Texas Instruments Incorporated

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

May 29, 2020

14671727 - (D) (P.T.A.B. May. 29, 2020)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
14/671,727 03/27/2015 Reynaldo Corpuz Javier TI-75615 5200
23494 7590 05/29/2020
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
P O BOX 655474, MS 3999
DALLAS, TX 75265
EXAMINER
SEFER, AHMED N
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2893
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
05/29/2020 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
uspto@ti.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte REYNALDO CORPUZ JAVIER, ALOK KUMAR LOHIA,
and ANDY QUANG TRAN

Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727
Technology Center 2800
____________

Before JEFFREY T. SMITH, JAMES C. HOUSEL, and
MICHAEL G. McMANUS, Administrative Patent Judges.

McMANUS, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 134(a), Appellant1 seeks review of the
Examiner’s decision to reject claims 20 and 21. We have jurisdiction under
35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We reverse.

1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in
37 C.F.R. § 1.42. Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Texas
Instruments Incorporated. Appeal Brief dated Aug. 14, 2018 (“Appeal Br.”)
3.
Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727

2
CLAIMED SUBJECT MATTER

The present application relates to an integrated circuit (IC) package as
follows:
The IC package includes a thermal pad having a top surface and
a bottom surface and at least one peripheral surface portion
extending transversely of and continuously with the bottom
surface. The IC package also includes a layer of mold
compound through which the bottom surface and the at least
one peripheral surface are exposed.

Spec. ¶ 2. The application further relates to a method of inspecting a solder
bond that connects the thermal pad of an IC package to a printed circuit
board. Id. ¶ 3. Figure 5 of the Drawings, reproduced below, is illustrative.

Figure 5 shows a top isometric view of exposed pad integrated circuit
package 110. Id. ¶ 25. The Specification teaches that the thermal pad “has
an upwardly extending front flange 122 with an exposed front surface 123.”
Id. The Specification additionally teaches that “[a] solder fillet 148 is
formed . . . where the solder has wicked up the front surface 123 of the front
flange 123.” Id. ¶ 29.
Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727

3
Claim 20 is the sole independent claim at issue. It is reproduced
below with certain portions bolded for emphasis:
20. A method of inspecting a solder fillet bonding a thermal pad
of an exposed pad IC package to a printed circuit board
comprising:
providing the exposed pad IC package having the thermal pad
bonded by the solder fillet to the a printed circuit board; and
optically inspecting the solder fillet.
Appeal Br. 10 (Claims App.).

DISCUSSION
The Examiner maintains the rejection of claims 20 and 21 under
35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) as anticipated by Koschmieder (US 2014/0151865 Al,
published June 5, 2014). Non-Final Action dated Apr. 12, 2018 (“Non-Final
Act.”) 2–3. In support of the rejection, the Examiner finds that
“Kos[c]hmieder discloses in [F]ig. 2 a method of inspecting a solder fillet
(e.g.[,] element 285) bonding a thermal pad (e.g.[,] element 244) of an
exposed pad IC package to a printed circuit board (e.g.[,] element 220).” Id.
at 3. Figure 2 of Koschmieder is reproduced below.

Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727

4
Figure 2 depicts a semiconductor device mounted to a printed circuit board.
Koschmieder ¶ 28. Koschmieder teaches that “semiconductor device
package 210 can be a QFN package having electrical contacts 230 and 240.”
Id.
Appellant argues that Koschmieder does not teach a solder fillet
bonding a thermal pad to a printed circuit board. Appeal Br. 6–7. Appellant
contends that Koschmieder teaches only that contacts 230, 240 are bonded to
a printed circuit board. Id. Appellant asserts that these contacts are not
thermal pads. Id. Appellant contends that the “thermal pad” of claim 20 is
analogous to the die pad 310 of Figures 3 and 4 and die pad 1130 of Figure
11 “because the claimed ‘thermal pad’ is coupled to a die 130 (paragraph
0027; FIG. 8) and the die pads 310 and 1130 of Koschmieder are also
coupled to a semiconductor device die.” Id. at 6.
In the Answer, the Examiner determines that element 244 of
Koschmieder is equivalent to the thermal pad of the claims. Examiner’s
Answer dated Dec. 5, 2018 (“Answer”), 3. The Examiner states as follows:
any thermally conductive pad would read on the claimed
“thermal pad” and there is nothing in Applicant’s disclosure to
suggest otherwise or exclude Koschmieder’s element 244 from
functioning as a thermal pad. . . . [Further,] the pad[s] 234/244
are reasonably considered thermal pads and heat from the die
will be conducted through the pad[s] 234/244 and into the PC
board where it dissipates.

Answer 3. Thus, the Examiner and Appellant differ as to the proper
construction of the term “thermal pad.”
The Specification uses the term “thermal pad” a number of times. See
Spec., generally. We have abstracted a number of these uses (emphasis
added) as follows:
Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727

5
Fig. 3 is a top isometric view of a thermal pad 12 and leads 18.
Id. ¶ 21.

A die 20 having a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24 is
bonded by a solder layer 28 to the top surface 14 of the thermal
pad 12. Id.

Front and rear tie bars 30 each have proximal ends 32 attached
to the thermal pad 12. Id. ¶ 22.

Thermal pad 118 has an upwardly extending front flange 122
with an exposed front surface 123. Id. ¶ 25.

A top surface 142 of the PC board 140 has a metal pattern
thereon including a large central metal pad portion 144 that
corresponds in length and width to the thermal pad 118 of the
IC package 110. Id. ¶ 28.

The method includes, as shown at block 401, attaching a die to
a top surface of a thermal pad. Id. ¶ 38.

Thus, the Specification consistently differentiates between the “thermal pad
12” and the “leads 18.” Further, the Specification consistently uses the term
“thermal pad” to mean the structure on which the integrated circuit (die) is
placed. Accordingly, we determine that the contacts (leads) 234 and 244 of
Koschmieder do not fall within the ambit of the term “thermal pad.” As a
consequence, we determine that Koschmieder does not teach each element
of claim 20. Because the Examiner relies upon the same reasoning in the
rejection of dependent claim 21, we similarly determine that Koschmieder
does not teach each element of claim 21.

Appeal 2019-004424
Application 14/671,727

6
CONCLUSION

The Examiner’s rejection is reversed.
In summary:
Claims
Rejected
35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed
20, 21 102(a)(2) Koschmieder 20, 21

REVERSED