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 § 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 14-18 and 21-29 and 31-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mine (6,641,382) in view of Sorimoto (2020/0122375).
Regarding claims 14, 21-23, and 35, Mine discloses a resin encapsulation mold method, comprising the steps of providing upper mold 2 and lower mold 1 forming cavity 6, a plurality of ejection pins 7a-7f for ejecting product forming from a chip 26 and encapsulating resin 27. However, Mine fails to disclose that the ejection rods are advanced based on an ejection configuration.
Sorimoto discloses a method for holding and removing molding product, comprising the steps of:
providing a mold 100 includes the fixed-side die 101 having a cavity 102 forming a molding surface, and a movable-side die 111 with a core 112 forming a molding surface for a product P;
Providing a retaining unit 1,2, 4 includes: ejector pins 10, 20, 50, 142; a ring-shaped member 11 which is a second member used in a fixed state; ball plungers 12 which are pressing unit for engaging the ejector pins 10, 20, 50 with the ring-shaped member 11, wherein more than one pins 10, 20, 50 can be mounted to different ejector plates 141, 141a, 141b and the stroke amounts of the respective ejector pins 10, 20, 50,142 can be different and independent from each other to accommodate multi-stage ejection or different ejection configuration [0078]-[0081]; wherein the retaining unit 1, 2, 4 is incorporated as a part of the ejection mechanism of the forming mold, wherein the configuration and the shape may be modified as appropriate in accordance with the intended usage, [0115];
advancing the plurality of ejector rods 10, 20, 50, 142 based on the ejector rod configuration so that the plurality of ejector pins contact the die 100, 121; and lifting the die 121 and the product P off the plurality of ejector pins 10, 20, 50 – see Figs. 4, 8, 12.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange Mine’s ejector pins into ejector rod configurations with a plurality of independently adjustable pins as taught by Sorimoto in order to arrange the ejector rods in configurations conforming with the shape of the forming products for better force distribution during ejection and handling of the molding product.
Regarding claims 15-16, 24-27, Sorimoto further discloses ejector holders 11 embedded within the ejector plate each of the ejector pins 10, 20 has a cap and/or a die portion 121 supporting and handling the forming product P, wherein the ejector pins 10, 20, 142 can be multiple and the stroke amounts of the respective ejector pins 10 can also be different and independent from each other [0080].
Regarding claims 17-18, and 28-29, Mine further discloses that ejection pins were assembled and inserted into the cavity and continuously photographed using a high-speed camera – see col. 3, lines 50-57. Sorimoto discloses that the configuration and the shape may be modified as appropriate in accordance with the intended usage, [0115]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the configuration of the ejector pins depending on the products as taught by Sorimoto, while the high-speed camera would provide accurate positions and/or alignments of the ejector pins and/or the die.
Regarding claims 31-34, wherein the ejector pin 10, 20 further comprises a ring-shaped member 11; ball plungers 12 for engaging the ejector pin 10 with the ring-shaped member 11; and a ball plunger fixing member 22 attached to a lower end of the ejector pin 10, wherein the ejector pin 10 is a straight-type stepped pin and has a distal end portion 21 which is thinner than a body portion 20 at a center thereof. The distal end portion 21 of the ejector pin 10 is fixed to the proximal end of the undercut molding unit 123 so as to enable sliding/ejection or retraction of the molding piece 121 of the undercut processing mechanism 120, while the inclined pin 122 is slidable in between the cap/mold portion 121 and an outer body 123. See Fig. 2 & Fig. 4, 10, 20, 21, 22, 121, 122.
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mine (6,641,382) in view of Sorimoto (2020/0122375) as applied to claims 14-18 and 21-29 and 31-35 above, and further in view of Cheung et al. (2009/0032186).
Mine and Sorimoto fails to disclose the step of applying a vacuum to an upper surface of the die so that the die is attached to the tip holder by the vacuum.
Cheung et al. discloses a system for detaching a semiconductor die from an adhesive medium to a system 10 for detaching a thin die from an adhesive tape on which it is mounted, wherein the system comprising ejector pins 42 that are housed in the vacuum enclosure 44 and are projectable from the vacuum enclosure for lifting the die and adhesive tape, wherein ejector pins 42 are positioned and evenly distributed within the outer edges of a vibrational tool 40 so that they can be projected from the vacuum enclosure 44 to support and lift the die so that a very thin die is ready to be picked up at the end of the process [0023].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the combination of Mine and Sorimoto with a vacuum enclosure at the end of the ejector pins as taught by Cheung et al. so that a very thin die can be safely be pick up at the end of the molding process without damaging the die and/or the forming product.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thu-Khanh T. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1136. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30-4:30.
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/Thu Khanh T. Nguyen/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1743