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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the animal bones used as a backing layer must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
With respect to claim 11, it is unclear how animal bones are to be used as part of the backing layer. The specification mentions the use of a skull; however, it is unclear if the skull (or other bone) is modified in any way before the metallic powders are mixed in and then attached to piezoelectric element for use as a backing layer.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hsu et al. (US 2011/0214264).
With respect to claim 1, Hsu et al. discloses a degradable ultrasonic transducer (Fig 1) comprising a piezoelectric layer (item 13) comprising a degradable piezoelectric material (Paragraphs 5-6, wherein all materials inherently have some type or degree of degradability) a first degradable electrode (item 11) arranged at one side of the piezoelectric layer, and a second degradable electrode (item 12) arranged at the other side of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 2, Hsu et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric material comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of Rochelle salt, potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), and triglycine sulfate (TGS) (Paragraphs 5-6).
With respect to claim 3, Hsu et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric material comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) and quartz (Paragraphs 5-6).
With respect to claim 4, Hsu et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric material is in the form of one or more nanostructures selected from the group consisting of nanorods, nanopillars, and nanowires (Fig 1, paragraph 6).
Claim 1 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagahara et al. (US 2004/0113522).
With respect to claim 1, Nagahara et al. discloses a degradable ultrasonic transducer (Fig 1) comprising a piezoelectric layer (Paragraph 84) comprising a degradable piezoelectric material (Paragraph 84, wherein all materials inherently have some type or degree of degradability) a first degradable electrode (Paragraph 84) arranged at one side of the piezoelectric layer, and a second degradable electrode (Paragraph 84) arranged at the other side of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 1. Paragraph 84).
With respect to claim 8, Nagahara et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1, further comprising a degradable matching layer (item 3) arranged to face the piezoelectric layer with the first electrode interposed therebetween (Fig 1, paragraph 84).
With respect to claim 9, Nagahara et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 8, wherein the matching layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) (Paragraph 147).
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. in view of Burak et al. (US 2015/0349743).
With respect to claim 5, Hsu et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1.
Hsu et al. does not disclose that each of the first and second electrodes independently comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of zinc (Zn), zinc (Zn)-magnesium (Mg) alloys, magnesium (Mg), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W).
Burak et al. teaches a piezoelectric device in which each of the first and second electrodes independently comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of zinc (Zn), zinc (Zn)-magnesium (Mg) alloys, magnesium (Mg), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W) (Paragraph 36).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the electrode materials of Burak et al. with the piezoelectric device of Hsu et al. as it has been held that the selection of a material based on an art-recognized suitability for an intended purpose is obvious (In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416).
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al. in view of Vaddiraju et al. (US 2020/0158679).
With respect to claim 6, Hsu et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1.
Hsu et al. does not disclose a degradable cover layer surrounding the piezoelectric layer.
Vaddiraju et al. teaches a piezoelectric device including a degradable cover layer (item 400) surrounding the piezoelectric layer (Fig 4).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the cover layer of Vaddiraju et al. with the piezoelectric device of Hsu et al. for the benefit of better protecting the device (Paragraph 42 of Vaddiraju et al.).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Hsu et al. and Vaddiraju et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 6. Vaddiraju et al. discloses that the cover layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly-butanedithiol pentenoic anhydride (PBTPA) (Paragraph 45).
Claims 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagahara et al. in view of Lee et al. (US 2015/0061465).
With respect to claim 10, Nagahara et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 1.
Nagahara does not disclose a degradable backing layer arranged to face the piezoelectric layer with the second electrode interposed therebetween.
Lee et al. teaches a piezoelectric ultrasonic device that includes a degradable backing layer (item 12) arranged to face the piezoelectric layer with the second electrode interposed therebetween (Fig 1).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the backing layer of Lee et al. with the piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer of Nagahara et al .for the benefit of absorbing ultrasonic waved emitted form the back side of the piezoelectric element (Paragraphs 41-42 of Lee et al.).
With respect to claim 11, the combination of Nagahara et al. and Lee et al. discloses the degradable ultrasonic transducer according to claim 10. Lee et al. discloses that the backing layer comprises at least one metal powder selected from the group consisting of zinc (Zn) powder, magnesium (Mg) powder, and tungsten (W) powder and at least one material selected from the group consisting of natural wax mixtures, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly-butanedithiol pentenoic anhydride (PBTPA), titanium (Ti), alumina, ceramics, and animal bones (Paragraphs 41-42).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Derek John Rosenau whose telephone number is (571)272-8932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7 am to 5:30 pm Central Time.
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/DEREK J ROSENAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
