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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on February 27, 2026 has been entered.
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, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2018/012165 (Maeda et al.).
With regards to claim 1, Maeda et al. a sensor device system comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-18, an inertial measurement device (e.g. entire system of Figures 1,15) comprising a board 610 (e.g. circuit board as XY plane; page 10, 3rd paragraph; Figures 1,15) having first and second surfaces (e.g. top surface of board is considered first surface while bottom surface of surface is considered second surface) outwardly opposite to each other; a first inertial sensor 102,602 (e.g. composite inertial sensor; page 10, 3rd and 4th paragraphs; Figures 1,15) disposed on the first surface (e.g. top surface) of the board such that the first inertial sensor having a first vibration element 211 (e.g. detection element; Figures 2,3) and a first detection axis 108a,605a (e.g. positive x-axis detection axis as illustrated in Figures 1,15; page 3, 4th paragraph; page 10, 4th paragraph) along the board such that the first detection axis being aligned with a first line (e.g. a central imaginary line running from left to right through both of the composite inertial sensors of Figures 1,15) and extending in a first direction (e.g. positive x-axis direction); a second inertial sensor 103,603 (e.g. composite inertial sensor; page 10, 3rd and 4th paragraphs; page 4, 10th paragraph; Figures 1,4,15) disposed on the first surface such that the second inertial sensor having a second vibration element 311 (e.g. detection element; Figures 4,5) and a second detection axis 106a,606a (e.g. negative X-axis detection axis as illustrated in Figures 1,15; page 3, 4th paragraph; page 10, 4th paragraph) along the board such that the second detection axis being aligned with the first line and extending in a second direction (e.g. negative x-axis direction) opposite to the first direction (e.g. as observed in Figures 1,15, both composite inertial sensors are positioned along the central imaginary line and one of the inertial sensors measures acceleration in the positive x-axis in the positive x-axis direction while the other of the inertial sensors measures acceleration in the negative x-axis in the negative x-axis direction; Figures 1,15); a processing circuit 104 (e.g. microcontroller, microprocessor) disposed on the board (e.g. as observed in Figures 1,15) and configured to generate a differential signal between an output signal of the first inertial sensor and an output signal of the second inertial sensor (e.g. page 7, last paragraph; Figure 7); the first vibration element 211,211c has third and fourth surfaces (e.g. the detection element 211c as illustrated in Figure 3 is rectangular-shaped where left-side thickness surface and right-side thickness surface of the detection element are considered the third and fourth surfaces respectively; Figures 2,3) outwardly opposite to each other, the second vibration element 311,312c has fifth and sixth surfaces (e.g. the detection element 312c as illustrated in Figure 5 is rectangular-shaped where left-side thickness surface and right-side thickness surface of the detection element of the vibration element are considered the fifth and sixth surfaces respectively; Figures 4,5) outwardly opposite to each other; each of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth surfaces is orthogonal to the first surface of the board (e.g. observed in Figures 1,3,5). (See, pages 1-11 of translation).
With regards to claim 3, Maeda et al. further discloses a third inertial sensor 601 (e.g. composite inertial sensor; Figure 15) disposed on the first surface of the board and having a third detection axis 604b (e.g. positive Z-axis detection axis; Figure 15) along a normal line of the board.
With regards to claim 4, Maeda et al. further discloses a fixing point of the board is located on an outer side of the first inertial sensor, the second inertial sensor, and a region interposed between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor in a plan view (e.g. the fixing point is considered a point in the top outer region on the board between the first and second inertial sensors in Figure 1).
With regards to claim 5, Maeda et al. further discloses each of the first inertial sensor 102,602 and the second inertial sensor 103,603 is a frequency-variable type acceleration sensor (e.g. page 3, 4th and 5th paragraphs).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2018/012165 (Maeda et al.) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0316903 (Sato et al.).
With regards to claim 2, Maeda et al. further discloses a temperature sensor 522 (e.g. temperature sensor; page 8, 6th paragraph; Figure 6) for the first inertial sensor 102 and the second inertial sensor 103; the processing circuit 104,521,520 (e.g. correction circuit along with correction content stored in memory 520; Figure 6) further configured to correct a temperature characteristic of the differential signal by using the temperature (e.g. page 6, 2nd paragraph).
The only difference between the prior art and the claimed invention is the temperature sensor disposed in a region between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor on the first surface of the board such that the temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor where the processing circuit further configured to correct a temperature characteristic by using the temperature.
Sato et al. discloses a sensor unit with a temperature correction device comprising, as illustrated in Figures 1-13, an inertial measurement device 100 (e.g. sensor unit; paragraph [0033]; Figure 3) comprising a board 15 (e.g. circuit board; paragraph [0035]) having first and second surfaces 15f,15r (e.g. first surface and second surface; paragraph [0049]) outwardly opposite to each other; a first inertial sensor 18y (e.g. acceleration sensor; paragraph [0049]) disposed on the first surface of the board having a first detection axis (e.g. y-axis) along the board; a second inertial sensor 18z (e.g. acceleration sensor; paragraph [0049]) disposed on the first surface of the board having a second detection axis (e.g. z-axis); a processing circuit 19 (e.g. control IC; paragraph [0059]) disposed on the board and configured to generate an output signal of the first inertial sensor and an output signal of the second inertial sensor; a temperature sensor 20 (e.g. thermosensitive element; paragraphs [0092],[0093]) disposed in a region between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor on the first surface of the board (e.g. as observed in Figure 10) such that the temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor where the processing circuit further configured to correct a temperature characteristic by using the temperature (e.g. paragraphs [0092],[0093]). (See, paragraphs [0031] to [0139]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have readily recognize the advantages and desirability of employing is the temperature sensor disposed in a region between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor on the first surface of the board such that the temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature between the first inertial sensor and the second inertial sensor where the processing circuit further configured to correct a temperature characteristic by using the temperature as suggested by Sato et al. to the system of Maeda et al. to have the ability to reduce the number of temperature sensor in lieu of having a temperature sensor for each inertial sensor and to suppress a decrease in detection accuracy of the inertial measurement device. (See, paragraph [0093] of Sato et al.).
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection and/or because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/HELEN C KWOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855