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
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winkens et al. (US 7,509,856 B1) in view of Watanabe (US 2009/0040262 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Winkens et al. teach a measurement apparatus (sensor; Figs 5-6) comprising:
a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, with at least one electrode disposed on the first surface (electrodes 11, 13 and 15 are united to form a disk-shaped combined electrode 11b; Figs 5-6; column 8, line 65 to column 9, line 15);
a metal plate positioned opposite the second surface of the substrate across a spacer (at the same time, the electrodes 12, 14 are united to form a combined electrode 12b comprising a disk-shaped back plate 60 and a cutout front plate 62, which are rigidly and conductively connected to each other by means of an electrically conductive hollow-cylindrical spacer 61 located on the outer edges; Figs 5-6; column 8, line 65 to column 9, line 15);
wherein the metal plate includes a region overlapping the at least one electrode in plan view (the disk-shaped back plate 60 overlaps with the disk-shaped combined electrode 11b; Figs 5-6).
Further regarding claim 1, Winkens et al. do not teach the at least one electrode comprises a first electrode and a second electrode.
Further regarding claim 1,Watanabe teaches a first electrode and a second electrode (a remaining amount detection sensor 4A according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes detection electrodes 40a and 40b in place of the detection electrode 4a of the remaining amount detection sensor 4 of the first embodiment, and a guard electrode 40c in place of the guard electrode 4b; [0103]; Figs 8-9) for the purpose of making it possible to detect the positional relation of a liquid level with respect to two height ranges.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the at least one electrode comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, as taught by Watanabe, into Winkens et al. for the purpose of making it possible to detect the positional relation of a liquid level with respect to two height ranges.
Regarding claim 2, Winkens et al. do not teach wherein an area of a surface of the metal plate oriented toward the substrate is larger than a total area of surfaces of the first electrode and the second electrode oriented toward the substrate.
Further regarding claim 2, Watanabe teaches an area of a surface of the metal plate oriented toward the substrate is larger than a total area of surfaces of the first electrode and the second electrode oriented toward the substrate (the area of the surface of the guard electrode 4d is larger than the total area of the surfaces of the detection electrodes 40a and 40b; Figs 8-9) for the purpose of completely guarding the detection electrodes from interferences.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate wherein an area of a surface of the metal plate oriented toward the substrate is larger than a total area of surfaces of the first electrode and the second electrode oriented toward the substrate, as taught by Watanabe, into Winkens et al. for the purpose of making it possible to detect the positional relation of a liquid level with respect to two height ranges.
Regarding claim 3, Winkens et al. do not teach a capacitor mounted on the second surface of the substrate and electrically connected between the first electrode and the second electrode.
Further regarding claim 3, Watanabe teaches a capacitor mounted on the second surface of the substrate and electrically connected between the first electrode and the second electrode (between the detection electrodes 40a and 40b and the guard electrodes 40c and 4d, there are formed capacitors having a combined capacitances of Ca and Cb, respectively; [0108]; Figs 9-10) for the purpose of detecting changes in the dielectric body provided in the space formed inside a container.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a capacitor mounted on the second surface of the substrate and electrically connected between the first electrode and the second electrode, as taught by Watanabe, into Winkens et al. for the purpose of detecting changes in the dielectric body provided in the space formed inside a container.
Regarding claim 4, Winkens et al. do not teach a high dielectric constant plate disposed on a surface of the metal plate, the surface of the metal plate being oriented toward the substrate.
Further regarding claim 4, Winkens et al. do not teach a high dielectric constant plate disposed on a surface of the metal plate, the surface of the metal plate being oriented toward the substrate (dielectric layer 4c made of resin-impregnated glass fiber of d=1 mm; [0097]) for the purpose of reducing leakage current.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a high dielectric constant plate disposed on a surface of the metal plate, the surface of the metal plate being oriented toward the substrate, as taught by Watanabe, into Winkens et al. for the purpose of reducing leakage current.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Winkens et al. (US 7,509,856 B1) as modified by Watanabe (US 2009/0040262 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lester et al. (US 2013/0293624 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Winkens et al. as modified by Watanabe teach a holding member configured to hold the substrate and the metal plate, wherein the holding member includes: the spacer arranged between the substrate holder and the metal plate holder to determine a distance between the substrate and the metal plate (the electrically conductive hollow-cylindrical spacer 61 are rigidly connected separating the disk-shaped back plate 60 and a cutout front plate 62 at a distance; FIG. 5; Winkens et al.).
Further regarding claim 5, Winkens et al. as modified by Watanabe do not teach the holding member further includes: a substrate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the substrate; and a metal plate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the metal plate.
Further regarding claim 5, Lester et al. teach a holding member includes: a substrate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the substrate (the carrier 6 is arranged outside the sensor pads 12; FIG. 3); and a metal plate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the metal plate (the carrier 6 is arranged outside the printed circuit board 14; FIG. 3) for the purpose of positioning the pads at substantially equi-spaced from a wall of a tank.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the holding member further includes: a substrate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the substrate; and a metal plate holder arranged outside an outer lateral surface of the metal plate, as taught by Lester et al., into Winkens et al. as modified by Watanabe for the purpose of positioning the pads at substantially equi-spaced from a wall of a tank.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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:
The primary reason for indicating allowable subject matter of claim(s) 6 is the inclusion of “a connector provided on the substrate, wherein the substrate holder, the metal plate holder, and the spacer have a cutout exposing a part of the outer lateral surfaces of the substrate and the metal plate, and the connector is arranged at a position of the cutout in plan view. These limitations, as they are claimed in the combination, have not been found, taught or suggested by the prior art of record, making claim(s) 6 allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENDRICK X LIU whose telephone number is (571)270-3798. The examiner can normally be reached MWFSa 10am-8pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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3 October 2026
/KENDRICK X LIU/Examiner, Art Unit 2853
/DOUGLAS X RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2853
