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 one of the two first guide boards provided with the first heat-dissipation unit formed thereon is located closer to the second guide board module than another one of the two first guide boards, and wherein the one of the two second guide boards provided with the second heat-dissipation unit formed thereon is located further away from the first guide board module than another one of the two second guide boards of claim 2 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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-AIA ) 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.
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) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ocubo et al. (JP 2003/215163 A hereafter Ocubo.
Regarding claim 9, Ocubo at least at fig. 1 discloses a guide board module of a probe card device having a heat-dissipation configuration, comprising: two first guide boards 210/220 each having two first board surfaces respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof and a plurality of first thru-holes 210a/220a that penetrate through the two first board surfaces; a first spacing sheet 241 sandwiched between the two first guide boards along a thickness direction [vertical direction, as shown]; and a first heat-dissipation unit 600 including: two first covering layers [600 covering both side of 210 as an example, as shown] respectively covering the two first board surfaces of one of the two first guide boards, wherein a sum of areas of the two first covering layers is at least 50% of a sum of areas of the two corresponding first board surfaces [more than 50% as shown]; and at least one first thermal conductor [600 in 210a of 210 as an example, as shown] connected in-between the two first covering layers and formed in at least one of the first thru-holes 210a of the one of the two first guide boards 210.
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Regarding claim 10, Ocubo at least at fig. 1 discloses the guide board module according to claim 9, wherein the first thru-holes are defined into at least two first thru-hole groups [plurality of 210a], a quantity of the at least one first thermal conductor is more than one [600 in each of the plurality of 210a], and the first thermal conductors are electrically coupled [600 are electrically coupled between 210a, as shown] to each other through the two first covering layers, and wherein each of the first thru-holes of one of the at least two first thru-hole groups is provided with one of the first thermal conductors therein [600 in each of the plurality of 210a].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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-AIA ) 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.
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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2021/0223291 A1) hereafter Lee in view of Ocubo et al. (JP 2003/215163 A hereafter Ocubo.
Regarding claim 1, Lee at fig. 1 discloses a probe card device, comprising: a first guide board module 1 including: two first guide boards 11/11 each having two first board surfaces respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof and a plurality of first thru-holes [holes for 3 in 11/11 of 1, ¶0022-0024] that penetrate through the two first board surfaces; a first spacing sheet [spacer/spacing sheet between 11/11, see ¶0024] sandwiched between the two first guide boards along a thickness direction [L direction]; a second guide board module 2 being spaced apart from the first guide board module along the thickness direction [L direction as shown] and including: two second guide boards 21/21 each having two second board surfaces respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof and a plurality of second thru-holes [holes for 3 in 21/21 of 2, ¶0022-0024] that penetrate through the two second board surfaces; a second spacing sheet [spacer/spacing sheet between 21/21, see ¶0024] sandwiched between the two second guide boards along the thickness direction; and a plurality of conductive probes [plurality of 3 as shown] assembled to the first guide board module and the second guide board module, wherein the conductive probes respectively pass through the first thru-holes of each of the two first guide boards and respectively pass through the second thru-holes of each of the two second guide boards.
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Lee is silent about said probe card device having a heat-dissipation configuration; a first heat-dissipation unit including: two first covering layers respectively covering the two first board surfaces of one of the two first guide boards; and at least one first thermal conductor connected in-between the two first covering layers and formed in at least one of the first thru-holes of the one of the two first guide boards; and a second heat-dissipation unit including: two second covering layers respectively covering the two second board surfaces of one of the two second guide boards; and at least one second thermal conductor connected in-between the two second covering layers and formed in at least one of the second thru-holes of the one of the two second guide boards; wherein a total sum of areas of the two first covering layers and areas of the two second covering layers is at least 50% of a total sum of areas of the two corresponding first board surfaces and areas of the two corresponding second board surfaces, and at least one of the conductive probes abuts against the at least one first thermal conductor and the at least one second thermal conductor, thereby enabling the first heat-dissipation unit and the second heat-dissipation unit to transmit and dissipate a thermal energy generated from the at least one of the conductive probes.
Ocubo at least at fig. 1 discloses a guide board module of a probe card device having a heat-dissipation configuration, comprising: two guide boards 210/220 each having two first board surfaces respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof and a plurality of first thru-holes 210a/220a that penetrate through the two board surfaces; a spacing sheet 241 sandwiched between the two guide boards along a thickness direction [vertical direction, as shown]; and a heat-dissipation unit 600 including: two covering layers [each 600 covering both surfaces of 210/220, as shown] respectively covering the two board surfaces of one of the two guide boards, wherein a sum of areas of the two covering layers is at least 50% of a sum of areas of the two corresponding board surfaces [more than 50% as shown]; and at least one thermal conductor [600 in 210a or 220a of 210/220, as shown] connected in-between the two covering layers and formed in at least one of the thru-holes 210a of the one of the two guide boards 210; and at least one of the conductive probes 100 abuts [fig. 2] against the at least one first thermal conductor [600 in 210a] and the at least one second thermal conductor. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add heat-dissipation unit 600 as taught by Ocubo to first and second guide board module of Lee i.e. to one of 11 and to one of 21, in order to obtain advantages that Ocubo have to offer such as to improve the structure of a guide plate in which a probe is arranged in a probe card and to hang the probe, thereby inspecting an IC chip having a fine pitch such as a pitch dimension of 100 μm between electrodes (also see Abstract).
Modified Lee discloses at least one of the conductive probes 100 abuts [fig. 2] against the at least one second thermal conductor, thereby enabling the first heat-dissipation unit and the second heat-dissipation unit to transmit and dissipate a thermal energy generated [fig. 2] from the at least one of the conductive probes.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Lee and Ocubo, particularly Lee at fig. 1 discloses the probe card device according to claim 1, wherein the one of the two first guide boards provided with the first heat-dissipation unit [bottom 11 as modified] formed thereon is located closer to the second guide board module 2 than another one of the two first guide boards, and wherein the one of the two second guide boards provided with the second heat-dissipation unit [bottom 21 as modified] formed thereon is located further away from the first guide board module 1 than another one of the two second guide boards.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Lee and Ocubo, particularly Ocubo at fig. 2 discloses the probe card device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first thermal conductor and the at least one second thermal conductor respectively abut against at least two of the conductive probes.
Regarding claim 4, modified Lee, particularly Ocubo at fig. 1 discloses any one of the conductive probes passing through two of the first thru-holes of the two first guide boards not receiving the at least one first thermal conductor therein is not in contact with the first heat-dissipation unit, and wherein any one of the conductive probes passing through two of the second thru-holes of the two second guide boards not receiving the at least one second thermal conductor therein is not in contact with the second heat-dissipation unit {fig. 1 of Lee as modified using Ocubo].
Regarding claim 5, modified Lee, particularly Ocubo at fig. 1 discloses the probe card device according to claim 1, wherein a sum of the areas of the two first covering layers is at least M % of a sum the areas of the two corresponding first board surfaces, and a sum of the areas of the two second covering layers is at least N % of a sum of the areas of the two corresponding second board surfaces, and wherein M and N are positive integers, and a sum of M and N is greater than or equal to 100 [modified Lee discloses because Ocubo discloses 100% surface area of 210 is covered with 600].
Regarding claim 6, modified Lee discloses the first thru-holes [holes in 11 of Lee and 210a of Ocubo both discloses through holes] are defined into at least two first thru-hole groups, a quantity of the at least one first thermal conductor is more than one [Ocubo discloses 600 in each 210a], and the first thermal conductors are electrically coupled to each other through the two first covering layers [Ocubo discloses 600 of surface 210 electrically connecting 600 in plurality of 210a], and wherein each of the first thru-holes of one of the at least two first thru-hole groups is provided with one of the first thermal conductors therein that abuts [fig. 2 of Ocubo] against one of the conductive probes.
Regarding claim 7, modified Lee discloses the second thru-holes [holes in 21 of Lee and holes 210a of Ocubo both discloses through holes] are defined into at least two second thru-hole groups, a quantity of the at least one second thermal conductor is more than one [Ocubo discloses 600 in each 210a], and the second thermal conductors are electrically coupled to each other through the two second covering layers [Ocubo discloses 600 of surface 210 electrically connecting 600 in plurality of 210a], wherein each of the second thru-holes of one of the at least two second thru-hole groups is provided with one of the second thermal conductors therein that abuts [fig. 2 of Ocubo] against one of the conductive probes, and wherein arrangements of the at least two first thru-hole groups are respectively identical to arrangements of the at least two second thru-hole groups [for probe 3 as shown at fig. 1 of Lee].
Regarding claim 8, modified Lee at ¶0022 and at fig. 1 discloses the probe card device according to claim 1, further comprising: a circuit board [space transformer] arranged adjacent to the second guide board module, wherein each of the conductive probes 3 has a fixing segment [end of 3 toward space transformer] and a testing segment [end of 3 toward DUT/wafer] that are respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof, and wherein, in each of the conductive probes 3, the fixing segment protrudes from the second guide board module 2 and is fixed to the circuit board, and the testing segment protrudes [as shown] from the first guide board module and is configured to detachably abut against one of metal pads of a device under test (DUT) [implicit to DUT/wafer]; and at least one auxiliary probe [another 3] assembled to the first guide board module and the second guide board module, wherein the at least one auxiliary probe has a connection segment [end of another 3] and an assembling segment [opposite end of another 3], and wherein the connection segment protrudes from the second guide board module 2 and is fixed to the circuit board [space transformer], the assembling segment is fixed in the first guide board module 1, and the assembling segment is configured to face toward the DUT [DUT/wafer] and is not in contact with the DUT [implicit to not under test]. Ocubo at fig. 1 discloses said circuit board 10, DUT 5/510 and segments of conductive probe and auxiliary probe as claimed.
Conclusion
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/PARESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
June 24, 2026
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