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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 – 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 1, the statements “bought into contact” and “disposed in a manner” are vague and indefinite.
Claims 2 – 4 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 1.
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) 1 - 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakamura (US 2017/0263846) in view of Saito et al (US 2001/0021807).
Nakamura discloses, regarding,
Claim1, An ultrasonic device comprising: a vibration plate 412 having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; an acoustic matching layer43 or 47 that is provided on the first surface and is bought into contact with an object 44; a piezoelectric element 413 provided on the second surface (see Figs. 4, 12); and a prevention portion 421 that is disposed in a manner of surrounding the piezoelectric element on the second surface (see Figs. 4, 12), wherein when a thickness of the acoustic matching layer is defined as t, a sound velocity of ultrasonic waves is defined as V, and a center frequency of ultrasonic waves transmitted from the first surface is defined as f, t < V/f is satisfied (since it is well-known that λ (wavelength) = v/f, thus t < λ; see paragraphs 0030 – 0033, 0037, 0046, 0099, 0120).
Saito et al is being cited for explicitly showing that it is well-known for an ultrasonic device to have a thickness in which the thickness < v/f (see Figs. 5, 7; 0082, 0083, 0090, 0091).
The Prior Art further discloses, regarding,
Claim 2, the thickness t of the acoustic matching layer satisfies t > 0.5 V/f (Nakamura, 0033, 0036, 0037; Saito et al, 0082, 0083, 0090).
Moreover, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to come with those optimum ranges that the applicant discloses, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Claim 3, the thickness t of the acoustic matching layer is 2 mm or less (Saito et al, 0083, 0091).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to design the device as disclosed by Nakamura and to modify the invention per the limitations disclosed by Saito et al for the purpose of improving the quality of ultrasonic devices.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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 and overcoming the 112 rejection.
The prior art fails to disclose the range and also the way of obtaining the normalized radiation impedance as described in the claim.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Julio C. Gonzalez/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2831
August 18, 2026
Prosecution Insights