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 .
This action is in response to an amendment filed on 12/03/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
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 1-2 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Corson (US 11,627,418 B1).
As to Claim 1, Corson in its teachings as shown in Fig.1-13 as best illustrated by Fig.3A-3B disclose an actuation device (300) comprising:
a first actuation layer (305) including a plurality of first actuators (310, 320, 330) operable independently; and
a second actuation layer (305) provided on the first actuation layer, the second actuation layer including a plurality of second actuators (310, 320, 330) operable independently (Each layer 305 may include actuated transducers 320 and deformed transducers 330 such that transducers 310 may be actuated and/or deformed for each layer 305 independently from the other layer 305- see also Col.8, Line 22- Col.9, Line 5);
Although the first and second actuating layers with the plurality of first and second actuators respectively operating independently are thought as shown above, it doesn’t explicitly disclose the actuators operable within a first and a second frequency range, respectively, different from each other, however, this would have been an obvious modification/designer’s choice before the effective filing date of the instant application since the plurality of actuators of the respective actuation layers operate independently in order to optimize performance for specific tasks.
As to Claim 12, Corson in its teachings as shown in Fig.1-13 disclose a method comprising:
forming an actuation device (300), the actuation device comprising:
a first actuation layer (305) including a plurality of first actuators (310, 320, 330) operable independently; and
a second actuation layer (305) provided on the first actuation layer, the second actuation layer including a plurality of second actuators (310, 320, 330) operable independently (Each layer 305 may include actuated transducers 320 and deformed transducers 330 such that transducers 310 may be actuated and/or deformed for each layer 305 independently from the other layer 305- see also Col.8, Line 22- Col.9, Line 5); and
selectively delivering a current to one or more of the first actuators and the second actuators of the actuation device to actuate the actuation device (as illustrated in FIG. 3B, actuated electrodes 352 of actuated nodes 320 of the top layer 305 may cause deformation of deformed fluid channel 362 and deformed transducer 330 without requiring similar actuation in the bottom layer 305- see also Col.8, Line 22- Col.9, Line 5);
Although the first and second actuating layers with the plurality of first and second actuators respectively operating independently are thought as shown above, it doesn’t explicitly disclose the actuators operable within a first and a second frequency range, respectively, different from each other, however, this would have been an obvious modification/designer’s choice before the effective filing date of the instant application since the plurality of actuators of the respective actuation layers operate independently in order to optimize performance for specific tasks.
As to Claim 2, Corson disclose the actuation device of claim 1, wherein the first actuation layer is integrally formed with the second actuation layer as a one-piece monolithic structure (see Fig. 3A-3B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 13-20 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (US 2020/0235278 A1: An actuator structure includes an electroactive material-based active layer structure which exhibits an intrinsic variation in actuation displacement as a function of temperature. A passive compensator is provided to modify a current or voltage of an electrical stimulation applied to the active layer structure as a function of temperature such as to compensate for the thermally-induced variation in actuation displacement. The passive compensator comprises a multi-layer temperature-dependent capacitor structure, and is formed by layers of a passive carrier layer structure provided coupled to the active layer structure – see [Abstract]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GABRIEL T AGARED whose telephone number is (571)270-1981. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5 (Mon- Thur).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached at (571) 272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GABRIEL AGARED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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