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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 14 is rejected 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 statement “a flat plate shape swells a maximum amount a center” is idiomatic.
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 – 16, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizutani (JP 2000-6398) in view of Hoisington et al (US 2013/0210175).
Mizutani discloses, regarding,
Claim 1, A piezoelectric device comprising: a base including a first main surface, a second main surface on a side opposite to the first main surface (see Fig. 9), and a recess 12 on the first main surface; and a laminated portion laminated on a side of the first main surface of the base and covering the recess from above (see Fig. 13); wherein the laminated portion includes, at least above the recess, a piezoelectric layer 70 and a pair of electrode layers 80, 60 to apply a voltage to the piezoelectric layer, and a membrane covering the recess (see Fig. 13); and the membrane includes a piezoelectric membrane (see Fig. 13), in the piezoelectric layer.
The problem to be solve appears to show that the piezoelectric layer/membrane bends/expands in a certain direction.
Such procedure is well-known, for example, Hoisington et al shows a piezoelectric device having base with a recess, piezoelectric membrane 126b that swells on at least one of a side of the recess (see Figs. 1B, 4B, [0077]) and a side opposite to the side of the recess.
Hoisington et al further discloses, regarding,
Claim 2, the piezoelectric layer is defined by a piezoelectric single- crystal body [0105, 0193].
Claim 3, the piezoelectric membrane includes a portion swelling on the side of the recess and a surface of the portion swelling on the side of the recess is a curved surface (see Figs. 4B, 9H).
Claim 4, the piezoelectric membrane has a thickness dimension that increases as a swelling height dimension of the piezoelectric membrane increases (Fig. 10E).
Claim 5, the recess includes a sealed space (Fig. 9H).
Claim 6, the recess has negative pressure (Fig. 9H).
Claim 7, the base includes a hole extending from a bottom of the recess to the second main surface of the base (Fig. 1B).
Claim 8, the base includes Si [0003,0013, 0014].
Claim 9, the pair of electrode layers include an upper electrode layer 124a on an upper surface of the piezoelectric layer 126a and a lower electrode layer 122a on a lower surface of the piezoelectric layer.
Claim 10, the piezoelectric membrane includes a portion that swells on the side of the recess and a portion that swells on the side opposite to the side of the recess (Figs. 2A, 2B).
Claim 11, each of the portion that swells on the side of the recess and the portion that swells on the side opposite to the side of the recess is a curved surface (Figs. 2A, 2B).
Claim 12, portions of the piezoelectric membrane excluding the portion swelling on the side of the recess have a flat plate shape (see Fig. 1B).
Claim 13, portions of the piezoelectric membrane excluding the portion that swells on the side of the recess and the portion that swells on the side opposite to the side of the recess have a flat plate shape (Fig. 1B).
Claim 14, the portion swelling on the side of the recess have a flat plate shape swells a maximum amount a center or approximate center of the recess (Fig. 1B).
Claim 15, the piezoelectric layer includes lithium tantalate or lithium niobate.
It is reminded that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use such material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claim 16, each of the upper and lower electrode layers includes Al or Pt. It is reminded that it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to use such material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claim 20, the recess has a rectangular or substantially rectangular external shape (Fig. 1B) when viewed in a direction orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the first main surface.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to design the device as disclosed by Mizutani and to modify the device per the limitations disclosed by Hoisington et al for the purpose of providing piezoelectric actuators that have higher volume displacement while having a smaller footprint.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17, 18, 19 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.
The cited prior art of record fails to disclose the intermediate layer interaction with the lower electrode layer and piezoelectric layer as specifically described in claim 17. Claims 18 and 19 are dependent on claim 17.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Julio C. Gonzalez whose telephone number is (571)272-2024. The examiner can normally be reached M-F.
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/Julio C. Gonzalez/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2831
December 30, 2025
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