CTNF 18/952,545 CTNF 90926 DETAILED ACTION 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. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 1 and 4 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 Ln 2, please amend to --when a voltage--. Claim 4 Ln 1, please amend to --wherein [[a]] the voltage --. Appropriate correction is required. 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. 07-12-aia AIA -(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1 and 3-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1), 102(a)(2 ) as being anticipated by Ludois; Daniel Colin et al. US 20210075344 A1, hereinafter Ludois . Regarding claim 1 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) a hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) actuator comprising: a dielectric fluid (25), which is a liquid-type insulator that has polarity when voltage is applied [0053, 0055]; a film (30) configured to covering the dielectric fluid [0053]; and electrodes (22) attached to both outer surfaces of the film and configured to move the dielectric fluid [0053], wherein the dielectric fluid includes nanoparticles including ferroelectrics [0010-0011, 0018, 0055]. Regarding claim 3 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) a (+) wire and a (-) wire are connected to the electrodes (depicted wires attached to (36) and (22)). Regarding claim 4 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) a voltage is applied to the electrodes using the (+) wire and the (-) wire [0050]. Regarding claim 5 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) when voltage is applied to the electrodes, the electrodes contract (depicted in Fig. 3b, [0050]). Regarding claim 6 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) when voltage is not applied to the electrodes, the electrodes does not contract (depicted in Fig. 3a, [0050]). Regarding claim 7 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) when the electrodes contract, the dielectric fluid between the electrodes moves to a space (40) in which the electrodes does not contract [0050]. Regarding claim 8 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) when the electrodes contract, a shape of the film is deformed (“billow outward” [0050]). Regarding claim 9 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) the ferroelectric is barium titanate (BaTiO3) [0057]. Regarding claim 10 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) the ferroelectric is strontium titanate (SrTiO3) [0057]. Regarding claim 11 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) the nanoparticles are carbon-coated ([0057] states that the particles are coated with octadecyltrimethoxysilane, which is comprised of at least 21 Carbon atoms, thereby making the particles coated with carbon). Regarding claim 12 , Ludois discloses (Fig. 3) a dielectric constant of the dielectric fluid is increased by the nanoparticles [0055] . 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 of this title, 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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ludois in view of Acome; Eric Lucas et al. US 20240068451 A1, hereinafter Acome. The references is/are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because the references is/are from the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention (hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) actuators). MPEP2141.01(a) I . Regarding claim 2 , Ludois discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for Claim 1 except fails to explicitly state that the film is a biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film. Instead, Ludois is silent regarding the film/membrane material. Acome discloses (Fig. 1) a hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) actuator comprising: a dielectric fluid (104), which is a liquid-type insulator that has polarity when voltage is applied [0114]; a film (102) configured to covering the dielectric fluid [0107]; and electrodes (106, 108) attached to both outer surfaces of the film and configured to move the dielectric fluid [0116-0117], wherein the dielectric fluid includes nanoparticles including ferroelectrics [0114], wherein the film is a biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film [0170]. One of ordinary skill in the art could have substituted one known element (BOPP film) for another (generic film), and the results of the substitution (forming ideal pouch expansion (Acome [0169])) would have been predictable. Because both Ludois and Acome teach HASEL actuator films, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to substitute the BOPP film for the generic film to achieve the predictable result of forming ideal pouch expansion. Relevant Art The following is a listing of relevant art: US 12194894 B2, US 12452296 B2, US 20090085444 A1, US 7667946 B2, US 20250090294 A1, US 10640033 B1, US 10995779 B2, US 20210172460 A1, US 11827459 B2, US 20010032663 A1, US 20010035723 A1, US 5581192 A disclose HASEL actuators. Contact Information Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW WIBLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9836. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NATHANIEL WIEHE can be reached on 571-272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MATTHEW WIBLIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3745 Application/Control Number: 18/952,545 Page 2 Art Unit: 3745
