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 .
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant’s arguments, filed on 07/13/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kang et al (USPN 2016/0050752).
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 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.
2. Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Kang et al (USPN 2016/0050752).
Regarding claim 1, Kang discloses a printed circuit board (a printed circuit board 100 of figure 1), comprising:
an insulation layer (an insulation layer 140, see par. 0023);
a wire layer (a metal wire layer 130) located within the insulation layer (140);
a protective layer ( a protective layer 110) located on the insulation layer;
a contact portion (a contact portion 132, 133 includes a lower part and an upper part) comprising: a first connecting portion (a lower part of the bump pad 132-133) located within the insulation layer (140) and the protective layer (110), and a second connecting portion (an upper part protruding from the insulating layer 140 and the protective layer 110) protruding above the protective layer (110)(see par. 0024, 0093); and
a protective pattern (barrier layer 131) located between the protective layer (110) and a side wall of the first connecting portion (the lower part) of the contact portion (132-133).
Regarding claim 2, Kang wherein the first connecting portion of the contact portion (the lower part of the bump pad 132-133) comprises a pad portion located within the insulation layer (140), and a first connecting portion (a portion of the lower part of the bump pad 132-133 ) located within the protective layer (110) (see figure 1).
Regarding claim 3, Kang discloses wherein the pad portion and the first connecting portion are directly connected (a pad portion and the portion of the lower part of the bump pad 132-133 formed as a whole, see figure 1).
Regarding claim 4, Kang discloses wherein the first connecting portion (the lower part of the bum pad 132-133) and the second connecting portion (the upper part) are integrally formed (see figure 1).
Regarding claim 5, Kang discloses wherein the contact portion (the bump pad 132-133) and the protective pattern (131) comprise different metals (see pars 0008-0009).
Regarding claim 6, Kang discloses wherein a thickness of the protective pattern (131) is thinner than a thickness of the pad portion of the contact portion (132-133) and a thickness of the first connecting portion (the lower part) of the contact portion (132-133) (see figure 1)
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 1-21 are allowed over prior art of record.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art of record neither anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed subject matter of the instant application as a whole either taken alone or in combination, in particular, prior art of record does not teach:
A manufacturing method of a printed circuit board, comprising: stacking a protective layer on the dummy insulation layer, and forming a second hole overlapping the first hole in the protective layer; stacking a protective metal layer on the protective layer and within the first hole and the second hole; integrally forming a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion within the first hole and the second hole covered with the protective metal layer; forming a pad portion and a wire layer on the protective metal layer; stacking the insulation layer on the pad portion and the wire layer; exposing the protective metal layer located on the second connecting portion by removing the dummy insulation layer; and forming a protective pattern located between the protective layer and the pad portion and between the first connecting portion and the protective layer by removing the protective metal layer on the second connecting portion as recited in claim 14.
4. Claims 7-13 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.
Conclusion
5. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANNY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2054. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM-4:30PM.
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, Monica Lewis can be reached at 571-271-1838. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANNY NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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