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 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 1-2 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.
Claim 1 recites a balance spring does not use a clearly defined transitional phrase including comprising or consisting. See MPEP 2111.03. The claim recites having but it is unclear whether to interpret this phrase as similar to comprising or consisting. This issue become more problematic when claim 1 recites “with the exception of” because it then becomes even more unclear whether the phrase entirely precludes the element which follows, or merely suggests it is not a subpart of the portion which precedes it. I.e. a ceramic other than silicon oxide. Or a ceramic… also the spring does not comprise silicon oxide in any form anywhere. Also is silicon oxide meant to also cover silicon dioxide? Claim 1 is therefore indefinite.
Claim 2 depends from claim 1 and thus has at least the same defect(s).
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102anticipated as being anticipated by Schafroth (US 2013/0051191).
With regard to claim 1 Schafroth discloses a balance spring (title, paragraph 7, claim 1) to be fitted to a timepiece balance (30) having fixed inertia, said balance spring (20) being formed of a silicon core (200; paragraph 40) having lateral faces (side faces - figure 5a) connecting an upper face (upper - figure 5a) to a lower face (bottom face - figure 5a), said balance spring (20) being coated on at least one of the lateral faces (200; see 202-208 figure 5a) in a portion of its outer coil (see last curve figure 4; paragraph 41) with a ceramic layer (paragraphs 39-45) with the exception of a silicon oxide (paragraphs 39-40, 44), said layer (figure 5a) being directly deposited on the silicon core (figure 5a; paragraphs 39-45) and having a thickness comprised between 5 and 100 nm (paragraph 45) and, said balance spring (20) comprising, apart from said portion, on all or part of the lateral, lower or upper faces, a silicon oxide layer in order to compensate for variations in the thermoelastic coefficient of the core with temperature, coated with a metal layer (paragraphs 6, 45).
With regard to claim 2 Schafroth discloses the balance spring (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the layer (figure 5a) that coats at least one of the lateral faces (figure 5a) in the portion of outer coil (figure 4) is a nitride-based, carbide-based, boride-based or oxide-based ceramic (paragraphs 42-44).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
20200192292 is the pgpub for the parent application.
20170176942 teaches a method of forming a spring by the addition of material.
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/SEAN KAYES/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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