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 .
Detailed Action
This is the first action on the merits (FAOM) to this instant application in which claims 1-6 are pending. Claims 1, 4 and 5 are independent and claims 2-3 and 6 are dependent.
This application claims priority to US application No. 18/161,161 which has been issued to patent No. 12,241,913. So, this is a continuation application.
Claims are shown to have status, such as, original. However, usual practice is not to include any status of the claims at the time of initial filing unless any [preliminary] amendments are presented.
Inventive concept of this continuation application is a storage space for cutting chips (i.e., shavings or scraps or particles) generated in a [semiconductor device testing]1 probe from usage of the probe, the storage space being a groove portion 24, 33b, 34b. Claims of the issued patents did not include such a feature as storing space for cutting chips. Therefore, there are no double patenting issues with this continuation application.
Rejection under 35 USC §102
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.
Claims 1-2, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ishi (JP-2019-219350-A).
Applicant has discussed Ishi in the background section of the specification; however, has not used proper limits to set the claim scope to knock out Ishi from being an applicable prior art.
Claim No.
Claim feature
Prior art
Ishi (JP-2019-219350-A)
1
A contact probe comprising:
Ishi discloses a contact probe as claimed, see Fig. 1-32 in Ishi.
a first plunger including a groove portion formed on a side surface of the first plunger, the groove portion extending along a circumferential direction of the first plungers and including a space configured to contain cutting chips generated when the first plunger comes into contact with a contact target;
First plunger (inner plunger IP)
Groove (DIT), the groove (DIT) has a space which captures2 cutting chips (foreign matter 20a dislodged from the solder ball (SB) when the first plunger (IP) contacts a target (SB))
a second plunger; and
Second plunger, see the plunger at the bottom side of the probe in Fig. 4 for example.
a coil spring provided between the first and second plungers and configured to connect the first and second plungers to each other so as to freely advance and retreat.
Coil spring (SP1).
The coil spring (SP1) provided between the first plunger (IP) and the second plunger disposed at the bottom side of the probe. Spring (SP1) biases the first plunger (IP) and the second plunger as claimed.
2
The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the first plunger includes: a tip portion including a main body portion having a columnar shape, and a contact portion provided at one end of the main body portion and configured to contact the contact target; and a base end portion provided on a side opposite to the contact portion side of the main body portion and to which the coil spring is connected, and the groove portion is formed by recessing a part of the main body portion.
Ishi meets claim 2, see DIT is formed on the outer surface columnar shape of the plunger (IP).
The base portion of the plunger (IP) is the portion that contacts the coil spring (SP1).
DIT is recessed on the outer surface of the plunger (IP), see Figs., 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 28.
5
A probe unit comprising: a contact probe including a first plunger, a second plunger, and a coil spring provided between the first plunger and the second plunger and configured to connect the first plunger and the second plunger so as to freely advance and retreat; a probe holder including a holder hole configured to hold the contact probe; and a groove portion provided on a side surface of the first plunger or on a side of the holder hole through which the first plunger is inserted, the groove portion including a space configured to contain cutting chips generated when the first plunger comes into contact with a contact target.
Ishi meets claim 5. Many features of Claim 5 are like that of claim 1, hence see the treatment of claim 1 above.
For holder hole (OP), see item OP which has a hole through which the IP is makes its linear up-down movement.
6
The probe unit according to claim 5, wherein the first plunger includes: a tip portion including a main body portion having a columnar shape, and a contact portion provided at one end of the main body portion and configured to contact a contact target; and a base end portion provided on a side opposite to the contact portion side of the main body portion and to which the coil spring is connected, the holder hole includes: a small-diameter portion through which a tip portion of the first plunger is inserted; and a large-diameter portion configured to house the base end portion, and the groove portion is provided in the tip portion, and in a state in which the coil spring is contracted and the first plunger is pushed into a probe holder, an end portion of the groove portion on the base end portion side is positioned in the small-diameter portion.
Ishi meets claim 6.
The holder hole (OP) has small-diameter portion that houses the main columnar portion of plunger (IP) and large-diameter portion that houses the base portion of the plunger (IP) and the spring (SP1).
Rest of the claim features clearly shown in various drawings in Ishi.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is allowed.
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
As to independent claim 4, the claim is being allowed because the prior art of the record neither discloses nor reasonably suggests a probe holder comprising:
a holder hole configured to hold a contact probe, the contact probe including a first plunger, a second plunger, and a coil spring provided between the first plunger and the second plunger and being configured to connect the first plunger and the second plunger so as to freely advance and retreat; and
a groove portion provided in the holder hole and extending from an opening of the holder hole on a side through which the first plunger is inserted, the groove portion including a space configured to contain cutting chips generated when the first plunger comes into contact with a contact target3.
As to claim 3, the claim would be allowable if written in independent form because the prior art of the record neither discloses nor reasonably suggests the contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the groove extends along the circumferential direction in a spiral shape.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Citations
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
AHM BUM MO (KR-20060027681-A1) discloses a probe somewhat like that of any of the instant independent claims 1, 4 and 5. It discloses the
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probe to have a space (SP) for collecting particles generated from use of the probe. However, it does not disclose the probe to comprise a coil spring. Further, the publication date of the AHM BUM MO fails qualify as a prior art reference for the instant claims. It does not render any of the independent claims unpatentable.
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Katsuma (US-2009/0243640-A1) discloses a probe system somewhat like that of any of the instant independent claims 1, 4 and 5. Katsuma discloses that electrode chips or solder chips4 are formed as result of using probe. However, it does not provide a space where the electrode chips or the solder chips can be stored, and instead, it discloses getting rid of them by blowing air using an air supply device 47 and an air suction device 46, see Fig. 5 in Katsuma. Katsuma does not render any of the independent claims unpatentable.
Asano (WO-2018/105444) discloses a probe somewhat like that of claim instant claim 3 as it discloses a spiral shaped groove (16, 17) on a main body of plunger (13). However, the spiral groove is not used for collecting cutting chips. Asano does not render claim 3 unpatentable.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to G.M. HYDER whose telephone number is (571)270-3896. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9 AM- 5 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss, can be reached on (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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G.M. HYDER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2852
/G.M. A HYDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
1 Examiner Comment: Instant claims do not limit the contact probe to be a semiconductor device testing probe, however, instant specification discusses the probe to be used in semiconductor device testing, and classification of the instant application agrees. To be noted, thorough and targeted prior art searches are performed by this Examiner on behalf of the Office, and the searches were not limited to contact probe used in semiconductor testing only, see for example, L37 in the attached Search History.
2Examiner Comment: The following is being copied from last para on p14 and first para on p15 in Ishi which explains how DIT captures the cutting chips (i.e., DIT captures foreign matter which can be equated to the claimed cutting chips):
“Therefore, in the present embodiment, further measures are taken. FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a fourth feature point in the present embodiment. In FIG. 28, the fourth feature of the present embodiment is that a groove DIT is formed on the side surface of the tip of the inner plunger. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 28, even if the portion 20a of the foreign matter 20 scraped off by the vertical movement (the first operation and the second operation) of the inner plunger IP exists inside the gap 10, Is captured by the groove DIT formed on the side surface of the inner plunger IP. As a result, according to the fourth feature point of the present embodiment, even if the portion 20a of the foreign matter 20 scraped off by the up and down operation (the first operation and the second operation) of the inner plunger IP enters the gap 10, the probe Poor sliding of the pin CP2 can be suppressed.”
3 Examiner Comment: Prior art discloses a groove portion of a holding hole in which a base portion of a plunger is located and where a coil spring is located like in the applied reference Ishi; however, Ishi or other reference do not disclose that the groove portion that holds the base portion of the to be used for collecting cutting chips.
4Examiner Comment: Electrode chip or solder chip are small fragments that may accumulate as the probe (electrode) contacts the solder balls 52.
Prosecution Insights