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
Election of claims 1-12 for continued examination was made without traverse in the reply filed on February 25, 2026. Claim 13-15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Note by the Examiner
For clarity, references to specific claim numbers are presented in bold. Cited claim limitations are presented in bold the first time they are associated with a particular prior art disclosing the cited limitations, and subsequent reference to the already disclosed claim limitations are presented un-bolded. Certain elements from prior art which are not required by the claims are also presented un-bolded if they are particularly pertinent to understanding how the references are being combined. Item-to-item matching and Examiner explanations for 102 and/or 103 rejections have been provided in parenthesis.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
element 11 in fig.3;
element Y in fig. 3;
element 41 in fig. 5.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: on page 12, line 18, the 3D capacitor element shown in fig. 3 is mislabeled; “3D capacitor 24” should be corrected to “3D capacitor 22”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-2 and 7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Simbuerger et al. (US 20180241204 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Simbuerger”, in view of Kil et al. (WO 2014185599 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Kil” (note that all following citations from Kil refer to the copy of Kil included in the Office Action), further in view of Escoffier et al. (US 20030228848 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Escoffier”, further in view of Flaherty et al. (US 20060173259 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Flaherty”.
Regarding claim 1, Simbuerger discloses a protective filter circuit (Simbuerger fig. 5, 500; see [0037]: protective filter circuit 500 fulfills a similar function to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit 300 described earlier in the disclosure; see [0018]-[0019] and note that it is intended that the protection module of Simbuerger be implemented as a semiconductor device such as an integrated circuit (IC) device) comprising:
input and output terminals (Simbuerger fig. 5, “IN” and “OUT”);
a series path (see Simbuerger fig. 5) between the input and output terminals;
a node (see Simbuerger fig. 5; a node is disposed before capacitor 540 to connect shunt inductor 520 to said series path) on said series path;
a capacitor component (Simbuerger fig. 5, 540; see [0037]) connected in the series path between the input and output terminals;
and an electrical component (Simbuerger fig. 5, 520; see [0037]) connected between ground and said node in the series path (See Simbuerger fig. 5; shunt inductor 520 is connected between said node and ground).
Simbuerger fails to disclose a biological-electrode protection module with input and output terminals comprising a set of ports to receive a set of one or more biological electrodes or to receive a set of leads connecting to said biological electrodes, and the other of the input and output terminals being configured to connect to an electrical-biosignal acquisition module; and a common substrate in which the voltage-limiting component and capacitor component are formed; wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
Kil discloses an ESD protection semiconductor filter (see Kil fig. 5 and page 8, lines 21-29; note that Kil fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of the device shown in fig. 5) comprising:
input and output terminals (Kil fig. 3, “Di+” and “Do+”; see page 8, lines 8-9) comprising a set of ports (see Kil fig. 3; see page 8, line 27: “plurality of input/output terminal pads connected to metal wiring 113”; metallic pads and wiring connect underlying components to frontside connections via pad opening 119);
a voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. Kil fig. 3; see page 9, lines 1-14: TVS Zener diode element 105 is configured to control voltage during an ESD event) connected between ground (see Kil fig. 3) and a node (see Kil fig. 3) in a series path (see Kil fig. 3: the TVS element (corresponding to TVS Zener diode 105 in Kil fig. 5) is connected between ground and a node along a series path between input terminal Di+ and output terminal Do+) between the input and output terminals;
and a substrate (Kil fig. 5, 101; see page 8, lines 21-29) in which the voltage-limiting component is formed;
wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts (see Kil page 7, lines 32-33: “the breakdown voltage of the TVS element is also lowered to 5 V or less”;
See MPEP 2144.05 I. "In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)").
The voltage-limiting component (implemented as a semiconductor device with physical connective ports) of Kil is incorporated as the electrical component in the protection module of Simbuerger wherein the combination discloses a protection module, comprising: input and output terminals comprising a set of ports; a series path between the input and output terminals; a node on said series path; a capacitor component connected in the series path between the input and output terminals; a voltage-limiting component connected between ground and said node in the series path; and a substrate in which the voltage-limiting component is formed; wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the protection module of Simbuerger with the teachings of Kil to improve circuit stability (see Kil page 8, line 7; also note that implementing circuits within semiconductor material and providing input and output ports to connect circuits is well known in the art).
Escoffier discloses a semiconductor device (Escoffier fig. 3, 10; see [0021]) that serves an ESD protection function (see Escoffier fig. 2 and 3; see [0015]-[0016]) comprising a capacitor component (Escoffier fig. 3, 21; see [0028]) formed in a semiconductor substrate (Escoffier fig. 3, 30; see [0022]) as a three-dimensional trench capacitor (see Escoffier [0018] and [0028]).
The capacitor component of Escoffier (formed in a substrate) is incorporated into the combined device of Simbuerger and Kil wherein the present combined device discloses a protection module, comprising: input and output terminals comprising a set of ports; a series path between the input and output terminals; a node on said series path; a capacitor component connected in the series path between the input and output terminals; a voltage-limiting component connected between ground and said node in the series path; and a common substrate in which the voltage-limiting component and capacitor component are formed; wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger and Kil with the capacitor component of Escoffier to form an integrated device and, thereby reduce the size of the combined device (while the teachings of Simbuerger call for a capacitor, Simbuerger is silent as to how the capacitor should be formed/implemented; forming capacitor components in a common substrate is a known technique in the art which yields the predictable result of reducing the size of a semiconductor device).
Flaherty discloses a biological interface system (Flaherty fig. 1, 100; see [0050]) to detect and process biosignals (see Flaherty [0050]: “multicellular signals”) comprising a set of biological electrodes (Flaherty fig. 1, 200; c.f. fig. 9; see [0137]: sensor 200 incorporates multiple electrodes to detect biosignals; the set of electrodes within sensor 200 is implanted in the patient’s body (see fig. 2); see [0052]: each electrode 212 is connected to processing unit 130a through a conductive wire included in wire bundle 220) and an electrical-biosignal acquisition module (see Flaherty [0151] and fig. 14; c.f. fig. 12 and [0145]; the control logic unit represented in fig. 14 supervises biosignal acquisition and is, thus, a biosignal acquisition module), both of which are connected to an ESD protection module (see Escoffier fig. 13 and [0150]; c.f. fig. 12: the ESD protection circuit is included in the 96-channel amplifier component (see [0147]) which is included in the implantable processing unit 130a and connected to both sensor 200 and said control logic unit).
The combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier, is incorporated as the ESD protection module within the biological interface system of Flaherty (said input and output terminals of the combined device being configured to connect to said biological electrodes and said electrical-biosignal acquisition module) wherein the present combined device discloses a biological-electrode protection module, comprising: input and output terminals, one of the input and output terminals comprising a set of ports to receive a set of one or more biological electrodes or to receive a set of leads connecting to said biological electrodes, and the other of the input and output terminals being configured to connect to an electrical-biosignal acquisition module; a series path between the input and output terminals; a node on said series path; a capacitor component connected in the series path between the input and output terminals; a voltage-limiting component connected between ground and said node in the series path; and a common substrate in which the voltage-limiting component and capacitor component are formed; wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to incorporate the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier, into the biological interface system of Flaherty because the combination is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results – simple substitution of the protection module of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier with the protection module within the biological interface system of Flaherty (see Flaherty fig. 13) to obtain predictable results (the previous combined device would fulfill the same ESD protection function as the ESD protection circuit disclosed in Flaherty; the protection module of the previous combined device is also bidirectional (see Kil fig. 3: “pseudo-resistor”) which would be an improvement to the overall combined device in that it would afford ESD protection for a wider range of surge polarities).
Regarding claim 2, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, wherein the voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. fig. 3, “TVS”) is a biphasic device (it is commonly known in the art that TVS Zener diodes are biphasic or bidirectional in that they will limit voltage between negative and positive breakdown voltages (i.e. provide protection regardless of the polarity of an ESD surge; see the discussion of the advantages of bidirectional TVS in Kil page 9, lines 4-6).
Regarding claim 7, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, wherein the capacitor component (Escoffier fig. 3, 21; see [0028]) comprises one or more three-dimensional capacitors (see Escoffier fig. 3; capacitor 21 is formed as one or more trench (i.e. three-dimensional) capacitors).
Regarding claim 8, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 7.
The combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, fails to disclose wherein one or more isolation trenches comprising electrically-insulating material are disposed in the substrate and electrically-isolate the one or more three-dimensional capacitors and the voltage-limiting component.
Kil discloses an ESD protection semiconductor filter (see Kil fig. 5 and page 8, lines 21-29; note that Kil fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of the device shown in fig. 5) comprising isolation trenches (Kil fig. 5, 111; see page 8, lines 37-41) comprising electrically-insulating material (see Kil page 8, lines 37-41: each trench 111 includes an electrically-insulating oxide layer therein) disposed in the substrate (Kil fig. 5, 101; see page 8, lines 21-29) to electrically-isolate a voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. Kil fig. 3; see page 9, lines 1-14) from other electrical components (e.g. Kil fig. 5, 106).
The isolation trenches of Kil are incorporated into the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, wherein the present combination discloses wherein one or more isolation trenches comprising electrically-insulating material are disposed in the substrate and electrically-isolate the one or more three-dimensional capacitors and the voltage-limiting component.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, with the isolation trenches of Kil to individually protect the voltage-limiting component and three-dimensional capacitors from mechanical damage that could occur within the common substrate and to prevent leakage current between said components (see Kil page 8, lines 37-41).
Regarding claim 9, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose a medical device (see Flaherty fig. 1 and [0050]: the biological interface system of Flaherty is a medical device configured for use by medical patients) comprising: a biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, and said set of biological electrodes (Flaherty fig. 1, 200; c.f. fig. 9; see [0137]: sensor 200 incorporates multiple electrodes to detect biosignals; the set of electrodes within sensor 200 is implanted in the patient’s body (see fig. 2); see [0052]: each electrode 212 is connected to processing unit 130a through a conductive wire included in wire bundle 220).
Regarding claim 10, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose a biological implant (Flaherty fig. 1, 200, 220, and 130a; see [0052]; c.f. fig. 12 and [0145]; the biological-electrode protection module of the present combined device is included in implantable processing unit first portion 130a) comprising a biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, wherein the voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. Kil fig. 3; see page 9, lines 1-14) has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 3.3 volts (see Kil page 7, lines 30-33: “the breakdown voltage of the TVS element is also lowered to 5 V or less”;
See MPEP 2144.05 I. "In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)").
Regarding claim 11, Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose the biological implant according to claim 10, further comprising said set of biological electrodes (Flaherty fig. 1, 200; c.f. fig. 9; see [0137]: sensor 200 incorporates multiple electrodes to detect biosignals; the set of electrodes within sensor 200 is implanted in the patient’s body (see fig. 2); see [0052]: each electrode 212 is connected to processing unit 130a through a conductive wire included in wire bundle 220).
Regarding claim 12, Simbuerger discloses a method of fabricating a protective filter circuit (Simbuerger fig. 5, 500; see [0037]: protective filter circuit 500 fulfills a similar function to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit 300 described earlier in the disclosure; see [0018]-[0019] and note that it is intended that the protection module of Simbuerger be implemented as a semiconductor device such as an integrated circuit (IC) device) comprising:
forming input and output terminals (Simbuerger fig. 5, “IN” and “OUT”);
forming a capacitor component (Simbuerger fig. 5, 540) in a series path (see Simbuerger fig. 5) between the input and output terminals;
forming an electrical component (Simbuerger fig. 5, 520) in a path between ground and a node (see Simbuerger fig. 5; a node is disposed before capacitor 540 to connect shunt inductor 520 to said series path) on said series path between the input and output terminals.
Simbuerger fails to disclose a method of fabricating a biological-electrode protection module, comprising: forming a capacitor component and a voltage-limiting component in a common substrate; and forming input and output terminals of the biological-electrode protection module, one of the input and output terminals comprising a set of ports to receive a set of one or more biological electrodes or to receive a set of leads connecting to said biological electrodes, and the other of the input and output terminals being configured to connect to an electrical-biosignal acquisition module; and forming the voltage-limiting component in a path between ground and a node on said series path between the input and output terminals, wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
Kil discloses a method of fabricating an ESD protection semiconductor filter (see Kil fig. 5 and page 8, lines 21-29; note that Kil fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of the device shown in fig. 5) comprising:
forming input and output terminals (Kil fig. 3, “Di+” and “Do+”; see page 8, lines 8-9) comprising a set of ports (see Kil fig. 3; see page 8, line 27: “plurality of input/output terminal pads connected to metal wiring 113; metallic pads and wiring connect underlying components to frontside connections via pad opening 119);
forming a voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. Kil fig. 3; see page 9, lines 1-14: TVS Zener diode element 105 is configured to control voltage during an ESD event) in a path between ground (see Kil fig. 3) and a node (see Kil fig. 3) on a series path (see Kil fig. 3: the TVS element (corresponding to TVS Zener diode 105 in Kil fig. 5) is connected between ground and a node along a series path between input terminal Di+ and output terminal Do+) between the input and output terminals;
wherein the voltage-limiting component is formed in a substrate (Kil fig. 5, 101; see page 8, lines 21-29);
and wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts (see Kil page 7, lines 32-33: “the breakdown voltage of the TVS element is also lowered to 5 V or less”;
See MPEP 2144.05 I. "In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)").
The voltage-limiting component (implemented as a semiconductor device with physical connective ports) of the method of Kil is incorporated as the electrical component in the method of Simbuerger wherein the combination discloses a method of fabricating a protection module, comprising: forming a voltage-limiting component in a substrate; forming input and output terminals comprising a set of ports; forming the capacitor component in a series path between the input and output terminals; and forming the voltage-limiting component in a path between ground and a node on said series path between the input and output terminals, wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the method of Simbuerger with the teachings of Kil to improve circuit stability (see Kil page 8, line 7; also note that implementing circuits within semiconductor material and providing input and output ports to connect circuits is well known in the art).
Escoffier discloses a method of fabricating a semiconductor device (Escoffier fig. 3, 10; see [0021]) that serves an ESD protection function (see Escoffier fig. 2 and 3; see [0015]-[0016]) comprising a forming a capacitor component (Escoffier fig. 3, 21; see [0028]) in a semiconductor substrate (Escoffier fig. 3, 30; see [0022]) as a three-dimensional trench capacitor (see Escoffier [0018] and [0028]).
Forming the capacitor component of Escoffier (within a substrate) is incorporated into combined method of Simbuerger and Kil wherein the present combined method discloses a method of fabricating a protection module, comprising: forming a capacitor component and a voltage-limiting component in a common substrate; and forming input and output terminals comprising a set of ports; forming the capacitor component in a series path between the input and output terminals; and forming the voltage-limiting component in a path between ground and a node on said series path between the input and output terminals, wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined method of Simbuerger and Kil with the capacitor component of Escoffier to form an integrated device and, thereby reduce the size of the combined device (while the teachings of Simbuerger call for a capacitor, Simbuerger is silent as to how the capacitor should be formed/implemented; forming capacitor components in a common substrate is a known technique in the art which yields the predictable result of reducing the size of a semiconductor device).
Flaherty discloses a method of fabricating a biological interface system (see Flaherty fig. 1 and [0050]) to detect and process biosignals (see Flaherty [0050]: “multicellular signals”) comprising forming a set of biological electrodes (Flaherty fig. 1, 200; c.f. fig. 9; see [0137]: sensor 200 incorporates multiple electrodes to detect biosignals; the set of electrodes within sensor 200 is implanted in the patient’s body (see fig. 2); see [0052]: each electrode 212 is connected to processing unit 130a through a conductive wire included in wire bundle 220) and an electrical-biosignal acquisition module (see Flaherty [0151] and fig. 14; c.f. fig. 12 and [0145]; the control logic unit represented in fig. 14 supervises biosignal acquisition), and connecting both to an ESD protection module (see Escoffier fig. 13 and [0150]; c.f. fig. 12: the ESD protection circuit is included in the 96-channel amplifier component ( see [0147]) which is included in the implantable processing unit 130a and connected to both sensor 200 and said control logic unit).
The combined method of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier, is incorporated with the method of Flaherty (by forming the protection module of the combined method within the biological interface system formed in the method of Flaherty, wherein said input and output terminals are configured to connect to said biological electrodes and said electrical-biosignal acquisition module) wherein the present combined method discloses a method of fabricating a biological-electrode protection module, comprising: forming a capacitor component and a voltage-limiting component in a common substrate; and forming input and output terminals of the biological-electrode protection module, one of the input and output terminals comprising a set of ports to receive a set of one or more biological electrodes or to receive a set of leads connecting to said biological electrodes, and the other of the input and output terminals being configured to connect to an electrical-biosignal acquisition module; forming the capacitor component in a series path between the input and output terminals; and forming the voltage-limiting component in a path between ground and a node on said series path between the input and output terminals, wherein the voltage-limiting component has a breakdown voltage equal to or less than 6 volts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to incorporate the device formed by the combined method of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier, into the biological interface system formed in the method of Flaherty because the combination is a simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results – simple substitution of the method of forming the protection module of Simbuerger, Kil, and Escoffier with the method of forming the protection module within the biological interface system of Flaherty (see Flaherty fig. 13) to obtain predictable results (the device formed in the previous combined method would fulfill the same ESD protection function as the ESD protection circuit disclosed in Flaherty; the protection module of the previous combined method is also bidirectional (see Kil fig. 3) which would be an improvement to the overall device in that it would afford ESD protection for a wider range of surge polarities).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Simbuerger, in view of Kil, further in view of Escoffier, further in view of Flaherty, further in view of Dyson et al. (US 20070278539 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Dyson”.
The combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1.
Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty fail to disclose said biological-electrode protection module further comprising a pre-amplifier component integrated in said substrate.
Dyson discloses an ESD protection module (Dyson fig. 1A, 100; see [0023]) including a pre-amplifier component (Dyson fig. 1A, 108; see [0023]) integrated in a semiconductor substrate (Dyson fig. 7, “silicon substrate”; c.f. fig. 1A; see [0013] and [0021]; fig. 7 shows a cut-away view of a JFET included in preamplifier chip 108 as shown in fig. 1A; pre-amplifier chip 108 is integrated in the same silicon substrate as shown in fig. 7).
The pre-amplifier component of Dyson is incorporated into the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty (within said common substrate (Kil fig. 5, 101; see page 8, lines 21-29)), wherein the combined device discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, further comprising a pre-amplifier component integrated in said substrate.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, with the pre-amplifier component of Dyson to improve the integrity and robustness of the biosignal received from the biological electrodes while achieving high performance with low parasitic capacitance (through the improved JFET component of the pre-amplifier component) (see Dyson [0006]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Simbuerger, in view of Kil, further in view of Escoffier, further in view of Flaherty, further in view of Disney, further in view of Song et al. (KR 20050101420 A), hereinafter referred to as “Song” (note that all following citations from Song refer to the copy of Song included in the Office Action).
The combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, Flaherty, and Dyson, discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 3.
Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, Flaherty, and Dyson, fail to disclose wherein the preamplifier component is a junction field effect transistor.
Song discloses an ESD protection module (see Song fig. 3 and page 2, lines 1-2; also see page 3, lines 1-6: note that the ESD circuit is integrated into the microphone capsule for a condenser microphone) comprising a junction field effect transistor (Song fig. 3, “JFET”; see page 3, lines 17-23) that is used as a preamplifier component (see page 3, line 21: “a field effect transistor (JFET), which is a preamplifier”).
The junction field effect transistor of Song is incorporated as the preamplifier component in the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, Flaherty, and Dyson, wherein the combination discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 3, wherein the preamplifier component is a junction field effect transistor.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, Flaherty, and Dyson, with the JFET teachings of Song to reduce the overall power consumption of the device (which would occur when the preamplifier chip component taught by Dyson is replaced by the solitary JFET as taught by Song).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Simbuerger, in view of Kil, further in view of Escoffier, further in view of Flaherty, further in view of Johnson et al. (US 20110040343 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Johnson”.
The combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1.
Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, fail to explicitly disclose wherein there is a distance equal to or less than 1 cm between the biological-electrode protection module and the set of biological electrodes.
Johnson discloses techniques related to implantable leads for active implantable medical devices (AIMDs) (see Johnson [0034]), wherein a biological-electrode protection module (see Johnson figs. 59-60 and [0275]: Johnson discloses that diodes 202a and 202b act as a transient voltage suppression (TVS) element which provides over-voltage protection to the circuit; this TVS element is incorporated into bandstop filter 117, which thus partially serves as an over-voltage protection module; bandstop filter 117 is incorporated into an energy dissipating ring 161 which is, itself, included in implantable probe 102 as shown in fig. 63 (see [0282]); thus, bandstop filter 117 is a biological-electrode protection module) is included within a biological electrode (Johnson fig. 63, 102; see [0282]; c.f. fig. 61 and [0277]: Johnson discloses that general filter element 206 (which represents the bandstop filter element 117 of figs. 59-60) is located within probe 102 which serves as a biological electrode) and connected such that there is no distance between the biological-electrode protection module and the biological electrode (see fig. 61, c.f. fig. 63; bandstop filter 117 (represented as general filter element 206) serving as a protection module is located within and directly connected to probe 102 which serves as a biological electrode; thus, there is no distance between filter 117 and probe 102).
The biological electrode teachings of Johnson are applied to the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, such that the biological-electrode protection module is directly connected to said set of biological electrodes and wherein the present combination discloses wherein there is a distance equal to or less than 1 cm between the biological-electrode protection module and the set of biological electrodes.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, with the teachings of Johnson to improve ESD and overvoltage protection by locating the protection module closer to the biological electrodes (in this way, voltage surges can be mitigated faster before causing damage to the overall device).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Simbuerger, in view of Kil, further in view of Escoffier, further in view of Flaherty, further in view of Coyne et al. (US 20160094026 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Coyne”.
The combined device Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, disclose the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, wherein the voltage-limiting component (Kil fig. 5, 105; c.f. Kil fig. 3; see page 9, lines 1-14: TVS Zener diode element 105 is configured to control voltage during an ESD event) comprises an NPN or PNP structure (see Kil page 9, lines 1-21; see fig. 6 showing junction structures for disclosed TVS diode elements; in the combined device, the voltage-limiting component comprises an NPN or PNP structure as suggested by Kil).
Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty fail to disclose wherein said voltage-limiting component is configured to operate in a punch-through mode.
Coyne discloses techniques for ESD protection for electrical devices (see Coyne [0002]) suggesting that a punch-through diode would improve the turn on time for an ESD protection module while allowing breakdown and holding voltages to be layout adjustable (see Coyne [0079]: “Provide a punch through diode by adjusting the space between the collector and the emitter”; c.f. [0074]-[0075]).
The punch-through diode teachings of Coyne are applied to the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty wherein the present combination discloses the biological-electrode protection module according to claim 1, wherein the voltage-limiting component comprises an NPN or PNP structure that is configured to operate in a punch-through mode.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify the combined device of Simbuerger, Kil, Escoffier, and Flaherty, with the punch-through diode teachings of Coyne in order to improve the turn on time for an ESD protection module while allowing breakdown and holding voltages to be layout adjustable (Coyne [0074]).
Conclusion
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/HAMNER FITZHUGH COLLINS IV/Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/STEVEN H LOKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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