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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on December 31, 2024 has been entered. Accordingly, claims 1-18, 22, 23, 25, 26 and 35-38 are currently in cancelled status; claims 19-21, 24 and 27-34 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments with respect to claims 19-21, 24 and 27-34 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: one of the two appearances of “one or more said specialized pathways” in line 3 should be deleted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 and 35 USC § 112
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 27-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 5 101 and under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The statutory categories under 35 U.S.C. 101 are expressed in the alternative, i.e., process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter (emphasis added). Thus, claims 27-34, which encompass two statutory categories, i.e., apparatus (a sensor) and method (method for monitoring a plurality of pathways), violate 35 U.S.C. 5 101. See Ex parte Lyell, 17 USPQ2d 1548, 1551 (Bd. Pat. App. & Int. 1990).
Moreover, there are two separate requirements set forth in the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112:
(A) the claims must set forth the subject matter that applicants regard as their invention; and
(B) the claims must particularly point out and distinctly define the metes and bounds of the subject matter that will be protected by the patent grant.
It is unclear whether claims 27-34 claim an apparatus or a method. Claims 27-34, therefore, are indefinite in violation of 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. See Lyell, 17 USPQ2d at 1552.
With regard to claims 27-34, each claim a method, but these claims fail to set forth any steps involved in the method/process. In addition, it is unclear what method/process applicants are intending to encompass (“method for monitoring a plurality of pathways”, “a method of optimization according to exactness”, “a method of irregularity detection”, “a method of irregularity avoidance”, “a method of irregularity adaptation”, “a method of irregularity recognition”, “a method of irregularity acquisition”, or “a method of data optimization according to reliability”).
With regard to claims 28-34, each of these claims recites two different methods, which are a “method for monitoring a plurality of pathways” and one of the following methods (“a method of optimization according to exactness”, “a method of irregularity detection”, “a method of irregularity avoidance”, “a method of irregularity adaptation”, “a method of irregularity recognition”, “a method of irregularity acquisition”, or “a method of data optimization according to reliability”). It is not clear what method the phrase “the method comprising” in line 1 of each claim refers to. There is a lack of antecedent basis in each claim.
A claim is indefinite where it merely recites a use without any active, positive steps delimiting how this use is actually practiced. Without setting forth any steps involved in the process results in an improper definition of a process, i.e., results in a claim which is not a proper process claim under 35 U.S.C. 101. Applicants are advised to follow a proper method claim format that conforms to current U.S. practice (For example, “A method for/of .... comprising steps of:” and a series of active, positive steps involved in the process) (emphasis added).
The essential purpose of patent examination is to determine whether or not the claims are precise, clear, correct, and unambiguous to ensure that the scope of the claims is clear so the public is informed of the boundaries of what constitutes infringement of the patent. Therefore, the uncertainties of claim scope should be removed as much as possible.
The applicants are advised to follow the claim format in the proposed claim amendment as discussed in the telephonic interview on March 7, 2025 and in the claim section of the references cited below as guidance.
Claim Interpretation
Claims 27-34 presents a device according to the capacitive displacement sensor of claims 19-21, 24. Therefore, the argument made against claims 19-21, 24 also applies, mutatis mutandis, to claims 27-34.
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 19, 21 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Andermo (US 5,731,707 A).
Andermo teaches a capacitive position encoder comprising:
PNG
media_image1.png
676
1060
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
662
1062
media_image2.png
Greyscale
With regard to claim 19 and 27, a capacitive displacement sensor (FIG. 1, capacitive position encoder 100) comprising a slider (FIG. 1, slide 112) and a scale (FIG. 1, scale 114); an interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400), a measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) and a capacitive circuitry module (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130, first receiver electrodes 140, connection wire 142, second transmitter electrodes 150 and second receiver electrode 160), where: said capacitive circuitry module (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130, first receiver electrodes 140, connection wire 142, second transmitter electrodes 150 and second receiver electrode 160) is comprised of one or more emitters (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130 and second transmitter electrodes 150), one or more receivers (FIG. 1, first receiver electrodes 140 and second receiver electrode 160) and two or more pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160), where: each said pathway is comprised of groupings (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130 including first set 132 and second set 134) forming a capacitive connection from emitter (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130 and second transmitter electrodes 150) to scale (FIG. 1, scale 114) to receiver (FIG. 1, first receiver electrodes 140 and second receiver electrode 160); said groupings (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130 including first set 132 and second set 134) are comprised of one or more electrodes (FIG. 1, 132a-h and 134a-h); said groupings (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130 including first set 132 and second set 134) are spaced and or placed separately from one another, where said one or more electrodes (FIG. 1, 132a-h) comprising one said group (FIG. 1, first set 132) are separate and not intermixed with said one or more electrodes (FIG. 1, 134a-h) comprising another said group (FIG. 1, second set 134); said measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) is comprised of measurement circuitry (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) configured to interact with and extract one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) from said capacitive circuitry module (FIG. 1, first transmitter electrodes 130, first receiver electrodes 140, connection wire 142, second transmitter electrodes 150 and second receiver electrode 160), where: said measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) is configured to obtain one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) from each said pathway of the two or more pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160); said measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) is configured to output one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) to said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400); said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400) is comprised of processing circuitry or processing systems; said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400) is configured to obtain input, one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements), from said measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440); said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400) is configured to interpret one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) to determine sensor displacement; said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400) is configured to be able to evaluate two or more independent sensor displacements, where: said interpreting module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, microprocessor 400) determines each independent sensor displacement (the first receiver electrodes 140 and second transmitter electrodes 15 on the scale 110 have a uniquely specified deflection for each position along the relative deflection direction. Therefore, the electrostatic capacity which is detected when the slide 112 moves will have a uniquely specified value for each position, which is independent (emphasis added)) by interpreting one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) extracted by the measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) from any said pathway of the two or more pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160) to determine sensor displacement independent of interpreting one or more measurements or measurement data (position measurements) extracted by the measurement module (FIG. 12 in view of FIG. 1, amplifier 410, demodulator 420, integrator 430, and A/D converter 440) from any of the other said pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160) of the two or more pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160) (For more details, please read: Abstract; column 4, lines 37-59; from column 6, line 62 to column 9, line 43; from column 17, line 39 to column 21, line 10; and claim 1).
With regard to claim 21, one or more said specialized pathways (from either first set 132 or second set 134 to first receiver electrodes 140 to connection wire 142 to second transmitter electrodes 150 to second receiver electrode 160), specialized at least by being located on one or both ends of the slider in the path of travel (FIG. 1, for the first set 132 or second set 134 at each end of the slide 112).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20 and 24 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicants’ attention is invited to the followings whose inventions disclose similar devices.
Andermo (EP 0248165 A2) teaches a capacitance type transducer for measuring positions.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOAI-AN D. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571) 272-2170. The examiner can normally be reached MON-THURS (7:00 AM - 5:00 PM).
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, LEE E. RODAK can be reached on 571-270-5628. 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.
HOAI-AN D. NGUYEN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2858
/HOAI-AN D. NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858