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 .
Claims/Remark filed 8-2-2025. Claims 4 and 13 canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8-4-2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application filed on 1-15-2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-2, 6-8, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang 2006/0230835
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses an improved capacitive transducer (Figs 5-7) comprising:
a diaphragm membrane (Figs 5-7, membrane 21, para [34]) tensioned parallel to the metal disc (26, para [34]), the diaphragm membrane (21, para [34]) at a distance to the metal disc (26, para [34-36]).
Wang’s Figs 5-7 does not explicitly disclose a metal disc comprising a plurality of channels milled onto a surface of the metal disc.
Wang’s Fig 8 discloses a metal disc comprising a plurality of channels milled onto a surface of the metal disc (Fig 8 shows the metal layer 26 having a circular surface and comprising holes 29 onto a surface of the metal layer 26, see para [34]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the Wang’s Figs 5-7 and Wang’s Fig 8 to achieve the desired sound pressure level and beams patterns. See Wang’s para [38].
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein a first of the plurality of channels is radially symmetric to a second of the plurality of channels (Figs 5-7, plurality of channels/holes 29 dispersed on an inner area of the circular surface of the metal layer 26, the holes 29 having rows and columns to form a matrix shape, see para [34, 36]).
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the metal disc (Figs 5-7, metal layer 26, para [34]) comprises a plurality of channels milled (holes 29, para [34]) onto the surface of the metal disc as concentric channels (Figs 5-8 holes 29 dispersed on an inner area of the circular surface of the metal layer 26, the holes 29 having rows and columns to form a matrix shape).
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the metal disc comprises a plurality of channels milled (Figs 5-8, holes 29) onto the surface of the metal disc as concentric channels (metal layer 26) and at least one through hole angled along an axial dimension (Figs 5-8).
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the diaphragm membrane acts on a first of the plurality of channels in a first manner and wherein the diaphragm membrane acts on a second of the plurality of channels in a second manner (para [36] discloses when in operation, bias voltage is applied across the electrodes (layer 22, 26), and membrane 21 is pulled up and located somewhere in the middle of its sagging. The driving electrical signal can be applied at 35 to drive the membrane 21 up and down, generating the acoustic pressures, which will be transmitted out through acoustic holes 29).
Regarding claim 11, Wang discloses an improved capacitive transducer (Fig 8) comprising:
a metal disc (Fig 8, metal layer 26, para [34]) comprising a channel milled (holes 29 onto a surface of the metal disc/metal layer 26, see para [34]).
Wang’s Fig 8 does not explicitly disclose a diaphragm membrane tensioned parallel to the metal disc, the diaphragm membrane at a distance to the metal disc.
Wang’s Figs 5-7 discloses a diaphragm membrane (Figs 5-7, membrane 21, para [34]) tensioned parallel to the metal disc (26, para [34]), the diaphragm membrane (21) at a distance to the metal disc (26, para [34-36]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement the Wang’s Figs 5-7 and Wang’s Fig 8 to achieve the desired sound pressure level and beams patterns. See Wang’s para [38].
Claims 3, 5, 12, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang 2006/0230835 in view of Zhang 2011/0075866
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses in para [34, 36] and Figs 5-7, plurality of channels milled/holes 29 having rows and columns to form the matrix shape, Fig 8 shows holes 29 onto the surface of the metal disc/metal layer 26.
Wang does not explicitly disclose the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the metal disc comprises a plurality of channels milled onto the surface of the metal disc as rings.
Zhang teaches wherein the metal disc comprises a plurality of channels milled onto the surface of the metal disc as rings (Figs 2-4, a backplate 12 having holes 16 with a symmetric, four-leaf clover shape, circular or oval shaped, or sharper corners (e.g. squared corners) and irregular shapes, para [30-34, 39-41]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Zhang in Wang’s invention in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of MEMS microphone by incorporating specially shaped through holes in the backplate. See Zhang’s para [69].
Regarding claim 5, Wang does not explicitly disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 5.
Zhang teaches the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the metal disc comprises a plurality of channels milled onto the surface of the metal disc as closed-sided Euclidean shapes (Figs 2-4, a backplate 12 having holes 16 with a symmetric, four-leaf clover shape, circular or oval shaped, or sharper corners (e.g. squared corners) and irregular shapes, para [30-34, 39-41]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Zhang in Wang’s invention in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of MEMS microphone by incorporating specially shaped through holes in the backplate. See Zhang’s para [69].
Regarding claim 12, Wang discloses in para [34, 36] and Figs 5-7, plurality of channels milled/holes 29 having rows and columns to form the matrix shape, Fig 8 shows holes 29 onto the surface of the metal disc/metal layer 26.
Wang does not explicitly disclose the improved capacitive transducer of claim 11, wherein the metal disc further comprises a ring milled onto the surface of the metal disc.
Zhang teaches wherein the metal disc further comprises a ring milled onto the surface of the metal disc (Figs 2-4, a backplate 12 having holes 16 with a symmetric, four-leaf clover shape, circular or oval shaped, or sharper corners (e.g. squared corners) and irregular shapes, para [30-34, 39-41]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Zhang in Wang’s invention in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of MEMS microphone by incorporating specially shaped through holes in the backplate. See Zhang’s para [69].
Regarding claim 14, Wang does not explicitly disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 14.
Zhang teaches the improved capacitive transducer of claim 11, wherein the metal disc further comprises a closed-sided Euclidean shape milled onto the surface of the metal disc (Figs 2-4, a backplate 12 having holes 16 with a symmetric, four-leaf clover shape, circular or oval shaped, or sharper corners (e.g. squared corners) and irregular shapes, para [30-34, 39-41]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teaching of Zhang in Wang’s invention in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of MEMS microphone by incorporating specially shaped through holes in the backplate. See Zhang’s para [69].
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang 2006/0230835 in view of Hsieh 10,390,145
Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses in Fig 8 metal disc/metal layer 26 having the circular surface and disposed on the membrane 21 which is circular or rectangular or square, and claim 16 discloses the membranes and perforated members are circular or rectangular or square, and para [34].
Wang does not explicitly disclose the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein the metal disc has a convex profile to the diaphragm membrane. However, provide wherein the metal disc has a convex profile to the diaphragm membrane is well known in the art.
Hsieh teaches wherein the metal disc has a convex profile to the diaphragm membrane (col 6 lines 27-31 teaches a diaphragm with bowl-like structure the convex diaphragm is outward the backplate). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to implement a convex profiled to the diaphragm membrane as taught by Hsieh in Wang’s invention in order to improve the performance of the capacitive transducer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 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.
Claim 9 objected because the prior art references fails to teach the claimed limitation, “the improved capacitive transducer of claim 1, wherein a first surface of the metal disc between a first and a second of the plurality of channels has a first height and wherein a second surface of the metal disc between a third and a fourth of the plurality of channels has a second height .”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIE X DANG whose telephone number is (571)272-0040. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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/JULIE X DANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692