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 . 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.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5, 6, 12 and 13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to one or more non-elected inventions/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03 November 2025.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. The following is suggested:
--DISK DEVICE HAVING HOUSING WITH PENETRATION HOLE
SEALING CONFIGURATION--.
Drawings
The drawing(s) were received on 01 May 2026. These drawing(s) are accepted.
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 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.
Claims 1, 10, 14 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815).
With respect to claims 1, 10, 14, 16 and 17, Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815) teaches a disk device (FIG. 5, for instance) comprising a housing (includes 310 in FIG. 5, and 35 in FIGS. 1A-1C) provided with an internal space (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance) filled with gas different from air (see paragraph [0002], for instance, i.e., “helium”) and a penetration hole (adjacent 101 in FIGS. 1A-1C, for instance) that makes the internal space communicate with an outside; a magnetic disk (312) disposed in the internal space (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance); a printed wiring board (32, see FIGS. 1A-1C, for instance) including a first surface attached to the housing (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance), a second surface located opposite to the first surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance), and a side surface provided between an outer edge of the first surface and an outer edge of the second surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance), the printed wiring board being configured to seal the penetration hole (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance); and a film (includes 101, for instance) covering the side surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance), wherein the film includes a metal film (101, see paragraph [0028], for instance, i.e., “solder” is a metal film) covering the side surface, the first surface, and the second surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A below, for instance) [as per claim 1];
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wherein the film covers an entire region of the outer edge of the first surface (as shown in FIG. 1B relative to FIG. 1A, for instance) and an entire region of the outer edge of the second surface (as shown in FIG. 1C relative to FIG. 1A, for instance) [as per claim 10]; wherein a region of the side surface covered with the film is larger than a region of the side surface separated from the film (as shown in FIG. 1A relative to FIGS. 1B and 1C, for instance, i.e., the film covers the entire side surface) [as per claim 14]; wherein the disk device further comprises a magnetic head (315) disposed in the internal space (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance) and configured to read and write information from and to the magnetic disk; and a flexible printed circuit board (316) that is disposed in the internal space (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance) and electrically connects the magnetic head and the printed wiring board (see paragraph [0025], for instance, i.e., “FPC assembly 316 connects the magnetic head 315… to a circuit board outside of the chassis, that controls driving of the magnetic head 315…, and transmits information to be recorded or reproduced by the magnetic head 315”) [as per claim 16]; and wherein the printed wiring board is located outside the internal space (as shown in FIG. 1A, for instance, i.e., as it is located in the penetrating hole, which connects the internal space with the outside) [as per claim 17].
With respect to claim 18, Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815) teaches a disk device (FIG. 5, for instance) comprising a housing (includes 310 in FIG. 5, and 35 in FIGS. 1A-1C) provided with a penetration hole (adjacent 101 in FIGS. 1A-1C, for instance); a magnetic disk (312) disposed inside the housing (as shown in FIG. 5, for instance); a printed wiring board (32, see FIGS. 1A-1C, for instance) including a first surface attached to the housing (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A above, for instance), a second surface located opposite to the first surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A above, for instance), and a side surface provided between an outer edge of the first surface and an outer edge of the second surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A above, for instance), the printed wiring board being configured to seal the penetration hole (as shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, for instance); and a film (101) covering the side surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A above, for instance), wherein the film includes a metal film (101, see paragraph [0028], for instance, i.e., “solder” is a metal film) covering the side surface, the first surface, and the second surface (as shown in annotated FIG. 1A above, for instance).
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815).
Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815) teach the disk device as detailed in paragraph 6, supra, further wherein the film includes an adhesive film (60, see FIGS. 4A-4B, for instance). Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815, however, remains silent as to a material of the adhesive film being “resin.”
Official notice is taken of the fact that resin is a notoriously old and well known adhesive film material in the art. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have had a material of the adhesive film of Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815) be resin. The rationale is as follows:
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had a material of the adhesive film of Nakatsuka et al. (US 2010/0328815) be resin since such is a notoriously old and well known adhesive film material in the art, and selecting a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use is within the level of ordinary skill in the art, In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 11, 15, 19 and 20 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig A. Renner whose telephone number is (571) 272-7580. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM.
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, Steven Lim can be reached at (571) 270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CRAIG A. RENNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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