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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 10, 2026 has been entered.
Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated March 10, 2026. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
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.
Claims 1 – 12, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Kassab (USPN 8,114,495) as evidenced by Takashi et al. (WO 2006/040965 A1) or “Polymer”, New World Encyclopedia.
Kassab discloses a membrane (Figures, #20; Abstract) for a platen of an optical biometric sensor (A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.), the membrane comprising: a protective cover sheet layer (Figure 3, #26); a transparent layer removably contacting the protective cover sheet layer and configured to adhere, via optical contact bonding and without the use of any adhesive (Column 11, lines 37 – 55), to the platen after the protective cover sheet layer has been removed (Figure 3, #20; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.), wherein the transparent layer is formed from a material that bonds to the platen by intermolecular forces when a first side of the transparent layer is placed in contact with the platen, without application of pressure (Column 11, lines 37 – 65, wherein the films of PET and polyethylene display intermolecular forces as evidenced by Takashi et al., Paragraphs 0010 – 0013, and “Polymer”, Page 4, Chemical properties of polymers); and a stiffener layer removably contacting the transparent layer (Figure 3, #28) such that the stiffener layer and the protective cover sheet layer are disposed on opposite sides of the transparent layer (Figure 3, 326, 20 and 28), the stiffener layer being removable from the transparent layer after the transparent layer has been adhered, via optical contact bonding, to the platen (Figure 9; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.) as in claim 1. With respect to claim 2, the protective cover sheet layer is configured to be peeled off the transparent layer when the transparent layer is in contact with the stiffener layer, before the transparent layer has been adhered to the platen (Figures 3 and 4, #26). Regarding claim 3, the stiffener layer is configured to be peeled off the transparent layer after the transparent layer has been adhered to the platen (Figure 9; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.). For claim 4, the transparent layer, after being adhered to the platen, is configured to receive an anatomy of a user for forensic analysis, enrolling, verifying, or identifying the user via the optical biometric sensor (Figures, #20; Abstract; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.). In claim 5, the transparent layer, after being adhered to the platen, is removable from the platen by peeling the transparent layer from the platen (Column 5, line 66 to Column 6, line 57). With regard to claim 6, the stiffener layer is stiffer than the transparent layer (Column 11, lines 6 – 23). As in claim 7, the transparent layer is softer than the protective cover sheet layer (Column 10, line 54 to Column 11, line 23). With respect to claim 8, the protective cover sheet layer, the transparent layer, and the stiffener layer each have respective surface areas that corresponds to a surface area of the platen (Figures, wherein the film may be trimmed to fit the surface. Such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04.). Regarding claim 9, the stiffener layer and the protective cover sheet layer are formed from a same material (Column 11, lines 6 – 23). For claim 10, the stiffener layer and the protective cover sheet layer are formed from a same material, have a same thickness, have a same stiffness, and have a same surface area that corresponds to a surface area of the platen (Column 11, lines 6 – 23; Figures, wherein the film may be trimmed to fit the surface. Such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04.). In claims 11, the transparent layer is transparent at a wavelength of sensor light of the optical biometric sensor, and the transparent layer has a refractive index that is within twenty percent of a refractive index of the platen (Column 11, lines 37 – 65, wherein the film may be a variety of materials. Column 9, line 54 to Column 10, line 33, wherein the polyester remains optically clear and undetectable to the casual observer.). Kassab further discloses a membrane (Figures, #20; Abstract) for a platen of an optical biometric sensor (A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.), the membrane comprising: a protective cover sheet layer having a surface area that corresponds to a surface area of the platen (Figure 3, #26); a transparent layer having a first side that removably contacts the protective cover sheet layer such that the protective cover sheet layer can be peeled off the transparent layer (Figure 3, #20),the first side of the transparent layer being configured to adhere, via optical contact bonding and without the use of any adhesive (Column 11, lines 37 – 55), to the platen after the protective cover sheet layer has been peeled off the transparent layer by being placed in contact with the platen (Figures 3 and 4, #26), the transparent layer being formed from a conformable material having optically flat surfaces such that the first side of the transparent layer bonds to the platen by intermolecular forces upon contact with the platen (Column 11, lines 37 – 65, wherein the films of PET and polyethylene display intermolecular forces as evidenced by Takashi et al., Paragraphs 0010 – 0013, and “Polymer”, Page 4, Chemical properties of polymers), the transparent layer being softer than the protective cover sheet layer (Column 10, line 54 to Column 11, line 23), the transparent layer having a surface area that corresponds to the surface area of the platen (Figures, wherein the film may be trimmed to fit the surface. Such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04.), the transparent layer having a second side opposite the first side of the transparent layer (Figures, #20); and a stiffener layer having a first side that removably contacts the second side of the transparent layer (Figures 3 and 4, #28),the stiffener layer being stiffer than the transparent layer (Column 11, lines 6 – 23), the stiffener layer and the protective cover sheet layer being formed from a same material, having a same thickness, having a same stiffness, and having a same surface area that corresponds to the surface area of the platen (Column 11, lines 6 – 23; Figures, wherein the film may be trimmed to fit the surface. Such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of a component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04.), the stiffener layer being configured to be peeled off the transparent layer after the transparent layer has been adhered to the platen to expose the second side of the transparent layer (Figure 9; A recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The film of Kassab may be attached to any surface, including a platen.) as in claim 19. With respect to claim 20, the transparent layer is transparent at a wavelength of sensor light of the optical biometric sensor; and the transparent layer has a refractive index that is within twenty percent of a refractive index of the platen (Column 11, lines 37 – 65, wherein the film may be a variety of materials. Column 9, line 54 to Column 10, line 33, wherein the polyester remains optically clear and undetectable to the casual observer.).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 10, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s argument that “Kassab discusses two configurations, neither of which satisfy the requirement of "bonds to the platen by intermolecular forces when a first side of the transparent layer is placed in contact with the platen, without application of pressure, " such as claimed. One configuration in Kassab uses a film that adheres via static cling. Static cling requires electrostatic charge differential between surfaces, and does not bond "by intermolecular forces, " as claimed. The other configuration in Kassab uses low-tack adhesive, which does not bond "without the use of any adhesive ", such as claimed. Neither Kassab embodiment bonds by intermolecular forces without pressure.”, the Examiner respectfully disagrees. Kassab clearly discloses the films of PET and polyethylene display intermolecular forces (Column 11, lines 37 – 65) as evidenced by Takashi et al., Paragraphs 0010 – 0013, and “Polymer”, Page 4, Chemical properties of polymers.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Patricia L Nordmeyer whose telephone number is (571)272-1496. The examiner can normally be reached 10am - 6:30pm EST, Monday - Friday.
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 March 13, 2026