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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/07/2025,12/23/20024, 10/30/2024 have been considered by the examiner.
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 be 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.
Claims 1-2, 3, 5, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (US 20120313131 A1, IDS) (Oda, hereafter) in view of Ozeki et al. ( US 20170154879 A1, IDS) (Ozeki, hereafter).
Regarding claim 1, Oda discloses (Figures 1-56 and corresponding text) an LED package comprising (Figure 3): a light source (20)having an upper face serving as a light emission face, the light source including a resin package including a first lead (25), a second lead (26), and a resin member(23) supporting the first lead(25) and the second lead (26), the resin package defining a recess (no number) having a bottom face defined by a portion of the first lead (25), a portion of the second lead (26), and a portion of the resin member(23), and a lateral wall (23a) defined by a portion of the resin member (23) (π127, π129-π130), a light emitting element (21) disposed on or above the bottom face in the recess (no number); a light transmissive member (24) disposed on or above the light source (π131); Oda fails to explicitly disclose wherein a wavelength conversion material disposed in the recess; and a light reflecting layer disposed on or above the light transmissive member at least on an upper side along an optical axis of the light emitting element.
Ozeki discloses (Figures 4a-4c) , the surface exposed at the recess of the supporting member 5 may be an outwardly convex curved surface (FIG. 4B), a concave curved surface (FIG. 4C), or a flat inclined surface (FIG. 4A). Preferably, by curing the second light-reflecting resin 2, the light-reflecting wall higher than the light-emitting element 3 is formed. This improves the light extraction efficiency of the light-emitting device. Further, the second light-reflecting resin 2 can also be shaped by disposing the second light-reflecting resin 2 at the recess and thereafter pressing a mold against the second light-reflecting resin 2(π29-π30). Furthermore, the sealing member 8 is a member for protecting the light-emitting element 3 and the wires 7 disposed in the recess from dust, moisture, external force and the like, and can be dispensed with as necessary. The sealing member 8 is formed by causing the recess of the supporting member 5 to be filled with the material of the sealing member 8 so that the material covers the light-emitting element 3, the wires 7, and the light-reflecting wall; The material of the sealing member 8 preferably exhibits high light transmissivity. A specific material may be silicone resin, epoxy resin or the like. Further, to such material, a coloring agent, a light diffusing agent, filler and the like may be added as desired. The sealing member 8 may contain a fluorescent material that absorbs at least part of light from the light-emitting element 3 and emits light of a different wavelength. A specific material of the fluorescent material may be, for example, a YAG-based fluorescent material, a nitride-based fluorescent material or an oxynitride-based fluorescent material which are mainly activated by lanthanoid series such as Eu, Ce and the like(π36-π39).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the LED package of Oda as disclosed by Ozeki wherein a wavelength conversion material disposed in the recess; and a light reflecting layer disposed on or above the light transmissive member at least on an upper side along an optical axis of the light emitting element the motivation to provide a device that exhibits high light extraction efficiency.
Regarding claim 2,Oda the light reflecting layer is made of a resin material containing a light reflecting substance.
Ozeki discloses in figures 1-3, forming light-reflecting walls from a light-reflecting resin. The light-reflecting wall is formed by a light-reflecting resin, which may be, for example, silicone resin, epoxy resin or the like. Further, the light-reflecting resin contains, in such types of resin, filler mainly intended to adjust viscosity and a light diffusing material. The material of the filler and the light diffusing material may be, for example, TiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, ZrO.sub.2, MgO or the like. Further, by adjusting the particle size and the concentration relative to the resin of the filler and the light diffusing material, and also by the characteristic of the material of the resin itself, the viscosity of the whole light-reflecting resin can be adjusted. The particle size of the filler may be from 5 nm to 20 nm inclusive, and the concentration relative to the resin may be from 3 wt % to 8 wt % inclusive (π27-π36).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Ozeki wherein the light reflecting layer is made of a resin material containing a light reflecting substance the motivation being improving n light extraction efficiency od the overall device.
Regarding claim 3, Oda discloses (Figure 3) wherein the light source includes a wire (22) connecting the light emitting element with the first lead (25)or the second lead (26).
Regarding claim 5, Oda discloses (Figure 3) wherein the light emitting element (21) has a rectangular shape in a top view.
Regarding claim 8, Oda discloses (Figure 3) wherein the light source further includes an encapsulating member (24, is the light transmissive member and encapsulating member) (π131) disposed in the recess. Oda fails to explicitly disclose the wavelength conversion material is arranged between the light emitting element and the encapsulating member.
Ozeki discloses (Figure 1B) a light emitting element (10) and a light transmissive member (40). The light transmissive member (40) has a wavelength conversion layer (20) and an outermost layer (30). The wavelength conversion layer (20) contains a resin (21) and a fluorescent substance (25). The outermost layer( 30) contains a resin (31) and a thixotropy imparting agent (35). The light transmissive member (40) transmits at least light emitted from the light emitting element (10) to outside and, in the present embodiment, transmits also light which is converted by the fluorescent substance (25) to outside thus allowing for improved manufacturability (π18).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Ozeki wherein the wavelength conversion material is arranged between the light emitting element and the encapsulating member the motivation is improved illumination with improved manufacturability.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (US 20120313131 A1) (Oda, hereafter) in view of Ozeki et al. ( US 20170154879 A1) (Ozeki, hereafter) and in further view of Son (US 20100213475 A1,IDS) .
Oda as modified by Ozeki discloses the Led Package above (see rejection claim 1). Oda as modified by Ozeki fails to explicitly disclose wherein the light source further includes an additional light emitting element, and wires connecting the light emitting element and the additional light emitting element in series.
Son discloses (Figure 4A) he three LED chips (320, 330 and 340) are disposed in a horizontal electrode structure and connected in series, and the first lead frame (311) may be used as a P electrode lead and the fifth lead frame (315) may be used as an N electrode lead. Alternatively, the first lead frame (311) may be used as an N electrode lead and the fifth lead frame (315) may be used as a P electrode lead, The blue LED chip (320), the red LED chip 330, and the green LED chip (340) are connected to the four lead frames (311, 312, 314, 315) in series using the wires (321, 322, 331, 332, 341 and 342) the motivation being able to reduce the amount of light loss and improve thermal conductivity.
Therefore it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Son wherein the light source further includes an additional light emitting element, and wires connecting the light emitting element and the additional light emitting element in series the motivation being able to reduce the amount of light loss and improve thermal conductivity.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (US 20120313131 A1) (Oda, hereafter) in view of Ozeki et al. ( US 20170154879 A1) (Ozeki, hereafter) and in further view of Yamada et al. (US 20170179345 A1, IDS) (Yamada, hereafter).
Oda as modified by Ozeki discloses the Led Package above (see rejection claim 1). Oda as modified by Ozeki fails to explicitly disclose wherein the resin package defines a part of an outermost lateral face of the LED package, and the light transmissive member defines a second part of the outermost lateral face of the LED package.
Yamada discloses (Figure 5) discloses wherein the resin package (106, underfill)(π82) wherein the resin package defines a part of an outermost lateral face of the LED package, and the light transmissive member (108) defines a second part of the outermost lateral face of the LED package to control the amount of light leaving the lateral surfaces of the device thus handling the light distribution over the entire package.
Therefore it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Yamada disclose wherein the resin package defines a part of an outermost lateral face of the LED package, and the light transmissive member defines a second part of the outermost lateral face of the LED package the motivation being to handle the distribution of light across the entire package.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (US 20120313131 A1) (Oda, hereafter) in view of Ozeki et al. ( US 20170154879 A1) (Ozeki, hereafter) and in further view of Kim (US 8907361 B2,IDS).
Oda as modified by Ozeki and Reiss disclose the Led Package above (see rejection claim 1). Oda discloses (Figure 3) wherein the light source further includes an encapsulating member (24, is the light transmissive member and encapsulating member) (π131) disposed in the recess. Oda as modified by Ozeki fails to explicitly disclose wherein the encapsulating member containing the wavelength conversion material;
Kim discloses in figure 2 discloses where the encapsulating member (140) contains wavelength conversion material allowing for a compact device with improved illumination (column 6,lines 40-60).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Kim where the encapsulating member containing the wavelength conversion material the motivation being having a device with excellent weatherability and improved illumination.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oda et al. (US 20120313131 A1) (Oda, hereafter) in view of Ozeki et al. ( US 20170154879 A1) (Ozeki, hereafter) and in further view of Sim et al. (US 20210074693 A1,IDS) (Sim, hereafter).
Regarding claims 9 and 11-12, Oda as modified by Ozeki discloses the Led Package above (see rejection claim 1). Oda as modified by Ozeki fails to explicitly disclose wherein an integrated light emitting device; a substrate on which the LED package is arranged (claim 9); a layered optical body arranged on a side of the LED package opposite to the substrate (claim 11); wherein the layered optical body includes at least one of a half mirror, a diffusion sheet, and a prism sheet (claim 12).
Sim discloses (Figures 1-5 and corresponding text)( Figure 4) discloses an integrated lighting device (10). The device has LED Package (20) on a substrate (8);each packages has a diffusion layer(40)(π54-π55) in order to realize a device simpler to assembly and reduction in manufacturing time (π10).
Therefore it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Sim wherein an integrated light emitting device; a substrate on which the LED package is arranged ; a layered optical body arranged on a side of the LED package opposite to the substrate; wherein the layered optical body includes at least one of a half mirror, a diffusion sheet, and a prism sheet the motivation being having a simpler assembly process and reduced manufacturing time.
Regarding claim 10, Oda as modified by Ozeki discloses the Led Package above (see rejection claim 1). Oda as modified by Ozeki fails to explicitly disclose wherein an integrated light emitting device comprising: a plurality of LED packages; and a substrate on which the LED packages are arranged.
Sim discloses (Figure 1-2) an integrated device (3)(backlight unit) having a plurality of LED packages (20) and a substrate (7) on which a plurality of LED packages is arranged (π40,π42-π44) in order to realize a device simpler to assembly and reduction in manufacturing time (π10).
Therefore it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to further modify the LED Package of ODA as disclosed by Sim wherein an integrated light emitting device comprising: a plurality of LED packages; and a substrate on which the LED packages are arranged the motivation being having a simpler assembly process and reduced manufacturing time.
Double Patenting
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would be obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-12 are rejected on the grounds of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-12 of U.S. Patent No.12148870 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-12 of U.S. Patent No.12148870 B2 anticipate or render obvious claims 1-12 of the instant application
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the 892 or below:
US 20150188004 A1-General State of the Art- semiconductor light emitting devic
US 20140239332 A1-General state of the art- a light emitting device including a package having a recessed portion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACIE Y GREEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3104. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thursday, 10am-8pm.
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TRACIE Y. GREEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/TRACIE Y GREEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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