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
Acknowledgment is made wherein a domestic priority of this application is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120. The PCT Application PCT/JP2022/021909, being filed on May 30, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed November 22,2024 have been submitted for consideration by the Office. It has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Applicants must continue to submit prior art references throughout the patent application process. A supplemental IDS must be submitted if prior art is discovered through a foreign patent application or an International Patent Search, or a related application before a prosecution closes.
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-AlA) 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102 which forms the basis for all rejections set forth 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) (whichever apply) as being anticipated by Yaguchi et al. (JP2010272400, herein referred to as Yaguchi) or Fukuda et al. (JP2015201280, herein referred to as Fukuda).
Rejection of claim 1, Yaguchi (figures 7-9 of Yaguchi) or Fukuda (figures 1 and 3 of Fukuda) discloses a connection structure comprising:
a plurality of insulated electric wires (wires 5 in Yaguchi; or wires 1 in Fukuda); a base material (board 3 in Yaguchi; or wires 1 in Fukuda); a plurality of connected portions disposed on the base material (electrode pads 14 in Yaguchi; pads 8 in Fukuda); and a sealing member (array member 12 in Yaguchi; base film 10 and/or 11 in Fukuda),
wherein each of the plurality of insulated electric wires has a central conductor and an insulating layer covering a peripheral surface of the central conductor (insulator 6 on each wire 5 in Yaguchi; insulation in conductors 4 of Fukuda), the central conductor is exposed from the insulating layer at a tip portion of each of the plurality of insulated electric wires in an axial direction (see end portion of each wires 5 in figures 7-9 of Yaguchi; see end portion of each wires 4 in figures 7-9 of Fukuda),
the plurality of connected portions are arranged in rows, the tip portions of the plurality of insulated electric wires are respectively soldered to the plurality of connected portions (wires 5 attached to electrode pads 14 by solder material 16 in Yaguchi; wires 4 attached to pads 8 by solder material 9 in Fukuda;), and
the sealing member is disposed on the base material to cover the tip portions of the plurality of insulated electric wires and the plurality of connected portions (see 12 in figures 5-7 of Yaguchi; or see 10 and/or 11 in Fukuda ).
Rejection of claim 2, Yaguchi or Fukuda discloses the connection structure according to claim 1, further comprising an adhesive, wherein the adhesive is adhered to a side surface of the tip portion of at least one of the plurality of insulated electric wires (see 13a in figure 7-9 of Yaguchi or see the figures of Fukuda).
Rejection of claims 3-4, Yaguchi or Fukuda discloses the connection structure according to claim 2, wherein, at the tip portion of the at least one of the plurality of insulated electric wires, the adhesive is adhered to a portion of a peripheral surface of the tip portion where a distance from an upper end of the tip portion is larger than a smaller one of 1/10 of an average diameter of the tip portion and 3 pm; or wherein, at the tip portion of the at least one of the plurality of insulated electric wires, the adhesive is adhered to a portion of a peripheral surface of the tip portion where a distance from an upper end of the tip portion is larger than a smaller one of 1/3 of an average diameter of the tip portion and 10 pm (see 13a in figure 7-9 of Yaguchi wherein 13 covering at a portion that is close to a peripheral surface of the tip portion at 3 micrometers to 10 micrometers in Yaguchi; or see figures and paragraph 0055 of Fukuda ).
Rejection of claim 5, Fukuda discloses The connection structure according to any one of claims 1, wherein a pitch between adjacent two of the plurality of connected portions is less than or equal to 200 μm (Fukuda discloses In this printed wiring board, the connected portions are formed in stripes having an average width of 50 μm and an average interval of 50 μm (average pitch of 100 μm) in paragraph 0057).
Rejection of claim 6, Fukuda discloses the connection structure according to any one of claims 1, wherein the sealing member located on the tip portions of the plurality of insulated electric wires has a thickness of less than or equal to 100 μm (Fukuda discloses the thickness of the base film 10 is preferably 5 μm, and more preferably 12 μm, and see paragraphs 0053-0054).
Pertinent Prior Arts
The prior arts made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please refer to the enclosed PTO-892 form for the citation of pertinent arts in the present case, all of which disclose various connection structures.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PARESH PAGHADAL whose telephone number is (571)272-5251. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00AM-4:00PM, Monday - Thursday. 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 Thompson can be reached on (571)272-2342. 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.
/PARESH PAGHADAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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