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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media, particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP § 2111.01. When the broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim covers a signal per se, the claim must be rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter.
The USPTO recognizes that applicants may have claims directed to computer readable media that cover signals per se, which the USPTO must reject under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as covering both non-statutory subject matter and statutory subject matter. In an effort to assist the patent community in overcoming a rejection or potential rejection under 35 U.S.C 101, the USPTO suggests the following approach in this situation. The examiner suggests Claim 9 should recite "a non-transitory storage medium that stores…" A claim drawn to such a computer readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation "non-transitory" to the claim. Claim 10 is likewise rejected due to its dependence on Claim 9.
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a first oscillator disposed away from an electric circuit in the internal space, the electric circuit being electrically connected to the circuit board” where the electrical connection arrangement between the first oscillator and the electric circuit is unclear as the electric circuit is separated. Examiner looks to the specification and interprets the electrical circuit (EC) is not electrically connected to the oscillator [0087: the oscillators 101 and 111 are electrically disconnected from the electric circuit EC].
Claim 4 recites the feature of “the first adsorption film is formed on the outer surface” where the outer surface is structurally unclear. Examiner interprets the limitation as "the outer surface of the first oscillator” that seems to be the claimed arrangement.
All dependent claims are rejected for their dependence on a rejected base claim.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mizutani (US 20100007979: “Mizutani”) in view of Tsukada (US 20100007979:” Tsukada”).
Claim 1. Mizutani discloses a disk device (Fig. 1: 1) comprising: a housing (2) with an internal space [0030: FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the inside of a housing of a magnetic disc apparatus]; a magnetic disk (3) disposed in the internal space [0030]; a circuit board (9 & 10) attached to the housing (2) outside the internal space (Fig. 1: boards 9 & 10 outside housing 2); a first oscillator (6-2) disposed away from an electric circuit (4 magnetic head) in the internal space [0030], being electrically connected to the circuit board (Fig. 1: magnetic head 4 connected to control circuit 10)[0015 & 0027]; and a first adsorption film [0016] formed on the first oscillator (6-2), exposed to the internal space [0015], and configured to adsorb a first substance [0017: a gaseous substance adheres to or deposits on the electrode formation film of the sensor, or is released or undergoes a chemical reaction, and the mass of the electrode formation film increases or decreases, the oscillation frequency of the vibrator decreases or increases accordingly. Therefore, by observing the change over time in the degree of increase or decrease, it is possible to measure the cumulative change in the deposition or desorption of gas phase substances and chemical reactions] Mizutani does not explicitly disclose the electrical circuit as an electrical control device :
a first oscillator disposed away from an electric circuit -in the internal space .
Tsukada teaches a gas is transported from the inside to outside or from the outside to inside of the housing 10, via the window 17 with a filer. A gas sensor 20 is disposed in the housing 10. The gas sensor 20 detects gas in the housing 10. For example, a QCM sensor is used as the gas sensor 20. As the magnetic disc 11 rotates, an air current is generated. The gas sensor 20 is disposed at a position which the air current generated by the rotation of the magnetic disc 11 [0031]. Tsukada further teaches a first oscillator (20) disposed away from an electric circuit (16)[0030: A control circuit 16 controls rotation of the magnetic disc 11, drive of the arm 13, the magnetic head 14, and other operations] -in the internal space (Fig. 1: 20 inside 10)[0031].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Tsukada’s control circuit as an interface board to connect Mizutani’s electrical drive components to an external processing circuit board because the an internal electrical control unit improves the reliability of the device by independent control and power provided when the external circuit board is not operationally available.
Claim 2. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 1. Mizutani further discloses the internal space is filled with a first gas different from air [0002 & 0012 gases (especially harmful gases)].
Claim 3. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 2. Mizutani further discloses the first substance includes a second gas [0003 & 0012: water vapor] different from the first gas [0002 & 0012 gases (especially harmful gases)].
Claim 4. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 3. Mizutani further discloses the first oscillator (6-2) has an outer surface facing the magnetic disk (3) (Fig. 1: 6-2 in the same plane as the magnetic disc and both within the inner space of the magnetic disk], and the first adsorption film [0018] is formed on the outer surface [0018: In this embodiment, the metal film in the electrode formation film of the quartz crystal oscillator sensor element of this QCM is made of, for example, Ag (silver), Au (gold) or Pt (platinum), and a film made of the same or equivalent material as the filter material is additionally formed on top of it in advance].
Claim 5. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 2. Mizutani further discloses a filter (5-2) disposed in the internal space [0012: the housing 2, there is mounted a filter 5 for adsorbing substances such as molecules or atoms in a gaseous state such as water vapor or gas (hereinafter referred to as gaseous phase substances), which may comprise, for example, a silica gel filter 5-1 mainly made of silica gel for adsorbing mainly water vapor and controlling humidity within the housing, and an activated carbon filter 5-2 mainly made of activated carbon for adsorbing mainly gas components within the housing], wherein the housing (2) is provided with a vent [0012 & 0024: The water vapor and gases (especially harmful gases) that are adsorbed include those that are present in the equipment housing 2 from the beginning, those that are generated over time from the internal equipment, and those that enter from outside the housing 2 through intake ports, exhaust ports, etc. over time] communicating with the internal space (internal space of housing 2), and the filter (5-2) collects the first substance [0002 & 0012 gases (especially harmful gases)] from gas flow while passing through the vent (5-2) [0012 & 0024: The water vapor and gases (especially harmful gases) that are adsorbed include those that are present in the equipment housing 2 from the beginning, those that are generated over time from the internal equipment, and those that enter from outside the housing 2 through intake ports, exhaust ports, etc. over time].
Claim 6. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 1. Mizutani further discloses the first oscillator (6-2) includes a piezoelectric body [0004,0016 & 0018: A QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance)], a first electrode disposed on a first surface of the piezoelectric body [0018: In this embodiment, the metal film in the electrode formation film of the quartz crystal oscillator sensor element of this QCM is made of, for example, Ag (silver), Au (gold) or Pt (platinum), and a film made of the same or equivalent material as the filter material is additionally formed on top of it in advance]. Mizutani, as modified, does not explicitly disclose:
a second electrode disposed on a second surface of the piezoelectric body, the second surface being opposite the first surface and a first lead connected to the first electrode, and a second lead connected to the second electrode, and the housing includes a holder that holds the first lead and the second lead.
Tsukada teaches a gas is transported from the inside to outside or from the outside to inside of the housing 10, via the window 17 with a filer. A gas sensor 20 is disposed in the housing 10. The gas sensor 20 detects gas in the housing 10. For example, a QCM sensor is used as the gas sensor 20. As the magnetic disc 11 rotates, an air current is generated. The gas sensor 20 is disposed at a position which the air current generated by the rotation of the magnetic disc 11 [0031]. Tsukada further teaches a first oscillator (Figs. 1 and 2: 20) with a piezoelectric body (Fig. 2b: 21) [0033] and a first electrode (Figs. 2a&b: 22) on a first surface (Fig. 2b: top surface of 21) and a second electrode (25) disposed on a second surface (Fig. 2b: bottom surface of 21) of the piezoelectric body (21){}, the second surface (Fig. 2b: bottom surface of 21) being opposite the first surface (Fig. 2b: top surface of 21 opposite the bottom surface of 21) and a first lead (30) connected to the first electrode (22), and a second lead (31) connected to the second electrode (25), and the housing (10) includes a holder (32) that holds the first lead (30) and the second lead (31) [0031-0032: The other ends of the first lead wire 30 and the second lead wire 31 are fixed to a base 32].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Tsukada’s electrode and lead arrangement into a holder for a quartz crystal micro balance gas sensor with Mizutani’s, as modified, quartz crystal micro balance gas sensor because the electrode and lead arrangement into a holder improves circuit reliability by providing maximum separation of the leads preventing a damaging short circuit contact between the leads.
Claim 7. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 6. Mizutani, as modified, does not explicitly disclose:
the holder detachably holds the first lead and the second lead.
Making elements separable (e.g. detachable) has been held by the courts as an obvious design choice since constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179 and In re Dulberg, 289 F.2d 522, 523, 129 USPQ 348, 349 (CCPA 1961) [see MPEP 2144.04 (V)(c)].
Therefore, it would be obvious to design into Mizutani’s, as modified, quartz crystal micro balance gas sensor a feature of a holder that detachably holds a first and second electrode lead because a detachable feature improves maintainability of the sensor by providing a removable feature for the sensor for repair or replacement maintenance access.
Claim 8. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 1. Mizutani further discloses a second oscillator (6-1) disposed away from the electric circuit (4)[0012]; and a second adsorption film (6-1 layer for vapor adsorption) [0018-0019] formed on the second oscillator (6-1), exposed to the internal space [0013: A sensor 6 consisting of two types of sensors (detection elements) is mounted in the housing 2 near the filter 5 for gas phase adsorption], and configured to adsorb a second substance [0003 & 0012: water vapor] different from the first substance [0002 & 0012 gases (especially harmful gases)].
Claim 9. Dependent on the disk device according to claim 1. Mizutani further discloses a storage (7 & 8) that stores an initial value of an oscillation frequency of the first oscillator [0015: Inside the storage box 8, information from the sensor 6 inside the magnetic recording device 1 can be read by a sensor data reader 9, and this read data is compared with a database stored in a storage device (or the magnetic recording device 1, etc.) not shown in the figure by a control circuit 10, and the results can be displayed on a display device 11].
Claim 10. Dependent on the method of inspecting the disk device according to claim 9. Mizutani further discloses applying, by an inspection device (Fig. 1), a voltage to the first oscillator (6-2)[0016: a quartz crystal oscillator having a piezoelectric effect] of the disk device (3); measuring, by the inspection device (Fig. 1), an oscillation frequency of the first oscillator (6-2) [0016-0017]; acquiring, by the inspection device (Fig. 1), the initial value from the storage [0027]; calculating, by the inspection device (Fig. 1), a difference between a measured value of the oscillation frequency of the first oscillator and the initial value (Figs. 2 & 3)[0027: A filter monitoring system can be constructed in which, regarding the state of the adsorption performance of filter 5 in magnetic recording device 1 in information processing device 7, information on the cumulative change in the oscillator oscillation frequency from sensor 6] ; and determining, by the inspection device (Fig. 1), whether the internal space contained the first substance, based on the difference [0024-0027: the cumulative change in the oscillator oscillation frequency from sensor 6 (i.e., the amount of gaseous matter adhering to and accumulating on the sensor) is read in real time using sensor data reader 9, and the cumulative amount of gaseous matter adhering to the filter is calculated based on this value and a correlation database showing the relationship shown in Figure 2 stored in a storage device (not shown), and the result is displayed, for example, on display device 11 of information processing device 7].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Monica S Young whose telephone number is (303)297-4785. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 08:30-05:30 MST.
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/MONICA S YOUNG/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/PETER J MACCHIAROLO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2855