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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/03/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
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 1-11 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitations “said photonic component” in line 5, 9, 13 and 14. They render the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the product of this method includes one photonic component or multiple photonic components, since the claim recites “photonic components” in lines 1-2 above. For the compact prosecution, Examiner has interpreted that the product of this method includes one or more photonic components.
The remaining dependent claims 2-11 are also rejected under 112 (b) because they depend from, and thus include all the limitations of rejected claim 1.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 7, 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN102270712B_Machine Translation provided herewith) in view of Yu (CN204737064U-of record_ Machine Translation provided herewith) and Inoue (US 4,678,420). Additional supporting evidence provided herewith by Cheremisinoff (“Condensed Encyclopedia of Polymer Engineering Terms”, 2001, pages 200-255).
With respect to claim 1, Chen teaches a method for manufacturing an embedded optics for photonic components (“LED (Light-Emitting Diode) vacuum encapsulating method”, Abstract; “The LED encapsulation described in this invention involves encapsulating the LED chip with encapsulating adhesive. After encapsulation, an arc-shaped adhesive is formed on the surface of the LED chip, which acts as a lens.”, Pa [0055]), said photonic components (“the LED chip”, Pa [0055]) being suitable for emitting or capturing an electromagnetic radiation of a given frequency, said photonic component being on a physical carrier (“substrate 8”, Pa [0051]), wherein the method uses a containment structure (“the molding mold 8”, Pa [0048]) comprising a cavity, suitable for being filled with said material, where said cavity is open (“Use glue injection equipment to pre-inject the required amount of glue into the molding mold 8.”, Pa [0048]), and a support structure (“the drive motor 2”), suitable for supporting said physical carrier on said cavity such that said photonic component is inside said cavity (“the drive motor 2 applies pressure to the substrate 3 to press the injected encapsulating glue.”, Pa [0049]), where when said physical carrier is supported by said support structure, said cavity is partially open (Fig. 1), where said method comprises the following steps:
[b] positioning said physical carrier with said photonic component on said support structure, such that said photonic component is inside said cavity and said cavity being partially open (Fig. 1),
[c] filling said cavity with said molten material in a filling unit (“an upper mold 1 and a lower mold 7”, Pa [0038]) (“Use glue injection equipment to pre-inject the required amount of glue into the molding mold 8.”, Pa [0048]),
[e] ejecting said photonic component, coated with said thermoplastic material, from said cavity (“open the upper mold 1, lift the substrate 3, and the encapsulating adhesive adheres to the surface of the substrate 3, thus completing the LED encapsulation process.”, Pa [0051]).
Chen teaches the encapsulating adhesive for acting as a lens (Pa [0055]), but does not explicitly teach said optics being made of a thermoplastic material with a melting temperature Tm, a thermostatted cavity, [a] melting said thermoplastic material, in [c], where said thermostatted cavity is kept at a temperature Tc greater than Tm during the step of filling said thermostatted cavity by means of a temperature control system, [d] once said thermostatted cavity is filled, cooling said thermostatted cavity below said Tm, and in [e] ejecting said photonic component by means of ejectors.
In the same field of endeavor, encapsulating LED, Yu teaches that in the current technology, LED encapsulation is also completed using vacuum packaging machines and the main LED encapsulation materials are polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate and other highly transparent materials (Pa [0004]). Yu further teaches that a vacuum packaging machine control system for encapsulating LEDs includes a microprocessor control circuit board, the output of the microprocessor control circuit board is connected to a vacuum solenoid valve, a heat-sealing solenoid valve, and a temperature control circuit for controlling the heat-sealing temperature, the temperature control circuit is connected to a heating element, which is in close contact with the air bladder of the vacuum chamber, the heat-sealing solenoid valve is located on the gas path connecting the air bladder to the atmosphere, and the vacuum solenoid valve is connected to a vacuum pump (Pa [0008]) such that the system can adjust the vacuuming time, heat sealing time and heat sealing temperature of the vacuum packaging machine, so as to achieve better LED encapsulation effect (Pa [0012]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen with the teachings of Yu to substitute polycarbonate or polymethyl methacrylate for the encapsulating adhesive, and to provide a microprocessor control circuit board, valves and a temperature control circuit for the purpose of controlling heat sealing temperature of the vacuum packaging machine so as to achieve better LED encapsulation effect. Furthermore, since polycarbonate and polymethyl methacrylate are thermoplastic materials, one would have found it obvious to melt said thermoplastic material to make it in a liquid state before filling, and control the temperature of the cavity to at least Tm or higher by the temperature control circuit during the step of filling to prevent the material from hardening, and cooling the cavity below the Tm in order to harden the thermoplastic material.
In the same field of endeavor, injection molding, Inoue teaches that when and each time a given molding cycle is finished, the controller 5 commands the motor drive unit 41 to remove the upper mold 28 upwards to a given stand by position, and then actuates an ejector (not shown) to discharge the molded product out of the lower mold 29 in a known manner (co 4 li 49-54).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen in view of Yu with the teachings of Inoue to provide ejectors in order to discharge the molded product out of the mold.
With respect to claim 2, Yu as applied to the combination regarding claim 1 above teaches that said filling unit is a controlled temperature and atmosphere gas unit (“a vacuum packaging machine control system for encapsulating LEDs includes a microprocessor control circuit board, the output of the microprocessor control circuit board is connected to a vacuum solenoid valve, a heat-sealing solenoid valve”, Pa [0008]).
With respect to claim 3, Yu as applied to the combination regarding claim 2 above further teaches that vacuum packaging machines can automatically extract air from packaging bags and seal them after reaching a predetermined vacuum level, and alternatively, nitrogen or other mixed gases can be added before sealing (Pa [0004]). Thus one would have found it obvious to modify the system to add nitrogen or other mixed gases before sealing for the purpose of encapsulating LED. Furthermore, one would have found it obvious to control the temperature of the gas to at least Tm or higher in order to prevent the material from hardening.
With respect to claim 5, Chen as applied to claim 1 above further teaches using glue injection equipment to pre-inject the required amount of glue into the molding mold 8 (Pa [0048]), but does not explicitly teach that said step [a] of melting said thermoplastic material is performed in an autonomous material dispensing unit.
Inoue as applied in the combination regarding claim 1 above further teaches that an injection molding machine comprises a feeder for dispensing a plastic predecessor material; a barrel means having a screwed ram rotationally disposed in a heated cylinder for plasticizing the material from the feeder and extruding through an outlet nozzle of the cylinder a melt of the plasticized material to be injected and packed into a mold cavity (co 1 li li 38-44).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen in view of Yu with the teachings of Inoue to substitute the feeder and barrel means for the glue injection equipment for the purpose of plasticizing the material from the feeder and extruding through an outlet nozzle of the cylinder a melt of the plasticized material to be injected and packed into a mold cavity.
With respect to claim 7, Chen as applied to claim 1 above further teaches that said filling unit has an inlet area and an outlet area suitable for allowing the entry and exit, respectively, of said containment structure (“The upper mold 1 and the lower mold 7 are fastened together, and the upper mold 1 and the lower mold 7 are sealed by a sealing gasket 4 to ensure that the mold cavity 9 is a vacuum environment after the air is extracted.”, Pa [0038]).
With respect to claim 10, Yu as applied to the combination regarding claim 1 above teaches that the thermoplastic material is polycarbonate (Pa [0004]). Additional supporting evidence provided herewith by Cheremisinoff teaches that the melting temperature of PC is 225 °C (pg 228-229). One would have found it obvious to control the temperature of the cavity to 225 °C or higher by the temperature control circuit during the step of filling to prevent the material from hardening. In the case where claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
With respect to claim 11, Yu as applied to the combination regarding claim 1 above teaches that the thermoplastic material is polymethylmethacrylate (Pa [0004]). Additional supporting evidence provided herewith by Cheremisinoff teaches that the heat deflection temperatures range of PMMA is from 165 to 212 °F (from 73.9 to 100 °C)(pg 217). One would have found it obvious to control the temperature of the cavity to a range from 165 to 212 °F or higher by the temperature control circuit during the step of filling to prevent the material from hardening. In the case where claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. (See MPEP 2144.05 (I)).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN102270712B_Machine Translation provided herewith) in view of Yu (CN204737064U-of record_ Machine Translation provided herewith) and Inoue (US 4,678,420) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Venrooij (US 2008/0277825).
With respect to claim 4, the combination as applied to claim 1 above does not explicitly teach that said step [d] is performed in a cooling unit.
In the same field of endeavor, a method for encapsulating electronic components mounted on a carrier, Venrooij teaches that during processing step D) (curing the encapsulating material in the mould cavity), it is also possible to envisage the mould cavity being actively cooled (Abstract and Pa [0012]) by cooling means (Pa [0014], [0015]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combination with the teachings of Venrooij to provide the cooling means in order to actively cool the mould cavity during hardening the thermoplastic material.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN102270712B_Machine Translation provided herewith) in view of Yu (CN204737064U-of record_ Machine Translation provided herewith) and Inoue (US 4,678,420) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Mukerji et al. (US 5,614,131).
With respect to claim 6, Chen as applied to claim 1 above further teaches using glue injection equipment to pre-inject the required amount of glue into the molding mold 8 (Pa [0048]), but does not explicitly teach that said step [c] of filling said thermostatted cavity with said molten thermoplastic material is performed by gravity.
In the same field of endeavor, a method of forming an optoelectronic device encapsulated in a cast polymer, Mukerji teaches that a polymer 60 is dispensed into cavity 16 through opening 36 to at least fill all of cavity 16 up to bottom surface 32 and 35 of substrates 30 and 33. Polymer 60 is dispensed from any suitable dispenser 50, such as a syringe or other dispensing means (co 3 li 8-13 and Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen in view of Yu with the teachings of Mukerji to dispense the material above the cavity by the glue injection equipment in order to fill the cavity.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (CN102270712B_Machine Translation provided herewith) in view of Yu (CN204737064U-of record_ Machine Translation provided herewith) and Inoue (US 4,678,420) as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Uchida et al. (US 2013/0334557).
With respect to claim 8, Chen as applied to claim 1 above further teaches said physical carrier (“substrate 3”), but the combination does not explicitly teach that said physical carrier comprises at least one hole and in said step [c] of filling said thermostatted cavity, said molten thermoplastic material exits said thermostatted cavity through said hole, forming a head suitable for retaining said optics on said physical carrier.
In the same field of endeavor, a method for producing the molded body of a light-emitting device, Uchida teaches that the method includes coating the composition on a substrate or filling it in a mold (Pa [0080]), and the light-emitting device 100 in Fig. 1 comprises the LED chip 10, the lead electrode 12, the cup 14, and the sealing materials 16 and 17 (Pa [0084]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen with the teachings of Uchida to substitute the LED chip 10, the lead electrode 12 and the cup 14 for the substrate for the purpose of producing the molded body of a light-emitting device. In this modification, since there is a gap between the lead electrode, the molten thermoplastic material would exit said cavity through said hole, forming a head suitable for retaining said optics on said physical carrier.
With respect to claim 9, Yu as applied in the combination regarding the claim 1 above teaches that the main LED encapsulation materials are polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate and other highly transparent materials (Pa [0004]), but does not explicitly teach that said thermoplastic material is cyclic olefin polymer and said temperature Tc is comprised between 100° C. and 420° C.
In the same field of endeavor, a method for producing the molded body of a light-emitting device, Uchida teaches that the method includes coating the composition on a substrate or filling it in a mold (Pa [0080]), and the composition contains a quantum dot fluorescent body and which can suppress quenching of the quantum dot fluorescent body (Pa [0012]), and the composition comprises a cycloolefin (co)polymer (Pa [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Chen in view of Yu with the teachings of Uchida to substitute the composition for the encapsulation material in order to produce a molded body of a quantum dot fluorescent body dispersion resin. Furthermore, one would have found it obvious to control the temperature of the cavity to at least Tm or higher by the temperature control circuit during the step of filling in order to prevent the material from hardening.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUNJU KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-1146. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-4:00 EST M-Th; Flexing Fri.
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/YUNJU KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1742
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