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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the plan view of the second and fourth sensor must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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) 1, 2 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazuno et al. (US 2022/0084898).
Regarding claim 1, Kazuno et al. (hereinafter Kazuno) teaches a method for manufacturing a plurality of electronic devices including a first electronic device and a second electronic device (while silent, it is well-known in the art to make more than one electronic device), the first electronic device 1 including a first sensor 3z that detects a first physical quantity [0020], a second sensor 5 that detects a second physical quantity different from the first physical quantity [0020], a first circuit board 2 that is electrically coupled to the first sensor 3z and the second sensor 5 (Fig. 3), and a first package that houses the first sensor 3z, the second sensor 5, and the first circuit board 2 (Fig. 3), the second electronic device including a third sensor 3z that detects the first physical quantity (Fig. 8) [0020], a fourth sensor 5 that detects the second physical quantity (Fig. 8) [0020], a second circuit board 2 that is electrically coupled to the third sensor 3z and the fourth sensor 5 (Fig. 8), and a second package that houses the third sensor 3z, the fourth sensor 5, and the second circuit board 2 (Fig. 9), the first package and the second package having the same size in plan view (Fig. 2), the first sensor 3z and the third sensor 3z having the same size in plan view (Fig. 2), the first circuit board 2 and the second circuit board 2 having the same size in plan view, the method comprising: mounting the first circuit board 2 on the first package (Fig. 6) [0050] and then mounting the second sensor 5 on the first circuit board 2 (Fig. 7); and mounting the fourth sensor 5 on the second package (on to reference numeral 9) [0080] and then mounting the second circuit board 2 on the fourth sensor 5 (Fig. 11).
Kazuno remains silent as to the second sensor 5 having a size smaller than a size of the fourth sensor 5 in plan view.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary art in the skill to have use different sensors for the second and fourth sensor in order to measure the desired physical quantities at the desired accuracy. Electronic devices are well-known to have a plurality of sensors to measure a plurality of physical quantities. It is also well-known in the art that physical quantity sensors come in various shapes and sizes. The method of stacking the different elements in an electronic device is merely a rearrangement of parts that would not produce any unexpected results.
It would have further been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to stack the elements in a configuration in which the sensors would be able to measure the appropriate physical quantities and fit within the desired packaging.
Regarding claim 2, Kazuno teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the second circuit board 2 includes a plurality of bonding pads (B1, B2), and when the second circuit board 2 is mounted on the fourth sensor 5, the plurality of bonding pads overlap the fourth sensor 5 in plan view (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 5, Kazuno teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: bonding the first circuit board 2 and the second sensor 5 by using a first die attachment film [0054]; and bonding the fourth sensor 5 and the second circuit 2 board by using a second die attachment film [0054].
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kazuno et al. (US 2022/0084898) in view of Kameta et al. (US 2018/0231405).
Regarding claim 3, Kazuno teaches the method according to claim 1, but remains silent as to wherein the second sensor includes a detection portion that is displaced according to the second physical quantity, and an anchor portion that supports the detection portion, and when the second sensor is mounted on the first circuit board, the anchor portion overlaps the first circuit board in plan view.
Kameta et al (hereinafter Kameta) teaches a physical quantity measurement device wherein the second sensor 43 includes a detection portion 424 that is displaced according to the second physical quantity (Figs. 5 and 6), and an anchor portion 421 that supports the detection portion 424, and when the second sensor 43 is mounted on the first circuit board [0046], the anchor portion overlaps the first circuit board in plan view (the anchor portion would clearly overlap the circuit board as it is mounted onto the first circuit board).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the electronic devices of Kazuno to include the second sensors of Kameta as they are a well-known type of physical quantity sensor.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW V DO whose telephone number is (571)270-3420. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter L Lindsay can be reached at 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/A.V.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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