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DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restriction
REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR 1.475(e).
This application contains claims directed to a product, group I of “a metal circuit board being bonded to one surface of a ceramic substrate through a brazing material layer, an overhang portion of the brazing material layer overhanging outward by 80 µm or more from a lower edge portion of a side surface of the metal circuit board; the side surface of the metal circuit board having an inclination angle of 75° or more with respect to the surface of the ceramic substrate”, generally classified in H01L23/3735, H01L23/49568, H01L21/4803 and H01L21/4839, and a process, group II of “a manufacturing method of a metal- ceramic bonded substrate by the metal-ceramic bonded substrate, a metal-ceramic bonded body in which a metal plate is bonded to one surface of a ceramic substrate through a brazing material layer; forming the metal circuit board by removing unnecessary portions of the metal plate; forming the overhang portion of the brazing material layer by making the brazing material layer overhang by 80 µm or more from the lower edge portion of the side surface of the metal circuit board; etching the side surface of the metal circuit board to have the inclination angle of 75° or more with respect to the surface of the ceramic substrate”, generally classified in H05K3/0017, H05K3/06, H05K3/108, H05K3/181, H05K3/1291 and H05K3/1105.
The common technical features of group I-II are “a metal-ceramic bonded substrate with a metal circuit board being bonded to one surface of a ceramic substrate through a brazing material layer, and an overhang portion of the brazing material layer overhanging outward by 80 µm or more from a lower edge portion of a side surface of the metal circuit board; the side surface of the metal circuit board having an inclination angle of 75° or more with respect to the surface of the ceramic substrate“.
These common features are disclosed by (US 2021/0068253) to Kato et al, which discloses a metal-ceramic bonded substrate in which a metal circuit board (3a, 3b) is bonded to one surface of a ceramic substrate (2) through a brazing material layer (layers of 6a, 6b), comprising: an overhang portion (6a, 6b) of the brazing material layer (layers of 6a, 6b) overhanging outward by 80 µm (¶ 38, II. 1-4) or more from a lower edge portion of a side surface of the metal circuit board (3a, 3b), (Fig 2); the side surface of the metal circuit board having an inclination angle (Θ2 a) of 75° or more (¶ 45, II. 1-2) with respect to the surface of the ceramic substrate (2).
Since the common technical features are previously disclosed by Kato reference, these features are not special and so groups I and II lack unity.
Upon the allowance of a generic claim, applicant will be entitled to consideration of claims to additional groups which are written in dependent form or otherwise require all the limitations of an allowed generic claim.
Applicant’s election product, group I, Claims 1-7 in reply dated 01/16/2026 with traverse acknowledged.
Claims 8-14 are withdrawn from further prosecution, and Claims 1-7 are prosecuted given their broadest reasonable interpretation in light of specification.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed 05/09/2024 and 04/22/2025 have been fully considered and is attached hereto.
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 of this title, 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 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kato et al (US 2021/0068253) in view of Kawamura et al (JP2019197816).
For the purpose of citation, Examiner used machine translation of JP2019197816, said translation has been provided herewith to the Applicant.
Regarding Claim 1, Kato (In Figs 1-2) discloses a metal-ceramic bonded substrate in which a metal circuit board (3a, 3b) is bonded to one surface of a ceramic substrate (2) through a brazing material layer (layers of 6a, 6b), comprising:
an overhang portion (6a, 6b) of the brazing material layer (layers of 6a, 6b) overhanging outward by 80 µm (¶ 38, II. 1-4) or more from a lower edge portion of a side surface of the metal circuit board (3a, 3b), (Fig 2);
the side surface of the metal circuit board having an inclination angle (Θ2 a) of 75° or more (¶ 45, II. 1-2) with respect to the surface of the ceramic substrate (2), however where Kato discloses resin-molding over to insulate ceramic copper circuit board (¶ 48, II. 1-24), however Kato does not explicitly disclose wherein an insulating layer covering the side surface of the metal circuit board and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer.
Instead, Kawamura (In Fig 9B) teaches wherein an insulating layer (14) covering the side surface of the metal circuit board (7) and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer (9), (Fig 9B).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kato with Kawamura with an insulating layer covering the side surface of the metal circuit board and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer to benefit from providing high insulation reliability for high voltages of several hundred volts preventing short circuits and discharges in a given environment defined by standards (Kawamura, ¶ 2, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 2, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Kato (In Figs 1-2) further discloses wherein a heat-dissipation-side metal plate (4) is bonded to the other surface of the ceramic substrate (2), (Fig 1).
Regarding Claim 3, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 2, however Kato (In Figs 1-2) further discloses wherein the metal circuit board (3a, 3b) is copper (¶ 23, II. 1-3) or a copper alloy.
Regarding Claim 4, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Kato (In Figs 1-2) further discloses wherein the metal circuit board (3a, 3b) is copper (¶ 23, II. 1-3) or a copper alloy.
Regarding Claim 6, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Kato as modified does not disclose wherein the insulating layer is resin.
Instead, Kawamura (In Fig 9B) further teaches wherein the insulating layer (14) is resin (¶ 29, II. 1-9).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kato with Kawamura with the insulating layer being resin to benefit from providing high insulation reliability for high voltages of several hundred volts preventing short circuits and discharges in a given environment defined by standards (Kawamura, ¶ 2, II. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 7, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 6, however Kato as modified does not disclose wherein a main component of the resin is a polyimide resin.
Instead, Kawamura (In Fig 9B) further teaches wherein a main component of the resin (14) is a polyimide resin (¶ 29, II. 1-9).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kato with Kawamura with a main component of the resin being a polyimide resin to benefit from providing high insulation reliability for high voltages of several hundred volts preventing short circuits and discharges in a given environment defined by standards (Kawamura, ¶ 2, II. 1-5).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kato in view of Kawamura and further in view of Tsukaguchi et al (US 6,686,030).
Regarding Claim 5, Kato in view of Kawamura discloses the limitations of Claim 1, however Kato as modified does not disclose wherein nickel plating or nickel alloy plating is formed on surfaces of the metal circuit board and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer.
Instead, Tsukaguchi (In Fig 6) teaches wherein nickel plating or nickel alloy plating is formed on surfaces of the metal circuit board (14) and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer (12), (Col 3, II. 16-18), (Fig 6).
It would have been obvious to an ordinary skilled person in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Kato with Kawamura and further with Tsukaguchi with a nickel plating or nickel alloy plating being formed on surfaces of the metal circuit board and the overhang portion of the brazing material layer to benefit from maintaining integrity and preserving bonded region (Tsukaguchi Col 3, II. 7-9).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure; Insulated Heat Dissipation Substrate US 2019/0371690, Method for Producing Metal/Ceramic Circuit Board US 2018/0255645, Electronic Part Mounting Substrate and Method for Producing Same US 2016/0211195. Other pertinent art made of record are on form PTO-892 notice of reference cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMIR JALALI whose telephone number is (303)297-4308. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, Mountain Time. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jayprakash Gandhi can be reached on 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AMIR A JALALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2835
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