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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 1 May 2026 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because it depends from cancelled claim 18 and should be amended to depend from claim 13. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The rejection of claims 1, 13, 25, 27, and 29 under 35 USC § 112(b) is withdrawn in view of the amendment filed 1 May 2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 8-13, 17, 20-25, and 27-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schwenter et al. (US 2020/0251265 A1) in view of Piascik et al. (US 8,572,838 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Schwenter et al. discloses a coil transducer (fig. 1) for elevated temperatures, the coil transducer comprising: a coil portion (1) including a coil (14), the coil (14) being comprised of: a conductive wire (wire 14; ¶ [0044]); and an electrical insulator (14a) coating the conductive wire (wire 14 is jacketed by ceramic insulating layer 14a; ¶ [0044]), the electrical insulator (14a) comprises a ceramic coating on the conductive wire (insulating layer 14a is a ceramic layer disposed on coil wire 14; ¶ [0044]); and a bobbin (11, 12), the coil (14) being disposed about the bobbin (coil 14 is wound around coil carrier 12; fig. 3); wherein the coil (14) is configured to have a repeatable conductivity without a deviation from a nominal value over a plurality of temperature cycles including at least a temperature range that is greater than 350° C (coil 14 is a coil wire of an electrically conductive material and is electrically conductively connected to connection lines 111 and 112 to operate in a measuring transducer at temperatures above 350° C and any change in temperatures is a “temperature cycle,” therefore, coil 14 must have a conductivity that is repeatable, to some degree, without some degree of substantial deviation from some nominal value, over a plurality of temperature changes, including a temperature range greater than 350 °C; ¶¶ [0010, 0012, 0048]), comprising: the conductive wire (14) and the electrical insulator (14A) being thermal-expansion compatibles of each other over the temperature range (coil 14 and insulating layer 14a must be thermal-expansion compatibles of each other, to some degree), and the electrical insulator coating (14a) being substantially non-conductive over the plurality of temperature cycles including the temperature range (for coil transducer 1 to operate above 350° C, ceramic insulating layer 14a must function as an insulator and be substantially non-conductive, to some degree, over the plurality of temperature cycles including above 350° C; ¶ [0012]).
Regarding claims 5 and 8, Schwenter et al. discloses wherein each of the plurality of temperature cycles includes the temperature range (temperature cycles of the operation of coil transducer 1 includes temperatures above 350° C; ¶ [0012]); wherein the conductive wire (14) and at least one of the bobbin (11, 12) and the ceramic coating (14a) are thermal-expansion compatibles of each other (coil 14, base 11, coil carrier 12, and ceramic layer 14a have coefficients of thermal expansion that are compatible to each other to some degree).
Regarding claims 9-12, Schwenter et al. discloses wherein the conductive wire (14) comprises a magnetic material (silver alloy such as AgNiO includes nickel which is magnetic; [0044]); wherein the conductive wire (14) comprises a material that includes one of nickel, a nickel alloy, a platinum-rhodium alloy, a platinum-iridium alloy, and a niobium-tantalum-tungsten alloy (AgNiO is an alloy that includes nickel; ¶ [0044]); wherein the temperature range is one of from 350° C to 500° C, from 350° C to 427° C (coil transducer 1 operates above 350° C, and above 400° C; ¶ [0012]), from 410° C to 500 ° C, and from 410° C to 427 ° C; further comprising a magnet portion (2; fig. 5), the magnet portion (2) being configured to spatially displace relative to the coil portion (magnet 2 is spatially displaced relative to coil transducer 1; fig. 5).
Regarding claim 27, Schwenter et al. discloses wherein the bobbin (11, 12) comprises a body (11), a first terminal (111) disposed in an interior of the body (11) and electrically coupled to the conductive wire (connection line 111 extends through base 11 of the bobbin and is electrically coupled to end 14+ of coil wire 14; fig. 1), and a second terminal (112) disposed in the interior of the body (11) and electrically coupled to the conductive wire (connection line 112 extends through base 11 of the bobbin and is electrically coupled to end 14# of coil wire 14; fig. 1), and wherein the coil transducer (fig. 5) further comprises a mounting bracket coupled to the bobbin (11, 12) in order to couple the coil portion (1) to a conduit (102) of a meter assembly (screw 13 mounts coil carrier 12 and base 11 to an unnumbered bracket to couple coil 1 to measuring tube 102; fig. 5).
Regarding claim 28, Schwenter et al. discloses further comprising a magnet portion (2; fig. 5) comprising a magnet (center portion of permanent magnet 2; fig. 5), wherein the bobbin (11, 12) further has a magnet receiving portion (12A; fig. 2) configured to receive the magnet (passageway 12A receives a center portion of permanent magnet 2; fig. 5), and an end face disposed opposite the magnet receiving portion (a leftmost face of base 11 is an end face; figs. 3 and 5), and wherein the first and second terminals (111, 112) are each disposed between the magnet receiving portion (12A) and the end face (connecting lines 111 and 112 are disposed between passageway 12A and a leftmost face of base 11; fig. 5).
Regarding claim 25, Schwenter et al. discloses a vibratory meter (Coriolis mass flow measuring device; ¶ [0050]) for elevated temperatures, the vibratory meter comprising: a meter electronics (measuring and operating electronics including a microprocessor; ¶ [0050]); a meter assembly (fig. 5) communicatively coupled to the meter electronics (measuring transducer, including coils, are electrically connected to measuring and operating electronics; ¶ [0050]), the meter assembly (fig. 5) comprising: at least one conduit (101, 102); a driver (oscillation exciter) coupled to the at least one conduit (101, 102; ¶ [0050]); and at least one pickoff (oscillation sensor 1 and 2) coupled to the at least one conduit (101, 102); wherein at least one of the driver (oscillation exciter) and the at least one pickoff (1, 2) comprise a coil transducer (at least coil 1 and magnet 2 are a coil transducer), the coil transducer (1, 2) comprising: a coil portion (1) including a coil (14), the coil (14) being comprised of a conductive wire (wire 14; ¶ [0044]); an electrical insulator (14a; fig. 3) coating the conductive wire (wire 14 is jacketed by ceramic insulating layer 14a; ¶ [0044]); the electrical insulator (14a) comprising a ceramic coating on the conductive wire (insulating layer 14a is a ceramic layer disposed on coil wire 14; ¶ [0044]); and a bobbin (11, 12), the coil (14) being disposed about the bobbin (coil 14 is wound around coil carrier 12; fig. 3); wherein the coil (14) is configured to have a repeatable conductivity without a deviation from a nominal value over a plurality of temperature cycles including at least a temperature range that is greater than 350° C (coil 14 is a coil wire of an electrically conductive material and is electrically conductively connected to connection lines 111 and 112 to operate in a measuring transducer at temperatures above 350° C and any change in temperatures is a “temperature cycle,” therefore, coil 14 must have a conductivity that is repeatable, to some degree, without some degree of substantial deviation from some nominal value, over a plurality of temperature changes, including a temperature range greater than 350 °C ; ¶¶ [0010, 0012, 0048]), comprising: the conductive wire (14) and the ceramic coating (14A) being thermal-expansion compatibles of each other over the temperature range (coil 14 and insulating layer 14a must be thermal-expansion compatibles of each other, to some degree); and the ceramic coating (14a) being non-conductive over the plurality of temperature cycles including the temperature range (for coil transducer 1 to operate above 350° C, ceramic insulating layer 14a must function as an insulator and be substantially non-conductive, to some degree, over the plurality of temperature cycles including above 350° C; ¶ [0012]).
Regarding claim 29, Schwenter et al. discloses wherein the bobbin (11, 12) comprises a body (11), a first terminal (111) disposed in an interior of the body (11) and electrically coupled to the conductive wire (connection line 111 extends through base 11 of the bobbin and is electrically coupled to end 14+ of coil wire 14; fig. 1), and a second terminal (112) disposed in the interior of the body (11) and electrically coupled to the conductive wire (connection line 112 extends through base 11 of the bobbin and is electrically coupled to end 14# of coil wire 14; fig. 1).
Schwenter et al. is silent on the conductive wire and the insulator having equal coefficients of thermal expansion.
Piascik et al. teaches a coil transducer for elevated temperatures (electromagnetic coil for use in sensors in high temperature environments; c. 1, ll. 15-21), the coil transducer (fig. 3) comprising: a coil (30, 32) being comprised of: a conductive wire (30; c. 7, l. 25); and an electrical insulator (32) coating the conductive wire (ceramic material is coated on wire 30 and cured; c. 3, ll. 44-49 and 51-56), the electrical insulator (32) comprising a ceramic coating on the conductive wire (wire 30 is embedded in ceramic body 32; c. 7, ll. 27-31); wherein the conductive wire (30) and the ceramic coating (32) being thermal-expansion compatibles of each other comprises the conductive wire (30) and the ceramic coating (32) having equal coefficients of thermal expansion (the coefficient of thermal expansion of wire 30 is approximately 32 ppm per °C and coefficient of thermal expansion of ceramic material 32 is selected to be 16-23 ppm °C; c. 5, ll. 22-23 and 57-61), thereby allowing the ceramic coating (32) to expand at the same rate as the conductive wire (by matching the coefficients of thermal expansion of wire 30 and ceramic coating 32 the mechanical stress of thermal cycling of the high temperature coil assembly is reduced; c. 5, ll. 31-39) at temperatures greater than 350 °C (a coil embodiment of wire 30 coated with ceramic of SAUEREISEN® 33S was tested under temperature cycles including 400 °C and therefore, expands at the same rate to some degree at temperature cycles above 350 °C; c. 11, ll. 40-47 and 55-60).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the apparatus of Schwenter et al. with the matching coefficients of thermal expansion as taught in Piascik et al. to minimize the likelihood of damage of a coil wire used in high temperature environments by reducing the relative movement and mechanical stress between the ceramic insulator and the conductive wire during thermal cycling (c. 5, ll. 23-39).
Regarding method claims 13, 17, and 20-24, the method steps therein are met by the operation of the apparatus of Schwenter et al. in view of Piascik et al. as set forth above with regard to claims 1, 5, and 8-12.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claim(s) 1 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Erika J. Villaluna whose telephone number is (571)272-8348. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 9:00 am - 5:30 pm.
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/ERIKA J. VILLALUNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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