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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicants’ election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-7, in the reply filed on 29 June 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 29 June 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 29 March 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Reference numeral “55” does not appear within Figures 3A and/or 3B as suggested by the disclosure in paragraph [0009], line 2.
The drawings are objected to because of the following:
Figure 1A: Sectional designations should be noted with Arabic or Roman numerals. See 37 C.F.R. 1.84(h)(3).
Reference “1C” and “1D” are not Arabic or Roman numerals.
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:
Paragraph [0010], line 5: The article – the – should be inserted prior to the term “area.”
Paragraph [0011], line 2: A – hyphen – should be inserted between the letter “Z” and the term “axis.”
Paragraph [0021], line 1: Sectional designation “1C-1C” has not been noted with Arabic or Roman numerals.
Paragraph [0022], line 1: Sectional designation “1C-1C” has not been noted with Arabic or Roman numerals.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re claim 3, claim line 6: The claim uses the claim language “effective proof mass”; however, it is unclear how the term “effective” is to be defined. The specification has not provided a definition for the term “effective”; and it is unclear what the metes and bounds of the term are. Since, the metes and bounds of the term are unknown, the term as well as the claim are deemed to be indefinite.
Re claim 4, claim line 5: Again, the claims use the term “effective proof mass” which is undefined. Because the metes and bounds of the term are unknown, the term as well as the claim are deemed to be indefinite.
Re claim 7, claim line 3: The phrase “substantially central lower portion” is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Specifically, the metes and bounds of the term “substantially” are unknown; and thus, since the metes and bounds of the term are unknown, the term as well as the claim are deemed to be indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art was not relied upon to reject claims 1-7 because the prior art of record fails to teach and/or make obvious a Z-axis accelerometer, comprising: a sensor configured to measure an acceleration along an axis that extends in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the substrate; and a spring axis configured to deform axially in response to the acceleration; wherein the sensor includes a comb finger arrangement in which a comb finger overlap area is parallel with the spring axis.
The closest prior art, US 7430909 disclose a z-axis accelerometer having a substrate, a sensor configured to measure an acceleration along an axis that extends in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the substrate; a spring axis configured to deform axially in response to the acceleration; and the sensor including a comb finger arrangement having a comb finger overlap area; however, the comb finger overlap area is NOT parallel with the spring axis.
Claims 1-2 are allowed.
Claims 3-7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The prior art discloses various accelerometers that utilizes horizontal comb sensors for detecting motion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL SEAN LARKIN whose telephone number is 571-272-2198. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Laura Sweeney can be reached at 571-272-2160. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL S LARKIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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