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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/28/2025 and 10/01/2025 was 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.
Claim(s) 1-8 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinze et al. US 2006/0006861 A1(hereinafter referred to as Heinze) in view of Reidinger et al. DE 102014008824 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Reidinger).
Claim 1, Heinze discloses a measurement device (fig. 1, elm. 1, par. [0075]) comprising: a casing (fig. 1, elm. 2, par. [0075]) in which a storage space (see fig. 1) is formed there inside; a board (fig. 1, elm. 5, par. [0075]) that has a mounting surface, and that is housed in the storage space (see fig. 1); a magnetic sensor (fig. 1, elm. 6, par. [0075]) mounted on the mounting surface; and a detecting unit (fig. 1, elm. 13, par. [0079]) that is arranged outside the casing, wherein a protruding portion (see fig. 7, par. [0075]) that is formed by protruding an inner circumferential surface of the storage space is formed in the casing (see fig. 1), a concave portion (fig. 1, area within elm. 7, par. [0075]) formed by recessing toward the storage space from an outer circumferential surface of the casing is formed in the protruding portion, and the board (fig. 1, elm. 5, par. [0075]) is arranged such that the mounting surface faces the protruding portion (see fig. 1).
Heinze does not disclose a detecting unit that is arranged outside the casing, that detects a state quantity of a measured medium.
Reidinger discloses detecting unit (fig. 2, elm. 6, 7, 8, 15, par. [0032], [0038]) that is arranged outside the casing, that detects a state quantity of a measured medium (fig. 2, 5, fluid, par. [0032]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a device to measure variables (pressure, temperature and turbidity) of a fluid, as taught in Reidinger to modify the apparatus of Heinze. The motivation would be reliable generic measuring device in direct contact with fluid. (see Reidinger: par. [0006]- [0010]).
Claim 2, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 1, Heinze discloses wherein a plurality of the magnetic sensors (fig. 1, two AMR sensors in sensor unit 6, par. [0087]) are mounted on the mounting surface, and when a direction in which the concave portion extends is a first direction (see fig. 1, 4), the magnetic sensors are aligned along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction (fig. 4, par. [0080]).
Claim 3, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 2, Heinze discloses wherein the magnetic sensors (fig. 1, elm. 6, par. [0087]) include of first magnetic sensors (two AMR sensors in sensor unit 6, par. [0087]), a detection direction of a magnetic field of which is parallel to the first direction, and second magnetic sensors, a detection direction of a magnetic field of which is parallel to the second direction (diametrically magnetized magnet 9, which is mounted to rotate in the direction of the double arrow (C), first and second direction, par. [0080]), and the first magnetic sensors are arranged symmetrically about a center axis (fig. 1, 4, axis of the shaft) of the concave portion when viewed along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the second magnetic sensors are arranged symmetrically about the center axis (see fig. 1, 4).
Heinze and Reidinger discloses the claimed invention except for magnetic sensors include two units of first magnetic sensors and two units of second magnetic sensors. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide magnetic sensors which includes two units of first magnetic sensors and two units of second magnetic sensors, since it has been held that the mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. See St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 and MPEP 2144.04.
Claim 4, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 1, Heinze discloses further comprising: a shaft (fig. 1, elm. 10, par. [0075]) that is inserted in the concave portion to be rotatable around a center axis (see fig. 1, 4, elm. 10, par. [0080]) of the concave portion; and a magnet (see fig. 1, elm. 9, par. [0075]) that is attached to the shaft such that an N pole and an S pole (see fig. 1, 4, elm. 10) are aligned in a direction perpendicular to a first direction when a direction in which the concave portion extends is the first direction (see fig. 1).
Claim 5, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 4, Heinze discloses wherein the magnet (fig. 2, elm. 9, par. [0076]- [0077]) is arranged at a position shifted toward an entrance of the concave portion relative to the magnetic sensor (fig. 1, elm. 6, par. [0087]) along the first direction when viewed along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction (see fig. 2).
Claim 6, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 4, Heinze discloses further comprising a determining unit (fig. 4, elm. 10, par. [0079]) that determines a rotation direction (par. [0048]) of the shaft (fig. 1, elm. 10, par. [0075]) based on a detection result of the magnetic sensor (fig. 1, elm. 6, par. [0087]).
Claim 7, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 4, further comprising a gasket (fig. 3, elm. 8, par. [0075]) that abuts on the inner circumferential surface of the concave portion (fig. 3, elm. 7, par. [0078]) and an outer circumferential surface of the shaft (fig. 3, elm. 10, par. [0075]), and that supports the shaft rotatably about the center axis (par. [0048]).
Claim 8, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 4, Heinze discloses further comprising a lid (fig. 3, elm. 12, par. [0078]) that is fit in the entrance of the concave portion (fig. 3, elm. 7, par. [0078]), wherein at an end portion on the entrance of the concave portion in the shaft (fig. 3, elm. 10, par. [0075]), an engaging portion (fig. 3, elm. 11, par. [0078]) that can be engaged with a tool to rotate the shaft is formed, and the lid is formed in a cylindrical shape (see fig. 3, elm. 12, par. [0078]) that exposes the engaging portion.
Claim 11, Heinze discloses a rotation detection method to detect a rotation direction of a shaft (fig. 1, elm. 10, par. [0075]) in a measurement device (fig. 1, elm. 1, par. [0075]) that includes a casing (fig. 1, elm. 2, par. [0075]) in which a storage space (see fig. 1) is formed there inside, and in which a protruding portion (fig. 1, elm. 7, par. [0075]) is formed, the protruding portion in which an inner circumferential surface of the storage space protrudes, and that has a concave portion (fig. 1, area within elm. 7, par. [0075]) formed in the protruding portion recessing from an exterior toward the storage space; a board (fig. 1, elm. 5, par. [0075]) that has a mounting surface facing the protruding portion, and that is housed in the storage space (see fig. 1); a plurality of magnetic sensors (fig. 1, two AMR sensors in sensor unit 6, par. [0087]) mounted on the mounting surface; a detecting unit (fig. 1, elm. 13, par. [0079]) that is arranged outside the casing; and a shaft (fig. 1, elm. 10, par. [0075]) that is inserted in the concave portion to be arranged rotatably about a center axis of the concave portion (see fig. 1), the method, wherein when a direction in which the concave portion extends is defined as first direction, the magnetic sensors are aligned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction the of first magnetic sensors (fig. 1, two AMR sensors in sensor unit 6, par. [0087]), a detection direction of a magnetic field of which is parallel to the first direction, and second magnetic sensors, a detection direction of a magnetic field of which is parallel to the second direction (par. [0080]), and the first magnetic sensors are arranged symmetrically about a center axis (see fig. 1) of the concave portion when viewed along a third direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the second magnetic sensors are arranged symmetrically about the center axis, the method comprising: receiving a detection level of the magnetic sensors (magnetic field of the magnet affixed to the shaft to be monitored is evaluated by the two-part AMR sensor or by the two AMR sensors, par. [0063]); and determining a rotation direction of the shaft based on a change in the detection level of the magnetic sensors (par. [0048]).
Heinze does not disclose a detecting unit that is arranged outside the casing, that detects a state quantity of a measured medium
Reidinger discloses detecting unit (fig. 2, elm. 6, 7, 8, 15, par. [0032], [0038]) that is arranged outside the casing, that detects a state quantity of a measured medium (fig. 2, 5, fluid, par. [0032]).
The references are combined for the same reason already applied in the rejection of claim 1.
Heinze and Reidinger discloses the claimed invention except for magnetic sensors include two units of first magnetic sensors and two units of second magnetic sensors. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide magnetic sensors which includes two units of first magnetic sensors and two units of second magnetic sensors, since it has been held that the mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. See St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 and MPEP 2144.04.
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heinze in view of Reidinger as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Miyazaki et. al. JP 2014120717 A (hereinafter referred to as Miyazaki).
Claim 9, Heinze and Reidinger discloses the measurement device according to claim 1, Heinze and Reidinger does not disclose wherein a window that enables to view the interior of the storage space is formed in the casing, the device further comprising a display unit that is arranged inside the storage space, and that can be viewed through the window.
Miyazaki discloses wherein a window (fig. 11, elm. 13b, par. [0100]) that enables to view the interior of the storage space (see fig. 11, Inside the case 8 formed in a cylindrical shape, par. [0097]) is formed in the casing (fig. 11, elm. 8, par. [0100]), the device further comprising a display unit (fig. 11, elm. 1, par. [0097]) that is arranged inside the storage space, and that can be viewed through the window (see fig. 11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide an electronic equipment with operating means that can be operated from the outside, as taught in Miyazaki in modifying the apparatus of Heinze and Reidinger. The motivation would be to display content of the display unit housed inside the case to visually confirmed from the outside through the glass window (see Miyazaki).
Claim 10, Heinze and Miyazaki discloses the measurement device according to claim 9, Miyazaki discloses further comprising a display control unit (fig. 12, elm. 2) that changes display (fig. 11, elm. 1, par. [0097]) of the display unit based on a detection result (par. [0030]).
The references are combined for the same reason already applied in the rejection of claim 9.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY G MCDONNOUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-6552. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm.
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/COURTNEY G MCDONNOUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/FARHANA A HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
