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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 18 MARCH 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
The claim set submitted with the RCE on 18 MARCH 2026 is acknowledged and considered. In the claim set, Claims 1 and 12 are ‘Currently Amended’; Claims 2-11 are ‘Original’.
Current pending claims are Claims 1-12 and are considered on the merits below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(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 1-8, 10 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MCDEVITT, US Publication No. 2014/0322103 A1.
Applicant’s invention is directed towards a device, an interface.
Regarding Claim 1, the MCDEVITT reference discloses a interface, abstract, Figure 1A-D, [0083], configured to be brought into contact with a channel chip, Figure 2A-C, [0084], and to connect a channel of the channel chip with an external device, Figure 2A-C, [0015, 0076], the interface comprising:
a first member that is elastic and formed as a single piece, Figure 1A-D, [0024, 0083]; and
a second member that partially surrounds, and supports the first member, Figure 1A-D, [0083], cover 116,
wherein the first member includes a first channel which has a communication portion for communicating with an outlet of the channel of the channel chip, Figure 1C, outlet 114, [0083], and a second channel which has a connection portion for communicating with the external device, Figure 1C, inlet 111 with active pumping device, [0015, 0076],
wherein the first member is integrally formed from the communication portion to the connection portion, Figure 1A-D, and
the first channel and the second channel communicate with each other, Figure 1A-D, [0066, 0083], and
the second channel is disposed in such a way that a distance from a center of gravity of the channel chip to the second channel increases from an end of the second channel on a side of the first channel toward an end of the second channel on a side of the external device when the interface is viewed in plan view while the interface is in contact with the channel chip, Figure 1C, 2A, and wherein, at the connection portion configured to connect with the external device, the second member surrounds the first member, Figure 1C, 2A, cover 116 partially surrounds the first member as seen in Figure 1A-D.
Additional Disclosures Included are: Claim 2: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein an angle between central axes of the first channel and the second channel is less than 180⁰, Figure 1B, 1C, pathway 112 at entry point and 114 are less than 180⁰.; Claim 3: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein an angle between central axes of the first channel and the second channel is 90⁰ or less, Figure 1B, 1C, pathway 112 at entry point and 114 are 90⁰ or less. ; Claim 4: wherein the interface according to claim 1, further comprising a flat surface in a surface opposite to a surface to be brought into contact with the channel chip, the flat surface being a flat surface to which at least one of external pressure and/or heat is to be applied, [0015].; Claim 5: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein the second member is less elastic than the first member, [0020, 0024].; Claim 6: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein the first member and the second member are formed by two-color molding or insert molding, [0023, 0024, 0025]. Examiner’s Note: The instant claim language is directed towards product by process language. The instant invention is directed to a product and the patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.” In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985). The language in Claim 6 is directed to how the product is made and does not further define the invention structurally. ; Claim 7: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein the second member includes a support for preventing the first member from moving when the first member is pressed from a side where the channel of the channel chip is located, Figure 2C, support cavity 214A.; Claim 8: wherein the interface according to claim 7, wherein: the support is a step surface of the second member, the step surface engaging with a step surface of the first member; and the step surface of the first member is disposed closer to the side, where the channel of the channel chip is located, than the step surface of the second member is, Figure 2C.; and Claim 10: wherein the interface according to claim 1, wherein the first member includes a needle insertion part for inserting a hollow needle from an outside of the interface to the first channel or to the second channel, [0015].
Applicant’s invention is directed towards a device, a channel device.
Regarding Claim 12, the reference MCDEVITT discloses a channel device, Figure 1A-D, 2A-C, comprising:
a channel, Figure 1A-C, [0083], fluidic pathway ; and
an interface for connecting the channel with an external device, Figure 1C, inlet 111 with active pumping device, [0015, 0076], wherein the interface includes a first member that is elastic and formed as a single piece, Figure 1A-D, [0024, 0083], and
a second member that partially surrounds, and supports the first member, Figure 1A-D, [0083], cover 116,
wherein the first member includes a first channel which has a communication portion for communicating with an outlet of the channel, Figure 1A-D, fluidic pathway communicates with outlet 114 , [0083], and a second channel which has a connection portion for communicating with the external device, Figure 1A-D, with active pumping device, [0015, 0076], fluidic pathway communicates with wherein the first member is integrally formed from the communication portion to the connection portion, Figure 1A-D, and
the first channel and the second channel communicate with each other, , Figure 1A-D, [0066, 0083], an angle between central axes of the first channel and the second channel is less than 180 ⁰, Figure 1B, 1C, pathway 112 at entry point and 114 are less than 180⁰, and the second channel is disposed in such a way that a distance from a center of gravity of the channel device to the second channel increases from an end of the second channel on a side of the first channel toward an end of the second channel on a side of the external device when the interface is viewed in plan view while the interface is connected with the channel, Figure 1B and C, and
wherein, at the connection portion configured to connect with the external device, the second member surrounds the first member, Figure 1C, 2A, cover 116 partially surrounds the first member as seen in Figure 1A-D.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MCDEVITT, US Publication No. 2014/0322103 A1.
Regarding Claim 9, the MCDEVITT reference suggests the claimed invention but is silent in regards to wherein the support is a tapered surface whose inner diameter decreases as a distance from the channel of the channel chip to the tapered surface increases.
It should be noted that the Applicant’s own disclosure only mentions the word ‘tapered’ twice in the specification in [0035] and there is no reason provide in the specification as to why the shape of the support is a tapered surface other that what appears to aesthetically pleasing or an obvious design choice. Nothing in the intrinsic evidence (e.g., the specification) provided any guidance as to what design choices would result tapered surface. 417 F.3d at 1352, 75 USPQ2d at 1808.
Therefore, it would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the support to be a tapered surface whose inner diameter decreases as a distance from the channel of the channel chip to the tapered surface increases as a matter of design choice or so that upon insertion of the external device it can accommodate the device without compromising the structure and members of the device.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MCDEVITT, US Publication No. 2014/0322103 A1, and further in view of TRAVI, US Publication No. 2019/0232284 A1.
Regarding Claim 11, the MCDEVITT reference discloses the claimed invention, but is silent in regards to wherein the needle insertion part includes a slit that is openable and closable according to a position of the hollow needle.
The TRAVI reference disclose an interface configured to be brought into contact with a channel chip , the interface comprising a first member with a needle insertion part for inserting a hollow needle from an outside of the interface to a first channel, Figure 1, [0016, 0055] syringe, wherein the needle insertion part includes a slit that is openable and closable according to a position of the hollow needle, [0016, 0055].
It would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the MCDEVITT reference wherein the needle insertion part includes a slit that is openable and closable according to a position of the hollow needle so evaporation and contamination is minimized.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE T MUI whose telephone number is (571)270-3243. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 5:30 -15:30 EST.
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CTM
/CHRISTINE T MUI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1797
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