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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-10, 13 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Avrin et al. (US PUB 2001/0029329), hereinafter Avrin, and further in view of Fukui et al. (US PAT 12,117,506), hereinafter Fukui.
With respect to claim 1, Avrin discloses a proximity sensor comprising: a coil that generates a magnetic field by an excitation current (See claim 19 of Avrin); a head housing (See [132] in figure 20 of Avrin) that accommodates the coil (See claim 19 of Avrin) and a core (See [153] in figure 15 of Avrin); and an in-head substrate that is accommodated in the head housing (See claim 17 of Avrin), wherein the coil includes: a first coil; and a second coil disposed concentrically with the first coil (See claim 19 of Avrin), the proximity sensor further comprises: a transmission circuit that periodically applies a pulsed excitation current to the coil (See paragraph [0065] in view of paragraph [0069] of Avrin); a reception circuit that detects a voltage or a current generated in at least one of the first coil and the second coil (See paragraph [0087] of Avrin) by the magnetic field which is changed by a detection object (See the “objects” disclosed in paragraph [0066] of Avrin); and a control circuit that detects the detection object on a basis of a change in the voltage or the current detected by the reception circuit (See paragraph [0069] of Avrin), and a coil wire of the first coil is electrically connected to the in-head substrate via direct bonding (See claim 17 of Avrin) but fails to disclose that the core is a ferrite core that guides the magnetic field generated from the coil. However, Fukui does disclose that the core is a ferrite core that guides the magnetic field generated from the coil (See Col. 5, lines 61-63 of Fukui). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by Avrin to include the feature disclosed by Fukui because doing so enables enhanced magnetic field detection sensitivity.
With respect to claim 2, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the transmission circuit, the reception circuit, and the control circuit are provided on the in-head substrate (See paragraph [0027] of Avrin in view of claim 17 of Avrin).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the reception circuit includes: a first reception circuit that detects a voltage or a current generated in the first coil; and a second reception circuit that detects a voltage or a current generated in the second coil, wherein the control circuit detects the detection object on a basis of a difference between the voltage or the current detected by the first reception circuit and the voltage or the current directed by the second reception circuit (See paragraph [0112] of Avrin in view of paragraph [0113] of Avrin).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second coil is shorter than the first coil in a direction orthogonal to a radial direction of the second coil (See paragraph [0113] of Avrin).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 5, wherein the second coil is disposed outside the first coil in the radial direction (See the coil arrangement shown in figure 5 of Avrin).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the second coil is located closer to a side where the detection object is detected than the first coil (See paragraph [0065] of Avrin).
With respect to claim 8, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a core holder that holds the ferrite core (See [52] in figure 13 of Fukui), wherein the core holder positions the second coil and fixes the ferrite core to the in-head substrate (See [52] in figure 13 of Fukui).
With respect to claim 9, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a magnetic shield that is disposed outside the second coil in a radial direction (See paragraph [0088] of Avrin), wherein the magnetic shield includes a sheet member kneaded with ferromagnetic powder (See paragraph [0092] of Avrin).
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor of claim 1, further comprising an electric shield that is disposed outside the second coil in a radial direction, wherein the electrical shield is formed with a cut across a direction around an axis of the electric shield (See paragraphs [0021], [0065] and [0088] of Avrin).
With respect to claim 13, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the ferrite core has a shaft body passing through a hollow portion of the first coil (See that [11] in figure 14 of Avrin allows for [51] to pass through its hollow portion), and a ratio of a width of the shaft body to an entire width of the ferrite core in a radial direction of the first coil is 30% or less (See in figure 14 of Fukui that the ratio of the width of [51] to the width of [11] is about 30%).
With respect to claim 14, the combination of Avrin and Fukui discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 13, wherein a ratio of a width of the shaft body to an entire width of the ferrite core in a radial direction of the first coil is 15% or more (See in figure 14 of Fukui that the ratio of the width of [51] to the width of [11] is about 30%).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Avrin, in view of Fukui and further in view of Tomczak et al. (US PUB 2019/0041418), hereinafter Tomczak.
With respect to claim 16, Avrin discloses a proximity sensor comprising: a coil that generates a magnetic field by an excitation current (See claim 19 of Avrin); a core that guides the magnetic field generated from the coil; a head housing (See [132] in figure 20 of Avrin) that accommodates the coil (See claim 19 of Avrin) and the core (See [153] in figure 15 of Avrin); wherein the coil includes: a first coil; and a second coil disposed concentrically with the first coil (See claim 19 of Avrin), the proximity sensor further comprises: a transmission circuit that periodically applies a pulsed excitation current to the coil (See paragraph [0065] in view of paragraph [0069] of Avrin); a reception circuit that detects a voltage or a current generated in at least one of the first coil and the second coil (See paragraph [0087] of Avrin) by the magnetic field which is changed by a detection object (See the “objects” disclosed in paragraph [0066] of Avrin); and a control circuit that detects the detection object on a basis of a change in the voltage or the current detected by the reception circuit (See paragraph [0069] of Avrin), and a coil wire of the first coil is electrically connected to the cable via direct bonding (See claim 17 of Avrin) but fails to disclose a that the core is ferrite. However, Fukui does disclose that the core is a ferrite core (See Col. 5, lines 61-63 of Fukui). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by Avrin to include the feature disclosed by Fukui because doing so enables enhanced magnetic field detection sensitivity. The combination of Avrin and Fukui fails to disclose a cable that extends from the head housing. However, Tomczak does disclose a cable that extends from the head housing (See paragraph [0032] of Tomczak). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by the combination of Avrin and Fukui to include the feature disclosed by Tomczak because doing so enables secure transmission of data to and from the sensing head.
Claim(s) 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Avrin, in view of Fukui and further in view of Steinich et al. (US PUB 2011/0080162), hereinafter Steinich.
With respect to claim 17, Avrin discloses a proximity sensor comprising: a coil that generates a magnetic field by an excitation current (See claim 19 of Avrin); a core (See [153] in figure 15 of Avrin) and a head housing (See [132] in figure 20 of Avrin) that accommodates the coil (See claim 19 of Avrin) and the core (See [153] in figure 15 of Avrin), wherein the coil includes: a first coil; a second coil disposed outside the first coil in a radial direction (See claim 19 of Avrin); and a magnetic material that is located between the first coil and the second coil (See paragraph [0088] of Avrin), the proximity sensor further comprises: a transmission circuit that periodically applies a pulsed excitation current to the coil (See paragraph [0065] in view of paragraph [0069] of Avrin); a reception circuit that detects a voltage or a current generated in at least one of the first coil and the second coil (See paragraph [0087] of Avrin) by the magnetic field which is changed by a detection object (See the “objects” disclosed in paragraph [0066] of Avrin); and a control circuit that detects the detection object on a basis of a change in the voltage or the current detected by the reception circuit (See paragraph [0069] of Avrin) but fails to disclose a ferrite core that guides the magnetic field generated from the coil. However, Fukui does disclose that the core is a ferrite core that guides the magnetic field generated from the coil (See Col. 5, lines 61-63 of Fukui). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by Avrin to include the feature disclosed by Fukui because doing so enables enhanced magnetic field detection sensitivity. The combination of Avrin and Fukui fails to disclose a diameter of a surface of the head housing capable of facing the detection object is less than 8 mm, and a number of windings of the first coil is 100 or more. However, Steinich does disclose a diameter of a surface of the head housing capable of facing the detection object is less than 8 mm, and a number of windings of the first coil is 100 or more (See paragraph [0130] of Steinich). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by the combination of Avrin and Fukui to include the features disclosed by Steinich because doing so enables miniaturization optimization.
With respect to claim 18, the combination of Avrin, Fukui and Steinich discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 17, wherein a surface of the head housing capable of facing the detection object is made of metal (See paragraphs [0071] and [0089] of Avrin).
Claim(s) 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Avrin, Fukui and Steinich, as applied to claim 17 above, further in view of Matsushima et al. (US PUB 2009/0243225), hereinafter Matsushima.
With respect to claim 19, the combination Avrin, Fukui and Steinich discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 17 but fails to disclose wherein a wire diameter of a coil wire of the first coil is 0.02 mm or less. However, Matsushima does disclose wherein a wire diameter of a coil wire of the first coil is 0.02 mm or less (See paragraph [0067] of Matsushima). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device disclosed by the combination of Avrin, Fukui and Steinich to include the features disclosed by Matsushima because doing so ensures sensor head miniaturization.
With respect to claim 20, the combination of Avrin, Fukui, Steinich and Matsushima discloses the proximity sensor according to claim 17, further comprising an in-head substrate that is accommodated in the head housing, wherein a coil wire of the first coil is electrically connected to the in-head substrate via direct bonding (See claim 17 of Avrin).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 11, 12 and 15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 3, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggests the combination of structural elements further comprising: a cable that extends from the head housing; and an amplifier housing that is connected to the head housing via the cable, wherein the transmission circuit, the reception circuit, and the control circuit are provided in the amplifier housing.
With respect to claim 11, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggests the combination of structural elements wherein the electric shield includes: a peripheral portion covering the second coil from an outside of the second coil in the radial direction; and a detection surface portion located on a side where the detection object is detected, the cut is formed in the detection surface portion, and the electrical shield is a press-molded product of a punched thin metal plate.
Claim 12 depends from objected to claim 11 and is therefore also objected to.
With respect to claim 15, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggests the combination of structural elements wherein the cable includes a first cable wire electrically connected to either a coil wire of the first coil or a coil wire of the second coil, and a second cable wire electrically connected to either a coil wire of the first coil or a coil wire of the second coil, the first cable wire is connected to one surface of the in-head substrate, and the second cable wire is connected to another surface of the in-head substrate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TEMILADE S RHODES-VIVOUR whose telephone number is (571)270-5814. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (flex schedule).
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, Huy Phan can be reached at 571-272-7924. 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.
/TEMILADE S RHODES-VIVOUR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/HUY Q PHAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Prosecution Insights