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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) based upon provisional application 63/114,646, filed on November 17, 2020.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of “Species I (1-2,6,9-14,25-27,30 and 32)” in the reply filed on December 16, 2025, is acknowledged.
The traversal for “Species III (Claims 17,18 and 24)” is on the grounds that “Species I and Species III share the common special technical feature of a vertically stacked electrode array that have apertures extending through the second electrode”, while the applicant’s argument could be valid, Claims 17,18 and 24 depend on non-elected independent Claim 15.
The requirement for Species III is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 15-18,20 and 24 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 25-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2018/0110975 A1; Ivanoff et al.; 04/2018; (“975”).
Regarding Claim 25. 975 teaches in Figs. 10C,10E and 11E about a method comprising:
providing wireless power to an inductive circuit of a wireless circuit (Fig. 10C, transmitter coil item 1032 provides wireless power to item LSEC of receiving coil item 1030), the wireless circuit comprising the inductive circuit operatively coupled to a first electrode and to a second electrode (Fig. 10C, wireless equivalent circuit item 1004 comprises the inductive element LSEC which is coupled to the first and second electrodes that embody the interdigitated array electrode (IDE) item 1028), the first electrode and second electrode separated by a nanoscale or microscale dielectric layer or gap (Fig. 11E, shows a 200 µm distance between two interdigitated electrodes of the IDE item 1028);
generating an electric field using the wireless circuit (Fig. 10C, electric field generated between interdigitated electrodes of item 1028); and
moving one or more particles using the generated electric field (Fig. 10E, “particles suspended in the solution slowly move away from the negative electrode toward the positive electrode”, [0093], Ln. 9-11).
Regarding Claim 26. 975 teaches in Fig. 10E about a method wherein moving one or more particles comprises the trapping or repelling the one or more particles (on the upper surface of the left electrode particles are trapped or accumulated, and on the upper surface of right electrode particles are repelled).
Regarding Claim 27. 975 teaches in Fig. 10E about a method wherein moving the one or more particles comprising stirring the one or more particles (due to the left electrode attracting or trapping particles and the right electrode repelling particles, a general circular mixing or stirring particle motion is achieved).
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 1-2,6, and 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over WO 2019/182186 A1; Ryu et al.; 09/2019; (“186”) in view of US 2018/0110975 A1; Ivanoff et al.; 04/2018; (“975”).
Regarding Claim 1. 186 teaches in Fig. 1 about a wireless circuit comprising:
an electrode array comprising:
a first electrode (item ITO);
a second electrode (item Au);
a dielectric layer (layer item SiO2) between the first and second electrode (layer item SiO2- is between items ITO and Au) having a nanoscale or microscale width (item SiO2- “insulator layer has a certain thickness selected in the range of 5 to 1000 nm”, [12], Ln. 4-5).
186 does not teach about a wireless circuit comprising:
an inductive coupler operatively coupled to the electrode array and configured to receive wireless power or wireless signals.
975 teaches in Fig. 10C about a wireless circuit comprising:
an inductive coupler (item LSEC of receiving coil item 1030) operatively coupled to the electrode array (item LSEC coupled to the electrode array embodied by item 1028) and configured to receive wireless power or wireless signals (item LSEC configured to receive “Transmitted AM signal” illustrated in signal graph item 1002).
Thus, it would have been obvious to try by one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made, to consider utilizing the inductive coupler receiving coil of 975 to receive a wireless power or wireless signal in 186 since “inductive coupling has been extensively used for wireless powering of biomedical devices and their data communication with the external world” as taught by 975 in [0082], Ln. 1-3.
Regarding Claim 2. 186 teaches in Figs. 1,3 and 4E about a wireless circuit, wherein
the second electrode comprises a first major surface (Fig. 1, top-surface of electrode layer item AU) and a second major surface (Fig. 1, bottom-surface of electrode layer item AU), the second major surface being disposed on the nanoscale dielectric layer (Fig. 1, bottom-surface of electrode layer item AU being disposed on layer item SiO2), the second electrode comprising a plurality of apertures extending from the first major surface to the second major surface (Fig. 3, electrode layer item AU has a plurality or round apertures extending from top surface to bottom surface), the plurality of apertures having a nanoscale or microscale width (Fig. 4E, electrode layer item AU has a plurality or round apertures having a micro scale width of about 10 µm).
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding Claim 6. 186 teaches in paragraph [12], Ln. 4-5 about a wireless circuit, wherein
the nanoscale dielectric layer has a thickness of 5 nanometers to 1,000 nanometers.
In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Regarding Claim 9. 186 teaches in Figs. 4B-4E about a wireless circuit, wherein each of the plurality of apertures has a width or diameter of about 3 micrometers to 10 micrometers.
186 does not teach about a wireless circuit comprising, wherein each of the plurality of apertures has a width or diameter of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers.
It would have been obvious to try by one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made, to consider a smaller diameter value for the lower-end of the aperture diameter range, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the size of component. A change in size is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. In re Rose, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). See MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding Claim 10. 975 teaches in Fig. 10C about a wireless circuit, wherein the wireless circuit further includes a tuning capacitor or inductor (Fig. 10C, shows a tuning capacitor CSMD used to increase the envelope of detection, “as a common practice in power electronics, the envelop detector consisting of … SMD capacitor and IDE”).
Regarding Claim 11. 975 teaches in Fig. 1A about a wireless circuit, wherein the wireless circuit is disposed in a device (wireless circuit is disposed within a drug delivery patch medical device item 100).
Regarding Claim 12. 975 teaches in Fig. 1A about a wireless circuit, wherein the device is an implantable medical device (“applications where the LOC devices are needed to be implanted inside the body or for the devices working at hard-to-reach areas”, [0081], Ln. 7-9).
Regarding Claim 13. 186 teaches in Fig. 4G about a wireless circuit, wherein the device is a microwell (“micro-hole array pattern”, [109], Ln. 6).
Regarding Claim 14. 186 teaches in Fig. 1 about a wireless circuit, wherein the dielectric layer is composed of SiO2 ([60], Ln. 3).
186 does not teach about a wireless circuit comprising, wherein the dielectric layer is an air gap.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider a dielectric layer composed of air because it is known to be a well performing dielectric specially for low voltages, since it has been held to be within the general skill of worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design variation and choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claims 30 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over US 2018/0110975 A1; Ivanoff et al.; 04/2018; (“975”) in view of US 2014/0061049 A1; Lo et al.; 03/2014; (“049”).
Regarding Claim 30. 975 teaches in Fig. 10C about a method comprising wirelessly transmitting a signal to a wireless drug delivery patch.
975 does not teach about a method further comprising wirelessly sensing particles using a wireless sensing device.
049 teaches in Fig. 4B about a method further comprising wirelessly sensing particles using a wireless sensing device (“this method is particularly attractive to microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device because wireless coupling greatly simplifies the interface between fluid and electronics”, [0060], Ln. 13-15).
Thus, it would have been obvious to try by one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was made, to consider utilizing the wireless communication method to a lab-on-chip device of 049 to receive readings from the lab-on-chip device in 975 since “wireless coupling greatly simplifies the interface between fluid and electronics” as taught by 049 in [0060], Ln. 13-15).
Regarding Claim 32. 049 teaches in Fig. 4A about a method wherein the wireless sensing device provides the wireless power to the wireless circuit (“power can be transmitted wirelessly from a transmitter (e.g., an RFID reader) to the integrated circuitry of the printed circuit 30 via inductive coupling”, [0060], Ln. 2-4)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORGE ANDRES LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-5763. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8:30am to 5:00pm).
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/FERNANDO L TOLEDO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JORGE ANDRES LOPEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2897