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 .
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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 different patterns, other than triangles, as recited in claim 6 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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 § 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 1-3, 5-6, 8, 10-12, 14, 15, 17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Baumgartner (US20040100163, hereinafter Baumgartner).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Baumgartner discloses an ultrasonic transducer comprising: an enclosure including an impedance matching member (22, paragraph [0034]), at least one piezoelectric component (12), an adhesive material (transparent thin layer of adhesive, paragraph [0047]), and a backing member (14, 24) including a plurality of apertures (Fig. 2, 26) disposed thereupon; wherein the impedance matching member (22) is coupled to a first surface of the at least one piezoelectric component (12) and the backing member (14) is coupled to a second surface of the at least one piezoelectric component, the first surface being diametrically opposed to the second surface; and wherein the adhesive material (metallization) is disposed between the at least one piezoelectric component and the backing member for coupling the at least one piezoelectric component to the backing member, and between the at least one piezoelectric component and the impedance matching member for coupling the at least one piezoelectric component to the impedance matching member (see paragraph [0004]). The method, as claimed is implicit in the disclosure of Baumgartner.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 11 and 12, the first and second surfaces of the piezoelectric component correspond to the bottom and top surfaces of the piezoelectric component.
Regarding claims 5, 6, 14 and 15, the plurality of apertures corresponds to a circular pattern (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claims 8 and 17, inherently the piezoelectric component oscillates in accordance with an oscillation rate.
Regarding claim 19, Baumgartner discloses an ultrasonic transducer comprising: an enclosure including an impedance matching member (22, paragraph [0034]), at least one piezoelectric component (12), an adhesive material (transparent thin layer of adhesive, paragraph [0047]), and a backing member (14, 24) including a plurality of apertures disposed thereupon (Fig. 2, 26) in accordance with a pattern wherein the at least one piezoelectric component oscillates in accordance with an oscillation rate and the backing member oscillates in accordance with the oscillation rate at which the at least one piezoelectric component oscillates; wherein the impedance matching member (22) is coupled to a bottom surface of the at least one piezoelectric component (12) and the backing member (14) is coupled to a top surface of the at least one piezoelectric component, the first surface being diametrically opposed to the second surface; and wherein the adhesive material (metallization) is disposed between the at least one piezoelectric component and the backing member for coupling the at least one piezoelectric component to the backing member, and between the at least one piezoelectric component and the impedance matching member for coupling the at least one piezoelectric component to the impedance matching member (see paragraph [0004]).
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 of this title, 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 4, 7, 13, 16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baumgartner.
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Baumgartner discloses the invention as explained above, but fails to explicitly disclose fails to disclose the density of the backing member in the range of 350-500kg/cm3. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine the specific density of the backing member, since the applicant has not disclosed that such specific density solves any problem or is for a particular reason. It appears that the claimed invention would perform equally well with any backing material as long as the vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric unit are not compromised.
Regarding claims 7, 16 and 20, Baumgartner discloses the invention as explained above, but fails to explicitly disclose the thickness of the backing member in the range from 2mm-10mm. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to determine the specific thickness of the backing member, since the applicant has not disclosed that such specific thickness solves any problem or is for a particular reason. It appears that the claimed invention would perform equally well with any thickness as long as the vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric unit is not compromised.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jaydi San Martin whose telephone number is (571)272-2018. The examiner can normally be reached on M-Th 7:45-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached on 571-270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J. San Martin/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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