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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: numeral 14 shown in fig. 2. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation - 35 USC § 112
Claim limitations “transport means for receiving” (claim 23), “means for producing a negative pressure”, “means for twisting” (claim 26) have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses a non-structural term “means” coupled with functional language “for receiving” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function.
Since the claim limitations invokes 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claims 23-26 are interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation: conveyor belt as transport means (pg. 6), vacuum as means for producing negative pressure (pg. 9) and no corresponding structure is disclosed as means for twisting.
If Applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If Applicant does not wish to have the claim limitation treated under 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim so that it will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance with 35 U.S.C. § 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 14-22 and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Birgel (WO 2021/170338 A1, see attached document, hereafter “Birgel”).
Regarding claim 14, Birgel discloses a method for separating an assembly [0003], wherein the assembly includes at least one component 4 and a circuit board 3 (fig. 1), wherein the at least one component is connected to the circuit board by at least one solder connection 5 (fig. 1a), the method comprising: performing a thermal conditioning of the at least one solder connection, including: heating the at least one solder connection (fig. 2, [0018]); and after the step of heating, cooling the at least one solder connection with a cooling rate such that the at least one solder connection is solid (fig. 1b), wherein the cooling rate is greater than 6°C/s [0019, 0029-0030]; and separating the at least one component from the circuit board by an action of a force such that a brittle fracture of the at least one solder connection occurs (fig. 1c, [0020, 0033-0034]).
As to claims 15-16, Birgel discloses that a cooling rate of greater than 10°C/s (meets > 8°C/s) is used, wherein the cooling rate is set by supplying a liquid medium (liquid nitrogen) to the at least one solder connection [0029-0030].
As to claims 17-18, Birgel discloses that the at least one component is separated from the circuit board by twisting or bending of the circuit board, ultrasound, or free fall in a fall device, wherein the force of less than 40 N is applied for separation (fig. 4; [0039, 0054-0057]).
Regarding claim 19, Birgel discloses a system for separating an assembly (figs. 1-4, [0003]), wherein the assembly includes at least one component and a circuit board, wherein the at least one component 4 is connected to the circuit board 3 by at least one solder connection 5 (fig. 1a), the system comprising: a heating region that is embodied to heat the at least one solder connection (fig. 2, [0018]); a cooling region that is embodied to cool the at least one solder connection after the heating region to assure that the at least one solder connection is solid (fig. 1b), wherein the cooling rate is greater than 60C/s [0019, 0029-0030]; and a separating region that is embodied to separate the at least one component from the circuit board by of an action of a force such that a brittle fracture of the at least one solder connection occurs (figs. 1c, 4; [0020, 0033-0034]).
As to claims 20-21, Birgel shows that the heating region includes at least one heating element and the cooling region includes at least one heat exchanger (figs. 1-2); examiner also notes that broad term ‘region’ not limited by any size.
As to claim 22, Birgel discloses that the cooling region includes an opening by which a liquid medium (liquid N2) is supplied to the cooling region [0030]. It is also noted particular colling medium does not structurally limit the apparatus/system.
As to claims 25-26, Birgel discloses that the separating region includes a separating means that exerts the force on the at least one solder connection, wherein the separating means is an ultrasonic device 22, a fall device 8 or a means for bending/twisting the circuit board (fig. 4; [0039, 0054-0057]).
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.
Claims 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Birgel as applied to claim 19 above and in view of Moltion (US 7703197).
As to claim 23, Birgel is silent with regard to transport means for carrying the assembly through the removal process. However, examiner takes official notice with respect to this feature since such mechanism is well-known in the art, as evidenced by Moltion. Moltion (also directed to recovering components from the circuit board- col. 1, lines 5-10) teaches it is known in prior art to transport circuit boards through the disassembly apparatus (see Background- col. 1, lines 23-33). Moltion also employs conveyor 110 to carry the circuit board through the disassembly apparatus 100 (fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to utilize any suitable conveyor for carrying the assembly through the removal process in Birgel since such transport mechanism is common knowledge in the art.
As to claim 24, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to transport the circuit board and removed component separately after the separation region in the removal process of Birgel in order to guide the parts to designated collection areas downstream.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/25 complies with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEVANG R PATEL whose telephone number is (571) 270-3636. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, EST.
To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/laws/interview-practice. Communications via Internet email are at the discretion of Applicant. If Applicant wishes to communicate via email, a written authorization form must be filed by Applicant: Form PTO/SB/439, available at www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The form may be filed via the Patent Center and can be found using the document description Internet Communications, see https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/forms. In limited circumstances, the Applicant may make an oral authorization for Internet communication. See MPEP § 502.03.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Walker can be reached on 571-272-3458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Center. For more information, see https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. For questions, technical issues or troubleshooting, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at ebc@uspto.gov or 1-866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/DEVANG R PATEL/
Primary Examiner, AU 1735
