Appeal No. 1998-0096
Application No. 08/518,182
bonding process for bonding solder bumps of an IC element to
those of another IC element or to the TAB leads. Appellants
have argued that "[a]lthough Chun describes the use of tape
automated bonding it is used in combination with a solder to
form the bond" (Brief, page 37). We agree with appellants.
We perceive no reason why one of ordinary skill in the art
would have been motivated to substitute Chun’s solder bumps
for Fujimoto’s polymer bumps, utilizing the tape automated
bonding process. Even assuming arguendo that there was
motivation for such a substitution, the device resulting from
the combined prior art references would have been different
from the claimed invention because the composite bumps would
have been made of solder rather than polymer as claimed.
Accordingly, we do not sustain the obviousness rejection
of claims 21 through 24 based on the combination of Fujimoto
and Chun, or in the alternative, the combination of Fujimoto,
Saito (JP4-6841) and Chun.
Nor do we sustain the obviousness rejection of claims 31
through 33, which depend ultimately from claim 21, as being
unpatentable over the combination of Fujimoto, Chun and
Tsukagoshi, or in the alternative, over the combination of
39
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