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) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okumura et al.(JP 2020-119915) as evidenced by Specific Heat Capacity of Metals Table Chart(www.engineersedge.com/materials/specific_heat_capacity_of_metals_13259.htm), Density of metals(www.theworldmaterial.com/density-of-metals/) and Thermal Conductivity of Metals and Alloys: data table(www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-metals-d_858.html) in view of JP 2022529360A.
Okumura et al. discloses a method and apparatus for fixing a resin substrate which has a conductive paste on it onto a support(64) and baking it to form a conductive pattern. The support can be copper(machine translation) While the reference does not disclose the specific heat capacity or thermal conductivity, Specific Heat Capacity of Metals Table Chart discloses that the specific heat capacity of copper is 376 J/(kg K) and Density of metals discloses that copper has a density of 8930 kg/m3, which means copper has a thermal capacity of 376*8930/1000 or 3357 kJ/m3K. Thermal Conductivity of Metals teaches that copper as a thermal conductivity of at least 300 W/mK. Both of these meet applicant’s claimed range. Therefore Okumura et al. teaches a fixing plate with a thermal capacity of 3000 kJ/m3K or more and a thermal conductivity of 45 W/mK or more. The reference does not disclose the specific type of heat used. JP 2022529360A discloses that using near infrared can result in a pattern on materials that cannot withstand conventional sintering and which can be sintered in seconds.(machine translation) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of filing to use near infrared heating in Okumura et al. as taught by JP 2022529360A since this is faster than other types of sintering and allows use of substrates which cannot withstand conventional sintering. A plate is considered to be a thin flat strip.
Regarding claims 2 and 6, JP 2022529360A discloses the near infrared is in the range of 780-2500nm.(0.78-2.5 microns)
Regarding claims 3, 4, and 7-12, Okumura et al. discloses the substate is fixed to the support using an adhesive.(machine translation)
Conclusion
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BARBARA J. MUSSER
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1746
/BARBARA J MUSSER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746