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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 30, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-20 remain pending. Applicant amended independent claims 1 and 11.
Response to Arguments
The amendment necessitated the new ground of rejection set forth below, rendering moot Applicant’s remarks. While the new ground of rejection is still based on the disclosure of Arab, the rejection includes different mapping of the claim language to the disclosure of Arab.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Arab (US 2016/0271576 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Arab discloses a microfluidic chip (see [0007]) comprising a microfluidic network that includes (see Fig. 2):
1) an inlet port (left end of channel 107);
2) a channel 107 configured to receive liquid from the inlet port; and
3) a droplet-generating region including:
b) a constant portion 101 extending from an outlet (location corresponding to step 110) of the channel 107 having a transverse dimension (CH), the constant portion 101 having:
i) a length (T1); and
ii) a constant transverse dimension (SH1) along the length of the constant portion, measured parallel to the transverse dimension (CH) of the outlet of the channel, that is larger than the transverse dimension (CH) of the outlet of the channel; and
c) an expanding portion 102/103 extending from the constant portion 101, the expanding portion having:
i) a length T2/T3; and
ii) a transverse dimension (height), measured parallel to the transverse dimension (SH1) of the constant portion, that increases along the length of the expanding portion, from a first value (SH2) that is greater than the transverse dimension (SH1) of the constant portion 101 to a second value (SH3) that is greater than the first value (SH2);
wherein the transverse dimension (CH) of the outlet of the channel, the length (T1) of the constant portion, and the transverse dimension (SH1) of the constant portion are configured such that, when an aqueous liquid is flowed through the droplet-generating region in the presence of a non-aqueous liquid (see [0070]), the aqueous liquid must flow through the outlet of the channel 107 to enter the constant portion 101 (see direction of flow illustrated in Fig. 3A), and
wherein no portion of droplets of the aqueous liquid forms in the channel 107 (see Fig. 3A).
With respect to claim 11, Arab also discloses a method of loading a microfluidic chip, the method comprising (see Figs. 3A-3C):
forming droplets of an aqueous liquid 151 (see [0070]) by flowing the aqueous liquid 151 through the channel 107 and through the droplet-generating region in the presence of a non-aqueous liquid (see [0070] and Figs. 3A-3C), wherein no portion of droplets of the aqueous liquid 151 forms in the channel 107 (see Fig. 3A).
Regarding the limitations directed to the structure of the chip, refer to the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to claims 7, 8, 17 and 18, Arab discloses an embodiment in which the ratio of SH1 to CH is 1.5 (see [0010]).
With respect to claims 10 and 20, the expanding portion includes a first step 112 along which the expanding portion has the first transverse dimension (SH2), and a second step 113 along which the expanding portion has the second transverse dimension (SH3) (see Fig. 2).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 2-5 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arab.
With respect to claims 2-4 and 12-14, Arab discloses that the value of CH (see Fig. 2) can range between 1 and 50 microns (see [0013]), meaning it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the transverse dimension (CH) of the outlet of the channel with a value (e.g. 10 microns, 20 microns) that falls within the ranges recited in claims 2-4 and 12-14. Regarding the length (T1) of the constant portion, Arab further discloses that the ratio of T1 to CH is between 0.1 and 7 (see [0012]), meaning the range of the length (T1) of the constant portion taught by Arab falls outside of the claimed ranges. Nevertheless, Arab discloses that the value of T1 is chosen to ensure proper separation between adjacent droplets formed by the device (see [0073]). Based on the diameter/length of the droplets produced by the device (which is determined by many variables, see [0064]), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the length (T1) of the constant portion with a value that is at least 10x the value of CH. A high T1 to CH ratio would ensure adequate separation between adjacent droplets. If the modification is made, then the length (T1) of the constant portion would have a value that falls within the claimed ranges.
With respect to claims 5 and 15, as discussed above, the ratio of T1 to CH is between 0.1 and 7 (see [0012]). Based on the disclosure, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the length (T1) of the constant portion and the transverse dimension (CH) of the outlet of the channel such that the ratio of T1 to CH is at least 7.5 (The ratio of “7” taught by Arab is deemed to encompass/render obvious ratio of 7.5).
With respect to claims 6 and 16, the ratio of T1 to CH is between 0.1 and 7 (see [0012]), which does not overlap the claimed range of at least 10. However, as discussed above (see rejection of claims 2-4 and 12-14), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the length (T1) of the constant portion with a value that is at least 10x the value of CH. A high T1 to CH ratio would ensure adequate separation between adjacent droplets.
With respect to claims 9 and 19, Arab discloses an embodiment in which the ratio of SH1 to CH is 1.5 (see [0010]). Moreover, as discussed above (see rejection of claims 2-4, 6, 12-14 and 16), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the length (T1) of the constant portion that is at least 10x the value of CH. A high T1 to CH ratio would ensure adequate separation between adjacent droplets.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL S HYUN whose telephone number is (571)272-8559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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/PAUL S HYUN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1796
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