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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of the invention of group I in the reply filed on 5 December 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that there would not be a serious burden in examining the inventions of groups I and II together. This is not found persuasive because the inventions have different classifications. Based on their separate classifications, the inventions of groups I and II have acquired a separate status in the art and would require separate searches, and there would therefore be a serious burden in examining the inventions together.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 5 December 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 2-6, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sugiura et al. (US 2008/0116765).
With respect to claim 2, Sugiura et al. discloses a system (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31) comprising: a transducer mount comprising: a plurality of acoustic transducers (items E) arranged in array form (Fig 23, which shows a 3x3 array of elements), wherein each of the plurality of acoustic transducers has a transducer conductive pad (items 24 and/or 26) that facilities an electrical connection (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31); a carrier (item 32) that routes the electrical connection from each of the plurality of acoustic transducers and that has a carrier conductive pad (items 205 and/or 206); a wire bond made from a conductive material that connects the carrier conductive pad to one of the transducer conductive pads (Paragraphs 315-316); and a plurality of compliant pillars (items 233, 251, 261) made from a low modulus material (wherein the claim does not define what would be considered to be a “low” modulus), wherein each of the plurality of the compliant pillars supports one of the plurality of the acoustic transducers (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31); wherein, when the plurality of acoustic transducers resonate, mechanical vibrations are decoupled between a first of the plurality of acoustic transducers and a neighboring, second of the plurality of acoustic transducers (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31; Paragraph 47, wherein the preventing of crosstalk is synonymous with decoupling between the plurality of transducers).
With respect to claim 3, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, wherein the carrier is a printed circuit board (Paragraph 157).
With respect to claim 4, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, further comprising: conductive adhesive that bonds the wire bond to the one of the transducer conductive pads (Paragraph 317).
With respect to claim 5, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, wherein for each of the plurality of transducers, a critical impedance of the transducer mount is less than an impedance of the transducer (wherein this is merely a statement of an inherent property of the claimed structure, and because Sugiura et al. discloses each of the claimed structural features, the claimed properties thereof are presumed to be inherent).
With respect to claim 6, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, wherein the wire bond is in loop form (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31).
With respect to claim 8, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, wherein the wire bond is directly connected to one of the transducer conductive pads (Figs 22, 27, 28, 31).
With respect to claim 10, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2, wherein mechanical cross-talk is not greater than -40 dB (wherein this is merely a statement of an inherent property of the claimed structure, and because Sugiura et al. discloses each of the claimed structural features, the claimed properties thereof are presumed to be inherent).
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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugiura et al. in view of Dausch (US 2006/0238067).
With respect to claim 7, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2.
Sugiura et al. does not disclose that the wire bond comprises aluminum.
Dausch teaches a piezoelectric acoustic transducer in which the electrical connectors, including wiring bonds, may be made of aluminum (Paragraph 38).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the aluminum wiring bonds of Dausch with the piezoelectric acoustic transducer of Sugiura et al. as it has been held that the selection of a material based on an art-recognized suitability for an intended purpose is obvious (In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugiura et al. in view of Massa (US 4190784).
With respect to claim 9, Sugiura et al. discloses the system as in claim 2.
Sugiura et al. does not disclose that the carrier is a molded plastic case having embedded electrical connections.
Massa teaches a piezoelectric acoustic transducer in which the carrier is a molded plastic case having embedded electrical connections (column 2, lines 28-48).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the molded plastic of Massa with the piezoelectric acoustic transducer of Sugiura et al. as it has been held that the selection of a material based on an art-recognized suitability for an intended purpose is obvious (In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416), and as applicant recognizes it as such (Paragraphs 65 and 85 of the pre-grant publication of the present application).
Conclusion
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/DEREK J ROSENAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837