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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: please change “incudes” to “includes”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The language recited solely in the preamble does not provide any distinct definition of any of the claimed invention' s limitations. The recitation in the preamble is not given a patentable weight.
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 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0030152).
Regarding to claim 9, Lee teaches an imprint die comprising:
a needle (Fig. 2, element 10); and
an introduction path that supplies a liquid to the needle (Fig. 2, element 17).
Regarding to claim 10, Lee teaches
the needle is attached to one surface of a needle base portion (Fig. 2, element 16a), and
the introduction path is provided to penetrate through the needle base portion near the needle (Fig. 2).
Regarding to claim 11, Lee teaches a plurality of the needles each being the needle (Fig. 2).
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Streeter et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0228806).
Regarding to claim 9, Streeter teaches an imprint die comprising:
a needle (Fig. 16B, element 320); and
an introduction path that supplies a liquid to the needle (Fig. 16B, element 270).
Regarding to claim 10, Streeter teaches
the needle is attached to one surface of a needle base portion (Fig. 16B), and
the introduction path is provided to penetrate through the needle base portion near the needle (Fig. 16B).
Regarding to claim 11, Streeter teaches a plurality of the needles each being the needle (Fig. 16B).
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0286618).
Regarding to claim 9, Choi teaches an imprint die comprising:
a needle (Fig. 2, element 310); and
an introduction path that supplies a liquid to the needle (Fig. 2, element 115).
Regarding to claim 10, Choi teaches
the needle is attached to one surface of a needle base portion (Fig. 2, element 200), and
the introduction path is provided to penetrate through the needle base portion near the needle (Fig. 2).
Regarding to claim 11, Choi teaches a plurality of the needles each being the needle (Fig. 2).
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fischer (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0234322).
Regarding to claim 9, Choi teaches an imprint die comprising:
a needle (Fig. 1B, element 108); and
an introduction path that supplies a liquid to the needle (Fig. 1B, element 104).
Regarding to claim 10, Fischer teaches
the needle is attached to one surface of a needle base portion (Fig. 1B, element 110), and
the introduction path is provided to penetrate through the needle base portion near the needle (Fig. 1B).
Regarding to claim 11, Fischer teaches a plurality of the needles each being the needle (Fig. 1B).
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aoki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,299,606).
Regarding to claim 9, Aoki teaches an imprint die comprising:
a needle (Fig. 1D, element 54); and
an introduction path that supplies a liquid to the needle (Fig. 1D, element 58).
Regarding to claim 10, Aoki teaches
the needle is attached to one surface of a needle base portion (Fig. 1D, element 52), and
the introduction path is provided to penetrate through the needle base portion near the needle (Fig. 1D).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-3 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaguchi et al. (U.S. Patent No. 12,293,983) in view of Aoki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,299,606).
Regarding to claim 1, Yamaguchi teaches a bump manufacturing method for manufacturing a bump on an object, the method comprising:
preparing an object that includes an electrode pad and a resist layer including an opening portion on the electrode pad (Fig. 1B; column 4, lines 41-42, an object that includes electrode pad 13/17 and a resist layer 16 including an opening portion on the electrode pad);
filing the opening portion with a metal particle dispersion by transferring the metal particle (Fig. 1C, column 4, lines 44-45); and
sintering the metal particle dispersion filling the opening portion (Fig. 1D, column 4, lines 46-48).
Yamaguchi discloses a filling could be done using an injection head (Fig. 6A, element 22b, column 22, line 36). However, Yamaguchi does not explicitly disclose inserting a needle having a diameter smaller than an opening diameter of the opening portion to the opening portion to come into contact with the electrode pad.
Aoki discloses inserting a needle having a diameter smaller than an opening diameter of the opening portion to the opening portion to come into contact with the electrode pad (Fig. 1D, inserting needle 54 having a diameter smaller than an opening diameter of the opening portion to the opening portion to come into contact with the electrode pad 12 via air). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Yamaguchi in view of Aoki to fill the openings by inserting a needle having a diameter smaller than an opening diameter of the opening portion to the opening portion to come into contact with the electrode pad in order to maintain a clear surface during filling.
Regarding to claim 2, Yamaguchi as modified discloses the filling of the metal particle dispersion is performed while the needle is pulled out of the opening portion (Aoki, Fig. 1D). Further, filling is performed while the needle is pulled out of the opening portion would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding to claim 3, Yamaguchi as modified discloses the needle is provided in an imprint die, and the imprint die includes an introduction path for introducing the metal particle dispersion to the needle near a root of the needle (Aoki, Fig. 1D).
Regarding to claim 6, Yamaguchi teaches the object is a semiconductor element (column 4, lines 34-35).
Regarding to claim 7, Yamaguchi teaches the object is a circuit board (column 25, lines 58-59).
Regarding to claim 8, Yamaguchi teaches the object includes a plurality of the electrode pads each being the electrode pad (Fig. 1, plurality of the electrode pads 13).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaguchi et al. (U.S. Patent No. 12,293,983) and Aoki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,299,606), further in view of Lee et al. (U.S. Patent No. 10,376,615).
Regarding to claim 4, Yamaguchi as modified discloses the needle is provided in an imprint die, and the imprint die for introducing the metal particle dispersion to the needle (Aoki, Fig. 1D). Yamaguchi as modified does not disclose the imprint die includes a porous body. Lee discloses an imprint die includes a porous body (Fig. 5). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to include a porous body for introducing the metal particle dispersion to the needle in order to increase viscosity, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S., 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamaguchi et al. (U.S. Patent No. 12,293,983) and Aoki et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,299,606), further in view of Urich (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0196515).
Regarding to claim 5, Yamaguchi as modified does not disclose in the inserting of the needle, at least one of the object and the needle is vibrated in a direction parallel to a front surface of the object. Urich discloses in the inserting of the needle, at least one of the object and the needle is vibrated in a direction parallel to a front surface of the object ([0057], lines 5-8). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to apply vibration to the needle in a direction parallel to a front surface of the object in order to prevent forming of voids, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S., 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007).
Pertinent Art
For the benefits of the Applicant, US-11305058-B2, US-9831201-B2, US-10814116-B2, and US-20070017533-A1, are cited on the record as being pertinent to significant disclosure through some but not all claimed features of the defined invention. The references fail to disclose “filing the opening portion with a metal particle dispersion by transferring the metal particle dispersion to the needle and sintering the metal particle dispersion filling the opening portion.”
Conclusion
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/VU A VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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