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 § 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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sasaki et al. USPG Pub. No.: US 2021/0003615.
Regarding Claim 1, Sasaki teaches a method for manufacturing a current sensor (see figures 1-2, which teach a current sensor apparatus commensurate with the claimed manufacturing method), the method comprising:
preparing a sensor housing ([0141] and figs.2-3, 50), a wiring board ([0141] and figs.2-3, 20), and a shield ([0198] and figs.2-3, 40),
the sensor housing holding a conductive member that allows an electric current to flow (see figures 2-3, 8 and [0143], [0179]-[0180] discussing the conductive busbar and sensor housing 50) therein and having
a plurality of board contact portions (seen in figure 13 in which the board contacts the housing),
a plurality of board adhesion portions (see [0242] and figure 13),
a plurality of shield contact portions (see figures 2-3, 39, shield contact portions 31, each side), and
a plurality of shield adhesion portions (see [0261] and figures 3 and 11, in which holes of 40 allow for adhesion via pins),
the wiring board having a sensor element mounted thereon and detecting a magnetic flux caused by the electric current, the shield being a magnetic shield member (see [0152]-[0156] and figure 8, 25);
placing the wiring board by bringing the wiring board into contact with the plurality of board contact portions so that the wiring board is placed in a specified position and bringing the wiring board into contact with an adhesive applied on a plurality of top surfaces of the board adhesion portions so that the adhesive is deformed between the top surfaces and the wiring board (see figure 3 and 13, and [0242]-[0246] discussing the board adhesive 56e);
placing the shield by bringing the shield into contact with the plurality of shield contact portions so that the shield is placed in a specified position and deforming an adhesive applied on a plurality of top surfaces of the shield adhesion portions between the top surfaces and the shield (see figures 3 and 15), and
after the placing of the wiring board and the placing of the shield, curing both the adhesive positioned between the board adhesion portions and the wiring board and the adhesive positioned between the shield adhesion portions and the shield simultaneously (see [0243]-[0245], which describes a temperature condition which qualifies as curing).
Regarding Claim 2, Sasaki teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the adhesives maintain a fluidity during a period from the placing of the wiring board and the placing of the shield, the placing of the wiring board and the placing of the shield are performed successively, and the adhesives lose the fluidity in the curing (see [0243]-[0245], [0267]-[0270] and exploded figure 3 which demonstrates the order of component layers).
Regarding Claim 3, Sasaki teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein in the curing, the adhesive positioned between the board adhesion portions and the wiring board in a deformed shape and the adhesive positioned between the shield adhesion portions and the shield in a deformed shape are cured simultaneously, thereby forming an adhesive layer adhering the board adhesion portions and the wiring board and an adhesive layer adhering the shield adhesion portions and the shield (see [0243]-[0245], [0267]-[0270] and exploded figure 3 which demonstrates the order of component layers).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-10 are 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.
RE Claim 4, the prior art of record does not disclose or suggest “further comprising: before the placing of the wiring board and the placing of the shield, applying the adhesives to the plurality of top surfaces of the board adhesion portions and the plurality of top surfaces of the shield adhesion portions along a path that goes around a container chamber that houses the wiring board and the shield in a single stroke,” in combination with the other claim limitations. Claims 5-10 depend from base Claim 1, and therefore these claims are also allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A HARRISON whose telephone number is (571)272-3573. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/MICHAEL A HARRISON/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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