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 .
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) 1-13, 17, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mitsui, JP 2021-34638.
Regarding claim 1, Mitsui teaches a semiconductor device comprising:
a conductive substrate 101 or 102 including an obverse surface facing a first side in a thickness direction and a reverse surface facing away from the obverse surface;
at least one first semiconductor element 103 or 104 bonded to the obverse surface and having a switching function (which may be a transistor or igbt);
a first conductive member 109 constituting a path for a main circuit current switched by the first semiconductor element; and
a sealing resin 118 covering the first semiconductor element, the first conductive member, and at least a part of the conductive substrate, wherein
the conductive substrate includes a first conductive portion 101 and a second conductive portion 102 disposed in a mutually spaced manner on a first side and on a second side, respectively, in a first direction orthogonal to the thickness direction,
the first semiconductor element 104 is electrically bonded to the first conductive portion, the first conductive member 109 includes a first part overlapping with both the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion as viewed in the thickness direction and spaced apart from the obverse surface toward the first side in the thickness direction, and
the first part includes a first opening (shown as openings labeled “A” and/or “B” below. See figures 5-8).
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Regarding claim 2, Mitsui teaches the first conductive member comprises a plate made of a metal (copper plates)
Regarding claim 3, Mitsui teaches the first opening (labeled as “A”) overlaps with a gap between the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion as viewed in the thickness direction.
Regarding claim 4, Mitsui teaches the first opening (as labeled as “B” above) overlaps with at least one of the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion as viewed in the thickness direction.
Regarding claim 5, Mitsui teaches the first conductive member includes: a first bond portion (at portion “C”) located on the first side in the first direction with respect to the first part and bonded to the first semiconductor element; and a second bond portion (at portion “D”) located on the second side in the first direction with respect to the first part and bonded to the second conductive portion (as shown in figure below)
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Regarding claim 6, Mitsui teaches the first part includes a flat section (labeled as “E” above, as 119), a first bent section (section “C”), and a second bent section (section “D), the flat section being disposed in parallel to the obverse surface and overlapping with the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion as viewed in the thickness direction, the first bent section being connected to both an end on the first side in the first direction of the flat section and the first bond portion and extending toward the second side in the thickness direction as proceeding toward the first side in the first direction, the second bent section being connected to both an end on the second side in the first direction of the flat section and the second bond portion and extending toward the second side in the thickness direction as proceeding toward the second side in the first direction, and the first opening is formed at least in the flat section.
Regarding claim 7, Mitsui teaches at least one of the first bent section and the second bent section (figures 6 or 8)
Regarding claim 8, Mitsui teaches the at least one first semiconductor element includes a plurality of first semiconductor elements 104, the plurality of first semiconductor elements being arranged at intervals in a second direction orthogonal to both the thickness direction and the first direction (as shown in figure 2).
Regarding claims 9-11, Mitsui teaches the first opening includes a plurality of openings arranged in the second direction to correspond to the plurality of first semiconductor elements, respectively, wherein the flat section extends continuously to correspond to an area in which the first semiconductor elements are arranged in the second direction, wherein the first bond portion, the second bond portion, the first bent section and the second bent section are disposed to correspond to each of the plurality of first semiconductor elements in the second direction (figures 6 and 8 and as shown in figure above).
Regarding claim 12, Mitsui teaches a plurality of second semiconductor elements 103 electrically bonded to the second conductive portion and having a switching function; and a second conductive member comprising a plate made of a metal (copper), wherein the second conductive member includes a first wiring portion (electrode of 103 that connects to wiring 115 to 114) and a second wiring portion (111 that connects to 108), the first wiring portion is connected to the plurality of second semiconductor elements, and the second wiring portion is located on the first side in the first direction with respect to the first wiring portion and overlaps with both the plurality of first semiconductor elements and the first bond portion (figure 6).
Regarding claim 13, Mitsui the plurality of second semiconductor elements are arranged at intervals in the second direction, and the plurality of first semiconductor elements and the plurality of second semiconductor elements overlap with each other as viewed in the first direction (as shown in figure 2).
Regarding claim 17, Mitsui teaches the second conductive member overlaps with none of the plurality of openings (the opening of “B” in figure above) of the first opening as viewed in the thickness direction.
Regarding claim 19, Mitsui teaches the first opening is a through-hole penetrating in a plate thickness direction of the first part (labeled as “A” in figure above).
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) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitsui as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Ohta et al, US Patent 5,559,374.
Regarding claim 18, Mitsui fails to teach the first conductive member and the second conductive member contain copper.
However, Ohta teaches the first conductive member and the second conductive member (labeled as 4-6) contain copper (column 4, line 43) because it is generally-known in the art that electrodes are made from copper.
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 teachings of Ohta with that of Mitsui because copper is generally-used for electrodes because it has excellent electrical conductivity.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-16 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.
Regarding claim 14, the prior art fails to anticipate or render obvious the claimed invention including “...the second wiring portion includes a first strip and a second strip, the first strip is spaced apart from the first wiring portion in the first direction and overlaps with both the plurality of first semiconductor elements and the first bond portion as viewed in the thickness direction, and the second strip is connected, at an end thereof on the first side in the first direction, to the first strip at a location between adjacent ones of the first semiconductor elements and connected, at an end thereof on the second side in the first direction, to the first wiring portion at a location between adjacent ones of the second semiconductor elements...” in combination with the remaining limitations. Claims 15 and 16 are dependent upon claim 14 and are therefore allowable. With regards to claim 14, the cited prior art(s) of record teach all of the limitations presented, but fail to recite the limitation above. Further, no other prior art was found that would meet the limitations of this claims, either in anticipatory or in combination with other references. Therefore, claims 14-16 have been found to be allowable.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUOVAUNDA JEFFERSON whose telephone number is (571)272-5051. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7AM-4PM.
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QVJ
/DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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