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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taya(USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2018/0068918, hereinafter Taya) in view of Eguchi (USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2018/0374817, hereinafter Eguchi).
Re claim 1 Taya discloses a semiconductor device comprising: a case(6) that accommodates a semiconductor chip(3) therein; a sealing material(8) injected into the case(6); and a lid(7) fitted into an opening of the case(6), wherein the lid(7) includes a first lid(7) member
Taya does not disclose wherein the lid(7) includes a first lid(7) member and a second lid(7) member that partially overlap each other, the first lid(7) member has a first notch portion and a first convex portion in a portion overlapping with the second lid(7) member, the second lid(7) member has a second notch portion and a second convex portion in a portion overlapping with the first lid(7) member, and the first lid(7) member and the second lid(7) member are combined each other with the second convex portion being inserted into the first notch portion and the first convex portion being inserted into the second notch portion.
Eguchi disclose wherein the lid includes a first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and a second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) that partially overlap each other, the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) has a first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) and a first convex portion[0075] in a portion overlapping with the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi), the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) has a second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi) and a second convex portion[0075] in a portion overlapping with the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi), and the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are combined each other with the second convex portion[0075] being inserted into the first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the first convex portion[0075] being inserted into the second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Eguchi to the teachings of Taya in order to provide a semiconductor apparatus with improved reliability [0005, Eguchi].
The limitations “sealing material injected into the case; and a lid fitted into an opening of the case” are(is) considered to be process limitations that do not carry weight in a claim drawn to structure. In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985), MPEP 2113.
Re claim 2 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material(8), the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi), and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are integrated.
Re claim 3 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) has a first fold-back portion that protrudes from the first convex portion[0075] toward the first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) side, the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) has a second fold-back portion that protrudes from the second convex portion[0075] toward the second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi) side, and the first fold-back portion and the second fold-back portion engage with each other.
Re claim 4 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) has a first fold-back portion that protrudes from the first convex portion[0075] toward the first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) side, the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) has a second fold-back portion that protrudes from the second convex portion[0075] toward the second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi) side, and the first fold-back portion and the second fold-back portion engage with each other.
Re claim 5 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein a tip of at least one of the first fold-back portion and the second fold-back portion has an acute angle shape.
Re claim 6 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein a tip of at least one of the first fold-back portion and the second fold-back portion has an acute angle shape.
Re claim 7 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) has a first step portion on a side of the first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) of the first convex portion[0075], the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) has a second step portion on a side of the second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi) of the second convex portion[0075], and the first step portion and the second step portion are come into contact with each other.
Re claim 8 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) has a first step portion on a side of the first notch portion(notch of 520/532/540 of Eguchi) of the first convex portion[0075], the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) has a second step portion on a side of the second notch portion(notch of 544/542 of Eguchi) of the second convex portion[0075], and the first step portion and the second step portion are come into contact with each other.
Re claim 9 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 10 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 11 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 3, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 12 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 13 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 14 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 15 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Re claim 16 Taya and Eguchi disclose the semiconductor device according to claim 8, wherein the first lid member(520/532/540 of Eguchi) and the second lid member(544/542 of Eguchi) are members of a same shape.
Conclusion
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/PATRICIA D VALENZUELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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