Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
Applicant’s election of Group I (claims 2-12) without traverse is acknowledged.
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 force sensor of claim 2 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 2-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As to claim 2, it’s not clear which of the many embodiments in the specification and/or drawings which claim 2 relates back to. Consider that the closest material that claim 2 appears to relate back to appears to be that of Claim 49 (filed 16/763,976 filed 1/21/22 on the 8 page listing); yet, claim 49 does not position all of the half-bridges “on the first face” (line 2 from last, claim 2) as called for in claim 21. As such, one of ordinary skill cannot be clear what embodiment claim 2 might relate back to in the specification and/or drawings, or what some not-yet-expressly identified (i.e. an additional) embodiment that one of ordinary skill may somehow have gleaned from a plurality of embodiments presently provided in the specification and drawings.
New Matter
Claims 2-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 2 appears to be directed to a combination that is not supported in any one of prior filed applications (18/608,258; 17/885,370; 16/763976). Undersigned can find no clear support in either the specification or drawings for the combination of the last 4 lines (of claim 2) with remaining limitations. In particular, there is no support for all 4 of the half-bridges (last 4 lines) being “each on the first face” (line 2 from last, claim 2) with remaining claim limitations. Consider that Claim 49 (of 16/763,976 filed 5/13/20 on page 8’s listing) is the closest material that relates to claim 2; yet, claim 49 does not support all of the half-bridges being “on the first face” (line 2 from last, claim 2) 2 as called for in claim 2. Claim 42 has one compression half-bridge on the first face, and the second compression half-bride on the second faces.
Prior Art not Applied
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Reference Sarrazin 4,869,113 (listed 1449 dated 4/29/25) teaches a force sensor comprising:
a beam comprising a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, a first face between the proximal end portion of the beam and the distal end portion of the beam, a longitudinal axis extending between the proximal end portion of the beam and the distal end portion of the beam, and a neutral axis extending in the first face of the beam parallel to the longitudinal axis and equidistant from opposite edges of the first face;
a first
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A second
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a first compression
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT R RAEVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-2204. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kristina DeHerrera, can be reached at telephone number 303-297-4237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT R RAEVIS/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
1 Claim 49 has one second compression gauge half Wheatstone bridge “on the second face” (italic added, lines 6-7 from last, claim 49).
2 Claim 49 has one second compression gauge half Wheatstone bridge “on the second face” (italic added, lines 6-7 from last, claim 49), with remaining gauges on a first face.
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