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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I (Claims 1-5, 12, 14-16, 20-23) in the Response filed 7/1/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 6-11, 13, 17-19, 24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 1/16/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following features must be shown or cancelled:
Claim 5, lines 7-11, recites an excitation angle of an angle formed between an excitation direction of an acoustic wave at an intersection between the straight line passing through the fixed point and the excitation portion and the first electrode finger or the second electrode finger.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. No new matter should be entered. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE INCLUDING ARC-SHAPED IDT ELECTRODES.
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Claim 5, lines 7-11, recites “an excitation angle of an angle formed between an excitation direction of an acoustic wave at an intersection between the straight line passing through the fixed point and the excitation portion and the first electrode finger or the second electrode finger.” The specification does not describe, or even mention, “an angle excitation of an angle.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1, lines 21-22, recites “in the shapes of the first electrode fingers and the second electrode fingers is defined as a fixed point.” For consistency, it should recite:
-- in the shapes of the plurality of first electrode fingers and the plurality of second electrode fingers is defined as a fixed point--
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claims 4-5, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor, or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites “the larger an absolute value of the angle or the excitation angle, the smaller a duty ratio.” The terms “larger” and “smaller” are relative terms, without any defined boundaries or ranges, which renders the claim indefinite. The terms and/or their boundaries or ranges are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree (larger/smaller) and/or any applicable boundaries or ranges, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. MPEP 2173.05(b).
In addition, claiming in the alternative to make the duty ratio depend on both the absolute value of the angle and/or the absolute value of the excitation angle increases ambiguity regarding these terms of degree.
For examination purposes, this limitation will not be given any patentable weight.
Claim 5 recites “the larger an absolute value of the angle or the excitation angle, the larger a duty ratio.” Both instances of the term “larger” are relative terms, without any defined boundaries or ranges, which renders the claim indefinite. The terms and/or their boundaries or ranges are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree and/or any applicable boundaries or ranges, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. MPEP 2173.05(b).
In addition, claiming in the alternative to make the duty ratio depend on both the absolute value of the angle and/or the absolute value of the excitation angle increases ambiguity regarding these terms of degree.
For examination purposes, this limitation will not be given any patentable weight.
Claim 5, lines 7-11, recites “an excitation angle of an angle formed between an excitation direction of an acoustic wave at an intersection between the straight line passing through the fixed point and the excitation portion and the first electrode finger or the second electrode finger.” It is unclear what “an angle excitation of an angle” actually means because the specification does not describe or even mention it.
Claim 12 is also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as dependent on the rejected claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 16, 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0286624, published 11/15/2012 (“Ikeuchi”), cited by the applicant.
Ikeuchi discloses in Figs. 1-5F and the corresponding description:
Claim 1
An acoustic wave device (Figs. 1A-B, elastic wave device 1001, ¶¶42-85) comprising:
a piezoelectric substrate (11) including a piezoelectric layer (¶42); and
an IDT electrode (14) on the piezoelectric layer; wherein
the IDT electrode includes a first busbar (15A) and a second busbar (15B) facing each other, a plurality of first electrode fingers (16A) of which one end portion is connected to the first busbar, and a plurality of second electrode fingers (16B) of which one end portion is connected to the second busbar, and the plurality of first electrode fingers and the plurality of second electrode fingers are interdigitated with each other (Figs. 1A-B);
shapes of the plurality of first electrode fingers and the plurality of second electrode fingers in a plan view include a shape of a circular arc or an elliptical arc (Figs. 1A-B, annotated below, ¶¶53, 70); and
when a virtual line formed by connecting tip ends of the plurality of second electrode fingers is defined as a first envelope, a virtual line formed by connecting tip ends of the plurality of first electrode fingers is defined as a second envelope, and a center of a circle including the circular arc or a midpoint of two focal points of an ellipse including the elliptical arc in the shapes of the first electrode fingers and the second electrode fingers is defined as a fixed point, a straight line connecting the fixed point and a tip end of a second electrode finger is not parallel to the first envelope, and a straight line connecting the fixed point and a tip end of a first electrode finger is not parallel to the second envelope (Fig. 1B).
Claim 16
further comprising:
a plurality of first offset electrodes (17A); and
a plurality of second offset electrodes (17B); wherein
each of the plurality of first offset electrodes is connected to the first busbar (15A), and each of the plurality of second offset electrodes is connected to the second busbar (15B);
a tip end portion of the second electrode finger and a tip end portion of a first offset electrode face each other with a gap interposed, and a tip end portion of the first electrode finger and a tip end portion of a second offset electrode face each other with a gap interposed (Figs. 1A-B, there is a gap (annotated) between the dummy fingers 17A, 17B and electrode fingers 16B, 16A, respectively);
shapes of the plurality of first offset electrodes include a shape of a circular arc included in a circle with the fixed point as a center or an elliptical arc included in an ellipse with the fixed point as a midpoint of two focal points (Figs. 1A-B); and
a width of each of the first offset electrodes is constant (Figs. 1A-B, the width of the dummy electrodes 17A and 17B are constant).
Claim 23
wherein the piezoelectric substrate (11) includes only the piezoelectric layer (¶42).
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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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeuchi in view of U.S. Patent No. 10,491,192, issued 11/26/2019 (“Plesski”).
Regarding Claims 21-22, Ikeuchi discuses all the limitations except “a support substrate” recited in claim 21 and “an intermediate layer between the support substrate and the piezoelectric layer” recited in claim 22.
However, Plesski, in the same filed of endeavor, discloses a similar acoustic wave device including an intermediate layer 324 between the support substrate 322 and the piezoelectric layer 310 (Figs. 1-3B; 3:40-42; 5:31-43).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the acoustic wave device of Ikeuchi by adding a support substrate and an intermediate layer between the support substrate and the piezoelectric layer for the benefit of providing mechanical support for the piezoelectric plate and forming an acoustic mirror cavity in the intermediate layer, as taught by Plesski (3:40-42; 5:31-43).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 14-15, 20 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.
Claims 4-5, 12 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim(s) and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICTOR COLE, telephone number (571) 272-4686. The examiner can be reached Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL, can be reached at (571) 272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/VICTOR COLE/
Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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