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 .
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, 7, 8, 11, 16, 25, 28, 31, 38 and 63 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Badu-Tawiah, et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2016/0329198 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Badu-Tawiah discloses an apparatus comprising:
One or more sampling vessels (t-shaped cavity in Fig. 3) having an inlet and an outlet (Fig. 3), wherein the one or more sampling vessels is configured to receive a predetermined volume of an analyte sample and to form a headspace within the one or more sampling vessels (Fig. 3; paragraph 0152); wherein the inlet and the outlet are in fluid communication with the headspace (Fig. 3); and wherein the outlet is configured to allow fluid communication between the one or more sampling vessels and an analyzer (Fig. 3 – MS);
One or more electrospray electrodes (Fig. 3 - ES Emitter) disposed within the one or more sampling vessels such that it is in electrical communication with at least the headspace of the one or more sampling vessel (Fig. 3; paragraph 0152);
A corona electrode disposed outside of the one or more sampling vessels (Fig. 39 – corona discharge electrode) and configured under effective conditions to form a corona discharge (paragraph 0229), wherein the corona discharge is formed adjacent to the outlet of the one or more sampling vessels (paragraph 0232);
Wherein each of the one or more sampling vessels comprises one of the one or more ESI electrodes (Figs. 3 and 38),
Wherein the one or more ESI electrodes and the corona electrode are in electrical communication with at least one high voltage source (paragraphs 0227 and 0238); and
Wherein the device is an ion source adapted for mass spectrometry (Title).
Regarding claim 4, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the inlet of the one or more sampling vessels is configured to be in fluid communication with at least one composition comprising one or more of a reagent, an analyte, a modifier, or a combination thereof (Fig. 51).
Regarding claim 7, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the at least one composition is in fluid communication with at least the headspace of the at one or more sampling vessels (Fig. 51).
Regarding claim 8, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the at least one composition is in electrical communication with the one or more ESI electrodes (Fig. 51).
Regarding claim 11, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the corona electrode is in electrical communication with one or more supplementary samples that are the same or different from the analyte sample and are configured to be at least partially vaporized and ionized by the corona discharge (for example, paragraphs 0039-0042 disclose analysis of mixtures of two analytes).
Regarding claim 16, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the corona electrode is positioned within a vessel having an inlet and an outlet (paragraph 0238).
Regarding claim 25, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the one or more ESI electrodes is configured to be positioned within the analyte sample when present in the one or more sampling vessels (the ESI emitter is inserted into the sampling vessel, so when the analyte sample is present in the sampling vessel, the ESI emitter witll be positioned within the analyte sample).
Regarding claim 28, the voltage supplied by the at least one high voltage source can only be positive or negative; therefore the claim does not further limit its parent claim.
Regarding claim 31, it is implied that the mass spectrometer in, e.g. Fig. 19A is connected to a high voltage source, because a high voltage source is necessary for a mass spectrometer to operate.
Regarding claim 38, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the one or more ESI electrodes is configured to generate a plurality of charged droplets when the analyte sample is present, and wherein the plurality of charge droplets exit the one or more sampling vessels at the outlet (Figs. 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 63, Badu-Tawiah discloses an apparatus comprising:
One or more sampling vessels (t-shaped cavity in Fig. 3) having an inlet and an outlet (Fig. 3), wherein the one or more sampling vessels is configured to receive a predetermined volume of an analyte sample and to form a headspace within the one or more sampling vessels (Fig. 3; paragraph 0152); wherein the inlet and the outlet are in fluid communication with the headspace (Fig. 3); and wherein the outlet is configured to allow fluid communication between the one or more sampling vessels and an analyzer (Fig. 3 – MS);
One or more non-inert (paragraph 0097) electrospray electrodes (Fig. 3 - ES Emitter) disposed within the one or more sampling vessels such that it is in electrical communication with at least the headspace of the one or more sampling vessel (Fig. 3; paragraph 0152), wherein the one or more non-inert ESI electrodes are configured to catalyze a reaction within the analyte sample (paragraph 0203);
A corona electrode disposed outside of the one or more sampling vessels (Fig. 39 – corona discharge electrode) and configured under effective conditions to form a corona discharge (paragraph 0229), wherein the corona discharge is formed adjacent to the outlet of the one or more sampling vessels (paragraph 0232);
Wherein each of the one or more sampling vessels comprises one of the one or more non-inert ESI electrodes (Figs. 3 and 38),
Wherein the one or more ESI electrodes and the corona electrode are in electrical communication with at least one high voltage source (paragraphs 0227 and 0238); and
Wherein the device is an ion source adapted for mass spectrometry (Title).
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) 34, 37, 40, 44-46 and 47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Badu-Tawiah.
Regarding claims 34 and 37, Badu-Tawiah does not specify positioning the one or more ESI electrodes about 1 to 10 mm from the corona electrode, or wherein the at least one composition is positioned about 5 mm to 10 mm from the one or more ESI electrodes and/or the corona electrode; however, Badu-Tawiah does recognize the positions of the ESI electrodes, the corona electrode, and the at least one composition as a result-effective variable, and therefore teaches changing said positions to the optimal setup for the particular experiment (paragraph 0232). Because these parameters were recognized in the prior art as result-effective variables, choosing to position the one or more ESI electrodes about 1-10 mm from the corona electrode, or the composition about 5-10 mm from the one or more ESI electrodes and/or the corona electrode, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, while conducting routine experimentation to determine the optimum or workable ranges of said variables. See In re Antonie, 559 F.2d 618 (CCPA 1977) see also MPEP 2144.05(II).
Claims 40 and 46 are drawn to an apparatus comprising at least two copies of the sampling vessels described in claims 1 and 25. The mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669 (CCPA 1960); see also MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B).
Regarding claims 44 and 45, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the first ESI electrode is in fluid and electrical communication with the headspace of the first sampling vessel (Figs. 3 and 38).
Regarding claim 47, Badu-Tawiah discloses wherein the second ESI electrode is in electrical communication with the analyte sample when present in the second sampling vessel (Figs. 3 and 38).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14 and 64 are objected to as being dependent from a rejected claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 14, the prior art fails to teach wherein at least one of the one or more supplementary analyte samples comprise at least one volatile, solid compound, wherein the at least one of one or more supplementary analyte samples comprising at least one solid compound positioned from the corona electrode at an effective distance that allows to at least partially vaporize and ionize the at least one solid compound with the corona discharge. Regarding claim 64, the prior art fails to teach wherein at least one high voltage source is not in communication with the mass spectrometer, as a mass spectrometer inherently needs a high voltage source in communication with it to operate.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL MASKELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881 07 February 2026
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