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 § 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, 4-9, 11, 13-14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Pub. 2019/0187003 (“Brunnett”).
Claim 1
Brunnett discloses a fiber optic temperature sensing probe, comprising: a probe shaft having a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion includes a first projection, formed thereon, wherein the probe shaft is configured to receive a fiber optic cable therein (sleeve 114 with anti corrosion portion 116); a ferrule having a second projection formed therein, the second projection cooperating with the first projection to prevent the ferrule and the probe shaft from uncoupling from an assembled configuration (shaft guide 122); a biasing member configured to bias the ferrule away from and encouraging displacement between the ferrule and the second portion of the probe shaft (spring 162); and a sensing element positioned at a distal end of the ferrule proximate to a surface to be measured (sensing layer 104), the sensing element configured to receive excitation light from the fiber optic cable and to emit light proportional to a temperature of a surface of a measured object (paragraph [0071]).
Claim 4
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the second projection comprises a chamfered surface to provide a snap-in fit with the first projection (Brunnett, Fig. 1A).
Claim 5
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the ferrule includes a first chamber and a second chamber formed therein, the first chamber being proximate to the sensing element (Brunnett, upper chamber by portion 118 and lower chamber 150): such that the first chamber and the second chamber, define a first shoulder, the first shoulder preventing the first potion of the probe shaft from contacting the sensing element (Brunnett, Fig. 1A).
Claim 6
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 5, wherein a minimum distance between the sensing element and the probe shaft is defined by the first shoulder (Brunnett, Fig. 1A).
Claim 7
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the second projection comprises an inner chamfer to interface with a third shoulder formed on the first portion to impede disassembly of the probe shaft and the ferrule (Brunnett, Fig. 1A, additional shoulders).
Claim 8
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the ferrule or the sensing element is coupled to the surface to be measured (Brunnett, Fig. 4A).
Claim 9
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the second portion of the probe shaft engages a seal to form a vacuum seal between the probe shaft and the ambient exterior pressure (Brunnett, paragraph [0043]).
Claim 11
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the ferrule comprises at least a first ferrule part and a second ferrule part different from the first ferrule part (Brunnett, Fig. 1A).
Claim 13
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, further comprising a seal, the seal interacting with a wall and the probe shaft to generate a vacuum seal (Brunnett, Fig. 1A, paragraph [0043]).
Claim 14
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the sensing element comprises of one or more of diamond, aluminum, copper, gold, nickel or nickel alloy, aluminum nitride, and silicon carbide (Brunnett, paragraph [0024], alumina).
Claim 17
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1, wherein the sensing element comprises an interior surface configured to interact with light received from the fiber optic cable to measure a temperature of the surface to be measured (Brunnett, phosphor layer 110).
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.
Claims 2-3, 10, 12, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2019/0187003 (“Brunnett”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2021/0157064 (“Gaal”).
Claim 2
Brunnett does not appear to explicitly disclose the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 1.
Brunnett does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the sensing element snap-in fits with, or comprises threading complementary to threading proximate to, an opening of the ferrule.
Gaal discloses an optical fiber cable including snap together features to connect housing and connector (paragraph [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a snap-in fit, as disclosed by Gaal, into the device of Brunnett, such that the sensing element snap-in fits with, or comprises threading complementary to threading proximate to, an opening of the ferrule, for the purpose of providing a seal (Gaal, paragraph [0014]).
Claim 3
Brunnett in view of Gaal discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 2, wherein the opening of the ferrule has a chamfered opening to facilitate the snap-in fit of the sensing element (Brunnett, Fig. 1A).
Claim 10
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 9,
Brunnett does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the second portion of the probe shaft is separable from the first portion.
Gaal discloses an optical fiber cable including snap together features to connect housing and connector (paragraph [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a snap-in fit, as disclosed by Gaal, into the device of Brunnett, such that the second portion of the probe shaft is separable from the first portion, for the purpose of providing a mechanism to gain acceptable alignment (Gaal, paragraph [0014]).
Claim 12
Brunnett discloses the fiber optic sensing probe of claim 11,
Brunnett does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein the first ferrule part can rotate with respect to the second ferrule part, or rotate with respect to the probe shaft.
Gaal discloses an optical fiber cable including rotating flange features (paragraph [0073]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated rotating ferrule parts, as disclosed by Gaal, into the device of Brunnett, such that the first ferrule part can rotate with respect to the second ferrule part, or rotate with respect to the probe shaft, for the purpose of providing a mechanism to provide tight juncture (Gaal, paragraph [0073]).
Claim 18
Brunnett discloses a fiber optic temperature sensing system comprising: a probe body comprising: a base portion (shaft guide 122); a probe body extending from the base portion and terminating at a head portion (housing 140 and sleeve 114); a passage through the base portion and the probe body (Fig. 1A); a fiber optic cable positioned within the passage (fiber optic 112); at least one ferrule having a first opening at a first end (Fig. 1A), a biasing member positioned to apply a biasing force to the at least one ferrule towards a surface to be measured (spring 162), and a sensing element positioned at a second end of the at least one ferrule opposite the first end of the at least one ferrule, the sensing element including a sensing material configured to receive excitation light from the fiber optic cable (sensing layer 104).
Brunnett does not appear to explicitly disclose the first opening providing a snap-in or threaded-in fit with the head portion of the probe body.
Gaal discloses an optical fiber cable including snap together features to connect housing and connector (paragraph [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a snap-in fit, as disclosed by Gaal, into the device of Brunnett, such that the first opening providing a snap-in or threaded-in fit with the head portion of the probe body., for the purpose of providing a seal (Gaal, paragraph [0014]).
Claim 19
Brunnett in view of Gaal discloses the fiber optic temperature sensing system of claim 18, wherein the sensing material is coupled to the surface to be measured (Brunnett, Fig. 4A).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15 and 16 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the present application relates in general to a fiber optic sensing probe including a probe shaft, a ferrule, a biasing member, and a sensing element. The cited art, U.S. Patent Pub. 2019/0187003 (“Brunnett”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 20210157064 (“Gaal”), discloses a similar fiber optic sensing probe including a probe shaft, a ferrule, a biasing member, and a sensing element. However, the cited art does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein a contact area between the sensing element and the ferrule is less than 2mm2, or less than 1mm2, or less than 0.5mm2, or less than 0.25mm2; or wherein the sensing element has a thermal conductivity greater than 20 W/m-1K, or greater than 150 W m-1/K, or greater than 225 W m-1/K, or greater than 300 W m-1/K. Thus, the specific contact resistance and sensing capability as required by the claimed invention is not provided by the cited art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICA S Y LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7911. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4, TW M,W.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERICA S LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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