CTNF 19/022,070 CTNF 85108 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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement filed 05/01/2025 is acknowledged by the Examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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 s 1-2 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Earney et al. (US 20180214869) in view of Hermans et al. (“Selective, Laser-Induced Etching of Fused Silica at High Scan-Speeds Using KOH,” Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering (JLMN), vol. 9(2), 126-131 (2014)) . Earney et al. disclose: 1. A method, comprising: providing a plurality of rigid substrates (108), including a first rigid substrate (102) and a second rigid substrate (104), wherein the plurality of rigid substrates are at least semi-transparent ([0006] discloses example materials, including glass or silica materials); selectively exposing portions of the first rigid substrate and the second rigid substrate to laser radiation (204, 214, fig. 3 directs radiation to layers of the stack); chemically etching portions of the first rigid substrate and the second rigid substrate ([0009] states “the radiation-absorbing material 106 may be chemically etched or molded to have a predetermined structure”); and bonding the first rigid substrate to the second rigid substrate along a common interface (at composite joint 120) to form a fluidic valve (Abstract states “A bonding interface is defined between the radiation-absorbing material and at least one of the first substrate layer or the second substate layer;” and [0063] states “FIG. 17 is a cross-section of a device having liquid valves formed in accordance with an example as the device is being assembled.”). 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first rigid substrate and the second rigid substrate each comprise a transparent glass [0006]. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluidic valve comprises a body having a chamber (308 or 324 in Fig. 17), and a valve transmission element (332) located within the chamber. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the body comprises a fluidic source (not shown but connects to inlet 326 to provide flow), and a fluidic drain (not shown but connects to outlet 328 to release flow), each configured to be in fluid communication with the chamber (324). 7. The method of claim 5, wherein a position of the valve transmission element (332) is controllable between a first position (fig. 18) and a second position (fig. 17) using a valve pressure received through the fluidic valve ([0127] states “the actuator 320 is sufficiently near the cavities 308 such that the actuator may increase a pressure within the cavity 308”) such that: when in the first position, the valve transmission element is situated to at least substantially prevent fluid flow between the fluidic source and the fluidic drain (as seen in fig. 18), and when in the second position, the gate transmission element is situated to allow fluid flow between the fluidic source and the fluidic drain (as seen in fig. 17). 12. The method of claim 1, wherein bonding the first rigid substrate to the second rigid substrate comprises exposing at least one of the first rigid substrate and the second rigid substrate to laser radiation in a region proximate to the common interface and decreasing a viscosity within the exposed region ([0101] describes the substrate layer melting due to the laser beam, therefore the viscosity being temporarily reduced as it is melted, then solidifies to form a welded seal). 13. The method of claim 1, wherein bonding the first rigid substrate to the second rigid substrate comprises forming a hermetic seal peripheral to the fluidic valve ([0097] states “The perimeter seal 124 may impede an ingress of bubbles or other liquid from the outer area 170 to the cavity 112 during subsequent operations.”). Earney et al. does not specifically disclose wherein the portions that were chemically etched were exposed to the laser radiation. Hermans et al. teach selective laser induced etching is a known process which offers machining hollow volumes into transparent materials (see summary on first page) with extreme precision and which can be used with reduced harmfulness to the human body (see Introduction, 2 nd column). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Earney et al., such that the channels are formed specifically with selective laser induced etching, so that the portions that were chemically etched were exposed to the laser radiation, as taught by Hermans et al., for the purpose of using a known process that offers extreme precision and which can be used with reduced harmfulness to the human body . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Earney et al. (US 20180214869) in view of Hermans et al. (“Selective, Laser-Induced Etching of Fused Silica at High Scan-Speeds Using KOH,” Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering (JLMN), vol. 9(2), 126-131 (2014)) further in view of Keller et al. (US 20180179051) . Earney et al. taken with Hermans et al. disclose the invention as essentially claimed, except for further comprising coupling the fluidic valve to a fluidic haptics device of an artificial reality system; wherein the valve transmission element is a gate transmission element; and wherein the body comprises a fluidic gate. Keller et al. teach fluid based circuit devices [0007] are known to be coupled with fluidic haptic devices (wearable device such as a glove, [0002]) responsive to a control signal received from an artificial reality system ([0001]-[0002]), wherein the valve transmission element is a gate transmission element (for each gate in gate layer 140); and wherein the body comprises a fluidic gate (in layer 140), for the purpose providing a fluid circuit stack specifically suitable for allowing users interact in a virtual world. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify the invention of Earney et al. taken with Hermans et al., to further include coupling the fluidic valve to a fluidic haptics device of an artificial reality system; wherein the valve transmission element is a gate transmission element; and wherein the body comprises a fluidic gate, as taught by Keller et al., for the purpose of allowing users interact in a virtual world . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 6 and 8-11 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. Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20150318210, US 20150125665, US 20140224724, US 20130045144 each disclose related methods of forming fluid circuit stacks of a plurality of substrates . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARINA TIETJEN, whose telephone number is 571-270-5422 . The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (10:30AM-7:00PM CST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisors can be reached by phone. Tom Barrett can be reached at 571-272-4746 , Ken Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881, and Craig Schneider can be reached at 571-272-3607. 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. /MARINA A TIETJEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753 Application/Control Number: 19/022,070 Page 2 Art Unit: 3799 Application/Control Number: 19/022,070 Page 3 Art Unit: 3799 Application/Control Number: 19/022,070 Page 4 Art Unit: 3799 Application/Control Number: 19/022,070 Page 5 Art Unit: 3799 Application/Control Number: 19/022,070 Page 6 Art Unit: 3799
Prosecution Insights