Patent 9823272

Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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Prior art

Earlier patents, publications, and products that may anticipate or render the claims unpatentable.

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To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 9,823,272, I will examine the "Citations (9)" section provided in the patent text, as these are the references deemed relevant by the patent examiner during prosecution. Prior art is information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims. For each listed patent citation, I will extract the requested information and analyze its potential to anticipate the claims of US9823272B2 under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Here's an analysis of the patent citations listed in US Patent 9,823,272:

Cited Prior Art References:

  1. US20050035775A1

    • Full Citation: US20050035775A1 (Yu Zhou)
    • Publication Date: February 17, 2005
    • Priority Date: August 13, 2003
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a probe contact system using a flexible printed circuit board. It focuses on maintaining stable contact between probes and a device under test (DUT) with varying heights, often employing spring elements or elastic layers to accommodate the variations.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference potentially anticipates aspects of Claim 1 related to the use of a flexible circuit board electrically connected to a printed circuit board, and an elastic piece to provide support for probes contacting a DUT. Specifically, the concept of a flexible circuit board interacting with an elastic element to facilitate contact and signal transmission is present. The distinct features of Claim 1, such as the probes moving up and down through a probe head fixed on the printed circuit board, and the specific physical spacing where the elastic piece is incapable of contacting the probes, would need closer comparison to determine full anticipation.

  2. US20060125501A1

    • Full Citation: US20060125501A1 (Chipmos Technologies (Bermuda) Ltd.)
    • Publication Date: June 15, 2006
    • Priority Date: December 15, 2004
    • Brief Description: This patent application discloses a modularized probe head for a probe card, emphasizing the interchangeability of probe modules.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference primarily anticipates the concept of replaceable or modular probes, which is a stated advantage of US9823272B2 in its description ("when one of the probes 160 is damaged, only damaged probe 160 may be replaced, without replacing the whole probe unit 140"). This could potentially anticipate aspects of Claim 1 related to the plurality of probes and their relative movement, as well as broader implications of repairability mentioned in the detailed description. However, the specific structural arrangement of US9823272B2's probe unit with the elastic piece and flexible circuit board as defined in Claim 1 would need detailed comparison.

  3. US20070108996A1

    • Full Citation: US20070108996A1 (Takashi Amemiya)
    • Publication Date: May 17, 2007
    • Priority Date: November 11, 2005
    • Brief Description: This reference describes a probing apparatus and method for adjusting the probing apparatus, focusing on the precision of contact and alignment of probes to a device under test.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While focusing on precision and adjustment, this patent might touch upon elements like the probe head and the interaction of probes with a DUT, which are general concepts in probe cards. However, without a more specific description of its structural components being identical to Claim 1, it's less likely to directly anticipate the unique combination of the flexible circuit board, elastic piece, and movable probes as claimed in US9823272B2. It may offer general teaching relevant to probe card design.

  4. US20070152689A1

    • Full Citation: US20070152689A1 (Chipmos Technologies (Bermuda) Ltd.)
    • Publication Date: July 5, 2007
    • Priority Date: January 3, 2006
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a modular probe card. Similar to US20060125501A1, it emphasizes the modularity of probe units.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US20060125501A1, this reference's focus on modularity could potentially anticipate the repairability aspect of US9823272B2. However, it's unlikely to anticipate the specific structural interaction of the flexible circuit board, elastic piece, and probes as defined in Claim 1 of US9823272B2 without further detailed comparison.

  5. US20070182431A1

    • Full Citation: US20070182431A1 (Tokyo Electron Limited)
    • Publication Date: August 9, 2007
    • Priority Date: February 3, 2006
    • Brief Description: This reference details a probe card and a probe device, likely discussing the construction and function of probes and their integration into a card for testing.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference would require a detailed review to assess its relevance. If it discloses a probe card with a printed circuit board, a flexible circuit board, an elastic element, and movable probes in a configuration similar to Claim 1, it could be highly anticipatory. General descriptions of probe cards, however, would not be sufficient to fully anticipate the specific combination of elements and their interactions as claimed in US9823272B2.

  6. US20100001752A1

    • Full Citation: US20100001752A1 (Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.)
    • Publication Date: January 7, 2010
    • Priority Date: July 31, 2006
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes a parallelism adjusting mechanism of a probe card, focusing on ensuring all probes make proper contact with the DUT.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is less likely to directly anticipate the core structural elements of Claim 1 of US9823272B2, as its primary focus is on the adjustment mechanism for probes rather than the fundamental construction of the probe card itself with the flexible circuit board and elastic piece interaction. While good parallelism is a desired outcome in any probe card, this patent may not disclose the means to achieve it in the manner claimed by US9823272B2.

  7. CN101036060B

    • Full Citation: CN101036060B (FORMFACTOR, INC.)
    • Publication Date: January 19, 2011
    • Priority Date: August 31, 2004
    • Brief Description: This Chinese patent describes a method of designing a probe card apparatus with desired compliance characteristics. Compliance refers to the ability of the probes to move and conform to the surface of the DUT.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference, particularly with its focus on "compliance characteristics," could be highly relevant to Claim 1, especially the role of the "elastic piece" in absorbing forces and allowing probes to move. If the method of design inherently leads to a structure comprising a flexible circuit board, an elastic piece, and movable probes where the elastic piece absorbs forces and is spaced from the probes, it could anticipate elements of Claim 1. A detailed review of the Chinese patent's disclosure would be necessary to confirm the structural aspects.

  8. CN202102019U

    • Full Citation: CN202102019U (YINGWEI SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.)
    • Publication Date: January 4, 2012
    • Priority Date: May 3, 2011
    • Brief Description: This Chinese utility model describes a test probe card.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Without access to the full content of this utility model, it is difficult to provide a specific assessment. As a "test probe card," it inherently relates to the same field as US9823272B2. If it discloses the specific combination of a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, an elastic piece between them, and a probe unit with movable probes where the elastic piece is spaced from the probes and absorbs forces, it could directly anticipate Claim 1.

  9. US20120319711A1

    • Full Citation: US20120319711A1 (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.)
    • Publication Date: December 20, 2012
    • Priority Date: June 17, 2011
    • Brief Description: This patent application describes probe head formation methods employing a guide plate raising assembly mechanism, related to the manufacturing and assembly of probe heads.
    • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference focuses on the method of forming a probe head and its assembly mechanism. While it deals with probe heads, it's less likely to directly anticipate the structural features of Claim 1 of US9823272B2 concerning the interaction of the flexible circuit board, elastic piece, and probes. It might be relevant to the general art of probe head construction, but probably not to the specific inventive combination of elements in Claim 1.

Summary of Most Relevant Prior Art:

Based on the brief descriptions, US20050035775A1 (Yu Zhou) and CN101036060B (FORMFACTOR, INC.) appear to be the most relevant, as they both explicitly mention flexible circuit boards and elastic elements/compliance characteristics in the context of probe contact systems, which are central to Claim 1 of US9823272B2. CN202102019U (YINGWEI SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.) also warrants close examination due to its broad title "Test probe card." The modular probe card references (US20060125501A1, US20070152689A1) are relevant to the repairability aspect mentioned in the description of US9823272B2 but less so to the specific structural claims of how the probes interact with the flexible circuit board and elastic piece for signal transmission and force absorption.

Generated 6/1/2026, 12:47:04 AM