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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 June 25, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-5 are currently pending. Claims 1, 4 and 5 have been amended. Entry of this amendment is accepted and made of record.
Previous objections to the drawings have been withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments to the drawings filed June 25, 2026.
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, 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsushima et al. (US 2020/0014083) (Matsushima).
Regarding claim 1, Matsushima teaches a temperature sensor comprising: a sensor part (11) that is provided on a flexible thin-plate wire (20) and detects a temperature of a part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraph 0032); and a biasing member (140) that is capable of pressing the sensor part (11) (see Figure 15-16 and paragraph 0067), wherein the biasing member (140) includes: a pressing part (141a) that presses the sensor part toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0070 and 0073); a biasing part (143) that applies to the pressing part (141a) a biasing force toward one side in a pressing direction in which the sensor part (11) is pressed toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0069, 0072 and 0073); and a part to be held (141) that is to be held by a holding member (160) in a state where movement of the part to be held (141) to the other side in the pressing direction is regulated (see Figure 16 and paragraphs 0067-0075), the part to be held (141) includes a locking piece (142) that is elastically deformable in an intersecting direction intersecting
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with the pressing direction (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0070-0071), and a locking part (142a) that is provided on the locking piece (142) and is to be locked by the holding member (160) in a state where movement of the locking part (142a) to the other side in the pressing direction is regulated (see paragraphs 0070-0071), and the biasing member (140) includes a regulating part (regulating part) that regulates movement elastic deformation of the locking piece (142) in the intersecting direction and prevents release of locking between the locking part (142a) and the holding member (160) (see Figure 15-16 and paragraphs 0070-0071 and 0073-0075).
Regarding claim 4, Matsushima teaches a temperature sensor comprising: a sensor part (11) that is provided on a flexible thin-plate wire (20) and detects a temperature of a part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraph 0032); and a biasing member module (140) that is capable of pressing the sensor part (11), including: a pressing part (141a) that presses the sensor part (11) toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0070 and 0073); a biasing part (143) that applies to the pressing part (141a) a biasing force toward one side in a pressing direction in which the sensor part (11) is pressed toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0069, 0072 and 0073); and a part to be held (141) that engages with the pressing part (141a) in a state where the biasing part (143) is placed therebetween (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0069, 0072 and 0073), and wherein movement of the part to be held (141) to the other side in the pressing direction is regulated by the pressing part (shaft part 141a including 141b) (see Figure 16 and paragraphs 0070-0073), and wherein the biasing member module (140) is configured to be held by a holding member (160) in a state where the movement of the part to be held (141) to the other side in the pressing direction is regulated (see Figure 16 and paragraphs 0070-0073).
Regarding claim 5, Matsushima teaches a temperature sensor comprising: a sensor part (11) that is provided on a flexible thin-plate wire (20) and detects a temperature of a part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraph 0032); and a biasing member (140) that is capable of pressing the sensor part (11) and a biasing member (140) that is capable of pressing the sensor part (11) (see Figure 15-16 and paragraph 0067), wherein the biasing member (140) includes: a pressing part (141a) that presses the sensor part toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0070 and 0073); a biasing part (143) that applies to the pressing part (141a) a biasing force toward one side in a pressing direction in which the sensor part (11) is pressed toward the part to be measured (see Figures 15-16 and paragraphs 0069, 0072 and 0073); and a part to be held (141) that is to be held by a holding member (160) in a state where movement of the part to be held (141) to the other side in the pressing direction is regulated (see Figure 16 and paragraphs 0067-0075), the part to be held (141) is configured to be capable of being moved relative to the holding member (160) in an intersecting direction intersecting with the pressing direction independently of the pressing part (141a) and the biasing part (143) (see Figure 1; Note: the part to be held moves in the intersecting direction when connecting to the holding member, the intersecting direction movement is not prevented or facilitated by the pressing part and biasing part), and in a state where the part to be held (141) has been moved in a relative manner in the intersecting direction to be positioned in a predetermined position with respect to the holding member (160), when the part to be held (141) is pressed by the biasing part (143) toward the other side in the pressing direction, the part to be held (141) is held by the holding member (160) in a state where movement of the part to be held (141) in the intersecting direction is regulated (note: side walls 162 of holder 160 regulate the movement of the part to be held in the intersecting direction) (see Figure 16 and paragraph 0075).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 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.
Regarding claim 2, the closest prior art alone or in combination fails to teach or render obvious the specific limitations of the regulating part includes a pressing part-side regulating wall which is provided in the pressing part and with which the locking piece is brought into contact before the locking between the locking part and the holding member is released.
Regarding 3, the closest prior art alone or in combination fails to teach or render obvious the specific limitations of the regulating part includes a locking part-side regulating wall that is included in the locking part and is to face the holding member in the intersecting direction.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection necessitated by amendment.
Conclusion
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/JANICE M SOTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/JOHN E BREENE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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