CTNF 18/630,460 CTNF 81386 FIRST NON-FINAL REJECTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim ends with “structure).” and it should end --structure .--. Appropriate correction is required. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 11 recites the limitation " a pressure sensor " in line 3 of the claim . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 11 recites the limitation " an acceleration sensor " in line 6 of the claim . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-6, 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Takeuchi U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/0067790 . With respect to claims 1, 10-11, Takeuchi teaches a membrane sensor (sensor unit 1, figure 3), comprising: a pressure sensor (pressure sensor 107) configured to generate a first sensor signal depending on a deflection of a pressure-loadable membrane (diaphragm portion 66, paragraph 76); an acceleration sensor (acceleration sensor 108) configured to generate a second sensor signal depending on an acceleration acting on a MEMS functional structure (paragraph 50); and an evaluation circuit (control unit 110) configured to compensate for a dependence of the first sensor signal on an acceleration force including a weight force, acting on the membrane, based on the second sensor signal (the control unit 110 has a function as a correction unit that corrects the detection result of the pressure sensor 107 using the detection result of the acceleration sensor 108, paragraph 60), wherein the pressure sensor and the acceleration sensor are stacked one above the other in a z direction (figures 3 and 4). With respect to claim 2 ,Takeuchi teaches wherein the membrane of the pressure sensor is arranged in a plane perpendicular to the z direction (diaphragm portion 66 is perpendicular to the z direction, figure 4), and the MEMS functional structure is configured to detect at least one acceleration component, acting in the z direction, of the acceleration acting on the MEMS functional structure (the acceleration sensor element 22 is configured to be able to detect acceleration in the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis directions, paragraph 82). With respect to claim 3, Takeuchi teaches wherein the MEMS functional structure of the acceleration sensor and the membrane of the pressure sensor are arranged superposed at least in regions (figures 3 and 4). With respect to claim 4, Takeuchi teaches wherein the membrane is covered by a gel in such a way that the acceleration force acting on the membrane is at least partially caused by a weight of the gel (pressure sensor 107 and the acceleration sensor 108 are covered with the pressure transmission medium 40 in the form of gel or liquid, paragraph 77) With respect to claims 5 and 6, Takeuchi teaches wherein the pressure sensor and the acceleration sensor are similar transducers and are respectively configured as capacitive transducers or piezoresistive transducers (the pressure sensor 107 includes a substrate 6 where the substrate 6 includes the diaphragm portion 66 and a plurality of piezoresistive elements 7 are formed in the diaphragm portion 66, paragraph 83), and the evaluation circuit is configured to generate an analog sum signal of the first sensor signal of the pressure sensor and the second sensor signal of the acceleration sensor and wherein the evaluation circuit includes a first analog front end assigned to the first sensor signal and a second analog front end assigned to the second sensor signal (interpreted as the analog-digital conversion units 115 to 118 that converts each sensor analog signal to a digital signal, paragraph 56) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/0067790 in view of Wiesbauer U.S. Patent Application Publication 2015/0276529 . With respect to claim 7, Takeuchi teaches the claimed invention except wherein the evaluation circuit includes a multiplexer for reading the first and second sensor signals at different times. Wiesbauer teaches a dynamic pressure sensor (abstract) wherein a dynamic pressure sensor 104 and processing circuit 106 provide a change in elevation signal to multiplexer 112 and static pressure sensor 110 provides the absolute pressure to multiplexer 112 (paragraph 28). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Takeuchi with the method of providing the sensor signals to a MUX as taught by Wiesbauer in order to more compact sensor system . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/0067790 in view of Tebje et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0326105 . With respect to claims 8 and 9, Takeuchi teaches the claimed invention except wherein the evaluation circuit is at least partially realized as an integrated circuit in an ASIC chip, and wherein the acceleration sensor is arranged in the z direction between the ASIC chip and the pressure sensor, and wherein the MEMS functional structure of the acceleration sensor includes a spring/mass system in the form of a rocker structure, in which at least one mass is connected to at least one spring element, wherein the at least one mass includes a movable electrode of a capacitive measurement value detection for detecting the acceleration acting on the MEMS functional structure. Tebje teaches a micromechanical component for a pressure and inertial sensor device (abstract) where the micromechanical component may be bonded securely to an evaluation ASIC 62 via the at least one chip-to-chip contact 78 (paragraph 50) and a seismic mass 14 may is used for performing measurements where the seismic mass 14 is connected to upper substrate surface 10a by at least one spring device 22 such that seismic mass 14 may be set into a displacement motion having a component of motion directed along an axis of movement 24 oriented in parallel with upper substrate surface 10a (paragraph 25). Further, seismic mass 14 includes a rocker-arm structure 42, which may be set into a rocking motion about an axis of tilt 44 oriented parallelly to upper substrate surface 10 (paragraph 35). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention Takeuchi of with the acceleration sensor and evaluation sensor structure as taught by Tebje in order to provide a miniaturization of a pressure and inertial sensor device is facilitated and production costs in the manufacture of a pressure and inertial sensor device may be reduced (paragraph 4). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FREDDIE KIRKLAND III whose telephone number is (571)272-2232. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm. 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, John Breene can be reached at (571) 272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. FREDDIE KIRKLAND III Primary Examiner Art Unit 2855 /Freddie Kirkland III/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 3/12/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 2 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 3 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 4 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 5 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 6 Art Unit: 2855 Application/Control Number: 18/630,460 Page 7 Art Unit: 2855
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