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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 26 September 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0001], line 5: The term “Automated Manual Transmission” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0010], line 12: The term “Electronic Control Unit” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0013], line 3: The term “Gold” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0013], line 4: The term “Nickel” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [00253], line 3: The space between the term “disclosure” and the semicolon should be deleted
Paragraph [0024], line 2: The space between the term “disclosure” and the semicolon should be deleted
Paragraph [0025], line 2: The space between the term “disclosure” and the semicolon should be deleted.
Paragraph [0030], line 9: The term “Pulse Width Modulated” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0033], line 6: The term “Gold” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0033], lines 6 and 7: The term “Nickel” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Paragraph [0036], line 7: The term “Polybutylene terephthalate” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Re claim 1, claim line 1: A – colon – should be inserted after the term “comprising.”
Re claim 1, claim lines 2, 3, and 4: A – semicolon – should replace each instance of a comma.
Re claim 1, claim line 9: The term “Printed Circuit Board” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Re claim 5, claim line 2: The term “Gold” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Re claim 5, claim line 3: The term “Nickel” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Re claim 15, claim line 2: The term “Printed Circuit Board” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Re claim 15, claim line 3: The term “Electronic Control Unit” should not be capitalized as this term is not a proper noun.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Re claim 9, claim line 4: The phrase "such as" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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.
Claims 1, 9, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 102012205280 (Wallner).
With respect to the limitations of claim 1, Wallner discloses a pressure sensor (3), comprising:
a housing (sensor has an outer structure),
a first side of the housing comprising a pressurized fluid inlet (108) (bottom side of the outer structure comprises a seal (16) at an inlet - Figures 2 and 3),
a second side of the housing being opposite to the first side (a top side of the outer structure is opposite to the bottom side of the sensor – Figures 2 and 3), and
a spring-based electronic contact junction (17) (contact element) on the second side (top side), wherein the spring-based electronic contact junction (140) is configured to transfer electronic signals representing pressure of the fluid received at the pressurized fluid inlet (108) directly or indirectly to a lead frame or a flex foil or a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) (pressure sensors (3) are connected to a circuit board (5) via contact elements (17) – paragraphs [0010], [0024], [0043] and Figures 1-4).
With respect to the limitation of claim 9, Wallner further discloses that the pressure sensor comprises one or more protrusions (15) configured to positionally fix the pressure sensor to an external component (Figure 2).
With respect to the limitation of claim 13, Wallner discloses that the pressure sensor is utilized within a motor vehicle transmission (paragraph [0008]), which experiences temperatures within the range of -40 to 130 degrees Celsius.
With respect to the limitations of claims 14 and 15, Wallner discloses that the sensor is utilized within a motor vehicle transmission (paragraph [0008]); and that an electronic control unit comprises a printed circuit board and control electronics mounted on the board through connection elements which interacts with the pressure sensor (paragraph [0013]).
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102012205280 (Wallner).
With respect to the limitation of claim 6, Wallner et al. fail to expressly disclose compensating for vibrations within a specific frequency range; however, the Examiner argues that the amount of compensation or the range of frequencies compensated are within the purview of one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention. This feature is a choice of design that would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as a means of routine experimentation or engineering.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102012205280 (Wallner) in view of EP 259146B (Strott et al.) and DE 19841334A (Bayer et al.).
With respect to the limitations of claims 7 and 8, Wallner discloses all of the limitations of the base claim; but fails to expressly disclose that the housing is injection molded, and wherein the pressure sensor includes at least two holes, which are threaded or non-threaded for receiving a fastener.
Strott et al. disclose a pressure responsive switch having improved longevity comprising a housing (12) manufactured from moldable glass filed thermoplastic material (col. 4, lines 6-8 and Figures 2-8), which appears to be an injection molding technique. Modifying the combination to utilize injection molding to form the housing would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention as an ideal means for producing high volumes of the same object. The combination of Wallner in view of Strott et al. fails to expressly disclose a pressure sensor having at least two holes for receiving a fastener.
Bayer et al. disclose a pressure sensor assembly group comprising a carrier casing (3) for recording pressure sensors (4) as a modular and testable assembly group (abstract). The casing is further provided with a plurality of holes (Figures 2-3) for receiving fasteners (19) for attachment to a first casing (1) (Figure 3). Modifying the combination by providing holes and fasteners would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing as a way of firmly attaching the pressure sensor housing/casing to a structure for future use.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102012205280 (Wallner) in view of EP 259146B (Strott et al.).
With respect to the limitation of claims 12, Wallner discloses all of the limitations of the base claim; but fails to expressly disclose that the housing is made of a thermoplastic material incorporated with glass fiber.
Strott et al. disclose a pressure responsive switch having improved longevity comprising a housing (12) manufactured from moldable glass filed thermoplastic material (col. 4, lines 6-8 and Figures 2-8), which appears to be an injection molding technique. Modifying the combination to utilize injection molding to form the housing would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention as an ideal means for producing high volumes of the same object.
Claims 10-11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 102012205280 (Wallner) in view of US 6,279,402 (Fisher).
With respect to the limitations of claims 10, 11, and 17, Wallner discloses all of the limitations of the base claim; but fails to disclose that the pressure sensor is a piezoresistive sensor or that the pressure sensor is an absolute pressure sensor.
Fisher discloses a device for measuring pressure at several locations in a pressure chamber, whereby a plurality of pressure sensors (12) are attached to a test wafer (10). The pressure sensors could be a variety of sensors including piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensors (col. 3, lines 50-56). Fisher further discloses that the pressure sensors utilized are absolute pressure sensors (col. 3, lines 58-59). Modifying Wallner to utilize a piezoresistive sensor that is also an absolute pressure sensor would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the invention because piezoresistive sensors are notoriously well-known in the art and reliable and durable sensors for detecting absolute pressure in many environments.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Prior art was not relied upon to reject claims 2-5 and 16 because the prior art of record fails to teach and/or make obvious a pressure sensor utilizing a spring-based electronic control junction including three springs on a second side of a housing, and wherein the three springs are contact poles representing a supply connection, a ground connection, and a signal output connection in combination with all of the limitations of the base claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL SEAN LARKIN whose telephone number is 571-272-2198. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Laura Sweeney can be reached at 571-272-2160. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL S LARKIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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