DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed December 23, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1 and 3 – 9 are pending in the application with claim 2 being cancelled. The amendment to the claims has overcome the 35 USC 112 rejections set forth in the last Non-Final Action mailed September 30, 2025.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (“Design, Characterisation and Prospect of Piezoelectric Microfluidic Technology” – herein after Song) in view of Geschwender, Robert C (US 10,330,234 – herein after Geschwender), evidenced by Suzuki et al. (US 2022/0260067 – herein after Suzuki), Amirouche et al. (US 2009/0297372 – herein after Amirouche) and Au et al. (US 2015/0247580 – herein after Au).
In reference to claim 1, Song teaches a micro pump (see fig. 12) comprising [see pages 7-8]:
a vibrating membrane (“piezoelectric bimorph vibrator” in fig. 12a or see fig. A below) on which a piezoelectric element (see fig. A below) is stacked in a film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane (↨ direction in view of fig. A below);
an upper member (see fig. A below) and an upper space (labeled “S1” in fig. A below) that is formed in the upper member and provided in contact with an upper surface (top surface) of the vibrating membrane; and
a lower member (see fig. A below) and a lower space (labeled “S2” in fig. A below) that is formed in the lower member and provided in contact with a lower surface (bottom surface) of the vibrating membrane,
wherein by displacing the vibrating membrane toward the upper space, a fluid flows out from the upper space to an outside and flows in from the outside to the lower space (inherent function of Song’s pump shown in fig. 12a or fig. 12b),
wherein by displacing the vibrating membrane toward the lower space, the fluid flows out from the lower space to the outside and flows in from the outside to the upper space (inherent function of Song’s pump shown in fig. 12a or fig. 12b),
wherein the vibrating membrane is connected (see circled regions in fig. A below) to an inner peripheral surface (labelled “i.s.1”; see fig. A below) of the lower space so as to block the upper surface (top surface) of the lower space,
wherein an upper inflow port (port corresponding to inlet 1; labeled “I1” in fig. A below) is configured to allow the fluid to flow in from the outside to the upper space (“S1”), and a lower inflow port (port corresponding to inlet 2; labeled “I2” in fig. A below) is configured to allow the fluid to flow in from the outside to the lower space (“S2”), and
wherein the micro pump is a MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical System) micro pump [Song’s micro pump is considered to be a MEMS micropump; the pump’s components include a piezoelectric disc actuator and a disc-shaped cavity, which are characteristic of a MEMS-based design; therefore, a person skilled in the art would understand that the pump described in Song falls within the category of a MEMS micro pump].
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Fig. A: Edited fig. 12b of Song to show claim interpretation.
Song does not teach the micro pump wherein the upper inflow port “is opened to a first side surface of the upper space facing perpendicular to the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane when viewed in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”; wherein the lower inflow port “is opened to a second side surface of the lower space facing perpendicular to the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane when viewed in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”; and wherein the upper inflow port and the lower inflow port “are disposed at positions where the upper inflow port and the lower inflow port do not overlap with each other in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”.
However, Geschwender teaches a peristaltic apparatus (see figs. 1A, 2A-2B), wherein the upper inflow port (106a) is opened to a first side surface (left surface, in view of fig. 2A) of the upper space (118A, see fig. 1B; space within component 102) facing perpendicular to the film thickness direction (↨ direction) of the vibrating membrane when viewed in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane; wherein the lower inflow port (106b) is opened to a second side surface (left surface, in view of fig. 2B) of the lower space (118B, see fig. 1B; space within component 104) facing perpendicular to the film thickness direction (↨ direction) of the vibrating membrane when viewed in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane; and wherein the upper inflow port and the lower inflow port are disposed at positions where the upper inflow port and the lower inflow port do not overlap with each other (as evident from fig. 1A or 2A-2B) in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane.
As evidenced by Suzuki (see ¶5), “in a case where the suction port and the discharge port are provided in the direction perpendicular to the diaphragm …, there is a problem that a cross-sectional shape of a flow path changes greatly among the pump chamber and the suction port and the discharge port, and flow path resistance increases”. Song teaches a dual-chamber pump with one such arrangement of the suction ports and the discharge ports. Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to arrange the inflow and outflow ports such that the ports are non-overlapping and are opened to side surfaces of the upper and lower spaces as taught by Geschwender in the micro pump of Song for the purpose of reducing the flow path resistance, as recognized by Suzuki (see ¶6). Furthermore, such a modification would have involved relocation of parts the component (in this case, relocation of upper inflow port, upper outflow port, lower inflow port and lower outflow port in a manner that the ports are opened to side surfaces of the upper and lower spaces). It has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70. Further, it appears that applicant places no criticality for the claimed limitation of having these upper and lower inflow ports arranged in claimed manner, indicating simply that with such arrangement a strong stress “may be” applied on the straight line (see ¶50 of pg. pub of the instant application).
Song does not teach the micro pump in which “the upper member is made of silicon and the lower member is made of silicon”.
However, Amirouche teaches a micropump wherein the upper member (top cover 70; see fig. 6) is made of silicone and the lower member (bottom cover 70; see fig. 6) is made of silicone [see ¶42: “The layered pump membrane 40 further includes a nonconducting cover 70 covering both faces of the membrane 40. The covers 70 are composed of an electrically insulating material such as silicone rubber. The cover 70 serves to insulate the piezoelectric discs 50 from the fluid being pumped as well as to create a gasket to seal the chambers 20 and 30 from fluid leakage and communication with each other”].
It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to fabricate the dual-chamber micro pump (in this case, upper and lower members in the micropump) of Song using silicone materials and techniques as taught by Amirouche because silicon wafers provide superior structural stiffness and eliminate the need for junctions in miniaturized devices, as recognized by Amirouche (see ¶35).
Song does not teach the micro pump wherein “the vibrating member is integrally formed with the lower member”.
However, Au teaches a micropump (see fig. 1A) wherein the vibrating member (20) is integrally formed with the lower member (member defining chamber 24). Au specifically teaches (see ¶37) the vibrating member built concurrently with the other device features (such as flow chamber 22, control chamber 24, and housing) in a single process.
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to integrally form the vibrating member as taught by Au with the housing (that comprises a lower member) of the micro pump in Song for the purpose of reducing fabrication costs, eliminate potential failure points at bonding interfaces, and simply the manufacturing process by removing the need for manually assembly, as recognized by Au (see ¶37 and ¶51).
In reference to claim 4, Song, as modified, teaches the micro pump, wherein an upper outflow port (port corresponding to outlet 1, in Song or 108a, in Geschwender), which is opened to a third side surface (right side surface; in view of Geschwender’s fig. 2A) of the upper space (“S1” in fig. A above) when viewed in the film thickness direction (↨ direction) of the vibrating membrane and configured to allow the fluid to flow out from the upper space (“S1”) to the outside, and a lower outflow port (port corresponding to outlet 2, in Song or 108b, in Geschwender), which is opened to a fourth side surface (right side surface; in view of Geschwender’s fig. 2B) of the lower space (“S2”) when viewed in the film thickness direction (↨ direction) of the vibrating membrane and configured to allow the fluid to flow out from the lower space (“S2”) to the outside, are disposed at positions where (see Geschwender figs. 2A-2B) the upper outflow port (108a) and the lower outflow port (108b) do not overlap with each other in the film thickness direction (↨ direction) of the vibrating membrane.
In reference to claim 8, Song teaches the micro pump, wherein each of the upper member and the lower member has a quadrangular shape when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating member (this feature is evident from Song’s fig. 13 on page 9), wherein an upper inflow path (“P1”, see fig. A above) configured to inflow the fluid from the outside into the upper space and an upper outflow path (“P3”, see fig. A above) configured to outflow the fluid from the upper space (“S1”, see fig. A above) to the outside are disposed on the upper member, and wherein a lower inflow path (“P2”, see fig. A above) configured to inflow the fluid from the outside into the lower space (“S2”, see fig. A above) and a lower outflow path (“P4”, see fig. A above) configured to outflow the fluid from the lower space to the outside are disposed on the lower member.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song in view of Geschwender, Suzuki (evidentiary reference), Amirouche, Au and further in view of Jassawalla et al. (US 6,264,601 – herein after Jassawalla).
Song, as modified, teaches the micro pump, wherein an upper outflow path (“P3”; see fig. A above) connecting the upper outflow port (“O1”; see fig. A above) and the outside and a lower outflow path (“P4”; see fig. A above) connecting the lower outflow port (“O2”; see fig. A above) and the outside are disposed at positions (see fig. A above).
Song, as modified, remains on the micro pump where at least portions of the upper outflow path and the lower outflow path overlap with each other in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane, and merge into a single path at the overlapping position.
However, Jassawalla teaches a pump (28, see fig. 2), wherein an upper outflow path (see fig. B below; path corresponding to outlet 60b) connecting the upper outflow port (60b) and the outside and a lower flow path (see fig. B below; path corresponding to outlet 60a) connecting the lower outflow path port (60a) and the outside are disposed at positions (see fig. B below) where at least portions of the upper outflow path and the lower outflow path overlap with each other in a thickness direction (↨ in view of fig. B below), and merge into a single path (32) at the overlapping position.
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Fig. B: Fig. 2 of Jassawalla to show claim interpretation.
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have the upper and lower outflow paths in the modified micropump of Song connect at positions where at least portions of the upper outflow path and the lower outflow path overlap with each other in the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane, and merge into a single path at the overlapping position as taught by Jassawalla for the purpose of discharging the fluid into a common discharge manifold, as recognized by Jassawalla (see col. 7, lines 12-14).
Claims 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song in view of Geschwender, Suzuki (evidentiary reference), Amirouche, Au and further in view of Cui et al. (“Simulation and optimization of a piezoelectric micropump for medical applications” – herein after Cui).
Regarding claim 3,
Song, as modified, teaches the micro pump, wherein an upper inflow path (“P1”; see fig. A above) connecting the upper inflow port (“I1”; see fig. A above) and the outside, and wherein a lower inflow path (“P2”; see fig. A above) connecting the lower inflow port (“I2”; see fig. A above) and the outside.
Song, as modified, remains silent on the micro pump, wherein the upper inflow path connecting the upper inflow port and the outside “has a shape in which the upper inflow path gradually widens from the outside toward the upper inflow port, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”, and wherein the lower inflow path connecting the lower inflow port and the outside “has a shape in which the lower inflow path gradually widens from the outside toward the lower inflow port, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”.
However, Cui teaches a micro pump (see fig. 1a and disclosure on pages 1-2), wherein an inflow path (path within inlet nozzle) connecting an inflow port (right port of the inlet nozzle that opens to pump chamber) and the outside (region upstream of the inlet nozzle) has a shape in which the inflow path gradually widens from the outside toward the inflow port, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane (as evident from fig. 1a which shows micropump’s top view).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the upper and lower inflow paths in the modified micro pump of Song with a shape that gradually widens in claimed manner as taught by Cui for the purpose of making the micropump valveless, as recognized by Cui (see disclosure on page 2 under section “Design of the micropump”).
Regarding claim 6,
Song, as modified, teaches the micro pump, wherein an upper outflow path (“P3”; see fig. A above) connecting the upper outflow port (“O1”; see fig. A above) and the outside, and wherein a lower outflow path (“P4”; see fig. A above) connecting the lower outflow port (“O2”; see fig. A above) and the outside.
Song, as modified, remains silent on the micro pump, wherein the upper outflow path connecting the upper outflow port and the outside “has a shape in which the upper outflow path gradually widens from the upper outflow port toward the outside, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”, and wherein the lower outflow path connecting the lower outflow port and the outside “has a shape in which the lower outflow path gradually widens from the lower outflow port toward the outside, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane”.
However, Cui teaches a micro pump (see fig. 1a and disclosure on pages 1-2), wherein an outflow path (path within outlet nozzle) connecting an outflow port (left port of the outlet nozzle that opens to pump chamber) and the outside (region downstream of the outlet nozzle) has a shape in which the outflow path gradually widens from the outflow port toward the outside, when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane (as evident from fig. 1a which shows micropump’s top view).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the upper and lower outflow paths in the modified micro pump of Song with a shape that gradually widens in claimed manner as taught by Cui for the purpose of making the micropump valveless, as recognized by Cui (see disclosure on page 2 under section “Design of the micropump”).
Claims 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song in view of Geschwender, Suzuki (evidentiary reference), Amirouche, Au and further in view of Tanner et al. (US 2006/0147324 – herein after Tanner).
Regarding claim 7,
Song, as modified, teaches the micro pump, wherein (see fig. A above) the vibrating membrane is formed on the lower member, wherein the upper space (“S1”) and the lower space (“S2”) have a circular shape (in view of fig. 13 on page 9) when viewed from the film thickness direction (↨ direction in view of fig. 1) of the vibrating membrane.
Song further teaches the micropump wherein the lower space has a diameter and the upper space has a diameter, but remains silent on the micro pump, wherein the diameter of the lower space is smaller than the diameter of the upper space.
However, “diameter” of a space (wherein respective space is a pumping chamber in Hatfield) is a result effective variable since varying it affects the sizing (i.e. volume/capacity) of the corresponding chamber. This is further evidenced by Tanner. Tanner teaches (see figs. 3-5A) a micropump wherein a diameter of a lower space (space 28) is smaller than a diameter of an upper space (space above piezoelectric element 40).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have “a diameter of the lower space is smaller than a diameter of the upper space” in the modified Song’s pump since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980). Further, applicant places no criticality on the claimed relationship between two spaces, indicating simply (see ¶48 of pg. pub of the instant application) “In addition, in the micro pump 1 according to the present embodiment, the vibrating membrane 9 is formed in the lower member 5 in which the lower space 51 is formed, the shapes of the upper space 31 and the lower space 51 when viewed from the film thickness direction of the vibrating membrane 9 is circular, and the diameter of the lower space 51 is smaller than the diameter of the upper space 31. As a result, since the outer periphery of the vibrating membrane 9 is disposed inside the inner peripheral surface of the upper space 31, the influence of the vibration of the vibrating membrane 9 on the upper member 3 can be reduced, thereby improving the durability”.
Regarding claim 9,
Song, as modified, does not teach the micro pump, wherein an outer periphery of the vibrating membrane is disposed inside an inner peripheral surface of the upper space.
However, Tanner teaches (see figs. 3-5A) a micropump wherein a diameter of a lower space (space 28) is smaller than a diameter of an upper space (space above piezoelectric element 40) such that an outer periphery of the vibrating membrane (26) is disposed inside an inner peripheral surface of the upper space.
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the upper space such that an outer periphery of the vibrating membrane disposed inside an inner peripheral surface of the upper space as taught by Tanner in the modified Song’s pump for the purpose of having the upper space that has pumping capacity (because of increased area) larger than that of the lower space.
Response to Arguments
The arguments filed December 23, 2025 have been fully considered but they are moot. The amendment to independent claim 1 changed the scope of the claim. As a result, the prior arts have been re-evaluated and re-applied to the claims, in view of newly found references of Song and Au.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/CHIRAG JARIWALA/Examiner, Art Unit 3746
/ESSAMA OMGBA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3746