CTNF 18/910,973 CTNF 84207 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. DETAILED ACTION Applicant is advised that the new art unit number is 2692. Please use the new art unit number for all future communications. Specification 06-31 AIA The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1, 5, 11, 14, 16, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2017/0280218) . Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses a micro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) microphone (Fig. 1, but where the shutter structure (152, 154, and 156) also seen in Fig. 4A is substituted with the shutter structure (602, 604, and 606, respectively) seen in Fig. 7A) with acoustic limiter, comprising: an acoustic limiter (110 of Fig. 1, and 602, 604, and 606 of Fig. 7A), comprising: a first housing (110) having a first air passage (112) operative as an acoustic input port (see Fig. 1); a second housing (604 and 602; or 604, 602, and the two additional layers between 142 and 602) having a second air passage (Fig. 7A: air space from top of 606 to top of 602; or air space from top of 606 to bottom of 142) operative as an acoustic output port and having a rigid structure (portion of 602 between the 6021’s) within the second air passage (see Figs. 7A/1); and a flexible membrane (606), disposed between the first housing and the second housing (see Figs. 1/7A), the flexible membrane having a first side (downward-facing side of 606), a second side opposite the first side (upward-facing side of 606), and at least one opening (6063) through the flexible membrane from the first side to the second side (see Fig. 7A), the first side of the flexible membrane disposed at a first end of the first air passage, the second side of the flexible membrane disposed at a first end of the second air passage (see Figs. 1/7A), wherein the flexible membrane is operative to flex in response to acoustic pressure within the first air passage (¶ 0059, 0050), and, in response to acoustic pressure that is higher than a predetermined threshold value (¶ 0050: greater than 1.2 standard atmospheric pressures), the flexible membrane is operative to flex a distance into the second housing such that the rigid structure completely or partially blocks the at least one opening through the flexible membrane and limits airflow speed into the second air passage (¶ 0047, 0058, and see Figs. 7A/D, and note that under higher pressure, 6067 moves from the position shown in Fig. 7A upward to a position like that shown in Fig. 4A, according to ¶ 0058), which limits the acoustic pressure within the second air passage (¶ 0050); and a MEMS microphone element (140), acoustically coupled to the second air passage (see Fig. 1), wherein the acoustic limiter limits the acoustic pressure to which the MEMS microphone element is subjected (¶ 0050, 0049). Regarding claim 11, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5, wherein the MEMS microphone element forms at least a portion of the second housing having the second air passage (Fig. 1: structure between 152/602 and 142 can be the portion of the second housing), at least a portion of the rigid structure within the second air passage, or a combination thereof. Regarding claim 14, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5, wherein the acoustic limiter comprises a laminate substrate (see Figs. 7A/1 and ¶ 0058, limiter is made up of layers). Claims 1, 16, 20 recites similar limitations as claims 5, 5, 5, respectively, and is rejected for the same reasons set forth above in the rejections of claims 5, 5, 5, respectively . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2, 4, 6, 8, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Yang et al. (CN 110545512 using an English machine translation) . Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5. Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein the flexible membrane comprises a plastic foil. In a similar field of endeavor, Yang discloses a flexible member (201) being a plastic foil (page 4, top paragraph and claim 2: polyimide thin film). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to: wherein the flexible membrane comprises a plastic foil, the motivation being to perform the simple substitution of one material for another to obtain predictable results of a material for use in a membrane for flexing to prevent strong airflow (Wang - ¶ 0047, 0058) (Yang - paragraph spanning pages 5-6). See MPEP § 2143(B). Regarding claim 8, Wang-Yang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 6, wherein the plastic foil comprises polyimide (Pl), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or a combination thereof (polyimide as set forth in the claim 6 rejection). The teachings of Yang relied upon above are combinable with Wang-Yang for the same reasons set forth above in the claim 6 rejection. Claims 2, 4, 17, 19 recites similar limitations as claims 6, 8, 6, 8, respectively, and is rejected for the same reasons set forth above in the rejections of claims 6, 8, 6, 8, respectively . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3, 7, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Yang, and as evidenced by the Instant Application. See MPEP § 2131.01.III . Regarding claim 7, Wang-Yang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 6. Wang-Yang does not explicitly disclose wherein the plastic foil comprises a plastic with a melting point greater than 350 degrees Celsius. However, the Instant Application discloses that an inherent characteristic of polyimide is that it has a melting point greater than 350 degrees Celsius (¶ 0031). Therefore, as evidenced by the Instant Application, the plastic foil of Wang-Yang (which is polyimide) comprises a plastic (polyimide) with a melting point greater than 350 degrees Celsius. See MPEP § 2131.01.III. Claims 3, 18 recites similar limitations as claims 7, 7, respectively, and is rejected for the same reasons set forth above in the rejections of claims 7, 7, respectively . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Bahr (US 2024/0422480) . Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5, wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a set of piezoelectric cantilever structures diaphragm (142) disposed at and extending over a second end of the second air passage (see Fig. 1). Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a set of piezoelectric cantilever structures disposed at and extending over a second end of the second air passage. In a similar field of endeavor, Bahr discloses a MEMS microphone element (Fig. 6) that comprises a set of piezoelectric cantilever structures (¶ 0051) disposed at and extending over an end of an air passage (516) (Fig. 5) (¶ 0054). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the MEMS microphone element of Wang with that of Bahr, which would result in: wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a set of piezoelectric cantilever structures disposed at and extending over a second end of the second air passage, the motivation being to perform the simple substitution of one type of MEMS microphone element for another to obtain predictable results of a MEMS element that functions as a microphone. See MPEP § 2143(B). Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5, wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a piezoelectric membrane (142) covering a second end of the second air passage. Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a piezoelectric membrane covering a second end of the second air passage. In a similar field of endeavor, Bahr discloses a MEMS microphone element (Fig. 6) that comprises a piezoelectric membrane (¶ 0051) covering an end of an air passage (516) (Fig. 5) (¶ 0054). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the MEMS microphone element of Wang with that of Bahr, which would result in: wherein the MEMS microphone element comprises a piezoelectric membrane covering a second end of the second air passage, the motivation being to perform the simple substitution of one type of MEMS microphone element for another obtain predictable results of an MEMS element that functions as a microphone. See MPEP § 2143(B) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12, 13, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Khenkin et al. (US 2018/0362332) . Regarding claim 12, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5. Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein at least a portion of the first housing comprises a laminate substrate. In a similar field of endeavor, Khenkin discloses a first housing (Fig. 3: 201) that comprises a laminate substrate (¶ 0081-0082). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to: wherein at least a portion of the first housing comprises a laminate substrate, the motivation being to form the first housing from multiple layers so that one or more of the layers can be removed to form the recess (116 of Fig. 1 of Wang) (Khenkin - ¶ 0081). Regarding claim 13, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 5. Wang is not relied upon to disclose further comprising a laminate substrate mounted to the first housing and extending a second end of the first air passage through the laminate substrate. In a similar field of endeavor, Khenkin discloses a first housing (Fig. 3: layer(s) of 201 that define the sides of 211), and a laminate substrate (Fig. 3: layer(s) of 201 that define the sides of 213) (can be multiple layers as seen in Figs. 6d/6e and ¶ 0097-0098) mounted to the first housing (see Fig. 3) and extending a second end (bottom end) of the first air passage (211 and 213) through the laminate substrate (Fig. 3: by adding the laminate substrate, the bottom end of the air passage is extended from being the bottom of 211 to being the bottom of 213). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to create element 110 of Fig. 1 of Wang from multiple laminated layers and to create the recess 116 of Fig. 1 of Wang by removing one or more of the layers (according to ¶ 0081 of Khenkin), in which case: the layer(s) of 110 of Wang that define the sides of recess 116 of Wang can be considered the claimed “first housing”, and the rest of the layers below the recess 116 of Wang can be considered the claimed “laminate substrate”, which would result in: further comprising a laminate substrate mounted to the first housing and extending a second end of the first air passage through the laminate substrate, the motivation being to form 110 of Wang from multiple layers so that one or more of the layers can be removed to form the recess (116 of Fig. 1 of Wang) (Khenkin - ¶ 0081); and to provide additional metal layers to pass electricity through the layers (Khenkin - ¶ 0100). Regarding claim 15, Wang discloses the MEMS microphone of claim 14, wherein the first housing comprises a first set of laminate layers , the second housing and rigid structure comprises a second set of laminate layers (Fig. 1: 152/602 and the layer between 152/602 and 142 are two superposed layers), and the flexible membrane is disposed between the first set of laminate layers and the second set of laminate layers (see Fig. 1). Wang is not relied upon to disclose wherein the first housing comprises a first set of laminate layers. In a similar field of endeavor, Khenkin discloses a first housing (Fig. 3: 201) that comprises a first set of laminate layers (¶ 0081-0082). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to: wherein the first housing comprises a first set of laminate layers, the motivation being to form the first housing from multiple layers so that one or more of the layers can be removed to form the recess (116 of Fig. 1 of Wang) (Khenkin - ¶ 0081). Relevant Prior Art 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : Yuan (CN 217721476) teaches a membrane (30) with an opening (31) that is blocked by a rigid member (10) (Figs. 1-2) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARK FISCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-3549. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 1-6, 7:30-11:59pm EST. 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, CAROLYN R EDWARDS can be reached on 571-270-7136. 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. /MARK FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 2 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 3 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 4 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 5 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 6 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 7 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 9 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 10 Art Unit: 2692 Application/Control Number: 18/910,973 Page 11 Art Unit: 2692
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