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 § 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 3-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hopper et al. (2017/0343419)
Regarding claim 1, Hopper discloses an optical gas sensor device comprising: a substrate (Hopper, substrate 1); a light source that is mounted on a plane of the substrate (Hopper, IR source 2), that includes a light emitting surface facing the same direction as the plane of the substrate, and that emits infrared rays from the light emitting surface; a filter that transmits infrared rays with a wavelength corresponding to an absorption wavelength of a gas as a detection target among the infrared rays and emits the transmitted infrared rays to the gas as the detection target (Hopper, optical filter 5); a light receiver that detects the infrared rays incident through the gas as the detection target (Hopper, thermopile 4); a cover which is provided on the substrate so as to cover the light source and the light receiver (Hopper, Fig. 1 items 6, 7), that reflects the infrared rays passing the filter on an inner surface of the cover, and that is provided so that at least some of the reflected light reaches the light receiver; and a gas introducer that introduces gas as the detection target into the cover (Hopper, operation shown Fig. 1)
Regarding claim 3, Hopper further discloses the light source is a MEMS type light source. (Hopper, [0005])
Regarding claim 4, Hopper further discloses the light source is formed from a semiconductor substrate; and the light source includes, a base including a diaphragm, and a thin film heater formed on the diaphragm. (Hopper, [0038])
Regarding claim 5, Hopper further discloses the cover forms a space capable of storing the gas as the detection target. (Hopper, [0067])
Regarding claim 6, Hopper further discloses the cover forms an optical path of the infrared rays passing through the gas as the detection target by at least one of a planar inner surface and a curved inner surface. (Hopper, Fig. 1, surface is substantially planar)
Regarding claim 7, Hopper further discloses the cover includes on its inner surface an infrared reflective film that reflects infrared rays. (Hopper, [0067])
Regarding claim 8, Hopper further discloses the gas introducer is provided in the cover. (Hopper, Fig. 10)
Regarding claim 9, Hopper further discloses the light receiver includes an infrared sensor using one of a thermopile type, a photodiode, a bolometer, and a pyroelectric sensor. (Hopper, thermopile 4)
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hopper in view of Lazarev et al. (2007/0195416)
Regarding claim 2, Hopper does not explicitly disclose the filter includes a dielectric multilayer film formed on a semiconductor substrate.
Lazarev discloses a filter including a dielectric multilayer film formed on a semiconductor substrate. (Lazarev, [0081])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use the interferential optical filter of Lazarev in the analysis device of Hopper since Hopper requires a filter but provides no specific direction as to what kind, and Lazarev provides a suitable filter type compatible with the construction of Hopper.
Conclusion
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/EDWIN C GUNBERG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884
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