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 Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities, and should be:
“…to connect a portion of the
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parker et al. (U.S. Pub. 2020/0056934) in view of Rong (CN 218354696 – cited on Applicant’s IDS, copy/translation provided by Applicant).
Regarding claim 1, Parker discloses (Fig. 8) a pressure sensor 802 (see pars. [0043] and [0046]), wherein the pressure sensor 802 comprises:
a substrate 804 [0073], a vibrating electrode 814 (i.e. the diaphragm, which forms one part of a capacitive sensor: see pars. [0003], [0034], and [0073]), and a fixed electrode 816 (i.e. backplate, which forms the other part of a capacitive sensor: see pars. [0003], [0034], and [0073]) disposed in a laminated arrangement (as shown in Fig. 8), the substrate 804 having a first cavity 808 [0073] passing through the substrate 804 in a thickness direction thereof (as shown in Fig. 8);
the vibrating electrode 814 has a vibration-sensitive area (middle portion of the diaphragm: see Fig. 8), and a gap layer (gap between 814 and 816: see Fig. 8) is disposed between the vibration-sensitive area and the fixed electrode 816 (as shown in Fig. 8), the vibrating electrode 814 and the fixed electrode 816 form a variable capacitor (see pars. [0003] and [0034]);
the pressure sensor further comprises at least one pressure equalizing structure 824a,b [0074], the pressure equalizing structure 824a,b comprises a pressure equalizing hole (i.e. bottom hole of 824: see Fig. 8) and a pressure equalizing channel (i.e. the channel from the bottom to the top of 824: see Fig. 8), the pressure equalization hole being disposed at a perimeter edge of a vibration-sensitive area of the vibrating electrode 814 (as shown in Fig. 8), and the pressure equalizing channel being connected with the pressure equalizing hole (as shown in Fig. 8) to establish a continuous flow path in a space outside the airflow sensor and the first cavity (i.e. to the space 812: see Fig. 8);
wherein the pressure equalizing structure 824a,b is physically isolated from the gap layer (as shown in Fig. 8), the pressure sensor further comprises an air release channel (i.e. a channel that begins or ends with any of the gaps in the backplate 816: see Fig. 8) passing through the gap between the fixed electrode 816 and the vibrating electrode 814, the gap layer being connected to the space outside the airflow sensor 812 through the air release channel (as shown in Fig. 8).
Parker does not disclose that the sensor is an airflow sensor.
Rong discloses that a pressure sensor can be used as an airflow sensor (see bottom p. 1 and top p. 2).
Since the art recognizes that Parker’s pressure sensor is suitable for the intended purpose of sensing airflow, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Parker’s device to be used as an airflow sensor, as taught by Rong – see MPEP 2144.07.
Regarding claim 2, Parker discloses (Fig. 8) a first support body 818/820 (i.e. handle: [0072]-[0073]) is formed between the vibrating electrode 814 and the substrate 804 to connect a portion of the vibrating electrode 814 with a portion of the substrate 804 (as shown in Fig. 8), and a second support body (i.e. the portion of the stack 825 that connects diaphragm 814 with backplate 816: see Fig. 8) is formed between the fixed electrode 816 and the vibrating electrode 814 (as shown in Fig. 8) to connect a portion of the fixed electrode 816 with a portion of the vibrating electrode 814;
in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the substrate (i.e. the vertical direction in Fig. 8), the air release channel 824a,b passes through the second support body (as shown in Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 3, Parker is applied as above, but does not disclose the number of the air release channel is less than or equal to 10 (i.e. Parker does not specifically disclose how many channels/holes there are in the backplate 816).
However, since the number of holes in the backplate is a results-effective variable that can be optimized for the desired flexibility/airflow (see Parker: [0034]), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Parker’s device so that the number of the air release channel is less than or equal to 10 – see MPEP 2144.05(II).
Regarding claim 6, Parker discloses (Fig. 8) the pressure equalizing channel 824a,b passes through the gap between the fixed electrode 816 and the vibrating electrode 814 (i.e. the channel terminates at the top end between 816 and 814: see Fig. 8);
the air outlet (top outlet of 824) of the pressure equalizing channel 824a,b is disposed at the gap between the fixed electrode 816 and the vibrating electrode 814 (as shown in Fig. 8).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parker et al. (U.S. Pub. 2020/0056934) in view of Rong (CN 218354696), and further in view of Davis et al. (U.S. Pub. 2021/0401061).
Regarding claim 13, Parker is applied as above, but does not disclose the airflow sensor further comprises an oleophobic layer, the oleophobic layer is disposed on the surface of the vibrating electrode and the fixed electrode and covers the side walls of the pressure equalizing hole, the pressure equalizing channel and the air release channel.
Davis discloses an oleophobic layer which covers various surfaces in order to facilitate air flow and prevent droplet accumulation (see pars. [0350], [0357], [0363], and [0366]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Parker’s device so that the airflow sensor further comprises an oleophobic layer, the oleophobic layer is disposed on the surface of the vibrating electrode and the fixed electrode and covers the side walls of the pressure equalizing hole, the pressure equalizing channel and the air release channel, as taught by Davis.
Such a modification would facilitate air flow and prevent droplet accumulation (see Davis: pars. [0350], [0357], [0363], and [0366]).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Parker et al. (U.S. Pub. 2020/0056934) in view of Rong (CN 218354696), and further in view of Dehe et al. (U.S. Pub. 2013/0223023).
Regarding claim 14, Parker is applied as above, and further discloses an airflow sensor (per the combination with Rong, see above) packaging structure (as shown in Fig. 8), wherein the airflow sensor packaging structure comprises a base plate 804, a housing 810 and the airflow sensor 806 (per the combination with Rong) according to claim 1; the base plate 804 is fixedly connected to the housing to form a cavity (as shown in Fig. 8), and the airflow sensor 806 is fixedly connected to a side surface of the base plate 804 facing the housing (as shown in Fig. 8) and is disposed in the cavity (as shown in Fig. 8); a first through-hole 808 is disposed on the base plate 804, the airflow sensor 806 covers the first through-hole 808 (as shown in Fig. 8), the airflow sensor 806 separates the cavity into at least a first cavity (the space under diaphragm 814) and a second cavity 812, the first cavity is connected to the first through-hole 808 (as shown in Fig. 8), and the first cavity is connected to the second cavity 812 through the pressure equalizing structure 824a,b (as shown in Fig. 8).
Parker does not disclose a second through-hole is disposed on the housing, and the second cavity is connected to the external environment through the second through-hole.
Dehe discloses (Fig. 13b) a second through-hole (hole at vent 1208: [0111]; Fig. 13b) is disposed on the housing (as shown in Fig. 13b), and the second cavity is connected to the external environment through the second through-hole (as shown in Fig. 13b).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify Parker’s device so that a second through-hole is disposed on the housing, and the second cavity is connected to the external environment through the second through-hole, as taught by Dehe.
Such a modification would prevent overpressure in the housing (Dehe: [0111], [0115]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 7-12 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.
Conclusion
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/BENJAMIN R SCHMITT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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