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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/9/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of the preliminary amendment(s) filed 5/9/2024.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I (Claims 1-10 & 17-21) in the reply filed on 8/3/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/3/2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Suggested title:
Airflow Speed and Velocity Measuring Apparatus
Localized Speed and Direction Airflow Measuring Apparatus
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because:
The abstracted has been drafted with claim language (i.e “comprises”, “wherein”).
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)as being anticipated by Sanderson et al (EP 1094303 A1).
Regarding claims 1 & 10 Sanderson et al teaches first, second and third ultrasonic transducers (Abstract)[0008][0011], the second and third ultrasonic transducers arranged to receive an ultrasonic wave (Abstract)[0008][0011][Claim 1][Claim2] from the first ultrasonic transducer 10, wherein the second and third ultrasonic transducers are spaced apart by a given distance; and a circuit comprising a phase comparator 105-107 arranged to compare [0021][0023] first and second signals from the second and third ultrasonic transducers (Abstract).
Regarding claim 2 Sanderson et al teaches a signal generator 20, coupled to the first ultrasonic transducer, configured to cause the first ultrasonic transducer to generate a continuous-wave ultrasonic wave. (Figs. 4, 5, 6, 8-9)
Regarding claim 5 Sanderson et al teaches a respective amplifier for each of the second, third and fourth ultrasonic transducers, each amplifier configured to amplify the signal from the respective ultrasonic transducer having a gain set to saturate the signal. [0039](Figs. 4 & 8)
Regarding claim 6 Sanderson et al teaches a controller 100 100a, the controller 100 100a optionally comprising a signal generator 20 configured to generate a signal for transmission by the first ultrasonic transducer 10. (Fig. 8)
Regarding claim 7 Sanderson et al teaches the circuit is configured to convert [0077] ultrasonic wave signals from the second, third and, optionally, fourth ultrasonic transducers into square wave signals (Figs. 4-5) ; and to generate a series of pulses by comparing (via comparators 105 – 107) two of the square wave signals.
Regarding claim 8 Sanderson et al teaches determining the speed or velocity of fluid moving past the second, third, and fourth (implied) ultrasonic transducers is based on the widths of the pulses [0022].
Regarding claim 9 Sanderson et al teaches the circuit is further configured to generate a dc voltage output based on the width of pulses from the output of a logic gate used to measure the phase difference between two received signals [0016]-[0035][0080][Claim 1].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The cited pertinent art of record does not anticipate nor render obvious a fourth ultrasonic transducer arranged to receive an ultrasonic wave from a first ultrasonic transducer, wherein the fourth ultrasonic transducer is spaced apart from a second ultrasonic transducer by a given distance and is not collinear with the second and a third ultrasonic transducer; the circuit further comprising a further phase comparator arranged to compare the first signal and a third signal from the fourth ultrasonic transducer.
Claim 4 is objected due to its dependency of objected claim 3.
Claims 17-21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The cited pertinent art of record does not anticipate nor render obvious obtaining speed or velocity by comparing phase difference between first and second ultrasonic wave signals from a first pair of the second, third and/or fourth ultrasonic transducers and, optionally, by comparing phase difference(s) between first and second ultrasonic wave signals from a second pair of the second, third and/or fourth ultrasonic transducers.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
EP 3638985 B1 ULTRASONIC FLOW MEASUREMENT
CN 201795819 U Static drift inhibition models of time-difference method of ultrasonic flow meter
DE 102004027958 A1 Method and device for measuring the flow rate of fluids
US 6422093 B1 Burst mode ultrasonic flow sensor
JP 2001272256 A VORTEX FLOWMETER
WO 9800685 A2 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FLOW MEASUREMENT WITH TEMPERATURE AND DENSITY COMPENSATION
US 5052230 A Method and arrangement for flow rate measurement by means of ultrasonic waves
US 4527433 A Method and apparatus for measuring fluid flow
US 4052896 A Ultrasonic flow meter
US 3097526 A An improved flowmeter involving continuous ultrasonic wave propagation in two directions by the use of only one pair of transducers.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDRE J ALLEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2174. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 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, Kristina M Deherrera can be reached at (303) 297-4237. 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.
/ANDRE J ALLEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
Prosecution Insights