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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy of foreign patent application number 10-2021-0085489, filed in Korea on June 30, 2021, has been received and made of record.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (lDS) submitted on December 21, 2023, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and is being considered by the Examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION. - The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 8, the claim recites the limitation "adjacent first conductive layers" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 10, the claim is self-dependent, i.e., “10. (Original) The camera device of claim 10,…” Absent clarity, one skilled in the art would not be put on fair notice regarding the metes and bounds of the claimed subject matter. Therefore, the claim is indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-9 and 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1139368 to Kim (machine translation provided).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches a camera device comprising a lens holder (e.g., fig. 2, element 120; [0028]) that accommodates a lens (e.g., fig. 2, element 110; [0028]),
a housing (e.g., fig. 2, element 130; [0028]) that surrounds the lens holder (e.g., fig. 2),
a substrate part (e.g., fig. 2, element 300; [0044-47]), including a sensor substrate (e.g., fig. 3, elements between 311 downward to second lowest element 302) on which an image sensor is mounted under the housing (e.g., fig. 2, element 200; [0026]) and a connecting substrate connected to the sensor substrate (e.g., fig. 3, lowest element 302 downward to elements 310), a base disposed under the substrate part (e.g., fig. 2, element 400), and a main substrate disposed under the base (e.g., fig. 2, element 420), wherein a thickness of the connecting substrate is different from a thickness of the sensor substrate (e.g., fig. 3).
Regarding claim 2, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 2 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 1, supra) including teaching wherein the thickness of the connecting substrate is smaller than the thickness of the sensor substrate (e.g., sensor substrate, elements between 311 downward to second lowest element 302 of fig. 3, is thicker than connecting substrate, lowest element 302 downward to elements 310 of fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 3 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 1, supra) including teaching wherein the sensor substrate includes a plurality of conductive layers (e.g., fig. 3; [0044], [0047], wiring layers 302 and circuit patterns 313 of sensor substrate) and a plurality of bonding layers disposed between or on the plurality of conductive layers (e.g., fig. 3; [0044], [0047], alternating insulating layers of sensor substrate).
Regarding claim 4, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 4 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 3, supra) including teaching wherein the sensor substrate shares one conductive layer among the plurality of conductive layers (e.g., fig. 3, highest wiring layer 302 and circuit pattern 313; [0044], wiring shared via electrical connectivity; the Examiner notes that the claim does not specifically recite with what/how the conductive layer is shared) and wherein the shared one conductive layer overlaps the sensor substrate and the connecting substrate (e.g., fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 5 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 3, supra) including teaching wherein the sensor substrate shares one bonding layer among the plurality of conductive layers (e.g., fig. 3, [0044-47], highest insulating layer; the Examiner notes that the claim does not specifically recite with what/how the bonding layer is shared) and wherein the shared bonding layer overlaps the sensor substrate and the connecting substrate (e.g., fig. 3).
Regarding claim 6, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 6 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 1, supra) including teaching wherein the connecting substrate includes a first connecting part of which one end is in contact with the sensor substrate (e.g., fig. 3, top of second lowest element 302), a second connecting part connected to the main substrate (e.g., fig. 3, bottom of element 310) and a pattern part disposed between the first connecting part and the second connecting part (e.g., fig. 3, part between first connecting part and second connecting part; including at least circuit pattern 313; [0044-47]).
Regarding claim 7, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 7 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 6, supra) including teaching wherein the pattern part includes a first conductive layer shared with the sensor substrate (e.g., fig. 3, at least one element 313; [0046-47], shared electrical conduction), and wherein the first conductive layer is formed of a plurality of conductive patterns with a separation space therebetween (e.g., fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 8 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 7, supra) including teaching wherein the pattern part includes an insulating layer disposed between adjacent first conductive layers (fig. 3, material between elements 313; also see the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection, supra).
Regarding claim 9, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 9 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 7, supra) including teaching wherein the pattern part includes a first bonding layer shared with the sensor substrate (e.g., [0047], insulating layer, shared through structural connectivity).
Regarding claim 11, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 11 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 9, supra) including teaching wherein the pattern part includes a reinforcement layer disposed on the first conductive layer (e.g., fig. 3, element 302 of connecting substrate).
Regarding claim 12, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 12 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 11, supra) including teaching wherein the pattern part includes a blocking layer disposed under the first bonding layer (e.g., fig. 3, element 301 of connecting substrate).
Regarding claim 13, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 13 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 12, supra) including teaching wherein the reinforcement layer is disposed outside the blocking layer (e.g., fig 3; the Examiner notes that the claim does not provide any structural anchor from which to determine “outside”, as in, ‘outside of what?’, leaving the claim open to the broad interpretation).
Regarding claim 14, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 14 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 6, supra) including teaching wherein the first connecting part is positioned inside a lower portion of the pattern part (e.g., fig 3, where the lower portion is nearer the top of the figure; the Examiner notes that the claim does not provide any structural anchor from which to determine “inside”, as in, ‘inside of what?’, leaving the claim open to the broad interpretation)..
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 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0021744 to Kim et al. (hereinafter “Kim ‘744”).
Regarding claim 16, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 16 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 1, supra) except for being found by the Examiner to expressly disclose wherein the main substrate is coupled to the base using a bonding member.
Nevertheless, Kim ‘734 teaches coupling members of a camera device using a bonding member (e.g., [0114-115], [0170-196]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Kim ‘744 with the camera device as taught by Kim as a way to connect element and maintain that physical connection without easy separation.
Regarding claim 20, Kim teaches all the limitations of claim 20 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 6, supra) except for being found by the Examiner to expressly disclose wherein the sensor substrate includes first to fourth edge regions other than the image sensor, and wherein the first connecting part includes a bending region extending from the first edge region and the second edge region.
Nevertheless, Kim ‘744 teaches a similar camera device with an image sensor and other elements having rectangular shapes with first to fourth sides (e.g., figs. 1, 8 and 10). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to have applied the teachings of Kim ‘744 with the camera device as taught by Kim, resulting in rectangularly-shaped elements, including a sensor substrate with first to fourth edge regions, and with the first connecting part includes a bending region extending from the first edge region and the second edge region (the Examiner notes that the term “bending region” is merely a label open to broad interpretation, including being the region where the first edge region of a first direction changes to the second edge region of a second direction). One skilled in the art would have been motivated towards this result due to the easier alignment in both the cutting and the assembly of rectangular elements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15 and 17-19 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2024/0244746 to Son et al. teaches a similar layered camera device.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0171874 to Eom et al. teaches a similar layered camera device.
U.S. Patent No. 12,267,947 to Aoki et al. teaches a similar layered camera device.
U.S. Patent No. 11,380,726 to Jun teaches a similar layered camera device.
Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0770430 to Lee teaches a bent circuit board configuration.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY C VIEAUX whose telephone number is (571)272-7318. The examiner can normally be reached Increased Flex.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lin Ye can be reached at 571-272-7372. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GARY C VIEAUX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2638