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 § 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 11, & 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US PGPub 20160104632)
As per claim 1:
Zhang et al. discloses in Fig. 1C:
A transmission line comprising:
a substrate (150) that is insulating ([0040]) and extends in a predetermined direction (as seen in related Fig. 1B);
a high-frequency signal transmission line (trace 111, [0047], being a microstrip [0039]) included in the substrate;
a differential signal transmission line (traces 131-134, [0047]) included in the substrate; and
a power supply line (plane 140, which may be a power delivery plane, [0037]) included in the substrate;
wherein the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line are in parallel or substantially in parallel to each other (as seen in Fig. 1C & 1D);
the differential signal transmission line is between the power supply line and the high- frequency signal transmission line (as seen in Fig. 1C);
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, the power supply line, the differential signal transmission line, and the high-frequency signal transmission line are aligned with each other in a thickness direction of the substrate (as seen in Fig. 1C); and
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, when a direction from the high-frequency signal transmission line toward the differential signal transmission line in the thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a downward direction, all portions of the power supply line are located below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction (as seen in Fig. 1C).
As per claim 2:
Zhang et al. discloses in Fig. 1C:
a ground conductor (plane 120, [0037]) between at least one of the power supply line and the differential signal transmission line or the differential signal transmission line and the high-frequency signal transmission line (further traces 111-114 may be micro-strips or strip-lines, [0039], which feature one or more adjacent ground planes).
As per claim 11:
Zhang et al. discloses in Fig. 1C:
the differential signal transmission line includes a first differential signal transmission line (trace 131) and a second differential signal transmission line (trace 132); and
a width (W2) of the first differential signal transmission line is equal or substantially equal to a width (W2) of the second differential signal transmission line ([0034]).
As per claim 14:
Zhang et al. discloses in Fig. 1C:
the high- frequency signal transmission line and the power supply line are spaced away from each other at a distance equal or substantially equal to a size of the differential signal transmission line (the differential signal transmission line size may be considered to include the heights of dielectrics 139 and 149, which may be the same [0044], wherein the high-frequency signal line may be considered to begin at plane 120, and the power supply line is at plane 140, thus meeting the limitation).
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6, 11, & 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yosui et al. (US PGPub 20170149111), a reference of record, in view of Sutono (US PGPub 20190069391)
As per claim 1:
Yosui et al. discloses in Fig. 1-13B:
A transmission line comprising:
a substrate (insulator layers 11-14) that is insulating and extends in a predetermined direction (as seen in Fig. 1);
a high-frequency signal transmission line (first signal conductor pattern 31) included in the substrate;
a differential signal transmission line (32A/B, [0066]) included in the substrate; and
a power supply line (40 with connected plane 23, [0106]) included in the substrate;
wherein:
the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line are in parallel or substantially in parallel to each other (abstract);
the differential signal transmission line is between the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line (32 is between 23 and 31 in Fig. 13B);
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, the power supply line, the differential signal transmission line, and the high-frequency signal transmission line are aligned with each other in a thickness direction of the substrate (23, 32, and 31 are all stacked and centered over each other in the thickness direction of 13B); and
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, when a direction from the high-frequency signal transmission line toward the differential signal transmission line in the thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a downward direction (upward direction of Fig. 13B), any portion of the power supply line (ground plane 23, used as a power supply line, [0108]) is located below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction (differential signal transmission line 32 overlaps ground plane 23 when Fig. 13B is vertically inverted).
Yosui et al. does not disclose:
all portions of the power supply line are located below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction.
Sutono discloses in Figs. 1-2:
A transmission line comprising:
a substrate (dielectric 104, solder mask 106, and coating 108) that is insulating and extends in a predetermined direction (Figs. 1-2 being cross-sectional views of interconnects, [0012]);
a high-frequency signal transmission line (conductor 110C, noted as single-ended traces [0026]) included in the substrate (as seen in Fig. 1H);
a differential signal transmission line (conductors 110A/B, [0026]) included in the substrate; and
a power supply line (reference layer 102, which may be a supply voltage, [0013]) included in the substrate;
wherein the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line are in parallel or substantially in parallel to each other ([0031]);
the differential signal transmission line is between the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line (as seen in Figs. 1A-H);
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, the power supply line, the differential signal transmission line, and the high-frequency signal transmission line are aligned with each other in a thickness direction of the substrate (as seen in Figs. 1A-H); and
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, when a direction from the high-frequency signal transmission line toward the differential signal transmission line in the thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a downward direction, all portions of the power supply line are located below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction (as seen in Figs. 1A-H).
Sutono further discloses that a dual-embedded microstrip configuration ([0011]) may be formed in either a triangular (Figs. 1A-H) or inverse triangular (Figs. 2A-H) configuration ([0012]) for a flexible interconnect system ([0014]) wherein conductors may be disposed close together ([0011]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form all portions of the power supply line of Yosui et al. in the substrate below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction, wherein a direction from the high-frequency signal transmission line toward the differential signal transmission line in the thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a downward direction as a known in the art configuration for interconnection structures that provides the benefit of high density routing that limits crosstalk as taught by Sutono et al. ([0011])
As per claim 2:
Yosui et al. discloses in Fig. 1 & 13B:
a ground conductor (21) between at least one of the power supply line and the differential signal transmission line or the differential signal transmission line and the high-frequency signal transmission line.
As per claim 4:
Yosui et al. discloses in Fig. 1, 2B, & 13B:
the substrate includes a curved section at a middle position of the substrate in the direction in which the substrate extends (as seen in Fig. 2B and described in [0055] and [0028]).
As per claim 6:
Yosui et al. discloses in Fig. 1 & 13B:
the substrate includes a plurality of insulating resin materials (insulating layers 11-15) that separate the high-frequency signal transmission line, the differential signal transmission line included in the substrate, and the power supply line from one another ([0055], as seen in Fig. 13B).
As per claim 11:
Yosui discloses in Fig. 10:
the differential signal transmission line includes a first differential signal transmission line (32) and a second differential signal transmission line (33)
Yosui does not disclose in Fig. 13B:
the differential signal transmission line includes a first differential signal transmission line and a second differential signal transmission line; and a width of the first differential signal transmission line is equal or substantially equal to a width of the second differential signal transmission line.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the differential signal transmission line to include a first differential signal transmission line and a second differential signal transmission line, to provide the benefit of multiple differential signal transmission lines as is well known in the art and shown in Fig. 10 of Yosui et al.
It would be further obvious for a width of the first differential signal transmission line is equal or substantially equal to a width of the second differential signal transmission line as one of a limited number of options (same or different), wherein the width of the differential signal transmission line is a design parameter for determining the characteristic impedance of the transmission line, as is well understood in the art.
As per claim 14:
Yosui et al. discloses in Fig. 1 & 13B:
the high-frequency signal transmission line and the power supply line are spaced away from each other at a distance equal or substantially equal to a size of the differential signal transmission line (as seen in Fig. 13B, where the high-frequency signal transmission line is considered to include insulative layers 13 & 14, and the differential signal transmission line size includes insulative layers 11 & 12).
Sutono discloses in Figs. 1-2:
A transmission line comprising:
a substrate (dielectric 104, solder mask 106, and coating 108) that is insulating and extends in a predetermined direction (Figs. 1-2 being cross-sectional views of interconnects, [0012]);
a high-frequency signal transmission line (conductor 110C, noted as single-ended traces [0026]) included in the substrate (as seen in Fig. 1H);
a differential signal transmission line (conductors 110A/B, [0026]) included in the substrate; and
a power supply line (reference layer 102, which may be a supply voltage, [0013]) included in the substrate;
wherein the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line are in parallel or substantially in parallel to each other ([0031]);
the differential signal transmission line is between the power supply line and the high-frequency signal transmission line (as seen in Figs. 1A-H);
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, the power supply line, the differential signal transmission line, and the high-frequency signal transmission line are aligned with each other in a thickness direction of the substrate (as seen in Figs. 1A-H); and
in the substrate where the high-frequency signal transmission line and the differential signal transmission line are closest and parallel or substantially parallel to each other, when a direction from the high-frequency signal transmission line toward the differential signal transmission line in the thickness direction of the substrate is defined as a downward direction, all portions of the power supply line are located below the differential signal transmission line in the downward direction (as seen in Figs. 1A-H).
As a consequence of the combination of claim 1, the high-frequency signal transmission line and the power supply line are spaced away from each other at a distance equal or substantially equal to a size of the differential signal transmission line.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Yosui et al. (US PGPub 20170149111) in view of Sutono (US PGPub 20190069391) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (US PGPub 20160174361) a reference of record.
The resultant combination discloses the transmission line of claim 1, as rejected above.
As per claim 5:
The resultant combination discloses in Yosui et al. Fig. 1 & 13B:
the substrate includes:
a first section where the high-frequency signal transmission line is located (insulative layers 13 & 14);
a second section (protective layer 9) where the power supply line is located; and
a third section (insulative layers 11 & 12) where the differential signal transmission line is located.
The resultant combination does not disclose:
the first section, the second section, and the third section are made of different materials from each other.
Chen et al. discloses in Fig. 3:
A multi-layer substrate comprising a plurality of transmission line layers (signal layers 302), and power layers (306) separated by a plurality of dielectric layers 308, wherein the dielectric layer material is a design parameter chosen based on thermal, electrical, and/or mechanical characteristics ([0070]), wherein suitable dielectric materials can include many different options ([0084]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the respective dielectric material of each section of The resultant combination to be individually determined as a design parameter based on desired thermal, electrical or mechanical characteristics, as taught by Chen et al. ([0070]) and further as is it is well understood in the art that the dielectric constant of a material affects the impedance of a transmission line.
It would be further obvious for the first section, the second section, and the third section to be made of different materials from each other as one of a limited number of options (different or same) for the design parameter of the dielectric material.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Yosui et al. (US PGPub 20170149111) in view of Sutono (US PGPub 20190069391) and Chen et al. (US PGPub 20160174361), a reference of record, as applied to claim 5 above, and further in view of Kawaguchi et al. (US PGPub 20100201459) and Chen et al. (US PGPub 20130271909), hereinafter Chen 2, all references of record.
The resultant combination discloses the transmission line of claim 5, as rejected above.
As per claim 13:
The resultant combination discloses in Yosui:
the first section includes an insulating resin material ([0055]);
The resultant combination does not disclose:
the second section includes a material that is higher in heat resistance and heat dissipation than the insulating resin material of the first section; and
the third section includes an insulating resin material with a filler magnetic substance.
Kawaguchi et al. discloses in Fig. 1:
A power supply line configured with transmission lines (12), wherein the power supply line includes is formed on a resin material ([0135]) and includes a material (resistive material 14) that is higher in heat resistance and heat dissipation (conductive ceramics, [0124, 0131]) than the insulating resin material.
Chen 2 discloses:
The use of a filler magnetic substance (common mode filter 308, [0021]) in the insulating material of differential transmission lines.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the resistive material of Kawaguchi et al. to the second section of the resultant combination to provide the benefit of suppressing transmission noise through a power supply line, as taught by Kawaguchi et al. (abstract)
It would be further obvious for the insulating resin material of the third section to include the filler magnetic substance of Chen 2 to provide the benefit of filtering a common mode from the differential transmission lines, as per Chen 2 (abstract, and being a common mode filter).
As a consequence of the combination, the combination discloses the second section includes a material that is higher in heat resistance and heat dissipation than the insulating resin material of the first section; and the third section includes an insulating resin material with a filler magnetic substance.
Claim(s) 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Yosui et al. (US PGPub 20170149111), a reference of record, in view of Sutono (US PGPub 20190069391) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dagostino (US Patent 6867668), a reference of record.
The resultant combination discloses the transmission line of claim 1, as rejected above.
As per claim 7:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
a first ground conductor on a first main surface of the substrate.
Dagostino discloses in Fig. 8A:
A flexible transmission line (flexible dielectric layer 152) comprising a plurality of signal conductors (154), wherein the transmission line comprises a first ground conductor (148) on a first main surface of a substrate (152) and a second ground conductor (150) on a second main surface of a substrate.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the ground conductors of Dagostino to the transmission line of the resultant combination to provide the benefit of reducing electromagnetic interference emissions, as taught by Dagostino (col. 7 lines 7-29).
As per claim 8:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
a width of the differential signal transmission line is smaller than a width of the first ground conductor.
Dagostino discloses in Fig. 8A:
A flexible transmission line (flexible dielectric layer 152) comprising a plurality of signal conductors (154), wherein the transmission line comprises a first ground conductor (148) on a first main surface of a substrate (152) and a second ground conductor (150) on a second main surface of a substrate. Wherein the width of the ground conductors exceeds that of the transmission lines.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the ground conductors of the combination of claim 7 to have a larger width an a width of the differential signal transmission line to provide the benefit of effectively reducing electromagnetic interference emissions, as taught by Dagostino (col. 7 lines 7-29), and is well understood in the art.
As per claim 9:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
a second ground conductor on a second main surface of the substrate that opposes the first main surface of the substrate.
Dagostino discloses in Fig. 8A:
A flexible transmission line (flexible dielectric layer 152) comprising a plurality of signal conductors (154), wherein the transmission line comprises a first ground conductor (148) on a first main surface of a substrate (152) and a second ground conductor (150) on a second main surface of a substrate.
As a consequence of the combination of claim 7, the combination discloses a second ground conductor on a second main surface of the substrate that opposes the first main surface of the substrate.
As per claim 10:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
the first ground conductor and the second ground conductor are not connected to each other.
Dagostino discloses in Fig. 8A:
A flexible transmission line (flexible dielectric layer 152) comprising a plurality of signal conductors (154), wherein the transmission line comprises a first ground conductor (148) on a first main surface of a substrate (152) and a second ground conductor (150) on a second main surface of a substrate.
Dagostino further discloses:
the first ground conductor and the second ground conductor are not connected to each other (no ground vias 138 are shown in Fig. 8A, with Dagostino specifically noting ground vias as optional, description para 14).
As a consequence of the combination of claim 7, the first ground conductor and the second ground conductor are not connected to each other.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 & 12 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the limitations found in claims 3 and 12 in combination with the limitations found in claim 1 upon which they both depend were not disclosed or rendered obvious over the closest related prior art, as disclosed in the rejections above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see applicant’s remarks, filed 08/24/2026, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of 3 & 12 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see applicant’s remarks, filed 08/24/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-2, 4-11, & 13-14 under Yosui et al. have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Zhang and Yosui et al. in view of Sutono.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL S OUTTEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7123. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30AM-6:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at (571) 272-1988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Samuel S Outten/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Prosecution Insights