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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II (claims 11 – 20) in the reply filed on 08/11/2026 is acknowledged.
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) 11 – 13, 16 – 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yuksek et al (US 2019/0341836) in view of the NPL Document “Non-intrusive movable energy harvesting devices: Materials, designs, and their prospective uses on transportation infrastructures” (cited in IDS) and hereafter refer as the “NPL Document”.
Yuksek et al discloses, regarding,
Claim 11, A system for energy harvesting of infrastructure vibrations, comprising: a cantilever beam 34, 12 comprising a first internal beam 16, a fixed end, and a free end (see Fig. 2D); a first mass (top or bottom or both) coupled to the fixed end of the cantilever beam (see annotated Fig 1C below); a second mass 22 coupled to the first internal beam of the cantilever beam(see Fig. 1C; 0050); and a piezoelectric elements [0061] coupled to the cantilever beam (see Figs. 1C, 2D), wherein values of a plurality of parameters for the cantilever beam are determined to match resonant frequencies of the cantilever beam to vibration frequencies of a host structure, wherein the plurality of parameters [since the claim language is disclosed in the alternative, “or” language, only one parameter is required to be by the prior art; see paragraphs 0043, 0049, 0039, 0041, 0050, 0066, 0068, 0069, 0072, 0073, 0075] comprises a length and a width of the cantilever beam, the first mass, the second mass, positioning information of the first mass and the second mass, positioning information for the plurality of piezoelectric elements, geometric information of the first internal beam of the cantilever beam, a position of the first internal beam within the cantilever beam, or [since the claim language is disclosed in the alternative, “or” language, only one parameter is required to be met by the prior art; see paragraphs 0043, 0049, 0039, 0041, 0050, 0066, 0068, 0069, 0072, 0073, 0075] a combination thereof.
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The problem to be solve appears to provide a cantilever beam with a plurality of piezoelectric elements. Such modification is well-known in the field. For example, The NPL Document discloses, a system for energy harvesting of infrastructure (see title) using a cantilever beam and a plurality of piezoelectric devices coupled to the cantilever beam (see Figs. 5, 6).
The Prior Art further discloses, regarding,
Claim 16, A system for energy harvesting of infrastructure vibrations, comprising: a cantilever beam comprising a first internal beam, a fixed end, and a free end; a first mass integrated into the fixed end of the cantilever beam; a second mass integrated into the first internal beam of the cantilever beam; and a plurality of piezoelectric elements coupled to the cantilever beam, wherein values of a plurality of parameters for the cantilever beam are determined to match resonant frequencies of the cantilever beam to vibration frequencies of a host structure, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a length and a width of the cantilever beam, the first mass, the second mass, positioning information of the first mass and the second mass, positioning information for the plurality of piezoelectric elements, geometric information of the first internal beam of the cantilever beam, a position of the first internal beam within the cantilever beam, or a combination thereof (see rejection for claim 11 above).
The Prior Art discloses the elements pertaining to claim 16 (see rejection for claim 11 above), since it has been held that forming in one piece (mass integrated with the cantilever beam) an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. Howard v. Detroit Stove Works, 150 U.S. 164 (1893).
Claims 12, 17, the cantilever beam further comprises a second internal beam 16, wherein the second internal beam is positioned substantially within the first internal beam (Yukset et al, Figs. 2A, 2D; the NPL Document, Fig. 6, design 6; Fig. 5).
Claims 13, 18, a third mass 22 coupled/integrated to the second internal beam 16 (Yukset et al, Figs. 2A, 2D; the NPL Document, Fig. 6, design 4, 5, 7; Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to design the system as disclosed by Yuksek et al and to modify the invention per the limitations disclosed by the NPL Document for the purpose of quickly implementing energy harvesters to different type of infrastructures.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14, 15, 19, 20 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 prior art fails to disclose the specific structural and physical description of the second internal beam with respect to the cantilever beam and first internal beam as specifically described in claims 14, 19.
Claims 15, 20 are dependent on claims 14, 19.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abdullah Riyami can be reached at 5712703119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Julio C. Gonzalez/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2831
August 27, 2026
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