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 I (claims 1-15) in the reply filed on 1/2/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 16-22 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/2/26.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 12 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chung et al. (U.S. 2020/0370972, hereafter referred to as Chung).
Regarding claim 1, Chung teaches a sensor, comprising: a composite substrate comprising a template material (see para. 0006), wherein the template material comprises: a plurality of insulating fibers (see para. 0006, 0009); and a plurality of carbon nanotubes bonded to at least a portion of the insulating fibers forming a nanotube coating on the insulating fibers (see para. 0006, 0010); wherein the composite substrate exhibits a tensional fracture induced by a unidirectional tensile force to the composite substrate, wherein the plurality of insulating fibers align along the tensile force and expand in an out of plane direction at or near the site of the fracture (see para. 0006, 0033); and a first electrode on one side of the fracture (see para. 0007).
Regarding claim 2, Chung further teaches wherein the insulating fibers are compressed in the width direction (Fig.1D shows the force in width direction; see para. 0081, as the force was applied on the cracked area of the composite, the untangled crossed fibers generated in the fracture were compressed) and expand with buckling to align fibers along tensional direction (para. 0006, wherein the plurality of insulating fibers form a plurality of crossbar junctions at the site of the fracture; para. 0033, the carbon-nanotube coated cellulose fibers are aligned to form cross junctions with the breakage of the template substrate fibers); and wherein the fibers expand out of plane. (para. 0006, wherein the plurality of insulating fibers form a plurality of crossbar junctions at the site of the fracture; para. 0070, the numerous junctions create an out-of-plane piezo-capacitive sensor; para. 0081, In stage III, the reoriented cellulose fibers in the crack generated sensitivity for out-of-plane directional force).
Regarding claim 12, Chung further teaches wherein the sensor is a capacitive sensor (see Abstract, para. 0015).
Regarding claim 13, Chung further teaches wherein the sensor is a heartbeat sensor (see para. 0020), a gripping motion sensor, a breathing sensor, a nasal air flow sensor, a finger movement sensor, a proximity sensor, or a human-machine interface.
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.
Claim(s) 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung in view of Sugiura et al. (U.S. 2019/0006570, hereafter referred to as Sugiura).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Chung does not explicitly teach wherein the composite substrate is wet with a liquid at or near the site of the fracture when the unidirectional tensile force is applied to the composite substrate.
Sugiura teaches a method of coating the substrate with the dispersion liquid in a pattern shape includes a method of pattern wise printing the dispersion liquid on the substrate by a printing method.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device of Chung with the teaching of Sugiura in order to improve the high-temperature durability of the thermoelectric conversion element(s).
Regarding claim 5, a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-11, 14 and 15 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMEL E WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7027. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm.
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/JAMEL E WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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