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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Claims 1-15 in the reply filed on 3/6/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US2016/0051225 A1).
With respect to Claim 1 Kim teaches A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) apparatus comprising (See Para[0006]): a substrate; (See Abstract and Fig.3 ) one or more peripheral walls protruding from the substrate, the one or more peripheral walls defining an outer boundary of a cavity (See Abstract and Fig.3 ); a membrane bonded to the one or more peripheral walls, the cavity being positioned between the membrane and the substrate (See Abstract and Fig.3 ); one or more posts protruding from the substrate, the one or more posts enclosed by the one or more peripheral walls(See Abstract and Fig.3 ), and one or more interior walls protruding from the substrate, the one or more interior walls enclosed by the one or more peripheral walls. (See Abstract and Fig.3 ) However Kim is silent to the language of wherein at least a portion of the one or more posts comprise a width of less than 10 microns; Nevertheless Kim teaches However, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUT) are several tens of microns (μm) in size. (See Para[0052]) Furthermore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill wherein at least a portion of the one or more posts comprise a width of less than 10 microns; because a portion could be any size less than the total and any size less than tens of microns would include a width of less than 10 microns. With respect to Claim 2 Kim is silent to the language of The CMUT apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more peripheral walls comprise a width of at least 8 microns. Nevertheless it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to, comprise a width of at least 8 microns since 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. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). With respect to Claim 3 Kim teaches The CMUT apparatus of claim 1, wherein the membrane is unbonded to at least a portion of the one or more posts. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 4 Kim teaches The CMUT apparatus of claim 3, wherein the membrane is unbonded to at least a portion of the one or more interior walls. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 5 Kim teaches The CMUT apparatus of claim 4, wherein the membrane is unbonded to any of the one or more posts. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 6 Kim teaches The CMUT apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cavity comprises a negative air pressure relative to outside the CMUT apparatus. (See Para[0058]) With respect to Claim 7 Kim is silent to the language of The CMUT apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more posts are at least 2 microns shorter than the one or more peripheral walls. Nevertheless it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to, comprise wherein the one or more posts are at least 2 microns shorter than the one or more peripheral walls since 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. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). With respect to Claim 8 Kim is silent to the language of The CMUT apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more posts, wherein at least a portion of the one or more interior walls comprise a width of less than 1 micron. Nevertheless it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to, comprise wherein at least a portion of the one or more interior walls comprise a width of less than 1 micron since 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. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). With respect to Claim 9 Kim teaches A method for constructing a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) apparatus comprising: (See Para[0006]) disposing, on a substrate, one or more peripheral walls, the one or more peripheral walls defining an outer boundary of a cavity(See Abstract and Fig.3 ), disposing, on the substrate, one or more posts, the one or more posts enclosed by the one or more peripheral walls(See Abstract and Fig.3 ), and disposing, on the substrate, one or more interior walls protruding from the substrate, the one or more interior walls enclosed by the one or more peripheral walls, (See Abstract and Fig.3 ) However Kim is silent to the language of wherein the one or more peripheral walls comprise a width of at least 8 microns; wherein at least a portion of the one or more posts comprise a width of 1 micron to 10 microns; wherein at least a portion of the one or more interior walls comprise a width of 0.5 microns to 1 micron. Nevertheless Kim teaches However, capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUT) are several tens of microns (μm) in size. (See Para[0052]) Furthermore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill wherein the one or more peripheral walls comprise a width of at least 8 microns, wherein at least a portion of the one or more posts comprise a width of 1 micron to 10 microns, and wherein at least a portion of the one or more interior walls comprise a width of 0.5 microns to 1 micron because a portion could be any size less than the total and any size less than tens of microns would include a width of less than 10 microns. Examiner further notes that It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to, comprise a width of desired size since 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. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
With respect to Claim 10 Kim teaches The method of claim 9, further comprising: bonding a membrane to the one or more peripheral walls, the cavity being positioned between the membrane and the substrate. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 11Kim teaches The method of claim 10, wherein bonding a membrane to the one or more peripheral walls is accomplished while leaving at least a portion of the one or more posts unbonded to the membrane. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 12 Kim teaches The method of claim 10, wherein the membrane is unbonded to at least a portion of the one or more interior walls. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 13 Kim teaches The method of claim 10, wherein the membrane is unbonded to any of the one or more posts. (See Fig 3) With respect to Claim 14 Kim teaches The method of claim 9, further comprising removing air from the cavity such that a negative air pressure relative to outside the CMUT apparatus is created within the cavity. (See Para[0058]) With respect to Claim 15 Kim is silent to the language of The method of claim 9, further comprising configuring the one or more posts to be at least 2 nanometers shorter than the one or more peripheral walls. Nevertheless it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to, comprise wherein the one or more posts are at least 2 microns shorter than the one or more peripheral walls since 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. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOSHIHISA ISHIZUKA whose telephone number is (571)270-7050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11:00-7:00.
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YOSHIHISA . ISHIZUKA
Examiner
Art Unit 2857
/YOSHIHISA ISHIZUKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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