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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 04/10/2025, 01/28/2025 was/were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 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, 2, 3, 6, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20200066936 A1 (hereinafter Hwang), and in view of JP H0918104 A (hereinafter Suzuki).
Regarding claim 1, Hwang teaches a physical quantity measurement apparatus that comprises a first substrate (fig. 18 “semiconductor device” elements 101E, 105; para [0241]) and a second substrate (fig. 18 element 550; para [0241]) and measures a physical quantity of an object to be measured (fig. 18 is s a gas sensing device, para [0241]), wherein the first substrate includes a sensing part on a front surface (fig. 18 sensor unit 105) and a surface electrode on a back surface (fig. 17 electrodes 245, 247; para [0243] lines 5-12), the sensing part being configured to output a signal according to the physical quantity (para [0020]), the second substrate includes a side electrode (fig. 18 element 550 has side electrodes 553, 554; para [0243]), “when the first substrate is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the front surface or the back surface of the first substrate, at least a portion of the first substrate overlaps the second substrate” (this is shown in fig. 18) but is silent to the surface electrode being electrically connected to the side electrode.
Suzuki, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, teaches the surface electrode is electrically connected to the side electrode (fig. 2 element 22 is electrically connected to element 14, note that element 22 is a side electrode).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Suzuki to Hwang to the surface electrode is electrically connected to the side electrode in order to easily fix the printed board when it is temporarily removed (p. 1 Abstract lines 1-3).
Regarding claim 2, Hwang does not teach the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side electrode is a castellated hole.
Suzuki, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side electrode is a castellated hole (fig. 2 element 22 is the castellated hole).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Suzuki to Hwang to have the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side electrode is a castellated hole in order to easily fix the printed board when it is temporarily removed (p. 1 Abstract lines 1-3).
Regarding claim 3, Hwang does not teach the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface electrode includes a through-hole electrode.
Suzuki, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface electrode includes a through-hole electrode (fig. 3 p. 2 para 2 lines 3-7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Suzuki to Hwang to have the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface electrode includes a through-hole electrode in order to easily fix when an error occurred (p. 2 para 6 line 3).
Regarding claim 6, Hwang teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physical quantity is a concentration of a gas to be detected (para [0327] last sentence).
Regarding claim 8, Hwang teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate includes the sensing part (fig. 18 the sensing part is element 150) and “at least a portion of the sensing part is provided to be in overlap when the first substrate is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the front surface or the back surface of the first substrate” (this is shown in fig. 18, elements 105 overlaps with the substrate 550).
Hwang fails to teach a component on the front surface, and the component is provided to be in overlap with the side electrode when the first substrate is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the front surface or the back surface of the first substrate.
Suzuki, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, a component on the front surface (fig. 3f element 3), and “the component is provided to be in overlap with the side electrode when the first substrate is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the front surface or the back surface of the first substrate” (this is shown in fig. 3f, component 3 overlaps with terminals 6 and 7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Suzuki to Hwang to a component on the front surface, and the component is provided to be in overlap with the side electrode when the first substrate is viewed from a direction perpendicular to the front surface or the back surface of the first substrate in order to easily fix the printed board when it is temporarily removed (p. 1 Abstract lines 1-3).
Claim(s) 4, 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang and Suzuki as applied to claim(s) 1 above, and further in view of JP2012215445A (hereinafter Tokuo).
Regarding claim 4, the modified device of Hwang does not teach the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensing part includes a light emitting element and a detection element that detects an amount of absorption, by the object to be measured, of light emitted from the light emitting element, and the physical quantity is measured on the basis of the amount of absorption.
Tokuo, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, “wherein the sensing part includes a light emitting element and a detection element that detects an amount of absorption” (figs. 1 and 2, p. 3 para 10 lines 1-4; p. 3 last para lines 1-5), by the object to be measured (p. 3 last para lines 1-5; the object is a gas), of “light emitted from the light emitting element, and the physical quantity is measured on the basis of the amount of absorption” (p. 4 para 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Tokuo to the modified device of Hwang to have the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensing part includes a light emitting element and a detection element that detects an amount of absorption, by the object to be measured, of light emitted from the light emitting element, and the physical quantity is measured on the basis of the amount of absorption in order to detect the concentration of gas (p. 4 para 6).
Regarding claim 5, Hwang teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light is infrared light (para [0100] line 17).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang and Suzuki as applied to claim(s) 1 above, and further in view of US20030053056A1 (hereinafter Ohazama).
Regarding claim 7, the modified device of Hwang does not teach the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate includes at least one of a guide and a mark used to align the first substrate and the second substrate.
Ohazama, from the same field of endeavor as Hwang, teaches the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate includes at least one of a guide and a mark used to align the first substrate and the second substrate (fig. 5 elements 52b the guides and marks, para [0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Ohazama to the modified device of Hwang to have the physical quantity measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate includes at least one of a guide and a mark used to align the first substrate and the second substrate in order to properly positioning the substrates (para [0008] last sentence).
Conclusion
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/ROBERTO FABIAN JR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2877
/Kara E. Geisel/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2877
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