Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Application No. 19/130,246

ANISOTROPIC CONDUCTIVE FILM, METHOD FOR PRODUCING ELECTRONIC COMPONENT, AND CARD LAMINATE

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
May 15, 2025
Priority
Nov 24, 2022 — JP 2022-187515 +2 more
Examiner
JOHNSON, SONJI N
Art Unit
2876
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
DEXerials Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
75%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
11m
Est. Remaining
96%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 75% — above average
75%
Career Allowance Rate
594 granted / 796 resolved
+6.6% vs TC avg
Strong +21% interview lift
Without
With
+21.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
824
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.3%
-36.7% vs TC avg
§103
48.7%
+8.7% vs TC avg
§102
29.3%
-10.7% vs TC avg
§112
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 796 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 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) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ODAKA EP Publication No. EP 3975049 cited by Applicant. Re Claim 1, ODAKA discloses an anisotropic conductive film comprising: a solder particle that is a non-eutectic alloy or an eutectic alloy; and a thermoplastic resin, and a viscosity of the solder particle at a solidus temperature is 1,000 to 100,000 Pa*s (P24, P29, P30, P31, , P38, P41, P43, P52, P59-60, P77-P78. . ODAKA fails to disclose wherein an area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, ODAKA discloses Insufficient blending amount of the solder particles will degrade the conductivity, and excessive blending amount of the solder particles will make adhesive force insufficient and tend to degrade the insulation property (P45). ODAKA discloses materials a polyamide-/polyester-type thermoplastic binder having a density of about 1.1 g/cm³ and an Sn-Bi solder having a density of about 8.5 g/cm³, the solder volume fraction corresponding to D1's mass ratio is given by: A volume fraction = (m_solder / p_solder) / [(m_solder / p_solder) + (m_binder / p_binder)]. Applying this formula to D1's preferred mass ratios per 100 parts by mass of binder gives: ODAKA more preferred mass by binder gives more preferably 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder at 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA more preferred lower bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 9.4%; at 300 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA’ s more preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 28%; at 500 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, corresponding to ODAKA’s broader preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 39%. ODAKA further discloses discloses that the average particle diameter of the solder particles is preferably 70% or more, more preferably 80% or more, and still more preferably 95% or more of the thickness of the conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet (P47), the plan view area ratio of the solder particles is of the same order as the calculated volume fraction . Thus ODAKA discloses that the area ratio of approximates 9 to 20% and ODAKA’s preferred range extends the working region up to approximately 39%. Which lies within the claimed range 8 to 50 percent. Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the claimed invention for the area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art , discovering the optimum or workable range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Alier, USPQ 233. Re Claim 2, ODAKA discloses a method for producing an electronic component, the method comprising: interposing an anisotropic conductive film that comprises a solder particle that is a non-eutectic alloy or an eutectic alloy, and a thermoplastic resin, and has a viscosity of the solder particle at a solidus temperature of 1,000 to 100,000 Pa*s between an opaque first electronic component and an opaque second electronic component; and bonding the first electronic component and the second electronic component by hot press-bonding (P4, P6, P16, P20, P24, P29, P30, P31, , P38, P41, P43, P52, P59-60, P77-P78). ODAKA fails to disclose wherein an area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, ODAKA discloses Insufficient blending amount of the solder particles will degrade the conductivity, and excessive blending amount of the solder particles will make adhesive force insufficient and tend to degrade the insulation property (P45). ODAKA discloses materials a polyamide-/polyester-type thermoplastic binder having a density of about 1.1 g/cm³ and an Sn-Bi solder having a density of about 8.5 g/cm³, the solder volume fraction corresponding to D1's mass ratio is given by: A volume fraction = (m_solder / p_solder) / [(m_solder / p_solder) + (m_binder / p_binder)]. Applying this formula to D1's preferred mass ratios per 100 parts by mass of binder gives: ODAKA more preferred mass by binder gives more preferably 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder at 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA more preferred lower bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 9.4%; at 300 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA’ s more preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 28%; at 500 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, corresponding to ODAKA’s broader preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 39%. ODAKA further discloses that the average particle diameter of the solder particles is preferably 70% or more, more preferably 80% or more, and still more preferably 95% or more of the thickness of the conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet (P47), the plan view area ratio of the solder particles is of the same order as the calculated volume fraction . Thus ODAKA discloses that the area ratio of approximates 9 to 20% and ODAKA’s preferred range extends the working region up to approximately 39%. Which lies within the claimed range 8 to 50 percent. Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the claimed invention for the area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art , discovering the optimum or workable range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Alier, USPQ 233. Re Claim 3, ODAKA discloses the method for producing an electronic component according to claim 2, wherein the electronic component is a dual interface card (P13). Re Claim 4, ODAKA discloses the method for producing an electronic component according to claim 2, wherein the first electronic component is a biometric sensor (P13). Re Claim 5, ODAKA discloses a card laminate, comprising: a first electronic component; a second electronic component; a base substrate having the second electronic component disposed (P13) ; and an anisotropic conductive film that comprises a solder particle that is a non-eutectic alloy or an eutectic alloy, and a thermoplastic resin, and has a viscosity of the solder particle at a solidus temperature of 1,000 to 100,000 Pa*s, wherein the first electronic component and the second electronic component are bonded by the anisotropic conductive film. (P4, P6, P16, P20, P24, P29, P30, P31, , P38, P41, P43, P52, P59-60, P77-P78). ODAKA fails to disclose wherein an area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, ODAKA discloses Insufficient blending amount of the solder particles will degrade the conductivity, and excessive blending amount of the solder particles will make adhesive force insufficient and tend to degrade the insulation property (P45). ODAKA discloses materials a polyamide-/polyester-type thermoplastic binder having a density of about 1.1 g/cm³ and an Sn-Bi solder having a density of about 8.5 g/cm³, the solder volume fraction corresponding to D1's mass ratio is given by: A volume fraction = (m_solder / p_solder) / [(m_solder / p_solder) + (m_binder / p_binder)]. Applying this formula to D1's preferred mass ratios per 100 parts by mass of binder gives: ODAKA more preferred mass by binder gives more preferably 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder at 80 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA more preferred lower bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 9.4%; at 300 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, equivalent to ODAKA’ s more preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 28%; at 500 parts of solder per 100 parts of binder, corresponding to ODAKA’s broader preferred upper bound, the solder volume fraction is approximately 39%. ODAKA further discloses that the average particle diameter of the solder particles is preferably 70% or more, more preferably 80% or more, and still more preferably 95% or more of the thickness of the conductive particle-containing hot-melt adhesive sheet (P47), the plan view area ratio of the solder particles is of the same order as the calculated volume fraction . Thus ODAKA discloses that the area ratio of approximates 9 to 20% and ODAKA’s preferred range extends the working region up to approximately 39%. Which lies within the claimed range 8 to 50 percent. Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective fling date of the claimed invention for the area ratio of the solder particle is 8 to 50%, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art , discovering the optimum or workable range involves only routine skill in the art. In re Alier, USPQ 233. Re Claim 6, ODAKA discloses the card laminate according to claim 5, wherein the first electronic component is a biometric sensor (P13). Conclusion The following reference is cited but not relied upon: Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SONJI N JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5266. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-9pm. 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, Steven Paik can be reached at 5712722404. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. SONJI N. JOHNSON Examiner Art Unit 2876 /SONJI N JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 15, 2025
Application Filed
Oct 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
75%
Grant Probability
96%
With Interview (+21.1%)
2y 4m (~11m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 796 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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