending a portion of each of the plurality of shield contacts away from a plane of the shield before inserting the shield into the channel of the housing.
Vinther teaches (figures 2 – 45) a connector assembly further comprising:
bending a portion (see 32 in figure 2) of each of the plurality of shield contacts (10) away from a plane of the shield (see 32 bending away from the plane of in figure 4) before inserting the shield (20) into the channel of the housing (42, see figure 61).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Huang and Walden with the connector as disclosed by Vinther to provide the method of bending a portion of each of the plurality of shield contacts away from a plane of the shield before inserting the shield into the channel of the housing, to provide a low-self-inductance contact and assembly that are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 – 10, 18 – 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
Regarding claim 8, the prior art of record fails to teach a second portion extending from the first portion and having at least a portion bending away from the first plane in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Since claim 8 is allowable, claims 9 and 10, which depend from claim 8, are also allowable because they further limit the allowable subject matter of claim 8.
Regarding claim 18, the prior art of record fails to teach wherein the first end of the beam is coplanar with the body of the shield and the second end of the beam has a distal contact end bent out of the plane of the body of the shield in combination with the remaining limitations of the claim.
Since claim 18 is allowable, claims 19 and 20, which depend from claim 18, are also allowable because they further limit the allowable subject matter of claim 18.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos E. Lopez-Pagan whose telephone number is (703)756-5734. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30a - 5:00p.
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/CARLOS E LOPEZ-PAGAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834