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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Fig. 7 includes improper shading. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
“may a connection” [0026] is unclear.
“travel steps” [0034] should be --travel stops--.
“movmeent” [0034] should be --movement--.
“lifting assembly 104” [0052] should be --lifting portion 104--.
“sold” [0061] should be --solid--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sugita et al. (EP 2 320 543).
Regarding claim 1, Sugita et al. (hereinafter Sugita) teaches a linear actuator assembly comprising: an actuator frame 341 (Fig. 10); an armature 603 located within the actuator frame 341 (Fig. 10), the armature 603 having a first side and a second side (Fig. 17); magnets 609A/B comprising: a magnetic material that generates a magnetic field, the magnetic material comprising a magnetic material thickness (magnets would clearly have a thickness) (Fig. 17) [0041], and magnetic backing (adhesive) connected to the magnetic material (col. 19 lines 21-26), the magnetic backing comprising a magnetic backing thickness (an adhesive would clearly have a thickness), wherein the magnets further comprise: one or more first magnets 613 connected to the first side of the armature 603, and one or more second magnets 613 connected to the second side of the armature 603; a first linear motor 620A located on the first side of the armature 603 and spaced apart from the one or more first magnets 613 by a first air gap (Fig. 17); and a second linear motor 620B located on the second side of the armature 603 and spaced apart from the one or more second magnets 613 by a second air gap (Fig. 17); and wherein the armature 603, the one or more first magnets 613, and the one or more second magnets 613 are moved relative to the actuator frame by the first linear motor 620A and the second linear motor 620B (Figs. 18A and 18B).
Sugita remains silent as to wherein ratio of the magnetic backing thickness to the magnetic material thickness is about 2:1 or less.
While silent, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have adhesive used to adhere the magnets be less than the thickness of the magnetic material, therefore less than about 2:1 ratio.
Regarding claim 2, Sugita as rejected above, teaches the linear actuator assembly of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the magnetic backing thickness to the magnetic material thickness is about 1.4:1 or less.
Regarding claim 3, Sugita teaches the linear actuator assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first mounting plate 4A on the first side in communication with the actuator frame (Sugita teaches that the plate spring member of Fig. 1 may be used in the other embodiments [0030]) and a second mounting plate on the second side in communication with the actuator frame (as the embodiment of Fig. 16 has two movers 03, it would have been obvious to have two plate spring members, one on each side).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-20 are allowed.
Claims 4-12 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW V DO whose telephone number is (571)270-3420. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Walter L Lindsay can be reached at 571-272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/A.V.D/Examiner, Art Unit 2852