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
Claims 1-10 have been examined and claims 11-31 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Applicant is reminded to cancel the nonelected claims 11-31 in the next response.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takeuchi (U. S. Patent 5,150,062).
As for claim 1, Takeuchi discloses an apparatus (see the capacitance sensing circuit in Fig. 4(a) and 5) for measuring characteristics of a capacitor component (1 and 4), the apparatus comprising:
a measurement terminal (point A, or the terminal connected to capacitors 1 and 4) configured to be connected to a capacitor component (1 and 4);
an inductor (6) connected to the measurement terminal; and
a controller configured to generate characteristic information of the capacitor component (i.e., circuitry for sensing capacitance of capacitors 1 and 4) based on LC resonance of the capacitor component (1 and 4) and the inductor(6),
wherein and the inductor (coil 6 in Fig. 5 is variable) has variable inductance (see col. 5, lines 20-21) varying according to at least one of a change in a resonant frequency (f01) and a change in an amplitude of the LC resonance (see the capacitance sensing circuit described in col. 4, lines 20-48)
the controller is configured to generate capacitance information of the capacitor component (1 and 4) based on the variable inductance (L6) and the resonant frequency (f01 in col. 4, line 40-45) of the LC resonance.
As for claim 2, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein a rate of change of the variable inductance (L6) according to a change in the resonant frequency (f01) of the LC resonance varies depending on the resonant frequency (see col. 4, lines 37—48).
As for claim 6, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a DC voltage provider providing a variable DC voltage to the measurement terminal (i.e., DC voltage provider for providing dc voltage of 3.2 V to capacitor 25 and almost zero dc voltage to point A, see col. 4, lines 51-68).
As for claim 7, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 6, wherein the DC voltage provider includes a capacitor (25) having a capacitance of 0.1 mF or more and connected to the measurement terminal (A).
As for claim 8, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 6, wherein the DC voltage provider includes: a boost DC-DC converter (14) boosting a voltage supplied from a battery or an external source (Vcc); and a variable resistor (resistors 10, 11, 12, 7, 8) connected to an output terminal of the boost DC-DC converter (14).
As for claim 9, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate only capacitance information among impedances of a component (1, 4) connectable to the measurement terminal (A).
As for claim 10, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a jig (vessel 3 for containing the electrode of the capacitor 1) configured to be coupled to the capacitor component (1 and 4).
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.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi (U. S. Patent 5,150,062).
As for claims 3-5, Takeuchi discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate the capacitance information based on the variable inductance (L6) according to an inductance determination method corresponding to a resonant frequency (f01).
Still referring to claims 3-5, Takeuchi does not specifically disclose a plurality of predetermined resonant frequency ranges, wherein sensitivity of the resonant frequency varies depending on the resonant frequency range to which the resonant frequency of the LC resonance belongs, among the plurality of resonant frequency ranges.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Takeuchi to disclose generating the capacitance information based on the inductance, the resonant frequency and also predetermined frequency ranges, for the purpose of determining more accurate capacitance information with minimized parasitic effects and maximized measurement sensitivity when desired resonant frequency ranges are also taken into consideration.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on February 27, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to applicant’s argument that “nowhere does Takeuchi disclose or suggests that the inductance L6 of coil 6 varies”, the examiner point to Takeuchi on Fig. 5 and col. 5, lines 20-21, in which Takeuchi clearly disclosed that “in a more practical circuit in which the coil 6 is a variable inductance coil”.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMY HE whose telephone number is (571)272-2230. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00am--5:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Phan can be reached at (571) 272-7924. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AMY HE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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