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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 12/29/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 3 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Geist (U.S. Publication No. 5767687) and Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20240210350).
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.
Claims 1, 5-6, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geist (U.S. Publication No. 5767687) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20240210350).
Regarding claim 1, Geist teaches a gas sensing apparatus for sensing one or more analytes in a gas or gas mixture, the gas sensing apparatus comprising: a plurality of sensors (Fig.7, 411, 412, 421 and 422), each sensor including a polymer layer, each polymer layer made of a respective different type of chemically non-selective or semi-selective polymer (Column 14, lines 20-46) and ; and a measurement device configured to measure a change in parameter of each sensor responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 14, line 46 to column 15, line 45); wherein each sensor includes a sensing layer coated with the corresponding polymer layer, and the measurement device is configured to receive an electrical signal from each sensor, the measurement device configured to measure a change in electrical parameter of each sensor responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 14, line 20 to column 15, line 45).
Geist is silent about wherein the sensing layer is a graphene-based sensing layer.
Kim teaches wherein the sensing layer is a graphene-based sensing layer (Paragraphs 34 and 39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use graphene as the sensing layer in Geist’s vapor sensor because it would increase sensitivity of Geist’s vapor sensor.
Regarding claim 5, Geist teaches wherein the measurement device includes a detector configured to measure a change in mechanical parameter of each polymer layer responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 1, lines 19-32 and column 14, line 20 to column 15, line 45).
Regarding claim 6, Geist teaches wherein the measurement device includes a detector configured to measure a change in structural parameter of each polymer layer responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 1, lines 19-32 and column 14, line 20 to column 15, line 45).
Regarding claim 13, Geist teaches a method of using a gas sensing apparatus to sense one or more analytes in a gas or gas mixture, the method comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of sensors (Fig.7, 411, 412, 421 and 422), each sensor including a polymer layer, each polymer layer made of a respective different type of chemically non-selective or semi-selective polymer (Column 14, lines 20-46); exposing the plurality of sensors to the gas or gas mixture; and measuring a change in parameter of each sensor responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 14, line 46 to column 15, line 45), wherein each sensor includes a sensing layer coated with the corresponding polymer layer, the method including the step of measuring a change in electrical parameter of each polymer layer responsive to interaction of an analyte with the respective polymer layer (Column 14, line 20 to column 15, line 45).
Geist is silent about wherein the sensing layer is a graphene-based sensing layer.
Kim teaches wherein the sensing layer is a graphene-based sensing layer (Paragraphs 34 and 39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use graphene as the sensing layer in Geist’s vapor sensor because it would increase sensitivity of Geist’s vapor sensor.
Regarding claim 20, Geist teaches wherein the step of providing the plurality of sensors includes taking each sensor from a respective different batch of sensors, wherein the polymer layer of each sensor in the respective different batch of sensors is made of a same type of chemically non-selective or semi-selective polymer (Column 8, lines 19-50).
Claims 4, 9, 16 and 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geist (U.S. Publication No. 5767687) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20240210350) and Yamada et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20180080911).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein each sensor includes a graphene field-effect transistor, and the graphene-based sensing layer is built into the graphene field-effect transistor.
Yamada teaches wherein each sensor includes a graphene field-effect transistor, and the graphene-based sensing layer is built into the graphene field-effect transistor (Paragraphs 22 and 46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use graphene field-effect transistor in Geist’s vapor sensor because it provides rapid, real-time detection, low-power operation, and is ideal for portable, wearable, and flexible devices due to its robustness.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein each polymer is a transfer polymer.
Yamada teaches wherein each polymer is a transfer polymer (Paragraphs 46-49).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use transfer polymer in Geist’s vapor sensor because it would improve the performance of Geist’s vapor sensor.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 13 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein each sensor includes a graphene field-effect transistor, and the graphene-based sensing layer is built into the graphene field-effect transistor.
Yamada teaches wherein each sensor includes a graphene field-effect transistor, and the graphene-based sensing layer is built into the graphene field-effect transistor (Paragraphs 22 and 46).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use graphene field-effect transistor in Geist’s vapor sensor because it provides rapid, real-time detection, low-power operation, and is ideal for portable, wearable, and flexible devices due to its robustness.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 13 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein each polymer is a transfer polymer, and wherein the step of providing the plurality of sensors includes using each transfer polymer to transfer the respective sensing layer from a first substrate or surface to a second substrate or surface, wherein the second substrate or surface forms part of the gas sensing apparatus.
Yamada teaches wherein each polymer is a transfer polymer, and wherein the step of providing the plurality of sensors includes using each transfer polymer to transfer the respective sensing layer from a first substrate or surface to a second substrate or surface, wherein the second substrate or surface forms part of the gas sensing apparatus (Paragraphs 46-49).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use transfer polymer in Geist’s vapor sensor because it would improve the performance of Geist’s vapor sensor.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geist (U.S. Publication No. 5767687) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20240210350) and Li (U.S. Patent No. 9599564).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 5 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein the detector includes a spectrometer.
Li teaches wherein the detector includes a spectrometer (Column 4, lines 1-22).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate Li’s spectrometer into Geist’s vapor sensor because it has high sensitivity and accuracy.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein each polymer is selected from a group consisting of: polymethyl methacrylate; cellulose acetate butyrate; tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro-3,6-dioxa-4-methyl-7- octenesulfonic acid copolymer.
Li teaches wherein each polymer is selected from a group consisting of: polymethyl methacrylate; cellulose acetate butyrate; tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoro-3,6-dioxa-4-methyl-7- octenesulfonic acid copolymer (Columns 5-6, Table 1.1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use polymethyl methacrylate in Geist’s vapor sensor because polymethyl methacrylate is a good sensor material.
Claims 10-12 and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geist (U.S. Publication No. 5767687) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Publication No. 20240210350) and Shido et al. (Publication No. 20230349850).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein the measurement device includes a processor and memory including computer program code, the memory and computer program code configured to, with the processor, enable the measurement device at least to combine the measured changes in parameter of the sensors so as to generate a chemical fingerprint of the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture.
Shido teaches wherein the measurement device includes a processor and memory including computer program code, the memory and computer program code configured to, with the processor, enable the measurement device at least to combine the measured changes in parameter of the sensors so as to generate a chemical fingerprint of the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture (Paragraphs 124-126).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use a computer to process Geist’s measuring data because it is a common practice.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 1 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about wherein the measurement device includes a processor and memory including computer program code, the memory and computer program code configured to, with the processor, enable the measurement device at least to analyse the measured changes in parameter of the sensors to identify the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture.
Shido teaches wherein the measurement device includes a processor and memory including computer program code, the memory and computer program code configured to, with the processor, enable the measurement device at least to analyse the measured changes in parameter of the sensors to identify the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture (Paragraphs 124-126).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use a computer to process Geist’s measuring data because it is a common practice.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Geist, Kim and Shido teaches all the features of claim 11 as outlined above, Shido further teaches wherein the memory and computer program code are configured to, with the processor, enable the measurement device at least to analyse the measured changes in parameter of the sensors to identify the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture by providing the measured changes in parameter of the sensors as input to a machine learning model and identifying the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture based on an output of the machine learning model (Paragraphs 124-126).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use a machine learning model to process Geist’s measuring data because it is a common practice.
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Geist and Kim teaches all the features of claim 13 as outlined above, the combination of Geist and Kim is silent about a computer-implemented method of identifying one or more analytes in a gas or gas mixture, the method comprising: collecting a set of data by carrying out the method, wherein the collected set of data includes the measured changes in parameter of the sensors; creating a training set including the collected set of data; training a machine learning model using the training set; identifying the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture based on an output of the machine learning model.
Shido teaches a computer-implemented method of identifying one or more analytes in a gas or gas mixture, the method comprising: collecting a set of data by carrying out the method, wherein the collected set of data includes the measured changes in parameter of the sensors; creating a training set including the collected set of data; training a machine learning model using the training set; identifying the or each analyte in the gas or gas mixture based on an output of the machine learning model (Paragraphs 124-126).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use a machine learning model to process Geist’s measuring data because it is a common practice.
Regarding claim 25, the combination of Geist, Kim and Shido teaches all the features of claim 24 as outlined above, Shido further teaches a computer program comprising computer code configured to perform the method of claim 24 (Paragraphs 124-126).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to use a computer to process Geist’s measuring data because it is a common practice.
Conclusion
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/XIN Y ZHONG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855