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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2024/0324099 A1 (Ito) in view of US 2018/0051116 A1 (Liao).
Ito discloses, referring primarily to figures 4 and 10, a stretchable device comprising: a stretchable substrate (1) having a first principal surface and a second principal surface; a stretchable wiring (2) on the first principal surface and containing a resin; and a first cover layer (6) covering at least a part of the stretchable wiring ([0022]-[0025]). Ito does not specifically state that a wherein a total organic carbon concentration in an extraction liquid when the stretchable device is immersed in ultrapure water for 24 hours is 15 mg/L or less [claim 1]. However, such resins are known to be used in circuit boards as evidenced by Liao ([0085]-[0088]). Therefore, it would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, to incorporate the claimed features into the invention of Ito as is known in the art and evidenced by Liao. The motivation for doing so would have been to use a material suitable for high frequency applications (Liao [0002]). Additionally, it has been held to be within the skill of the ordinary artisan to select a material based on its suitability for the desired application (MPEP 2144).
Furthermore, the modified invention of Ito teaches further comprising a resin layer (10, Ito [0096]) in contact with at least a part of the stretchable wiring [claim 2], wherein the first cover layer further covers at least a part of an external principal surface of the resin layer [claim 3], wherein the total organic carbon concentration in an extraction liquid when the first cover layer is immersed in ultrapure water for 24 hours is 10 mg/L or less (Liao [0085]-[0088]) [claim 4], wherein an elastic modulus of the first cover layer is smaller than an elastic modulus of the stretchable substrate (Ito [0025], [0031]) [claim 5], wherein a dimension of the first cover layer is larger than a dimension of the resin layer in a width direction of the stretchable wiring [claim 6], wherein the first cover layer covers the external principal surface of the resin layer and a side surface of the resin layer continuous with the external principal surface (Ito figure 10) [claim 7], wherein the first cover layer is in contact with the first principal surface of the stretchable substrate (Ito [0068]) [claim 8], wherein a dimension of the resin layer is equal to or more than a dimension of the first principal surface in a width direction of the stretchable wiring [claim 9], wherein a dimension of the first cover layer is larger than a dimension of the stretchable substrate in a width direction of the stretchable wiring [claim 10], wherein the first cover layer covers the first principal surface of the stretchable substrate and a side surface of the stretchable substrate continuous with the first principal surface [claim 11], wherein a thickness of the first cover layer is 40 μm or more (Ito [0027], [0056]) [claim 12], wherein a thickness of a region of the resin layer overlapping the stretchable wiring is smaller than a thickness of a region of the resin layer not overlapping the stretchable wiring (Ito [0056], [0070]) [claim 13], wherein a surface of the first cover layer closest to the stretchable substrate has adhesiveness (Ito [0031]) [claim 14], further comprising a second cover layer covering the second principal surface of the stretchable substrate (Ito [0116]-[0124]) [claim 15], wherein the first cover layer and the second cover layer are in contact with each other in a region not overlapping the stretchable substrate (Ito [0116]-[0124]) [claim 16], wherein a surface of the second cover layer closest to the stretchable substrate has adhesiveness (Ito [0031]) [claim 17], wherein a surface of the first cover layer closest to the stretchable substrate has bonding adhesiveness, and the surface having bonding adhesiveness of the first cover layer closest to the stretchable substrate and the surface having bonding adhesiveness of the second cover layer closest to the stretchable substrate are in contact with each other in a region not overlapping the stretchable substrate (Ito [0031]) [claim 18], wherein a plurality of contact portions exist between the first cover layer and the second cover layer, and the stretchable substrate is between the plurality of contact portions in the width direction of the stretchable wiring (Ito [0068]) [claim 19], wherein a plurality of the stretchable wirings facing away from each other are on the first principal surface of the stretchable substrate, and the resin layer is between adjacent stretchable wirings of the plurality of stretchable wirings (Ito [0054]) [claim 20].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMY C NORRIS whose telephone number is (571)272-1932. The examiner can normally be reached 7:15-15:15 M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Thompson can be reached at (571)272-2342. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JEREMY C. NORRIS
Examiner
Art Unit 2847
/JEREMY C NORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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