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.
Claims 1-11 are 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.
Claim 11 is generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. Fors example, the word ‘and’ is missing from line 11.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the:
“orthographic projections of the structural springs and the structural slab towards the base are completely located within a range of the cavity” (see claim 1, lines 9-10); and
“mutually overlapping areas in orthographic projections of the piezoelectric film, the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer respectively towards the base” (see claim 1, lines 15-16);
must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contains subject matter (“orthographic projections” in lines 9 and 15; “orthographic projection” in line 18) which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventors, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The term “orthographic projections” is present six times in the specification. The term “orthographic projection” is present three times in the specification. In all instances, the terms appear to describe or identify a projection of a component (structural springs, piezoelectric film, and flexible layer) onto a different component. This interpretation is supported by the following definition of a projection – “the presentation of an image on a surface.” If that is the case, said projection is not a structural component of the claimed invention. It could be the resultant shadow created by a structural element on a surface when illuminated by a light source. In this case, the claim becomes indefinite because the presence, location, and spatial orientation of a light source cannot be determined.
Another possible definition of a projection is – “a thing that extends outward from something else”. If that is the case, said projections could structural features of the claimed invention. However, the claims fail to recite, the specification fails to disclose, and the drawings fail to illustrate the structural parameters needed to asses the design of said projections.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 are considered allowable over the prior art of record.
The prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, does not teach or suggest a micro electromechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric speaker as recited by independent claim 1, comprising:
a structural layer that comprises a structural slab, a structural fixing portion surrounding the structural slab and spaced apart from the structural slab, and a plurality of structural springs connecting the structural slab and the structural fixing portion and having slits;
a piezoelectric composite layer that comprises a piezoelectric film, a first electrode layer formed on one side of the piezoelectric film close to the structural layer, and a second electrode layer formed on one side of the piezoelectric film away from the structural layer; and
a flexible layer spaced apart from the structural layer in a stacking direction of the various layers of the vibration structure.
Dependent claims 2-11 are considered allowable due to their respective dependence on allowable independent claim 1.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PEDRO J CUEVAS whose telephone number is (571)272-2021. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
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/PEDRO J CUEVAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896 January 9, 2026