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 . The rejections from the Office Action of 5/21/2026 are hereby withdrawn. New grounds for rejection are presented below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1, 3-6, and 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimadzu, Multi-analyte Quantitation Software LabSolutions Insight, 2015 [hereinafter “Shimadzu”] and JDH, Is there a way to delete everything except what is selected in Excel, superuser.com, 12.20.2012 [hereinafter “JDH”](available at: https://superuser.com/questions/521843/is-there-a-way-to-delete-everything-except-what-is-selected-in-excel).
Regarding Claims 1 and 6, Shimadzu discloses a chromatographic analyzer (and corresponding software inherently stored in memory) configured to perform a measurement on a plurality of compounds for each of a plurality of samples [Page 2 – “With LabSolutions Insight software, quantitative results for a complete series of data files can be displayed side-by-side for comparison and QC review. All of the chromatograms for a selected target compound can be displayed simultaneously, making it easy to review the detected peaks and confirm the quantitative results.”], comprising a processor [System depicted on Page 4] configured to:
calculate, for each sample, a plurality of pieces of numerical information which are results of data analysis on the plurality of compounds, based on data obtained by a measurement [See the data table depicted at the top of Page 2.Page 2 – “When used in conjunction with one of Shimadzu’s application-specific GC/MS Databases and LC/MS/MS Method Packages, LabSolutions Insight allows users to process data files, and perform QA/QC data review for all samples in one easy, seamless workflow.”];
create a first two-dimensional table [See the data table depicted at the top of Page 2:
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] with axes for samples [Page 2, sample numbers:
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…
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] and compounds [Page 2, chemicals:
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], as well as assigning one of the plurality of pieces of numerical information obtained for a combination of one sample and one compound to a cell of the first two-dimensional table corresponding to the combination [Page 2, each cell entry:
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]; and
display the first two-dimensional table on a screen of a display section; and receive a first selected cell and a second selected cell directly selected on the first two-dimensional table by a user [Page 3, the orange and red cells of the table of Page 2 – “The example below illustrates how an orange flag was set to identify moldy odor compound concentrations that exceeded a defined cautionary limit of 1.0 ppt (part-per-trillion), and a red flag was used as a warning to identify those which had exceeded 10 ppt. In the figure below, quantitative results are tabulated at the top of the screen, while the bottom of the screen simultaneously displays peak identification and integration. Both views include the color-coded flags.”].
Shimadzu fails to disclose that the cells are directly selected by “a person” (though not recited) and displaying a second two-dimensional table with axes for samples and compounds identical to those of the first two-dimensional table, wherein the second two-dimensional table contains the numerical information of the first selected cell in the first selected cell position and the numerical information of the second selected cell in the second selected cell position, and contains no numerical information other than in the first selected cell and the second selected cell.
However, JDH discloses that copying cells of interest and pasting them into a new (blanked) document (i.e., “second two-dimensional table”) is an effective manner for highlighting cells of interest [Page 1 – “Is there a way to delete everything except what is selected in Excel?”Page 1 – “Is there a sneaky way to select that tab, or part of the contents of that tab and then delete all except selected?”Page 1 – “Answer: It seems that the fastest way would be to copy/paste the selected section in a new blank sheet.”]. It would have been obvious to automate/permit the performance of such steps in order to allow for a simple manner of presenting data of interest. It would have been obvious to retain column and row identifiers while doing so in order to present the selected cell data in a manner which could be more readily understood.
Regarding Claims 3 and 8, Shimadzu discloses that the processor is configured to create a report in a predetermined format; output (for receipt and use) the numerical information of the first selected cell and the numerical information of the second selected cell as well as sample identifiers and compound identifiers corresponding to the first selected cell and the second selected cell; and create a report including the numerical information of the first selected cell and the numerical information of the second selected cell as well as the sample identifiers and the compound identifiers [Page 3:
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Sample number and compound are displayed alongside the results.].
Regarding Claims 4 and 9, Shimadzu discloses that the processor is configured to create a report including peak waveforms of chromatograms corresponding to the numerical information of the first selected cell and the numerical information of the second selected cell [Page 2 – “All of the chromatograms for a selected target compound can be displayed simultaneously, making it easy to review the detected peaks and confirm the quantitative results. Color-coded QA/QC flags quickly identify any outliers that require further examination. Results can be displayed in a variety of ways, allowing users to select the view that is best suited for their workflow, and when necessary, peaks can be re-integrated and re-quantified directly from LabSolutions Insight.”].
Regarding Claims 5 and 10, Shimadzu discloses that the processor is configured to receive a selection of a mode by a user from a plurality of modes including a mode for outputting the numerical information corresponding to a selected cell, a mode for outputting the numerical information corresponding to a selected sample, and a mode for outputting the numerical information corresponding to a selected compound [Page 2 – “Results can be displayed in a variety of ways, allowing users to select the view that is best suited for their workflow”], wherein the processor is configured to output information including the numerical information according to the selected mode [Page 3:
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Sample number and compound are displayed alongside the numerical information.].
Claim(s) 2 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimadzu, Multi-analyte Quantitation Software LabSolutions Insight, 2015 [hereinafter “Shimadzu”]; JDH, Is there a way to delete everything except what is selected in Excel, superuser.com, 12.20.2012 [hereinafter “JDH”](available at: https://superuser.com/questions/521843/is-there-a-way-to-delete-everything-except-what-is-selected-in-excel); and Lin et al. (US 20070101273 A1)[hereinafter “Lin”].
Regarding Claims 2 and 7, Shimadzu fails to disclose an operation section configured to allow a user to indicate any position on the screen of the display section by a clicking operation by a user at positions corresponding to the first selected cell and second selected cell, wherein the processor is configured to receive the clicking operation using the operation section on the first two-dimensional table for the selecting of the first selected cell and the second selected cell. However, Lin discloses the use of a clicking operation to allow a user to display corresponding chromatography information [See Figs. 3 and 4 and Paragraph [0059] – “The expanded plate view selection GUI 41 includes a plate view summary section 45 that includes a number of sample data boxes 47, each representing a different plate (or sample) that was processed by the LC/MS system, and each providing a summary of information about the plate or sample. By clicking on each of the sample data boxes 47 a user can then open a separate display screen for viewing the specific data for the plate or sample represented by the corresponding sample data box 47.”]. It would have been obvious to allow a user to click on sample/compound data for corresponding display because doing so would have been an effective manner of allowing a user to view the data processing results.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues:
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Examiner’s Response:
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Shimadzu discloses an operation (setting of thresholds for directly flagging cells) that was inherently performed by a “user” [Page 3 – “The example below illustrates how an orange flag was set to identify moldy odor compound concentrations that exceeded a defined cautionary limit of 1.0 ppt (part-per-trillion), and a red flag was used as a warning to identify those which had exceeded 10 ppt.”].
Regardless, JDH discloses direct selection of table cells by a person [Page 1 – “Is there a way to delete everything except what is selected in Excel?”Page 1 – “Is there a sneaky way to select that tab, or part of the contents of that tab and then delete all except selected?”Page 1 – “Answer: It seems that the fastest way would be to copy/paste the selected section in a new blank sheet.”].
Applicant argues:
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Examiner’s Response:
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. It would have been obvious to automate/permit the performance of the steps of JDH in order to allow for a simple manner of presenting data of interest. It would have been obvious to retain column and row identifiers while doing so in order to present the selected cell data in a manner which could be more readily understood.
Applicant argues:
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Examiner’s Response:
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Lin is not relied on as disclosing the selection itself. Rather, Lin is relied on for disclosing the use of a clicking operation to allow a user to display corresponding chromatography information [See Figs. 3 and 4 and Paragraph [0059] – “The expanded plate view selection GUI 41 includes a plate view summary section 45 that includes a number of sample data boxes 47, each representing a different plate (or sample) that was processed by the LC/MS system, and each providing a summary of information about the plate or sample. By clicking on each of the sample data boxes 47 a user can then open a separate display screen for viewing the specific data for the plate or sample represented by the corresponding sample data box 47.”]. It would have been obvious to allow a user to click on sample/compound data for corresponding display because doing so would have been an effective manner of allowing a user to view the data processing results.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20090008542 A1 – Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KYLE ROBERT QUIGLEY whose telephone number is (313)446-4879. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arleen Vazquez can be reached at (571) 272-2619. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KYLE R QUIGLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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