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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/14/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendments filed July 14, 2026 has been entered. Applicant’s amendments have overcome the 112(a) and 112(b) rejection previously set-forth in the Final Rejection mailed on 04/15/2026. Currently, claim 1 has been amended, claims 11 and 16-17 have been cancelled, claims 18-22 have been newly added, and claims 1-10, 12-15, 18-22 are pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 7-10, 12-15, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi (U.S. Patent No. 9314183 B2), and further in view of Miyaji (J.P. Application No. 2017183328 A).
Regarding independent claim 1, Chi discloses a biomedical electrode (40) comprising:
a plate-shaped support portion (42) (Figs. 7-9);
an elastic pillar portion (44a-44f) entirely formed of an elastic insulating member (e.g., an elastomer plastic that is flexible and bendable) (Col. 5, lines 47-50) that is provided on a first surface of the plate-shaped support portion (Col. 4, lines 24-32);
a conductive layer (i.e., conductive material that makes up transducer (57); Col. 5, lines 57-63) that is formed to cover a distal end of the pillar portion (Col. 4, lines 36-42); and
a conductive wire that is electrically connected to the conductive layer and is arranged in the elastic pillar portion from a distal end side toward a base end side (Col. 5, lines 43-46; Col. 5, lines 61-63),
wherein the elastic pillar portion is flexible over its entire body (the elastic pillar portion can be made from nylon or any other elastomer plastics that are flexible and bendable) (Col. 5, lines 47-50),
wherein, when a distal end portion of the elastic pillar portion including the distal end covered with the conductive layer comes into contact with a measurement target (i.e., the user’s scalp) through the conductive layer, the elastic pillar portion is deformed (i.e., joint 54 is deformed/bend) and follows a shape of the measurement target (Col. 4, lines 39-45),
wherein a distal end of the conductive wire protrudes from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion or from an inclined surface of the elastic pillar portion, wherein at least a part of a protruding portion of the conductive wire is covered with the conductive layer (Col. 5, lines 43-46; Col. 5, lines 61-63). Examiner is interpreting the conductive wire to protrude from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion, wherein at least a part of a protruding portion of the conductive wire is covered with the conductive layer given that electrical signals are communicated to or from the transducer/conductive layer via the conductive wire that is embedded in the transducer assembly (i.e., each individual elastic pillar portion); therefore, the wire must make physical contact with the conductive layer (i.e., protrude from the elastic pillar portion) in order for the signals to be received and transmitted to an external device.
However, Chi does not disclose the conductive layer being a conductive resin layer including silica particles (C), nor wherein a thickness of the conductive resin layer positioned at the distal end of the elastic pillar portion is 5 um or more and 200 um or less.
Miyaji, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a worn electronic device (100) (page 2, lines 2-3 under “Description”) comprising a substrate (20) (analogous to the elastic pillar portion of Chi) with a first elastomer, and a wiring (10) (analogous to the conductive layer of Chi) with a third elastomer and a conductive filler (page 3, lines 4-5 & Fig. 1), wherein the first elastomer and the third elastomer are made from a silicone rubber-based curable composition (page 4, lines 11 and 14) due to its excellent stretchability, heat resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility properties (page 4, lines 6-8). The wiring includes a conductive resin composition including a combination of the third elastomer and silica particles as necessary in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of a cured product formed from the conductive resin composition (page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”). Lastly, the thickness of the conductive resin composition (i.e., the wiring) positioned at the distal end of the substrate is 100 μm or more in order to obtain high electrical conductivity (page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the conductive material that makes up the conductive layer of Chi with the conductive resin composition taught by Miyaji, which includes the same silicone rubber-based curable composition of the elastic pillar portion and the silica particles, and the specific thickness in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of the cured product formed from the conductive resin composition and to achieve the necessary electrical conductivity (Miyaji, page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up; page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”).
Regarding claims 7-8 and 10, Chi discloses the pillar portion is formed of an insulating member (Chi, Col. 5, lines 47-50).
However, Chi does not disclose wherein the insulating elastic member is formed of a silicone rubber, nor wherein the conductive resin layer includes a conductive filler and a silicone rubber, wherein the conductive filler includes one or more selected from the group consisting of metal particles, silver or silver chloride particles, metal fiber, metal-coated fiber, carbon black, acetylene black, graphite, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, conductive polymer, conductive polymer-coated fiber, and metal nanowire.
Miyaji, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a worn electronic device (100) (page 2, lines 2-3 under “Description”) comprising a substrate (20) (analogous to the elastic pillar portion of Chi) with a first elastomer, and a wiring (10) (analogous to the conductive layer of Chi) with a third elastomer and a conductive filler (page 3, lines 4-5 & Fig. 1), wherein the first elastomer and the third elastomer are made with the same silicone rubber-based curable composition (page 4, lines 11 and 14) due to its excellent stretchability, heat resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility properties (page 4, lines 6-8). The wiring includes a conductive resin composition including a combination of the third elastomer, a conductive filler (e.g., silver powder; page 10, lines 1-5, under “Conductive filler”), and silica particles as necessary in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of a cured product formed from the conductive resin composition (page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the flexible and bendable material that makes up the elastic pillar portion of Chi with the silicone rubber-based curable composition taught by Miyaji due to its excellent stretchability, heat resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility properties (Miyaji, page 4, lines 6-8).
Furthermore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the conductive material that makes up the conductive layer of Chi with the conductive resin composition taught by Miyaji, which includes the silicone rubber-based curable composition, the conductive filler, and the silica particles in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of the cured product formed from the conductive resin composition and to achieve the necessary electrical conductivity (Miyaji, page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up; page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”).
Regarding claim 9, Chi discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claims 1 and 8 and discussed above.
However, Chi does not disclose the content of the conductive filler is 30 mass% or higher and 90 mass% or lower with respect to 100 mass% of the silicone rubber.
Miyaji, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the content of the elastomer (A) in the silicone rubber-based curable composition is preferably 95% by mass based on the entire solid content of the silicone rubber-based curable composition (page 7, lines 10-11). The content of the conductive filler in the conductive resin composition is preferably 60% by mass or more based on the entire solid content of the conductive resin composition (page 10, lines 9-10, under “Conductive filler”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mass content of the silicone rubber to be at 100%, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Furthermore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the conductive material that makes up the conductive layer of Chi with the conductive resin composition taught by Miyaji, which includes the specific mass content of the conductive filler and the silicone rubber in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of the cured product formed from the conductive resin composition and to achieve the necessary electrical conductivity (Miyaji, page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up).
Regarding claim 12, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses the biomedical electrode is used as an electroencephalographic electrode (Chi, Col. 6, lines 16-19).
Regarding claim 13, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses a biomedical sensor comprising the biomedical electrode (Chi, Col. 1, lines 24-27).
Regarding claim 14, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses a biomedical signal measurement system comprising the biomedical sensor (Chi, Col. 2, lines 15-22).
Regarding claim 15, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses wherein the elastic pillar portion has a flexibility that is configured to reduce pain or discomfort to a user (Chi, Col. 2, lines 34-44).
Regarding claim 18, Chi discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1 and discussed above.
However, Chi does not disclose wherein the elastic pillar portion is formed of a silicone rubber material, and wherein the conductive resin layer includes a conductive filler and a silicone rubber material that is the same as the silicone rubber material forming the elastic pillar portion.
Miyaji, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a worn electronic device (100) (page 2, lines 2-3 under “Description”) comprising a substrate (20) (analogous to the elastic pillar portion of Chi) with a first elastomer, and a wiring (10) (analogous to the conductive layer of Chi) with a third elastomer and a conductive filler (page 3, lines 4-5 & Fig. 1), wherein the first elastomer and the third elastomer are made with the same silicone rubber-based curable composition (page 4, lines 11 and 14) due to its excellent stretchability, heat resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility properties (page 4, lines 6-8). The wiring includes a conductive resin composition including a combination of the third elastomer, the conductive filler (e.g., silver powder; page 10, lines 1-5, under “Conductive filler”), and silica particles as necessary in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of a cured product formed from the conductive resin composition (page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”). Lastly, the thickness of the conductive resin composition (i.e., the wiring) positioned at the distal end of the substrate is 100 μm or more in order to obtain high electrical conductivity (page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the flexible and bendable material that makes up the elastic pillar portion of Chi with the silicone rubber material taught by Miyaji due to its excellent stretchability, heat resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility properties (Miyaji, page 4, lines 6-8).
Furthermore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the conductive material that makes up the conductive layer of Chi with the conductive resin composition taught by Miyaji, which includes the same silicone rubber material forming the elastic pillar portion and the conductive filler in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of the cured product formed from the conductive resin composition and to achieve the necessary electrical conductivity (Miyaji, page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up).
Regarding claim 19, Chi discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claims 1 and 18 and discussed above.
However, Chi does not disclose wherein the silicone rubber material is formed from a silicone rubber-based curable composition comprising a first silane coupling agent having a hydrophobic group and a second silane coupling agent having a vinyl group.
Miyaji, in the same field of endeavor, teaches the silicone rubber-based curable composition contains silicone rubber as the elastomer, wherein the silicone rubber is obtained by crosslinking a vinyl group-containing linear organopolysiloxane (A-1) with an organohydrogenpolysiloxane (A-2) (page 4, lines 1-4, under “Elastomer (A)”). The silicone rubber-based curable composition also contains silica particles (B) to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of the cured product formed from the silicone rubber-based curable composition (page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica particles (B)”) and a silane coupling agent (C) to further improve the mechanical strength of the cured product (page 7, lines 1-9, under “Silane coupling agent (C)”).
The silane coupling agent can be a hydrophobic group imparted on the surface of the silica particles (B), thereby reducing the cohesive forces of the silica particles (B) in the silicone rubber-based curable composition, and as a result, in the dispersibility of the silica particles is improved and the mechanical strength of the cured product of the silicone rubber-based curable composition is further improved. Furthermore, the silane coupling agent (C) preferably also has a vinyl group. When the vinyl group-containing linear organopolysiloxane (A-1) and the organohydrogenpolysiloxane (A-2) are included as the elastomer (A), high hardness and high modulus of the hardened/cured material formed can be achieved (page 7, lines 1-16, under “Silane coupling agent (C)”).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the flexible and bendable material that makes up the elastic pillar portion of Chi with the silicone rubber material that is formed from the silicone rubber-based curable composition comprising the first silane coupling agent having a hydrophobic group and the second silane coupling agent having a vinyl group, as taught by Miyaji, due to its excellent stretchability, mechanical strength, high hardness, and high modulus properties.
Claims 2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable
over Chi and Miyaji, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Musha (J.P. Application No. 10165386 A).
Regarding claim 2, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1 and discussed above.
However, they do not disclose wherein the conductive wire is formed of conductive fiber.
Musha, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a conductive wire formed of
conductive fiber (page 4, paragraph 9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductive wire of Chi to include a conductive fiber due to its favorable properties such as excellent conductivity and hydrophilicity, and having good compatibility with living bodies.
Regarding claim 4, in view of the combination as set forth in claim 2 above,
Musha further teaches that the conductive fiber is elected from the group consisting of metal fiber, metal-coated fiber, carbon fiber, conductive polymer fiber, conductive polymer-coated fiber, and conductive paste-coated fiber (page 2, paragraph 11).
Regarding claim 5, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1 and discussed above.
However, they do not disclose the tensile elongation at break of the conductive wire is 1% or higher and 50% or lower.
Musha, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a wire made from a carbon fiber bundle (page 4, paragraph 4). It is known to someone skilled in the art that carbon fiber bundle has the tensile elongation at break between 1.7-2.5%.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductive wire to provide improved conductivity and increase stiffness properties (Musha, page 4, paragraph 4).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
Chi, Miyaji, and Musha as applied to claims 1-2 above, and further in view of Bedingham (W.O. Application No. 2009134826 A1).
Regarding claim 3, Chi/Miyaji/Musha combination discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claims 1 and 2 and discussed above.
However, they do not disclose the conductive wire formed of twisted yarn obtained by twisting a plurality of linear conductive fibers.
Bedingham, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a conductive wire (262) formed of twisted yarn by twisting a plurality of linear conductive fibers (page 26, lines 15-23).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductive wire for the purpose of to providing multiple points of electrical contact (Bedingham, page 26, lines 15-23).
Claims 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pushpala (U.S. Application No. 20170128009 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses the invention substantially as claimed in claim 1 and discussed above.
However, they do not disclose wherein when an overall length of the elastic pillar portion is represented by L, and the conductive layer is formed in a region of 8/10L or less from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion.
Pushpala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a biomedical electrode (300) comprising a plate-shape portion (see planar portion seen in Fig. 2A), and a pillar portion (120) (pa. 0095 & Figs. 2A, 11A), wherein a conductive layer (140) is formed to cover a distal end of the pillar portion (pa. 0032). Furthermore, an overall length of the elastic pillar portion is represented by L (150-500 μm) (pa. 0028), and the conductive layer is formed in a region of 8/10L or less from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion (the conductive layer includes a 1000 Å thick platinum layer, a 1000 Å thick iridium layer, a 1000 Å thick tungsten layer, and a 100 Å thick titanium nitride layer, pa. 0033, providing a total thickness of 0.31 μm).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thickness of the conductive resin layer in relation to the length of the pillar portion for the purpose of further facilitating high quality signal sensing.
Regarding claim 20, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses wherein the conductive layer includes a distal-end-side portion positioned on a surface of the distal end of the elastic pillar portion (Chi, see Fig. 8).
However, they do not disclose a base-end-portion-side portion positioned closer to a base end portion of the elastic pillar portion than the distal-end-side portion, and wherein a thickness of the distal-end-side portion is greater than a thickness of the base-end-portion-side portion.
Pushpala, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a biomedical electrode (300) comprising a plate-shape portion (see planar portion seen in Fig. 2A), and a pillar portion (120) (pa. 0095 & Figs. 2A, 11A), wherein a conductive layer (140) includes a distal-end-side portion positioned to cover a distal end of the pillar portion (pa. 0032), and a base-end-portion-side portion positioned closer to a base end portion of the elastic pillar portion than the distal-end-side portion (pa. 0033 & Fig. 2A), and wherein a thickness of the distal-end-side portion and a thickness of the base-end-portion-side portion can be non-uniform manner, such that some regions of the conductive layer are thicker than others (pa. 0059 & Figs. 8A-8C).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added a conductive resin layer closer to a base end portion of the elastic pillar portion for the purpose of increasing the conductive surface area that contact’s the user.
Furthermore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the thickness of the conductive resin layer so that the thickness of the distal-end-side portion is greater than the thickness of the base-end-portion-side portion given that thickness proportions can be modified in a finite number of ways and it would have been obvious to try modify the thickness of different portions of the conductive resin layer for the purpose of further facilitating high quality signal sensing.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishiwaki (W.O. Application No. 2016136182 A1).
Regarding claim 21, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses wherein the elastic pillar portion may be configured to have different shapes (Chi, see the two embodiments of Figs. 7 and 10).
However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein the elastic pillar portion has a substantially truncated conical shape in which a diameter decreases from a base end portion connected to the plate-shaped support portion toward the distal end.
Nishiwaki, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a biomedical electrode comprising a plurality of barb members (4) (analogous to the elastic pillar portions), wherein the barb members are configured so that the diameter is smaller (tapered) as more moving from the proximal end to the distal end (pa. 0020, 0021 & Fig. 3).
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art at before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modified the distal end shape of the elastic pillar portions of Chi to be tapered, since it appears that the invention would perform equally as well with either configuration and they both yield the same predictable results of parting the user’s hair in order to properly contact the scalp.
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mercier (U.S. Application No. 20180353096 A1).
Regarding claim 22, Chi/Miyaji combination discloses wherein the elastic pillar portion comprises a plurality of elastic pillar portions, wherein the plurality of elastic pillar portions are slanted/at an angle with respect to the plate-shaped support portion (Chi, see Figs. 7-9).
However, they do not explicitly disclose wherein, in a cross-sectional view passing through a center portion of the first surface and a center of each of the plurality of elastic pillar portions from an inside toward an outside with respect to the center portion, an outside angle between a central axis of each of the plurality of elastic pillar portions and the first surface is 45 degrees to 90 degrees.
Mercier, in the same field of endeavor, teaches an electrode for acquiring electroencephalogram signals of a user, which includes a base (2) and a plurality of legs (3) extending from the base (pa. 0061 & Fig. 1). To enhance the sliding of a distal end (3b), the legs are attached to the base such that they form an angle between 20° and 80° with a first longitudinal face (2a) of the base (pa. 0071).
It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art at before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modified the outside angle between a central axis of each of the plurality of elastic pillar portions and the first surface to be 45 degrees to 90 degrees, as taught by Mercier, in order to enhance the sliding of the distal end of the elastic pillar portions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-, filed 07/14/2026, with respect to the 103 rejection of claim 1 under Chi and Kwon have been fully considered and are partially persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, the following new grounds of rejection have been set forth in the action above:
Claims 1, 7-10, 12-15, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi (U.S. Patent No. 9314183 B2), and further in view of Miyaji (J.P. Application No. 2017183328 A).
Claims 2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Musha (J.P. Application No. 10165386 A).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi, Miyaji, and Musha as applied to claims 1-2 above, and further in view of Bedingham (W.O. Application No. 2009134826 A1).
Claims 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pushpala (U.S. Application No. 20170128009 A1).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishiwaki (W.O. Application No. 2016136182 A1).
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chi and Miyaji as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mercier (U.S. Application No. 20180353096 A1).
It is the Examiner’s position that the newly filed rejections based on the combination of references are tenable for at least the reasonings set forth in the action above.
With regards to the newly amended independent claim 1, Applicant argues that the Chi reference does not teach or suggest an insulating elastic pillar portion having an internal conductive wire whose distal end protrudes from the distal end or an inclined surface of the pillar portion, with at least a part of the protruding portion being covered with a conductive resin layer. Chi also does not teach or suggest the claimed thickness range of a conductive resin layer positioned at the distal end of such an elastic pillar portion in the context of this internal-wire distal-end connection structure. Examiner finds these arguments to be partially persuasive.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., suppressing disconnection and noise generation during deformation, wherein the lower limit of 5 pm contributes to durability during repeated use, while the upper limit of 200 pm contributes to maintaining deformation easiness of the elastic pillar portion) are not recited in the rejected claim. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Examiner notes that while the language of the independent claim 1 requires the plurality of limitations mentioned, the claim is silent on the specific functionality caused by such combination of limitations. In other words, the apparatus claim only recites the specific physical structures required of the biomedical electrode, not the functionality of the structural elements when combined with one another. For example, the claim requires a conductive wire arranged in the elastic pillar portion from a distal end side toward a base end side that is electrically connected to the conductive resin layer and the claim also requires a thickness of the conductive resin layer positioned at the distal end of the elastic pillar portion to be 5 um or more and 200 um or less; however, the claim is silent on the resultant functionality when combining these two limitations, such as suppressing disconnection and noise generation during deformation, wherein the lower limit of 5 pm contributes to durability during repeated use, while the upper limit of 200 pm contributes to maintaining deformation easiness of the elastic pillar portion.
In this case, the Chi reference discloses a distal end of the conductive wire that protrudes from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion or from an inclined surface of the elastic pillar portion, wherein at least a part of a protruding portion of the conductive wire is covered with the conductive layer (Col. 5, lines 43-46; Col. 5, lines 61-63). Examiner is interpreting the conductive wire to protrude from the distal end of the elastic pillar portion, wherein at least a part of a protruding portion of the conductive wire is covered with the conductive layer given that electrical signals are communicated to and from the transducer/conductive layer via the conductive wire that is embedded in the transducer assembly (i.e., each individual elastic pillar portion); therefore, the wire must make physical contact with the conductive layer (i.e., protrude from the elastic pillar portion) in order for the signals to be received and transmitted to an external device. Examiner concedes that Chi does not disclose wherein a thickness of the conductive resin layer positioned at the distal end of the elastic pillar portion is 5 um or more and 200 um or less. Therefore, the Miyaji is used to teach a substrate (20) (analogous to the elastic pillar portion of Chi) with a first elastomer, and a wiring (10) (analogous to the conductive layer of Chi) with a third elastomer and a conductive filler (page 3, lines 4-5 & Fig. 1). The wiring includes a conductive resin composition including a combination of the third elastomer and silica particles as necessary in order to improve the hardness and mechanical strength of a cured product formed from the conductive resin composition (page 9, lines 1-4, under “Silica Particles (B)”), wherein the thickness of the conductive resin composition (i.e., the wiring) positioned at the distal end of the substrate is 100 μm or more in order to obtain high electrical conductivity (page 3, lines 5-8, bottom-up). Hence, for the reasoning’s set-forth above, the rejection based on this new combination of references is applied.
With regards to the newly added claims 18-22, the new combination of references described above ameliorates any shortcomings from the previous references used in the Final Rejection mailed on 04/15/2026.
Conclusion
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/A.V.G./Examiner, Art Unit 3794 /Ronald Hupczey, Jr./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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