DETAILED ACTIONNotice 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 Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informality: On line 2, “the measured input current” lacks antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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 – 4, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Black et al. (10,543,911, hereinafter Black).
Regarding claim 1, Black discloses an apparatus comprising rigidly coupling a body of an inertial shaker 1 to a structure under test 61, wherein the inertial shaker comprises an inertial mass 13 enclosed in a housing and a voice coil 9 configured to move the inertial mass in alternating directions within the housing; activating the inertial shaker by applying an alternating current to the voice coil at a selected frequency; and measuring a resulting vibration response at one or more points on the structure under test (See Figs. 1, 3 and 12, See Col. 6, lines 14 – 65 and Col. 9, lines 30 - 67).
Regarding claim 2, measuring the resulting vibration response comprises using one or more accelerometers (See Col. 9, lines 43 - 58).
Regarding claim 3, the inertial shaker is coupled to the structure under test using a temporary fastener or bolt (See Col. 6, lines 14 – 22).
Regarding claim 4, rigidly coupling the inertial shaker to the structure under test includes securing one or more mounting structures 4 of the inertial shaker 1 to the structure under test 61 (See Col. 6, lines 14 – 22).
Regarding claim 8, the alternating current is measured and a measured input current is converted into a force applied to the structure under test (See Col. 6, lines 50 - 65).
Regarding claim 9, a force applied to the structure under test is measured using one or more force transducers 63 rigidly coupled to both the housing and the structure under test (See Fig. 12). 6. Claims 10 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Schloss (3,162,039). Regarding claim 10, Schloss discloses an apparatus comprising rigidly coupling a housing 16 of an inertial shaker assembly 22 to a structure under test 14, wherein the inertial shaker assembly comprises an inertial shaker having a reciprocating inertial mass 100 enclosed in a housing 72 and one or more force transducers 82, 90, 92 affixed between the housing 16 and the structure under test 14 (See Fig. 1, See Col. 2, lines 39 – 72, Col. 3, lines 1 – 9, Col. 5, lines 12 – 38 and Col. 7, lines 65 – 72).
Regarding claim 11, the structure under test 14 is excited by activating the inertial shaker 22 (See Col. 3, lines 10 – 13).
Regarding claim 12, a resulting vibration response is measured at one or more points on the structure under test 14 (See Col. 7, lines 64 – 72).
Regarding claim 13, the inertial shaker 22 further comprises a voice coil actuator (moving coil) configured to move the reciprocating inertial mass 100 (See Col. 7, lines 45 – 64).
Regarding claim 14, rigidly coupling the housing of the inertial shaker assembly to the structure under test includes securing one or more mounting plates 46, 48 of the shaker assembly to the structure under test 14, wherein the one or more mounting plates are coupled to the one or more force transducers 82, 90, 92 (See Fig. 1, See Col. 3, lines 32 – 45).
Regarding claim 15, the reciprocating inertial mass 100 is configured to move along an axis, and the one or more mounting plates are secured to the structure under test which further comprises placing at least one of the mounting plates in a path of the axis between the housing and the structure under test (See Fig. 1). 7. Claims 16 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kastelijn et al. (EP2075484, hereinafter Kastelijn).
Regarding claim 16, Kastelijn discloses an apparatus comprising a shaker comprising an inertial mass 4 enclosed in an outer housing 10, and a voice coil 3 configured to generate a magnetic field to move the inertial mass in reciprocating directions within the outer housing; a mounting surface 8 rigidly coupled to the outer housing; and one or more force transducers 7 disposed between the housing and the mounting surface (See Figs. 1 and 3, See Pg. 4, Paras. 0022 – 0024, Pg. 5, Paras. 0025 – 0030 and Pg. 7, Para. 0039).
Regarding claim 17, an amplifier is configured to amplify a power signal to drive the voice coil at a selected frequency (See Pg. 7, Para. 0038).
Regarding claim 18, the one or more force transducers 7 are piezoelectric (See Pg. 5, Para. 0025).
Regarding claim 19, the inertial mass 4 is configured to reciprocate along an axis, and the axis intersects the mounting surface (See Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 20, the shaker is configured to excite a structure under test when mounted to the structure using the mounting surface (See Pg. 7, Paras. 0038 – 0041).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 – 7 are 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.9. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The primary reasons for indicating allowable subject matter is that the prior art does not anticipate or make obvious the provisions of “one or more force transducers are disposed between the one or more mounting structures and the body of the inertial shaker” (referring to claim 5), “the one or more mounting structures comprise a mounting plate and the inertial mass is configured to move along an axis, wherein securing the mounting plate to the structure under test further comprises placing the mounting plate in a path of the axis, between the housing and the structure under test” (referring to claim 6) and “the mounting plate is oriented orthogonal to the axis” (referring to claim 7) in combination with the other limitations presented in claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to
applicant's disclosure.11. Zhuge et al. (2025/0020536) disclose a safety apparatus for one degree of freedom electrodynamic shaker. Zellers et al. (9,705,068) disclose an ultra-thin inertial actuator. Mortimer et al. (9,474,683) disclose an apparatus for generating an enhanced vibrational stimulus using a rotating mass motor. Powers et al. (9,097,604) disclose an electrodynamic model test impactor system and method. Hassel et al. (5,488,203) disclose a force compensator for an inertial mass measurement instrument. Ross et al. (5,433,422) disclose an active vibration control through sensing and controlling forces on an intermediate body. Gossman et al. (5,251,863) disclose an active force cancellation system.12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON whose telephone number is (571)272-2176. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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/OCTAVIA HOLLINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855 7/24/26
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