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
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Newton et al (US 2014/0069815 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Newton discloses a device (Fig. 1) comprising:
at least one an optical window (para [0043] “Various arrangements for integrating the spectrometer into the sensor are envisaged. For example, the sensor may comprise a window and the spectrometer can be configured to direct the spectroscopic analysis technique through the window towards a front surface of the chemical species electro-deposited onto the first electrode”) comprising on the surface (Fig. 1 and para [0067] “substrate 6”) thereof,
first and second electrodes (Fig. 1 and para [0067] “two electrodes 2, 4 mounted in a support substrate 6”) connected to a voltage generator (Fig. 1 and para [0068] “two electrodes 2, 4 are electrically coupled to an electrical controller 10 which comprises a voltage control unit 12 and a current measurement unit 14. The voltage control unit 12 is configured to apply a potential difference between the two electrodes 2, 4”),
wherein the first electrode (electrode 2) is a doped diamond electrode, the doping of the diamond being carried out with a chemical element serving to make the diamond conductive (para [0072] “the electrode 2 may be formed of a boron doped diamond material such that it is electrically conductive while the support substrate 6 may be formed of an intrinsic diamond material”), the device being chosen from visible or infrared sensors of cameras or binoculars, space instrumentation for terrestrial observation, surveillance systems for maritime and terrestrial domains, LIDARS and optronic sensors (para [0055] “electrochemical sensor”; para [0059] “UV-visible spectroscopy”).
Regarding claim 2, the device according to claim 1,
wherein the second electrode (Fig. 1, “4”) is deposited peripherally on the surface of said optical window (6) and is separated from said doped diamond electrode (2; see Fig.1).
Regarding claim 3, the device according to claim 1,
wherein the surface of said optical window is nanostructured or said doped diamond electrode is nanostructured (para [0071] “precipitation of nickel hydroxide on the electrode surface [see, for example, L. A. Hutton et al. "Electrodeposition of Nickel Hydroxide Nanoparticles on Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes for Oxidative Electrocatalysis", J. Phy. Chem. 2010]”).
Regarding claim 4, the device according to claim 1,
wherein the diamond is doped with boron (para [0072] “the electrode 2 may be formed of a boron doped diamond material”).
Regarding claim 5, the device according to claim 1,
wherein said second electrode is a counter-electrode of non-oxidizable metal (para [0071] “precipitation of nickel hydroxide on the electrode surface [see, for example, L. A. Hutton et al. "Electrodeposition of Nickel on Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes for Oxidative Electrocatalysis", J. Phy. Chem. 2010]” nickel is a non-oxidizable metal).
Regarding claim 7, the device according to claim 5,
wherein said second electrode is a counter-electrode of doped diamond, gold, platinum, nickel or tungsten (para [0071] “nickel”).
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 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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Newton et al (US 2014/0069815 A1) in view of Bonanomi et al (US 2020/0353729 A1).
Newton discloses the claimed invention as set forth above except for the device is an anemometer for measuring flight parameters.
Bonanomi discloses an anemometer for measuring flight parameters (para [0025] “This principle is exploited by hot-wire anemometers, i.e. a class of instruments capable of measuring free- stream air velocity (or wind speed, hence the name) based on the aforementioned principle. A hot-wire anemometer is composed of a metallic wire heated significantly above ambient temperature by resistive Joule effect”).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention before the effective filing date to use the Newton’s sensor in the Bonanomi’s anemometers, since boron doped diamond electrode provides major performance advantages over traditional electrodes, such as providing extreme chemical inertness and fouling resistance, further providing exceptional thermal conductivity and rapid response time making it possible to measure high-frequency velocity fluctuations, turbulence and rapid airflow spikes that conventional sensors lag behind on.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EUNCHA P CHERRY whose telephone number is (571)272-2310. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 7am to 3:30pm.
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9/23/2026
/EUNCHA P CHERRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2872
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