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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 07/31/2026 has been entered.
Drawings
The Examiner disagrees with Applicants’ response i.e. “… For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the bottom portion of the first housing structure 150 (i.e., the portion proximate to the wiring substrate 140) has a thin part under the conductive bump 180 and a thick part located between the second needles 160. The thick part is thicker than the thin part. The second needle 160 passes through the thin part.” This is because a part of the housing portion 150 under bump 180 appears to be thicker than a part of housing structure between the needles 160. It is unclear what part of the housing structure are claimed. See 608.02(d) and 37 C. F. R. 1.83(a)(b)(c).
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 “the bottom portion of the first housing structure has a thin part and a thick part thicker than the thin part, and the second needle passes through the thin part.” of claim 23 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.
Response to Arguments
No arguments found. New ground of rejection as follows. Ding et al. at fig. 5 discloses bottom portion of housing structure has a serrated top surface facing the chamber.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-10 and 24-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeya et al. (US 5,807,104) hereafter Ikeya in view of Ding et al. (US 2018/0059176 A1), hereafter Ding.
Regarding claim 1, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose a chip testing structure [socket], comprising: a probe head comprising a substrate 32 and a first needle 56 passing through the substrate; a wiring substrate 38/50/52 over the probe head, wherein the wiring substrate comprises an insulating layer 38/52 and a conductive structure 50/50a in the insulating layer; a housing structure 42 over the wiring substrate, wherein the housing structure has a chamber [chamber 42a for 80]; a second needle 48 passing through a bottom portion of the housing structure and connected to the conductive structure of the wiring substrate, wherein the bottom portion has a flat top surface facing the chamber second needle has a tapered end portion [tapered portion as shown] that tapers in a direction perpendicular to and away from a first top surface [top surface of 38] of the wiring substrate in a cross-sectional view of the second needle [fig. 4] and the wiring substrate; and a chip-containing structure [IC chip/bare die 80, see “At the center of the upper surface of positioning plate 42, a cavity 42a is provided for positioning and placing an IC chip/bare die to be mounted in this socket.”] in the chamber and electrically connected to the first needle through the second needle and the conductive structure of the wiring substrate, wherein the chip-containing structure covers the tapered end portion of the second needle [bottom surface of 80, as shown].
Ikey is silent about the bottom portion of the housing structure has a serrated top surface facing the chamber. Rather discloses the bottom portion of the housing structure has a flat top surface facing the chamber. Ding at fig. 5 discloses the bottom portion [portion of 215 under bump/balls 505] of the housing structure 215 has a serrated top surface [as shown between the bumps/balls 505] facing the chamber. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the bottom portion of the housing structure having a serrated top surface as taught by Ding, in order to hold and align the bumps during testing/calibration.
Regarding claim 2, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a cover plate 12 over the housing structure 42 and the chip-containing structure 80.
Regarding claim 3, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cover plate is connected to the housing structure by a first pivot 14/18.
Regarding claim 4, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: a hook-like structure 24 connected to an edge portion of the cover plate, wherein the cover plate 12 is between the hook-like structure and the first pivot 14/18.
Regarding claim 5, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the hook-like structure is connected to the edge portion of the cover plate by a second pivot 22.
Regarding claim 6, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cover plate has a lower surface [bottom surface of 12 for 58] and a protruding portion 60 protruding from the lower surface [as shown].
Regarding claim 7, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the protruding portion of the cover plate is in direct contact with the chip-containing structure [see fig. 2].
Regarding claim 9, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second needle is in direct contact with the conductive structure of the wiring substrate [fig. 4].
Regarding claim 10, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a conductive bump BP between the chip-containing structure and the second needle [fig. 5-6].
Regarding claims 24-25, modified Ikeya discloses all the elements except for a pillar structure passing through the housing structure and extending into the wiring substrate, wherein the pillar structure comprises a screw structure, wherein the pillar structure is harder than the housing structure and the wiring substrate. Ikeya discloses screw 68 to hold a base 10 and a holding plate 66. Use of a screw structure passing through the housing structure and extending into the wiring substrate is old and well known in the art for the same purpose that Ikeya discloses. i.e. mounting. It is also well known that screws are made of metal that is harder than housing structure normally made of resin. Therefore, It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use claimed screw structure to obtain mounting for strength, stability, preventing movement because screw can create strong mechanical bond between the housing structure and extending into the wiring substrate.
Claim(s) 11-13 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeya et al. (US 5,807,104) hereafter Ikeya in view of Ding et al. (US 2018/0059176 A1), hereafter Ding.
Regarding claim 11, as explained at rejection of claim 1 above, Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose a chip testing structure, comprising: a probe head comprising a substrate and a first needle passing through the substrate; a wiring substrate over the probe head, wherein the wiring substrate comprises an insulating layer and a conductive structure in the insulating layer; a housing structure over the wiring substrate, wherein the housing structure has a chamber; a second needle passing through a bottom portion of the housing structure and connected to the conductive structure of the wiring substrate, wherein the bottom portion has a flat top surface facing the chamber; and a cover plate covering the chamber of the housing structure. Ikey is silent about the second needle has a sawtooth end surface. Rather, Ikeya discloses “a plurality of needle shaped contacts 48 that have been erected on the insulating film are movably inserted in the axial direction to also be in a one-to-one relationship with bumps BP. These needle-shaped contacts 48 are made of an electroconductive rigid material such as tungsten.” Use of the second needle has a sawtooth end surface is obvious because the claimed shape would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. See “In reDailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966) (The court held that the configuration of the claimed disposable plastic nursing container was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed container was significant.).
Regarding claim 12, as explained at rejection of claim 3 above, modified Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cover plate is pivotally connected to the housing structure.
Regarding claim 13, as explained at rejection of claim 4 above, modified Ikey at fig. 1-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 11, further comprising: a hook-like structure pivotally connected to an edge portion of the cover plate.
Regarding claim 15, as explained at rejection of claim 1 above, modified Ikey at fig. 5-6 disclose the chip testing structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein the housing structure 42 is in direct contact with the wiring substrate 38.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-17, 19-20 and 23 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: No prior art has been found that meet the limitations of claim 16 calling for a chip testing structure, comprising: a first housing structure over the wiring substrate, wherein the first housing structure has a first chamber, and the first chip-containing structure is in the first chamber; and a second needle passing through a bottom portion of the first housing structure and connected to the second conductive structure of the wiring substrate, wherein the bottom portion has a serrated top surface facing the first chamber, as further defined. Dependent claims 17, 19, 20, 23 are also allowed.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
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/PARESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
August 6, 2026
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