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
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 and 10-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masahiro et al. (JP2007123389A) in view of Ishizuka et al. (US Publication 2020/0152385).
In re claim 1, Masahiro discloses a multilayer ceramic capacitor comprising:
a multilayer body (¶8, Figure 1) including an inner layer portion (9 – Figure 1, ¶13) including a plurality of dielectric layers (5 – Figure 1, ¶13) and a plurality of internal electrodes (7 – Figure 1, ¶13) that are alternately laminated (Figure 1) , a first main surface and a second main surface (upper and lower surfaces of body shown in Figure 1) opposed to each other in a lamination direction (Figure 1), a first lateral surface and a second lateral surface (surfaces of multilayer body facing toward and away from viewer in Figure 1, left and right surfaces of 37 shown in Figure 2(e), ¶35) opposed to each other in a width direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the lamination direction (Figure 1, Figure 2), and a first end surface and a second end surface (left and right surfaces of 37 in Figure 2(e)) opposed to each other in a length direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the lamination direction and the width direction (Figure 2); and
a pair of external electrodes (3 – Figure 1, ¶13, ¶36);
wherein one of the pair of external electrodes is on the first end surface and another one is on the second end surface (¶36);
the plurality of internal electrodes include counter portions (7a – Figure 1, ¶15) each opposed to adjacent internal electrodes in the lamination direction and extension portions (7b – Figure 1, ¶15) each extending from the counter portions and being connected to a corresponding one of the pair of external electrodes (3 – Figure 1, ¶15, ¶36);
the multilayer body includes an effective layer portion (portion of 9 where 7a overlaps – Figure 1) including the counter portions of the plurality of internal electrodes (7 – Figure 1)and portions of the plurality of dielectric layers (5 – Figure 1) sandwiched by adjacent counter portions of the plurality of internal electrodes (Figure 1);
in the lamination direction, a direction from each of the first main surface and the second main surface toward a middle portion of the multilayer body in the lamination direction is defined as a direction toward a center in the lamination direction (Figure 1);
the extension portions (7b – Figure 1) each include a bent portion including an apex protruding in the direction toward the center in the lamination direction (Abstract, Figure 1); and
Masahiro does not disclose a shortest distance in the length direction between the apex of the bent portion and the effective layer portion is larger than a dimension of a corresponding one of the plurality of dielectric layers in the lamination direction, and is smaller than a shortest distance in the length direction between the apex of the bent portion and a corresponding one of the first end surface or the second end surface.
Ishizuka discloses a shortest distance (L2 – Figure 5, ¶81) in the length direction between the apex of the bent portion and the effective layer portion (¶81) is larger than a dimension of a corresponding one of the plurality of dielectric layers (¶112, Table 1: Example 1) in the lamination direction (Figure 5), and is smaller than a shortest distance (L1 – Figure 5, ¶80) in the length direction between the apex of the bent portion and a corresponding one of the first end surface or the second end surface (¶80, Table 1: Example 1).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adjust the location of the inflexion point of the bent portion of the internal electrode to provide for improved moisture reliability and high temperature reliability (¶144-146: Ishizuka).
In re claim 2, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro does not disclose wherein the shortest distance in the length direction between the apex of the bent portion and the effective layer portion is about 50 µm or less.
Ishizuka discloses wherein the shortest distance in the length direction (L2 – Figure 5) between the apex of the bent portion and the effective layer portion is about 50 µm or less (Table 1: Example 1).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adjust the location of the inflexion point of the bent portion of the internal electrode to provide for improved moisture reliability and high temperature reliability (¶144-146: Ishizuka).
In re claim 3, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein the extension portions (7b – Figure 1) that extend from the counter portions (7a – Figure 1) and are exposed at the first end surface (left body – Figure 1) are defined as first extension portions (Figure 1);
among the first extension portions, one located closest to the first main surface is defined as a first main surface-side outermost first extension portion (topmost 7b – Figure 1);
among the first extension portions, one located closest to the second main surface-side is defined as a second main surface-side outermost first extension portion (bottommost 7b – Figure 1);
a length of a line segment connecting between the apex of the bent portion of the first main surface-side outermost first extension portion and the apex of the bent portion of the second main surface-side outermost first extension portion is smaller than a length of a line segment connecting between an end portion of the first main surface-side outermost first extension portion adjacent to the first end surface and an end surface of the second main surface-side outermost first extension portion adjacent to the first end surface (Figure 1; Note that the distance between the apex of the bent portions is smaller than the distance between the extension portions contacting the left surface of the body shown in Figure 1.).
In re claim 4, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein the multilayer body includes a pair of outer layer portions (11 – Figure 1, ¶13) sandwiching the inner layer portion (9 – Figure 1) in the lamination direction (Figure 1).
In re claim 5, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 4, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses each of the pair of outer layer portions (11 – Figure 1) includes a same material as each of the plurality of dielectric layers (5 – Figure 1) (¶61).
In re claim 6, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein each of the plurality of dielectric layers (5 – Figure 1) includes BaTiO3 as a main component (¶27).
In re claim 7, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 6, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein each of the plurality of dielectric layers (5 – Figure 1) includes a Mn compound, a Fe compound, a Cr compound, a Co compound, or a Ni compound as a subcomponent (¶27).
In re claim 8, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein each of the plurality of internal electrode layers (7 – Figure 1) includes Ni, Cu, Ag, Pd, an Ag-Pd alloy, or Au (¶31).
In re claim 10, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein each of the pair of external electrodes (3 – Figure 1) includes a base electrode layer, a first plated layer on the base electrode layer, and a second plated layer on the first plated layer (¶63).
In re claim 11, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 10, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein the base electrode layer is a fired layer including metal and glass (¶63).
In re claim 12, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 11, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein the metal includes Cu (¶63).
In re claim 13, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 10, as explained above. Masahiro further discloses wherein the first plated layer includes Ni and the second plated layer includes Sn (¶63).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masahiro et al. (JP2007123389A) in view of Ishizuka et al. (US Publication 2020/0152385) and in further view of Sasabayashi et al. (US Publication 2021/0287853).
In re claim 9, Masahiro in view of Ishizuka discloses the multilayer ceramic capacitor according to claim 1, as explained above. Masahiro does not disclose wherein each of the pair of external electrodes extends to portions of first and second main surfaces and portions of the first and second lateral surfaces.
Sasabayashi discloses each of the pair of external electrodes (15a, 15b – Figure 1, ¶40) extends to portions of first and second main surfaces (surfaces of 3 facing in the ‘T’ direction – Figure 1, ¶39) and portions of the first and second lateral surfaces (surfaces of 3 facing in the ‘W’ direction – Figure 1).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the external electrode structure as described by Sasabayashi to allow for increased versatility in a mounting process.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tanaka et al. (US Publication 2021/0166874) Figure 2, Figure 4
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/ARUN RAMASWAMY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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