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 .
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(s) 1, 3-7, 10-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Garwatoski (CA-2235683-C), in view of, Bencini (US-9060756-B2)
In regards to claim 1, Garwatoski teaches an inflatable probe for testing a component, the inflatable probe comprising: (abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’)
a balloon formed of a dielectric material, the balloon having a neck and at least one electrode pair (300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’)
a sealing plug that forms an air tight seal with neck of the balloon to retain a fluid within the balloon, (312 fig. 3, ‘tube’)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention for Garwatoski to provide an inflatable probe in order to test and inspect machinery or circuits such as motors (stators/rotors), turbines and the like.
Garwatoski does not teach
comprising an inner electrode and an outer electrode , the inner electrode being positioned on an internal surface of the balloon and the outer electrode being positioned on an external surface of the balloon;
the sealing plug at least having a seal electrode to connect to the inner electrode within the balloon, the sealing plug supporting a first wire to connect to a first seal electrode; and at least one tool that is connected to the balloon.
Bencini teaches:
comprising an inner electrode and an outer electrode , the inner electrode being positioned on an internal surface of the balloon and the outer electrode being positioned on an external surface of the balloon; (103, 112 fig(s) 1, 3, 'inflatable cryotherapy balloon 103', 'electrodes'; 1222, 1228 fig. 12D, ‘FIG. 12D illustrates an example cut-away view of a two-layer trace/electrode structure in which conductor layers 1220 and 1222 are disposed on both sides of the flexible sheet 1205 and selectively insulated with insulator layers 1225 and 1228’)
the sealing plug at least having a seal electrode to connect to the inner electrode within the balloon, the sealing plug supporting a first wire to connect to a first seal electrode; and at least one tool that is connected to the balloon. (fig(s) 2A, 7, 12B, 12D, ‘FIG. 12D illustrates an example cut-away view of a two-layer trace/electrode structure in which conductor layers 1220 and 1222 are disposed on both sides of the flexible sheet 1205 and selectively insulated with insulator layers 1225 and 1228’)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention for Bencini to provide further structure of an electrical surface inside & outside for an inflatable probe in order to test and inspect machinery or circuits such as motors (stators/rotors), turbines and the like.
In regards to claim 3, Garwatoski & Bencini teach an inflatable probe of claim 1, (see claim rejection 1) wherein each inner electrode and each outer electrode are flexible electrodes. (abstract; fig. 12D; 1-55 col. 14)
In regards to claim 4, Garwatoski & Bencini teach an inflatable probe of claim 3, (see claim rejection 3) wherein each inner electrode is formed of at least one of graphene, carbon nanotubes, and metallic nanotubes. (Bencini: ‘Electrical traces and electrodes can be formed on the flexible sheet 1205 of material a copper-platinum combination ; Other implementations may be employed.’)
In regards to claim 5, Garwatoski & Bencini teach an inflatable probe of claim 1, (see claim rejection 1) wherein there are from 2 to 12 pairs of inner electrodes and outer electrodes. (Bencini: 12D, ‘FIG. 12D illustrates an example cut-away view of a two-layer trace/electrode structure in which conductor layers 1220 and 1222 are disposed on both sides of the flexible sheet 1205 and selectively insulated with insulator layers 1225 and 1228’; FIG. 3, the electrodes 112 are disposed in regular array.)
In regards to claim 6, Garwatoski & Bencini teach an inflatable probe of claim 5, (see claim rejection 5) wherein there are a plurality of parallel arranged inflatable balloons each with separate pairs of inner electrodes and outer electrodes to enable positioning of the tool with respect to the component. (Bencini: 12D, ‘FIG. 12D illustrates an example cut-away view of a two-layer trace/electrode structure in which conductor layers 1220 and 1222 are disposed on both sides of the flexible sheet 1205 and selectively insulated with insulator layers 1225 and 1228’; FIG. 3, the electrodes 112 are disposed in regular array.)
In regards to claim 7, Garwatoski & Bencini teach an inflatable probe of claim 1, (see claim rejection 1) wherein the at least one tool is one or more of a charge-coupled device, a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor chip, a Hall effect sensor, and a grabbing implement. (Garwatoski: abstract ‘Capacitance mapping tool ‘)
In regards to claim 11, Garwatoski & Bencini teach a method of testing a component using the inflatable probe of claim 1, (see claim rejection 1) the method comprising the steps of: inserting the inflatable probe of claim 1 into a workspace; (Garwatoski: abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’)
moving the inflatable probe within the workspace to a component of interest for testing; (Garwatoski: abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’)
testing the component using the at least one tool of the inflatable probe; and removing the inflatable probe away from the component and out of the workspace. (Garwatoski: abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’)
In regards to claim 12, Garwatoski & Bencini teach a method of claim 11, (see claim rejection 11) wherein the inflatable probe is moved by applying controlled voltages to the electrodes of the balloon. (Garwatoski: abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’; pages 7-10)
In regards to claim 13, Garwatoski & Bencini teach a method of claim 11, wherein the inflatable probe is moved to different locations with respect to the component for further testing or to a different component of interest for testing before the inflatable probe is removed from the workspace. (Garwatoski: abstract; 207, 209, 211, 213 fig. 2,’probe head’, ‘inflatable expansion bladder’, ‘flat electrode’; 300, 310, 311 fig. 3, ‘capacitance measuring tool probe head’, ‘expandable bladder’, ‘surface electrode’; pages 7-10)
In regards to claim 14, Garwatoski & Bencini teach a method of claim 11, (see claim rejection 11) where the workspace is an engine. (102, 103 fig. 1, ‘rotor’, ‘stator bar windings’)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2, 8-9 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 Examiner completed a PE2E-Search and a Similarity search 05/29/2026. None of the references search taught the first wire that is connected to the first seal electrode and a second wire that is connected to the second seal electrode are coupled for a probe inspecting motors.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The references cited Bouchier (US-6091993), Sminchak (US-5546008), and Jiang (CN-118253020) references further describe an inflatable probe as described by the claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN C BUTLER whose telephone number is (571)270-3973. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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, Stephanie E Bloss can be reached at (571)272-3555. 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.
/K.C.B/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/STEPHANIE E BLOSS/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
Prosecution Insights