Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/850,939

CONDUCTIVE ADHESIVE LAYER AND HEAT DISSIPATION STRUCTURE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 25, 2024
Priority
Mar 30, 2022 — JP 2022-056486 +1 more
Examiner
DINH, TUAN T
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 1m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
930 granted / 1181 resolved
+18.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+22.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
30 currently pending
Career history
1221
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
65.0%
+25.0% vs TC avg
§102
17.5%
-22.5% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1181 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 . Tittle The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because: In line 4, the term “its” is unclear. Please, clarify. Please, change “its electromagnetic wave” to - - an electromagnetic wave - - for proper reading. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b). 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. Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by Morioka et al. (U.S. 2018/0086949). As to claim 1, Morioka9 discloses an electrically conductive adhesive layer (2) as shown in figures 1-5 comprising: a binder component (20, para-0100); and electrically conductive particles (4, para-0028) wherein the electrically conductive particles (4) include first particles (4a) and second particles (4b) having a smaller median diameter than the first particles (4a), the second particles (4b) are flaky particles (circular particles) each including a core particle (41) covered with a metal layer (42), see figure 4, and a percentage of a mass of the electrically conductive particles (4) relative to a mass of the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2) is 60 to 90 mass%, para-0036+. As to claim 2, Morioka discloses an electrically conductive adhesive layer (2) as shown in figures 1-5 comprising: a binder component (20); and electrically conductive particles (4), wherein the electrically conductive particles (4) include first particles (4a) and second particles (4b) having a smaller median diameter than the first particles, the second particles (4b) are flaky particles (circular particles) each including a core particle (41) covered with a metal layer (42), and the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2) has a thermal conductivity of 4 to 20 W/m K in a thickness direction (the epoxy-based polymer with silver particles, para-0063+, or filler has a thermal conductivity in a range from 1.5 to 9 W/m K). As to claim 3, Morioka discloses wherein in a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2), when a contour of each first particle is enlarged 1.25 times centering on a center (at the radius r of the element 4a) of gravity of the contour into an enlarged contour, the second particles (4b) are located along the contour between the contour and the enlarged contour. As to claim 4, Morioka discloses in a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2), a distance from a lower end to an upper end of each first particle (4a) in the thickness direction is 50% or more and less than 100% of a thickness of the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2). As to claim 5, Morioka discloses in a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the electrically conductive adhesive layer (2), the second particles (4b) are located at least one of between an upper end (top surface 22) of the electrically conductive adhesive layer and an upper end of each first particle or between a lower end (a bottom surface 22) of the electrically conductive adhesive layer and a lower end of each first particle. As to claim 6, Morioka discloses a sum distance of a median diameter of the first particles (4a) and twice a median major axis diameter of the second particles (4b) is greater than the thickness of the electrically conductive adhesive layer. As to claim 7, Morioka discloses the core particle (41) is a carbon particle, para-0037+, and the metal layer is a silver layer, para-0057+. As to claim 8, Morioka discloses a ratio [vol% of first particles]/[vol% of second particles] of a volume percent of the first particles (4a) to a volume percent of the second particles (4b) in the electrically conductive adhesive layer is 0.2 to 10, para-0063+. 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) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arifuku et al. (U.S. Patent 7,777,335) in view of Morioka (‘949). As to claim 9, Arifuku discloses a heat dissipation structure as shown in figures 1a-1d comprising: a printed board (11) provided with conductors (12) on a surface thereof; an electrically conductive adhesive layer (15) disposed on the printed board (11) to be in contact with the conductors (12); and a heat dissipation material (17, 18) disposed on the electrically conductive adhesive layer. Arifuku does not specifically disclose the electrically conductive adhesive layer is the electrically conductive adhesive layer according to claim 1. Morioka teaches an electrically conductive adhesive layer (2) comprising all the limitations in claim 1. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to have a teaching of Morioka employed in the heat dissipation structure of Arifuku in order to provide excellent mechanical bonding and reliable electrical interconnection between two faces connection structure. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN T DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-1929. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm, M-F. 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, Timothy Dole can be reached at 571-272-2229. 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. /TUAN T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 25, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12666552
HOUSING PART, ESPECIALLY HOUSING PART IN PARTICULAR FOR AN ELECTRONIC HOUSING, SUCH AS AN E-COMPRESSOR TERMINAL
3y 5m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Patent 12660157
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME
2y 4m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026
Patent 12641727
ELECTRONIC DEVICE
2y 3m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12641725
PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD OVER PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ASSEMBLY
2y 5m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12635588
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND CIRCUIT BOARD
2y 8m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+22.3%)
2y 11m (~1y 1m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1181 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month