Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/923,638

ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Oct 22, 2024
Priority
Feb 24, 2022 — continuation of 12/127,335
Examiner
DINH, TUAN T
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 2m
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 . 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. (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. Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(2) as being anticipated by Teixeira De Queiros (U.S. Patent 11,605,571) submitted by the applicant, hereafter TDQ. As to claim 1, TDQ discloses an electronic device (500) as shown in figure 5, comprising: a carrier (202); a first electronic component (204) disposed over the carrier; a second electronic component (206) disposed over the carrier; and an encapsulant (207) encapsulating the first and second electronic components (204, 206), a device (506) disposed under the carrier (202), wherein the encapsulant (207) has a first region, a second region, and a third region, the first region has a substantially flat surface covering the first and second electronic components (204, 206) and continuously extending from the first electronic component to the second electronic component, the second region and the third region (the outer side not cover the components (204, 206)) are at elevations different from that of the substantially flat surface with respect to the carrier (202), and at least one of the second region and third region is free from vertically overlapping the device (506) in a cross-sectional view. Claim(s) 5-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by Yang et al. (U.S. Patent 10,937,741), submitted by the applicant. As to claim 5, Yang discloses an electronic device (200) as shown in figures 3c-3d, comprising: a carrier (140); and an encapsulant (170) disposed over the carrier (140), wherein the encapsulant (170) has a top surface which covers first to third electronic components (202, 212, 204), and wherein the third electronic component (204) is disposed between the first and second electronic components (202, 212) in a cross-sectional view, and a height of a top surface of the third electronic component (204) is less than a height of a top surface of the first electronic component (202) and a height of a top surface of the second electronic component (212) with respect to the carrier. As to claim 6, Yang discloses the top surface of the encapsulant (170) is a substantially flat surface (the flat top surface in contact to a shielding layer 256) covering the first to third electronic component (202, 212, 204). As to claim 7, Yang further comprising; a connector (114 or 160, 182) disposed under the carrier (140). As to claim 8, Yang discloses a thickness of the connector (160, 182) is greater than a portion of a thickness of the encapsulant (170). As to claim 9, Yang further comprising: a device (104) disposed under the carrier (140), wherein the device and the connector are arranged side by side. As to claim 10, Yang discloses a bottom of the device (1040 is at an elevation different from a bottom of the connector (160, 182) with respect to the carrier. As to claim 11, Yang discloses the connector (160, 182) is electrically coupled to the device (104) by the carrier. As to claim 12, Yang discloses a gap (space) between the device (104) and the connector (160, 182) vertically overlaps the first electronic component. As to claims 13-14, Yang discloses the device (104) is exposed (on the bottom side) by the carrier (140) and a lateral surface (side surface) of the device (104) is exposed by the carrier. As to claim 15, Yang discloses an electronic device (200) as shown in figures 3c-3d, comprising: a carrier (140); a first electronic component (202), a second electronic component (212), and a third electronic component (204) disposed over the carrier (140) and arranged side by side; and an encapsulant (170) disposed over the carrier (140), wherein the encapsulant (170) has a first region covering the first to third electronic components (202, 212, 204), the first region has a substantially uniform thickness, and wherein in a cross-sectional view, a first distance between a lateral surface of the first electronic component and a first lateral surface of the first region of the encapsulant adjacent to the lateral surface of the first electronic component is less than a second distance between a lateral surface of the second electronic component and a second lateral surface of the first region of the encapsulant adjacent to the lateral surface of the second electronic component (th thickness of the first electronic component 202 is different than the thickness of the second electronic component 212). As to claim 16, Yang further comprising: a device (104) disposed under the carrier (140), wherein in the cross-sectional view, a third distance between a first lateral surface (the thickness) of the device (104) and the first lateral surface (the thickness) of the first region of the encapsulant (170) adjacent to the first lateral surface of the device is less than a fourth distance (the length) between a second lateral surface of the device and the second lateral surface of the first region of the encapsulant adjacent to the second lateral surface of the device. As to claim 17, Yang discloses the fourth distance (the length) is greater than the third distance, and the second electronic component (212) vertically overlaps a space between the second lateral surface of the device and the second lateral surface of the encapsulant. As to claim 18, Yang discloses the first distance is less than a fifth distance (the space or length) between the first and second electronic components (202, 212). As to claim 19, Yang discloses in figure 3d a first top of the first electronic component, a second top of the second electronic component, and a third top of the third electronic component are at elevations, with respect to the carrier, different from each other. 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) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TDQ in view of Yang et al. (U.S. Patent 10,937,741). Regarding claim 2, RDQ discloses all of the limitations of claim 1 except for the device comprises an antenna. Yang teaches a molded laser package (200) as shown in figure 3d comprising the device (104) comprises an antenna (column 2, line 56-column 3, line 1). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to have a teaching of Yang employed in the electronic device of TDQ in order to transit outgoing date or radio waves and convert back into electrical signals. Regarding claim 3, TDQ as modified by Yang teaches the antenna has a pattern (110) facing away from the carrier. Regarding claim 4, TDQ as modified by Yang teaches a top of the first electronic component (20) is at an elevation different from an elevation of a top of the second electronic component (204 or 212). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to have a teaching of Yang employed in the electronic device of TDQ in order to reduce size for components/chips mounted on the carrier, substrate, or circuit board. Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (‘741) in view of Yang et al. (U.S. 2019/0074267). Regarding claim 20, Yang (‘741) discloses all of the limitations of claimed invention except for a fourth electronic component disposed over the carrier and adjacent to the first electronic component, wherein an elevation, with respect to the carrier, of a fourth top of the fourth electronic component is different from those of the first electronic component, the second electronic component, and the third electronic component. Yang (‘267) teaches a semiconductor device (256) as shown in figure 5 comprising a fourth electronic component (the most left component 162) disposed over the carrier (150) and adjacent to the first electronic component (160), wherein an elevation, with respect to the carrier, of a fourth top of the fourth electronic component is different from those of the first electronic component, the second electronic component, and the third electronic component. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to have a teaching of Yang (‘267) employed in the electronic device of Yang (‘741) in order to reduce size for components/chips mounted on the carrier, substrate, or circuit board. 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

Oct 22, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

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

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