DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed 02/10/2026.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/12/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
1. Claim 1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 15, 16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lalo (10,592,795) as modified by Kai (2007/0279313).
As to claims 1, 12 and 15: Lalo teaches method for producing an integrated circuit comprising a Near Field Communication (column 1, lines 20-49) (NFC) chip (144), a sensor (146) and an antenna (110), said method comprising the following steps:
a) Providing an intermediate circuit comprising said NFC chip and said sensor, for instance a biosensor, wherein said NFC chip and said sensor are connected together (column 6, lines 18-41, wherein the chip and fingerprint sensor are connected);
b) Providing a single side inlay comprising a substrate and said antenna (figure 2A showing all elements facing away from bottom substrate);
c) Afterwards, mating said intermediate circuit and said single side inlay so as to connect said NFC chip said antenna (figure 2A showing this mating).
Lalo is silent as to that the intermediate circuit is a single side circuit that has the conductive components of the NFC chip and of the sensor mounted on one side, whereas no metallic components are formed on the other side.
Kai teaches a sandwiched tag RFID antenna where the antenna and IC components face each other in intermediate construction and are mated facing one another (figures 5-8, shown schematically in figure 1), where the reverse side to the component side is dielectric material (paragraph 0046).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to combine the teachings of Lalo with the teachings of Kai so that the intermediate component contained no metallic elements on one side so that the antenna and IC elements might be shielded with a resin or plastic (Kai, paragraph 0046), thereby improving the durability of the object. This would not require undue testing as resins to protect electrical components are commonly used for this purpose.
As to claims 2 and 16: Lalo teaches that intermediate circuit comprises a single side construction (“all-in-one assembly”, column 6).
As to claims 5 and 19: Lalo teaches that said intermediate circuit comprises a double side construction and said antenna is inductively coupled to said intermediate circuit (figures 4A, 6 showing a double side construction, column 6, final paragraph).
As to claim 8: Lalo teaches that wherein said intermediate circuit further comprises a sensor substrate and said NFC chip is connected to said sensor substrate by means of flip-chip technology (figure 8 showing flip chip construction, multiple substrates shown).
2. Claims 3, 4, 7, 9-11, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lalo (10,592,795) as modified Kai (2007/0279313), and further modified by Finn (11,755,873). The teachings of Lalo as modified by Kai are discussed above.
As to claims 3 and 17: Lalo as modified by Kai teaches that said antenna is connected to said intermediate circuit.
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the antenna is connected by soldering.
Finn teaches that the antenna is connected by soldering (column 34, first paragraph).
As to claims 4 and 18: Lalo as modified by Kai teaches that the antenna is connected to the intermediate circuit.
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the antenna is connected by glue.
Finn teaches that the antenna is connected by glue (column 34, first paragraph).
As to claim 7: Lalo as modified by Kai teaches an antenna.
Lalo is silent as to that the antenna is specifically wire-embedded.
Finn teaches that the antenna is wire wound (column 19, lines 8-17).
As to claim 9: Lalo as modified by Kai teaches an intermediate circuit.
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the intermediate circuit is 19mm x 35mm.
Finn teaches that the intermediate circuit is 19mm x 35mm (the coupling frame holding the module for the circuit is within the range of 19mm x 35mm, column 3, first paragraph).
As to claim 10: Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the method is carried out by a reel-to-reel process.
Finn teaches that the structure is on a reel (column 59, lines 38-67, continuing in column 60).
As to claim 11: Lalo teaches that intermediate circuit comprises a single side construction on a panel (“all-in-one assembly”, column 6).
As to claim 13: Lalo teaches that the first component comprises intermediate circuits (“all-in-one assembly”, column 6).
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the method is carried out by a reel-to-reel process.
Finn teaches that the structure is on a reel (column 59, lines 38-67, continuing in column 60).
As to claim 14: Lalo teaches that the first component comprises intermediate circuits (“all-in-one assembly”, column 6).
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the method is carried out by a reel-to-reel process.
Finn teaches that the structure is on a reel (column 59, lines 38-67, continuing in column 60).
As to claim 20: Lalo as modified by Kai teaches an antenna.
Lalo as modified by Kai is silent as to that the antenna is specifically etched.
Finn teaches that the antenna is etched (column 19, lines 8-17).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to combine the teachings of Lalo as modified by Kai with the teachings of Finn so that typical construction criteria and techniques are used in the creation of the package. Lalo describes a specific object while leaving out details as to some of the construction materials and methods of the card package described. Finn is the same basic technology and teaches that various well-tested and well-known methods of construction can be used without changing the fundamental design of antenna-chip card packages.
Response to Amendment
Independent claims are amended to include detail about the single sided nature of the intermediary product.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/10/2026 are acknowledged, but do not apply to the combination of references applied in the current rejection.
Claims are newly rejected by Lalo (10,592,795) as modified Kai (2007/0279313).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID P TARDIF whose telephone number is (571)270-7810. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 10:30-7:00. If the examiner cannot be reached by telephone, he can be reached through the following email address: david.tardif@uspto.gov
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael G Lee can be reached on (571)272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DAVID TARDIF
Examiner
Art Unit 2876
/DAVID TARDIF/
Examiner, Art Unit 2876
david.tardif@uspto.gov
/MICHAEL G LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2876