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 § 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, 3-4, 6-10, 12, 14, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dwyer (US Publication 2022/0018872).
With regards to claims 1, 12 and 20, Dwyer discloses an accelerometer system (FIG. 1-2) and its method comprising:
a magnet (220) having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the magnet is configured to generate a magnetic flux that flows through the magnet from the second end of the magnet to the first end of the magnet ([0039, 0046]; FIG. 2);
a proof mass (203) extending through the magnet ([0039]);
a first coil (210A) disposed around a first portion of the magnet ([0039]; FIG. 1-2);
a second coil (210B) disposed around a second portion of the magnet ([0039]; FIG. 2); and
processing circuitry (102; FIG. 1) configured to:
receive a signal corresponding to a capacitance of an interface between the magnet and the proof mass ([0040]);
cause, based on the signal, a first current to flow through the first coil ([0040]); and
cause, based on the signal, a second current to flow through the second coil ([0040]),
wherein a first force corresponding to the magnetic flux and the first current and a second force corresponding to the magnetic flux and the second current maintain the proof mass in a null position ([0044, 0049-0050]).
With regards to claim 3, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claim 1, wherein the first current flows through the first coil in a first direction, and wherein the second current flows through the second coil in a second direction opposite the first direction ([0045]).
With regards to claims 4 and 14, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claims 1 and 12, respectively, further comprising:
a first pole piece (206A) connected to the first end of the magnet ([0039]; FIG. 2); and
a second pole piece (206B) connected to the second end of the magnet ([0039]; FIG. 2), wherein the magnetic flux flows through the magnet from the second pole piece to the first pole piece and flows through a magnetic return path from the first pole piece to the second pole piece ([0047]).
With regards to claims 6 and 16, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claims 1 and 12, respectively,
wherein the magnet (210) extends along a longitudinal axis from a first end of the magnet to a second end of the magnet, and
wherein the proof mass (203) extends through the magnet normal to the longitudinal axis ([0039]; FIG. 2).
With regards to claims 7 and 17, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claims 1 and 12, respectively, wherein to receive the signal, the processing circuitry is configured to:
receive a first signal component (“first sense signal”) corresponding to a first gap between the magnet and the proof mass, wherein the first gap is located at a first side of the proof mass ([0040]); and
receive a second signal component (“second sense signal”) corresponding to a second gap between the magnet and the proof mass, wherein the second gap is located at a second side of the proof mass ([0040]; FIG. 2), and
wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
determine a difference between the first signal component and the second signal component, wherein the difference between the first signal component and the second signal component indicates that the proof mass is displaced from the null position ([0040]);
select one or more parameters of the first current based on the difference between the first signal component and the second signal component ([0051, 0064-0065]); and
select one or more parameters of the second current based on the difference between the first signal component and the second signal component ([0051, 0064-0065]).
With regards to claims 8 and 18, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claims 1 and 12, respectively, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to identify, based on the first current and the second current, an acceleration of the accelerometer system ([0044-0045]).
With regards to claims 9 and 19, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claims 8 and 18, respectively, wherein the acceleration of the accelerometer system identified by the processing circuitry represents an acceleration along a longitudinal axis of the magnet extending from the first end of the magnet to the second end of the magnet ([0044-0045]).
With regards to claim 10, Dwyer discloses the accelerometer system of claim 1, wherein a magnitude of the first current is the same as a magnitude of the second current ([0045]), and wherein a direction of the first current is opposite a direction of the second current ([0045, 0049]).
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.
Claims 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dwyer (US Publication 2022/0018872) in view of Dwyer et al. (US Publication 2017/0356927; hereinafter Dwyer_2).
With regards to claims 2 and 13, Dwyer teaches the accelerometer system of claims 1 and 12, respectively. However, Dwyer is silent regarding wherein the magnet has a minor loop slope representing a relationship between a magnetic field strength of the magnet and a magnetization of the magnet, and wherein the minor loop slope of the magnet is the same at the first portion of the magnet and the second portion of the magnet.
Dwyer_2 teaches an accelerometer (abstract) wherein the magnet has a minor loop slope representing a relationship between a magnetic field strength of the magnet and a magnetization of the magnet, and wherein the minor loop slope of the magnet is the same at the first portion of the magnet and the second portion of the magnet ([0036-0037]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of taking into account of the minor loop slope as taught by Dwyer_2 for each magnet of Dwyer to provide the appropriate current flow as needed for acceleration calculation ([0014-0015]; Dwyer_2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 11, and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior arts on record fail to anticipate and/or suggest the combination of the claimed invention. Specifically, the prior arts fail to teach, inter alia, the limitations “wherein the magnetic flux flows through the magnet from the second pole piece to the first pole piece and flows through the excitation ring to from the second pole piece to the first pole piece” of claims 5 and 15 and “wherein the first coil is connected to the second coil to form a single current pathway, and wherein first current and the second current form a single current flowing through the single current pathway” of claim 11.
The closest prior art, Dwyer (US Publication 2022/0018872), teaches the features of the accelerometer as presented above. However, the functionality and connectivity of the claimed features are different from those of Dwyer as evidenced by the structure shown in FIG. 1-2 of Dwyer (compared to FIG. 1-2 of the instant invention). In addition, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Dwyer as such modification would be extensive. Therefore Dwyer, whether alone or in combination, would not result in the invention as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUANG X.L NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1585. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, STEPHEN D. MEIER can be reached at (571) 272-2149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QXN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/STEPHEN D MEIER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853