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 .
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.
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 1-4, 11-12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2004/0032888 (Ferstl) in view of US 2008/0191359 (Koller) and US 2005/0025438 (Go).
For claim 1, Ferstl teaches a semiconductor light emitting device (fig. 1-3), comprising:
a light emitting module;
wherein the light emitting module includes
a substrate (fig. 3, 12; [0059]),
a light emitting element mounted on the substrate (fig. 2-3, 8; [0050]), and
light emitting element drive circuitry mounted on the substrate (fig. 2-3, labels 9a, 9b, 10 11 and 13; [0059]),
the light emitting element drive circuitry includes a transistor configured to drive the light emitting element (fig. 2-3, label 10; [0059]), and the transistor is a MOSFET mounted on the substrate ([0059]).
Ferstl teaches the MOSFET is a power MOSFET ([0053]) but does not specify whether or not the MOSFET is a vertical MOSFET. However, Koller teaches a power MOSFET may be provided by a vertical MOSFET ([0028]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the vertical MOSFET of Koller as a simple substitution for the unspecified power MOSFET of Ferstl as the substituted components and their functions were known in the art and the substitution would have yielded predictable results. In the present case, the substituted component provides a particular power transistor for the drive circuitry. See MPEP 2143 I.B.
The combination of Ferstl and Koller does not teach the light emitting device comprising the light emitting module further comprises:
a stem including a conductive base and a conductive heat sink extending upright from the base, the light emitting module being mounted on the heat sink; and
a surrounding member arranged on the base and surrounding the light emitting module and the heat sink, and the substrate mounted on the heat sink.
However, Go teaches a similar light emitting device (fig. 1-2 and 15) comprising a light emitting module that includes a substrate (fig. 2, 19),
a light emitting element mounted on the substrate (fig. 1-2, label 5), and
light emitting element drive circuitry includes a transistor configured to drive the light emitting element (fig. 1-2, label 9).
Go further teaches the light emitting device includes a stem (fig. 1-2 and 15, labels 15 and 17) including a conductive base (fig. 1-2 and 15, label 15; [0034]) and a conductive heat sink extending upright from the base (fig. 1-2, label 17; [0034]), the light emitting module including the substrate being mounted on the heat sink (fig. 1; module includes elements 19, 5 and drive circuitry including transistor 9 are all mounted on heat sink 17); and
a surrounding member (fig. 15, 39; [0073]) arranged on the base (fig. 15, label 15) and surrounding the light emitting module and the heat sink, and the substrate mounted on the heat sink ([0073]).
The configuration of Go has the advantage of providing a lens for focusing [0073] and a reduction of induced noise leakage ([0075]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to mount the substrate, light emitting element and drive circuitry of Ferstl and Koller on a stem with a surrounding member as taught by Go in order to provide a lens for focusing and a reduction of induced noise leakage.
For claim 2, Ferstl teaches the light emitting element drive circuitry further includes a capacitor mounted on the substrate (fig. 3, 9a).
For claim 3, Ferstl teaches the transistor is rectangular (fig. 3, 10) and includes a first side and a second side parallel to each other (fig. 10, left and right side) and a third side and a fourth side parallel to each other and connecting the first side and the second side (fig. 3, 10 top and bottom side),the light emitting element drive circuitry further includes a first capacitor mounted on the substrate adjacent to the first side of the transistor in a plan view of the substrate and electrically connected to the transistor (fig. 3, 9b adjacent to left side of 10), and a second capacitor mounted on the substrate adjacent to the second side of the transistor in a plan view of the substrate and electrically connected to the transistor, in a plan view of the substrate (fig. 3, 9b adjacent to right side of 10), the third side of the transistor is located between the first capacitor and the second capacitor (fig. 3, top of 10), and the light emitting element is arranged adjacent to the third side of the transistor and electrically connected to the transistor by multiple wires (fig. 10, 8 adjacent to top side of 10and connected with 3 wires).
For claim 4, Go teaches a transistor with a third side of the transistor shorter than the first side and the second side of the transistor (fig. 1-2 and 5, label 9). Further, the examiner takes official notice that rectangular transistors with a first and second side longer than the third side were well-known in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a transistor with the third side shorter than the first and second as taught by Go and as was well-known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention as a simple substitution for the substantially square transistor of Ferstl as the substituted components and their functions were known in the art and the substitution would have yielded predictable results. In the present case, the substituted component provides an alternative transistor for switching. See MPEP 2143 I.B.
Ferstl teaches in a plan view of the substrate, the first capacitor and the second capacitor are separated from each other by a distance that is longer than the third side of the transistor (the separation between the upper right corner of 9b and the upper right corner of 9a is greater than the length of the 3rd side of transistor 10 in fig. 3).
For claim 11, the combination does not teach the transistor has a chip area that is greater than or equal to 0.8 mm2 and less than or equal to 4.3 mm2. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine the optimal size of the transistor chip including in the claimed range in order to provide a small compact device, 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. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
For claim 12, Go further teaches the substrate includes an insulative base member, the base member includes a resin member, a silicon member, a glass member, or a ceramic member ([0036]).
For claim 17, Go further teaches the surrounding member and the stem seal an accommodation cavity, configured to accommodate the light emitting module, in a hollow state to form a hollow sealing structure ([0073]). The combination does not explicitly teach seal is a hermetic seal. However, the examiner takes official notice that hermetic seals were well-known in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention in order to protect the laser diode. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the well-known hermetic seal with the device of the previous combination in order to protect the laser diode.
Claims 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2004/0032888 (Ferstl) in view of US 2008/0191359 (Koller) and US 2005/0025438 (Go) and further in view of US 5,422,900 (Reele).
For claim 5, Ferstl teaches multiple lead pins electrically connecting the light emitting module (fig. 3, labels 5-6). Go also teaches multiple lead pins electrically connecting the light emitting module (fig. 1, labels 11 and 13). The previous combination does not teach the pins connected to a drive substrate configured to control driving of the light emitting module. However, Reele teaches a light emitting module with pins (fig. 2, 16) connected to a drive substrate in order to control the light emitting module and provide physical support for components (fig. 2, substrate assembly 42 including rigid substrate 24 and flexible substrate 40 with driver 43; col. 3, l.24-27, c. 5, l. 15-18 and 41-43).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the driver substrate and driver of Reele with the previous combination control the light emitting module and provide physical support for components.
For claim 6, Go further teaches the multiple lead pins include multiple first lead pins (fig. 1, 12 and 13) extending through the base and electrically connected to the transistor by multiple first wires (fig. 1 wire from 13 and 12). Ferst teaches the transistor is electrically connected to the light emitting element by multiple second wires (fig. 3, 3 wires between 10 and 8), the multiple second wires being greater in number than the multiple first wires (3 second wires are more than the 2 first wires for the two pins).
For claim 7, Ferstl teaches a second lead pin (fig. 3, 7) electrically connected to the transistor (fig. 3, 7by an internal wiring on the substrate (fig. 3, 13). Go further teaches the multiple lead pins include a second lead pin (fig. 1, 27) fixed to the base (fig. 1, 15) and electrically connected to the transistor (fig. 1, 9) by the base (27), the heat sink (fig. 1, 17), and an internal wiring structure of the substrate.
For claim 8, the combination does not teach the multiple lead pins include a third lead pin configured to electrically connect the substrate to a protection diode that is connected in antiparallel to the light emitting element. However, the examiner takes official notice that anti-parallel protection diodes were well-known in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention in order to protect the laser diode. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the well-known anti-parallel protection diode and an additional lead pin with the device of the previous combination in order to protect the laser diode.
For claim 9, Reele further teaches the drive substrate includes a land on which the second lead pin is mounted, and the land includes multiple vias (fig. 2, 24 with vias for pins on laser 16; col. 5, l. 41-44).
For claim 10, Reele further teaches a heat dissipation member (fig. 2, 14) arranged in contact with a peripheral surface of the base (fig. 2, base of 16) and electrically connecting the drive substrate (fig. 2, 24/48) and the base (col. 3, l. 14-15 and 39-41).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-16 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 Michael W Carter whose telephone number is (571)270-1872. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MinSun Harvey can be reached at 571-272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael Carter/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
Prosecution Insights