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 .
This communication is in response to amendment received on 07/22/2026.
Applicant has canceled claims 2 – 3 and 7 – 9, and added new claims 9 – 10.
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.
Claims 6 and 9 – 10 are 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.
As to claim 1, applicant attempts to define the subject matter in terms of the result to be achieved (obtaining an acidity value or a basicity value of the liquid being tested), but in so doing merely states the problem to be solved, without indicating the technical features or steps necessary for achieving this result. Due to lack of essential features or steps it is unclear how applicant is obtaining an acidity value or a basicity value of the liquid being tested.
Claims 9 – 10 are rejected by virtue of their dependency on claim 6.
Due to the presence of rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112 (b), no prior art rejections could be reasonably made by the Examiner, and is not an indication of allowable subject matter. Once the Applicant has resolved the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), another search and consideration of the prior art will be made by the Examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: As to claims 1 and 4 – 5, the closest prior art Watanabe et al. (12,638,407) discloses an oil condition determination system comprising a measurement unit configured to periodically measure a resistance value of oil; and a determination unit configured to periodically determine a condition of the oil based on the resistance value, wherein the determination unit stores a local maximum value of the resistance value, determines that the condition of the oil has changed in a case in which a difference between the local maximum value and the resistance value becomes greater than or equal to a first threshold value, and initializes the local maximum value and updates the first threshold value in a case in which the amount of change in the resistance value per unit time becomes greater than or equal to a second threshold value.
However, the prior art fails to show wherein the control unit is further configured to calculate a first degree of change indicating an amount of change in the first parameter relative to an amount of change in frequency between two frequencies in a first pair of the plurality of predetermined frequencies, and to calculate a second degree of change indicating an amount of change in the first parameter relative to an amount of change in frequency between two frequencies in a second pair of the plurality of predetermined frequencies, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate, as a second parameter, a difference between a first degree of change and a second degree of change, wherein the liquid sensor further comprises a storage unit configured to store therein relationship information indicating a correspondence between the second parameter and a third parameter correlating with a degradation level of the liquid, the third parameter being a base number or an acid value of the liquid correlated, and wherein the control unit is configured to detect the third parameter based on the second parameter and the relationship information. These features taken together with the other limitations of the claim renders the claims allowable over prior art.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/REENA AURORA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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