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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/16/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the Application on 07/08/2022. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 8 is 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.
Regarding claim 8, the phrase “the valve comprising a first position and a second position, wherein, when the valve is in the first position, fluid is blocked from flowing through the first conduit” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear which is the second position of the valve. It seems that the clarification of the valve positions is essential for controlling the temperature within the device. According to the description (page 13, [0003] in the first position the fluid is blocked from flowing into the first conduit and forced to flow through the second conduit; whereas in the second position the fluid is blocked from flowing into the second conduit and forced to flow through the first conduit. For the purpose of examination, this claim should be amended accordingly to get over the 112(b) rejection above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McDaniel et al. (US 2011/0301061 A1).
With regards to claim 1:
McDaniel et al. discloses (refer to Fig. 1 below and [0017-[0024]) a device (10) for generating pre-templated instant partitions, the device comprising:
a vortexer (shaker device (40); [0017]) for shearing a liquid (oil/water emulsions) contained in at least one vessel (14) into a plurality of pre- templated instant partitions;
a holder (12) for securing the at least one vessel (14) to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit (heater (34) using hot gas or liquid; [0020]) operable to adjust a temperature of the liquid by convection.
With regards to claim 2:
McDaniel et al. discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the holder (12) comprises a clamp (18) that can accommodate one or more vessels (14) of different sizes or shapes.
With regards to claim 3:
McDaniel et al. discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the holder (12) is operable to hold the at least one vessel (14) in a substantially vertical position while the vortexer (40) shears the liquid.
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Fig. 1
With regards to claim 4:
McDaniel et al. discloses ([0025]) the device of claim 1, wherein the holder (12) is operable to move between securing the at least one vessel in a substantially horizontal position and a substantially vertical position while the vortexer shears the liquid.
With regards to claim 14:
In making and/or using the device of McDaniel et al., one would necessarily perform the method for generating pre-templated instant partitions, the method comprising:
contacting at least one vessel (14) containing a liquid with a device comprising:
a vortexer (40);
a holder (12) configured to secure the at least one vessel to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit (34) in fluidic communication with the holder;
operating the device to shear the liquid inside the at least one vessel into a plurality of pre-templated instant partitions, wherein each of the plurality of pre-templated instant partitions comprises one or zero analyte; and
heating, with the temperature control unit, the at least one vessel by convection.
Claim(s) 1, 6-7, 14, 16-17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by George et al. (WO2019/050840 A1).
With regards to claim 1:
George et al. discloses (refer to Fig. 1A-9 and Page 3, line 12 to page 5, line 10) a device for generating pre-templated instant partitions, the device comprising:
a vortexer (the shaking assembly) for shearing a liquid contained in at least one vessel (test tube) into a plurality of pre- templated instant partitions;
a holder (the tray for holding the test tubes) for securing the at least one vessel to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit (fins, together with the fans, fan baffles and the conduits for heating the tubes to a specified temperature, maintaining the specified temperature, cooling the volume of air and then repeating the heating and cooling process for specified number of cycles) operable to adjust a temperature of the liquid by convection.
With regards to claim 6:
George et al. discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the temperature control unit comprises a first conduit for heating a fluid within the temperature control unit to a first temperature.
With regards to claim 7:
George et al. discloses the device of claim 6, wherein the temperature control unit comprises a second conduit for cooling the fluid to a second temperature.
With regards to claim 14:
In making and/or using the device of George et al., one would necessarily perform the method for generating pre-templated instant partitions, the method comprising:
contacting at least one vessel (test tube) containing a liquid with a device comprising:
a vortexer (the shaking assembly);
a holder (the tray for holding the test tubes) configured to secure the at least one vessel to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit (fins, together with the fans, fan baffles and the conduits for heating the tubes to a specified temperature, maintaining the specified temperature, cooling the volume of air and then repeating the heating and cooling process for specified number of cycles) in fluidic communication with the holder;
operating the device to shear the liquid inside the at least one vessel into a plurality of pre-templated instant partitions, wherein each of the plurality of pre-templated instant partitions comprises one or zero analyte; and
heating, with the temperature control unit, the at least one vessel by convection.
With regards to claim 16:
George et al. discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising providing a fluid of a predetermined temperature to the holder via a first conduit.
With regards to claim 17:
George et al. discloses the method of claim 16, further comprising providing, to the holder, a second fluid of a second predetermined temperature via a second conduit.
With regards to claim 20:
George et al. discloses the method of claim 17, further comprising processing analyte inside the one or more of the pre-templated instant partitions by providing the first fluid to the holder thereby heating the at least one vessel.
Claim(s) 1, 9-12, 14 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fontanez et al. (US 2021/0215591).
With regards to claim 1:
Fontanez et al. discloses a device for generating pre-templated instant partitions (refer to [0044], [0063], Fig. 1-18, and claims 1-20), the device comprising:
a vortexer (shear mechanism (see claim 3)) for shearing a liquid (oil) contained in at least one vessel into a plurality of pre- templated instant partitions;
a holder (see claims 1 and 4) for securing the at least one vessel to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit (see claim 12; [0087]) operable to adjust a temperature of the liquid by convection.
With regards to claim 9:
Fontanez et al. discloses (see claims 5-6) the device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an optical system, the optical system comprising:
a light source positioned to transmit light into the at least one vessel; and
a photodetector positioned to sense light from the liquid contained in the at least one vessel.
With regards to claim 10:
Fontanez et al. discloses (see claim 7) the device of claim 9, further comprising a control system coupled to the vortexer and the optical system.
With regards to claim 11:
Fontanez et al. discloses (see claim 8) the device of claim 10, wherein the control system controls a speed of the vortexer to alter a shearing energy applied to the at least one vessel in response to the transmitted light.
With regards to claim 12:
Fontanez et al. discloses (see claim 9) the device of claim 11, wherein the control system directs the vortexer to stop applying the shearing energy to the at least one vessel when the liquid is substantially monodisperse.
With regards to claim 14:
In making and/or using the device of Fontanez et al., one would necessarily perform the method for generating pre-templated instant partitions, the method comprising:
contacting at least one vessel (test tube) containing a liquid with a device comprising:
a vortexer (shear mechanism);
a holder configured to secure the at least one vessel to the vortexer; and
a temperature control unit in fluidic communication with the holder;
operating the device to shear the liquid inside the at least one vessel into a plurality of pre-templated instant partitions, wherein each of the plurality of pre-templated instant partitions comprises one or zero analyte; and
heating, with the temperature control unit, the at least one vessel by convection.
With regards to claim 18:
Fontanez et al. discloses the method of claim 14, further comprising:
transmitting a light to the liquid in the at least one vessel; and
sensing the transmitted light from the liquid in the at least one vessel.
With regards to claim 19:
Fontanez et al. discloses (see claims 17-18, 20) the method of claim 18, further comprising:
comparing the transmitted light from the liquid in the at least one vessel to a reference;
and adjusting a speed of the vortexer in response to the comparison.
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) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fontanez et al., as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (US 2022/0099675).
With regards to claim 13:
Fontanez et al. discloses the device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an optical system, such as photodetector (see [0010]).
Fontanez et al. does not disclose the device comprises at least one component manufactured by 3D printing.
Chen et al. discloses [0075] the cost of the system is reduced attributable to massively manufacturable commercial components, such as LEDs and photodetectors that cost less than $1 each, as well as low cost batteries, resistors and 3D printing parts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modifiy the device of Fontanez et al. to have component such as photodetector be manufactured by 3D printing as taught by Chen et al. to reduce manufacturing cost of the device.
Fontanez et al., as modified, discloses the device of claim 13.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 15 are 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.
Claim 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Minh Le, whose telephone number is 571-270-3805. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:30AM-5:00PM EST).
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/MINH Q LE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753