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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-16) and Species A (Figs.1-8) in the response of 29 July, 2026 is acknowledged. Applicant avers that claims 1-4 and 7-16 read on the elected Invention and Species. Claims 5-6 and 17-20 are withdrawn, and claims 1-4 and 7-16 are examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
In the IDS of 7 March, 2025, the International Search Report document provided is incomplete. On page 8, relevant portions of the text are missing. As such, this document is not considered and a replacement is required. Examiner also requests that the text be more legible in the new copy.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
In regards to claims 12-13, the claims read “the first conductor”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims. Therefore, the claims are unclear. For the purposes of prosecution, it will be assumed this refers to an arbitrary one of the plurality of first conductors of claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Nakayama (US 2014/0264697).
In regards to claim 1, Nakayama discloses a circuit device configured for use in an image pickup apparatus [abstract], comprising:
a plurality of first pads [33, Figs.3-4] arranged in a two-dimensional pattern;
a plurality of first conductors [34, Figs.3-4] arranged in a two-dimensional pattern, each first conductor having a first end and a second end, the first ends being connected to the plurality of first pads [Fig.4b], respectively;
a plurality of lands [32, Fig.4b] connected to the second ends of the plurality of first conductors, respectively;
a second pad [central pad, Fig.4b] disposed at a central region within the two-dimensional pattern of the plurality of first pads;
a second conductor [conductor to the second pad, Fig.4b] having a third end and a fourth end, the third end being connected to the second pad, the fourth end being connected to a specific pad among the plurality of first pads [Fig.4b]; and
a resist portion [a portion of the resistive portions between the conductive portions of 40 may be arbitrarily designated in this fashion, Figs.2-3, ie. the part of the resistive part of 40 that happens to cover the second conductor] covering at least a part of the second conductor but not any of the plurality of first conductors.
In regards to claim 2, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the circuit device is a three-dimensional circuit device,
the plurality of first pads are arranged in N-fold symmetry, where N represents a natural number equal to or greater than two [Fig.4b],
the plurality of first conductors are arranged in N-fold symmetry [Fig.4b],
the second pad is disposed at a center of symmetry of the plurality of the first pads [Fig.4b], and
the specific pad is a dummy pad [Figs.4a-b, para.34-36: in the same sense that applicant’s dummy pad, which is electrically connected to a landing and the second pad, is a dummy pad.].
In regards to claim 3, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the resist portion comprises:
a first resist portion intersecting the second conductor and covering the third end [the resist portion may be arbitrarily designated in this fashion]; and
a second resist portion intersecting the second conductor and covering the fourth end [the resist portion may be arbitrarily designated in this fashion].
In regards to claim 4, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 3, wherein each of the first resist portion and the second resist portion has a length that is more than three times a width thereof [the resist portion may be arbitrarily designated in this fashion].
In regards to claim 7, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim l, wherein the second pad is disposed at a center of the two-dimensional pattern of the plurality of first pads [Fig.4b].
In regards to claim 8, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the second conductor is disposed within the two-dimensional pattern of the plurality of first pads [Fig.4b].
In regards to claim 9, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a first surface [30sb, Figs.3, 4b] on which the plurality of first pads, the plurality of first conductors, the plurality of lands, the second pad, the second conductor, and the resist portion are arranged [Figs.3-4];
a second surface [30sa, Figs.3, 4a] opposite to the first surface; and
at least one through-hole [holes for 32, Fig.3] connecting the first surface and the second surface.
In regards to claim 10, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 9, further comprising:
a plurality of the through-holes [holes for 32, Fig.3, para.35]; and
a plurality of third conductors [32, Fig.3, para.35-36] provided in the plurality of through-holes and connected to the plurality of lands [para.35-36], respectively.
In regards to claim 11, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first conductors extends towards the second pad [Fig.4b].
In regards to claim 12, Nakayama discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the second end of the first conductor is larger than the first end of the first conductor [The first and second ends may be arbitrarily designated in this fashion to include more area. Note that this claim appears broader than the applicant probably intended.].
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 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakayama (US 2014/0264697).
In regards to claim 13, Namayaka discloses the circuit device according to claim 1, except for wherein the second conductor is longer than the first conductor.
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device disclosed by Nakayama with the second conductor longer than the first conductor, because Applicant has not disclosed that the second conductor being longer than the first conductor provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem. One of ordinary skill in the art, furthermore, would have expected Applicant’s invention to perform equally well with the second conductor shorter than the first conductor as disclosed by Nakayama, because it provides electrical connectivity, and since it appears to be an arbitrary design consideration which fails to patentably distinguish over Nakayama.
Therefore, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify Nakayama to obtain the invention as specified in the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-16 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art fails to teach, among other features,
an image pickup apparatus comprising:
a circuit device and a camera unit,
the circuit device comprising:
plural first pads, plural first conductors, plural lands, a second conductor, a second pad and a resist portion,
the first pads, first conductors and lands all arranged in respective two-dimensional patterns,
each first conductor having a first and second end, the first ends respectively connected to the first pads, the second ends respectively connected to the lands,
the second conductor having third and fourth ends, the third end connected to the second pad, the fourth end connected to a specific pad among the first pads,
the resist covering at least part of the second conductor but not any of the first conductors,
the camera unit comprising a third electrode and plural fourth electrodes,
the fourth electrodes arranged around the third electrode,
the first pads are respectively soldered to the plural fourth electrodes,
the second pad is soldered to the third electrode.
Nakayama (US 2014/0264697) discloses the above except for the third electrode, or that the first pads are soldered to the fourth electrodes, instead teaching the circuit device facing in an opposite direction from the camera unit.
Shimizu et al. (US 2025/0016922) discloses the above circuit device except for the second conductor, second pad and resist portion.
Kobayashi et al. (US 2026/0129988) discloses the above but postdates the present application.
There is no reason or suggestion provided in the prior art to modify the above prior art to teach the limitations as claimed above, and the only reason to modify the references would be based on Applicant's disclosure, which is impermissible hindsight reasoning.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shimizu et al. (US 2025/0016922)
Kobayashi et al. (US 2026/0129988)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON B FAIRCHILD whose telephone number is (571)270-5276. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5pm Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Carey can be reached at (571) 270-7235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AARON B FAIRCHILD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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