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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to remarks filed on 01/23/2026. The rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 is withdrawn in view of the applicant’s amendments and arguments. Upon further consideration, the pending claims are directed to a sensor assembly comprising physical structural components, therefore the prior rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 is not maintained. Additionally, the prior rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) is withdrawn in view of the applicant’s amendments. Claims 1-8 and 10 have been amended. Claims 1-15 are considered in this office action. Claims 1-15 are pending examination. Claims 1-15 are rejected in light of the new grounds for rejection involving Mahar et al. This action is final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant presents the following arguments regarding the previous office action:
Lujan fails to disclose an inner case movably guided in an outer case
Lujan does not disclose an inner case moveable between an inner position and an outer position, or a cavity that permits positional change.
Lujan does not disclose a resilient member biasing the inner case out of the outer case through a first cavity opening.
A person of skill in the art would not consider combining Lujan with either Roehr or Carpenter.
Applicant’s arguments A-C, with respect to the claims have been fully considered and are moot in light of the new grounds for rejection below.
Regarding applicants argument D, that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not consider combining Lujan with either Roehr or Carpenter has been considered and is not persuasive. Carpenter is in the same field of endeavor as Lujan because both references relate to monitoring ground engagement products to detect wear, separation or operating conditions. Lujan teaches a spring loaded transducer used to detect partial separation of bucket components, while Carpenter teaches placing a monitoring device in a recess of a ground engaging product for wireless monitoring during use. It would have been obvious to modify Lujan with Carpenter’s recessed monitoring device arrangement to improve protection, retention, and positioning of the sensor in a similar harsh working environments.
Additionally, Roehr is also reasonably pertinent because it teaches a spring loaded sensor housing arrangement for holding a sensor against an adjacent mounting structure, Although Roehr is directed to a vehicle window sensor, the relied upon teaching is the mechanical sensor mounting structure, not the vehicle environment. It would have been obvious to apply Roehr’s spring loaded sensor housing concept to Lujan to maintain proper sensor positioning and accommodate relative movement or assembly tolerances. Accordingly the rejection is maintained.
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 1-2, 4, and 14 are all rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Lujan et al. (US6870485B2) in view of Mahar et al. (US5121110A).
Regarding claim 1, Lujan discloses, a sensor assembly (1, embedded sensor), arranged for attachment to a ground engaging tool, (1, mechanically detecting the separation of a metal part from the leading edge of an excavator at an early stage by an embedded sensor) the sensor assembly comprising: an inner case (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 9, and an inner aluminum can 42); an outer case (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 9, transducer housing assembly 40 includes an outer steel can 41), wherein the inner case houses a sensor configured to measure a gap to an adjacent surface (1, mechanically detecting the separation of a metal part from the leading edge of an excavator at an early stage by an embedded sensor), wherein the outer case is provided with a first cavity arranged for receiving the inner case through an opening of the first cavity (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 9, the aluminum inner can 42 is removably inserted into the steel can 41).
Furthermore, Mahar who is in the same field of endeavor of sensor mounting discloses, the sensor assembly comprising: an inner case (DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, 0001, is positioned about an inner sleeve 28), an outer case, (DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, 0001, the outer sleeve 26),
wherein the outer case is provided with a first cavity arranged for receiving the inner case through an opening of the first cavity such that the inner case is movably guided in the outer case (1, a hollow outer sleeve adapted to be fixed to a frame member adjacent the moving object; an inner sleeve slidably mounted within said outer sleeve for axial movement therein), the inner case being positioned movably between an inner position and an outer position within the outer case; (DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, 0003, it can be seen how if a movable object 40, as it approaches the proximity sensor 10, fails to stop in time, it will cause the sensor housing 12 to retract within the outer sleeve 26, compressing the spring 36, as may be seen in FIG. 2, up until the spring is completely compressed between the two flanges 30 and 32. Up to that point, the sensor housing 12 can be moved axially within the outer sleeve 26 without damage thereto); and a resilient member arranged to bias the inner case out of the outer case through the opening of the first cavity (1. resilient biasing means for urging said inner sleeve to move out of said outer sleeve).
It would have been obvious to modify Lujan’s heavy equipment separation sensor with the spring-biased slidable inner/outer sleeve mounting of Mahar. This would protect the sensor from impact damage and allow the sensor to retract and return during relative movement between heavy equipment components. Lujan recognizes the need to detect early separation between components in a harsh mining environment (SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION, 1, the unexpected loss of heavy mining equipment is prevented by detecting the separation of the metal parts at an early stage in the separation process, and providing a warning signal in response to which the particular machine that is having the difficulty may then be shut down in a timely manner). While Mahar teaches a known sensor mounting structure that permits a proximity sensor to retract into an outer sleeve when contacted. Therefore damage would be prevented from unintended contact. This combination would have predictably improved Lujan’s sensor assembly.
Regarding claim 2, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 1, as discussed supra. Additionally, Lujan discloses the resilient member is provided at an inner bottom surface of the first cavity of the outer case for pushing against an outer bottom surface of the inner case (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 11, in the bottom portion of housing 43 a steel coil spring 52 is received, and a magnet 53 rests upon the top end of the coil spring).
Regarding claim 4, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 2, Additionally, Lujan discloses the resilient member is attached to the inner bottom surface of the outer case or attached to the outer bottom surface of the inner case (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 11, in the bottom portion of housing 43 a steel coil spring 52 is received, and a magnet 53 rests upon the top end of the coil spring).
Regarding claim 14, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 1, as discussed supra. Additionally, Lujan discloses the inner case is provided with a central cavity arranged for receiving the sensor, (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 10, a flat printed circuit board 54, best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, divides the interior of the aluminum can into two semi-cylindrical compartments. One such compartment receives a battery 56 and circuit board 54 while the other compartment receives the plunger housing 43), wherein the central cavity of the inner case is provided with a shelf (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 10, a flat printed circuit board 54, best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, divides the interior of the aluminum can into two semi-cylindrical compartments) and wherein the shelf and the sensor are configured such that the sensor in its installed position within the inner case rests against the shelf in a predetermined position within the central cavity of the inner case (DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, Paragraph 10, one such compartment receives a battery 56 and circuit board 54 while the other compartment receives the plunger housing 43).
Claims 3, 9, 11-13, and 15 are all rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Lujan et al. (US6870485B2) in view of Mahar et al. (US5121110A), further in view of Carpenter et al. (EP3530821A1).
Regarding claim 3, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 1 as discussed supra. However Lujan and Mahar do not explicitly disclose, the resilient member being a spring or a piece of resilient material such as rubber or an elastomer.
Nevertheless, Carpenter who is in the same field of endeavor of ground-engaging products discloses the resilient member being a spring or a piece of resilient material such as rubber or an elastomer, (0056, body 76 is preferably made of a polymer though other materials can be used. In one preferred embodiment, the polymer is selected from a group consisting of elastomers, thermoplastics, and thermosets).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Lujan and Mahar with Carpenter to incorporate the teachings of resilient material springs for the benefit of preventing corrosion and fatigue from other materials such as metal that rust.
Justification for combining the combination of Lujan and Mahar with Carpenter not only comes from the state of the art but from Carpenter (0091, the examples given and the combination of features disclosed are not intended to be limiting in the sense that they must be used together).
Regarding claim 9, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 1 as discussed supra. However Lujan and Mahar do not disclose, one or more outer side surfaces of the outer case are provided with resilient protrusions.
Nevertheless, Carpenter discloses, wherein one or more outer side surfaces of the outer case are provided with resilient protrusions. (0058, the retainers 69 are shown as ribs that generally extend around the sides of the outer edges of the bottom end 63. The body 76 is secured within the recess 50 via an interference fit so that the ribs of retainers 69 contact the sides of the recess to secure the body 76 within the recess 50),
Regarding claim 11, Lujan, Mahar, and Carpenter disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 9 as discussed supra. Additionally, Carpenter discloses, an outer bottom surface of the outer case is provided with one or more recesses/protrusions (0059, bottom end 63 preferably has a removal feature 71 to remove the plug 75 from the recess 50. In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 21-22, a removal tool engages removal feature 71 to pry the body 76 out of the recess).
Regarding claim 12, Lujan and Mahar disclose the sensor assembly according to claim 1 as discussed supra. However Lujan and Mahar do not disclose, the sensor is embedded in resin in the inner case.
Nevertheless, Carpenter discloses, the sensor is embedded in resin in the inner case (0052, the substrate 34, sensor 35, transmitter 36 and the battery 37 are preferably embedded in a body 31, which in this embodiment is a resin).
Regarding claim 13, Lujan, Mahar, and Carpenter disclose the sensor assembly according to claim 12 as discussed supra. Additionally, Carpenter discloses, the inner case is made of the resin also embedding the sensor (0064, a body 31 encapsulates a chip (acting as the sensor and the transmitter) and battery to protect them. Body 31 can be a resin or other material).
Regarding claim 15, Lujan and Mahar disclose the sensor assembly according to claim 14 as discussed supra. However Lujan and Mahar do not disclose, the inner case is provided with a plurality of locking protrusions or latches configured to hold the sensor in its installed position resting against the shelf.
Nevertheless, Carpenter discloses, the inner case is provided with a plurality of locking protrusions or latches configured to hold the sensor in its installed position resting against the shelf (0054, in this embodiment, at least one monitoring device 25 is secured to, or within, a plug body 76. In the illustrated embodiment, the plug member 75 is the body for the monitoring device 25. In other embodiments, monitoring device 25 may, e.g., be encased in a body that is then secured to the plug body 76. A plug 75 of this kind could also be secured into a recess 50 defined directly into an external surface 40 of product 15),
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Lujan et al. (US6870485B2) in view of Mahar et al. (US5121110A), further in view of Roehr et al. (US20110155874A1).
Regarding claim 6, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 1, as discusses supra. However Lujan and Mahar do not disclose, the inner case and the outer case are provided with one or more pairs of corresponding protrusion and recess interlocking means configured such that when the inner case is positioned within the outer case the protrusion interlocking means is movable within the recess interlocking means upon movement of the inner case between the inner position and the outer position within the outer case, and such that the protrusion and recess interlocking means engage at the outer position to prevent the inner case from moving past the outer position further out of the outer case.
Nevertheless, Roehr who is in the same field of endeavor of sensor assemblies discloses, the inner case (0031, sensor housing cover 8), and the outer case (0031, is placed over sensor housing body 9), are provided with one or more pairs of corresponding protrusion (0031, spring hooks (not shown) integrally formed on spring arms 4 engage in), and recess interlocking means (0031, latching receptacles 13), configured such that when the inner case is positioned within the outer case the protrusion interlocking means is movable within the recess interlocking means upon movement of the inner case between the inner position and the outer position within the outer case, (0031, on sensor housing body 9 to thereby mechanically connect bracket 1 to sensor housing body 9 with sensor housing cover 8 sandwiched therebetween. Latching receptacles 13 are integrally molded on sensor housing body 9. The receptacle openings of latching receptacles 13 are oriented parallel to the main surface of sensor housing body 9), and such that the protrusion and recess interlocking means engage at the outer position to prevent the inner case from moving past the outer position further out of the outer case (0032, the spring hooks formed on spring arms 4 thereby produce a rigid connection that can only be released by a deliberate manipulation between bracket 1 and sensor housing body 9).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Lujan and Mahar with Roehr to incorporate the teachings of interlocking parts for the benefit of preventing ensuring the sensors are accurately positioned for reliable measurements of the surfaces.
Justification for combining the combination of Lujan and Mahar with Roehr not only comes from the state of the art but from Roehr (0025, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention).
Regarding claim 7, Lujan, Mahar and Roehr disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 6, as discussed supra. Additionally, Roehr discloses, the recess interlocking means is/are provided in the form of second cavities in inner side surfaces of the first cavity of the outer case (0031, the receptacle openings of latching receptacles 13 are oriented parallel to the main surface of sensor housing body 9).
Claims 5, 8, and 10 are all rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Lujan et al. (US6870485B2) in view of Mahar et al. (US5121110A), further in view of Carpenter et al. (EP3530821A1), further in view of Roehr et al. (US20110155874A1).
Regarding claim 5, Lujan and Mahar disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 2, as discussed supra. However, Lujan and Mahar do not disclose, the resilient member is integrally formed with the inner case and extends from the outer bottom surface of the inner case for pressing against the inner bottom surface of the first cavity of the outer case.
Nevertheless, Roehr discloses, the resilient member is integrally formed with the inner case (0030, bracket 1 further includes a plurality of spring arms 4 which extend perpendicularly away from respective corners of base 2. Bracket 1 further includes first and second bracket side portions 3. Bracket side portions 3 are integrally formed on the opposite narrow sides of bracket base 2 between a corresponding pair of spring arms 4). However, Roehr still does not explicitly disclose, the extension from the outer bottom surface of the inner case for pressing against the inner bottom surface of the first cavity of the outer case.
Nevertheless, Carpenter discloses, the extension from the outer bottom surface of the inner case for pressing against the inner bottom surface of the first cavity of the outer case (0058, the bottom end 63 has one or more retainers 69 to hold the body 76 within the recess 50. In Figures 22-25, the retainers 69 are shown as ribs that generally extend around the sides of the outer edges of the bottom end 63. The body 76 is secured within the recess 50 via an interference fit so that the ribs of retainers 69 contact the sides of the recess to secure the body 76 within the recess 50),
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lujan, Mahar, Roehr, and Carpenter’s disclosures to incorporate the teachings of interlocking parts and biasing means for the benefit of preventing ensuring the sensors are accurately positioned for reliable measurements of the surfaces.
Justification for combining Lujan, Mahar, Roehr, and Carpenter’s disclosures not only comes from the state of the art but from, Roehr (0025, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention).
Regarding claim 8, Lujan, Mahar, and Roehr disclose the sensor assembly according to claim 6, as discussed supra. Additionally, Carpenter discloses, the recess interlocking means is/are provided in the form of through hole(s) through side walls of the outer case (0051, the collar 122 can be inserted into through-hole 48 in the tip 15 and a pin 150 threaded into the collar to extend into a mating hole 49 in the nose 17 to secure the tip 15 onto the nose 17).
Regarding claim 10, Lujan, Mahar, and Carpenter disclose, the sensor assembly according to claim 9, as discussed supra. Additionally, Roehr discloses, the resilient protrusions are shaped as elongate wings or hooks directed towards the opening of the first cavity (0031, spring hooks (not shown) integrally formed on spring arms 4 engage in latching receptacles 13 on sensor housing body 9 to thereby mechanically connect bracket 1 to sensor housing body 9).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/S.E.D./
Examiner, Art Unit 3665
/CHRISTIAN CHACE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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