Appeal No. 2001-1055
Application No. 08/651,927
1. A vibrating beam force transducer for an accelerometer
comprising:
at least a first vibrating beam having a longitudinal axis,
first and second fixed end portions and a resonating portion
therebetween, said resonating portion defining a lateral wall and
having one or more fingers formed substantially coplanar with
said beam and projecting from said lateral wall; and
an electrode positioned adjacent to and spaced from said
beam for generating an electrostatic force to vibrate said
resonating portion of said beam in a transverse direction, said
electrode having one or more fingers extending toward said
resonating portion of said beam.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Tang et al. (Tang) 5,025,346 Jun. 18, 1991
Kulcke et al. (Kulcke) DE 4424635 Jan. 18, 1996
(German patent)
Claims 1 through 4, 7, 9, 11 through 15, 17, 22 through 25,
28, 31, and 34 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a) as being
anticipated by Kulcke.
Claims 5, 6, 20, 29, 30, 32, and 35 stand rejected under
35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kulcke.
Claims 8, 16, 26, and 27 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103(a) as being unpatentable over Kulcke in view of Tang.
Reference is made to the Examiner's Answer (Paper No. 44,
mailed December 7, 2000) for the examiner's complete reasoning in
support of the rejections, and to appellants' Brief (Paper No.
2
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