DETAILED ACTION
The communication dated 4/25/2023 has been entered and fully considered.
Claims 1-15 were amended. Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
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 .
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.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, 9, 12, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi et al. JP 2010158174 A (henceforth referred to as Kobayashi).
As for claim 1, Kobayashi teaches a plate cleaning device for cleaning a clamp plate (paragraph [0001]; Fig. 1: part 10) of a fermenter, wherein the clamp plate has a plurality of receptacles each configured to hold a bioreactor vessel (Fig. 1: part 11), and at least one conduit (required to connect the two ports in each culture vessel) with a conduit opening (ports indicated in Fig. 1) per receptacle, comprising: a plate seat member (Fig. 1: part 22) configured to hold the clamp plate in a predefined position and orientation; a cover member (Fig. 1: part 21) configured to close the plate seat member such that the clamp plate is tightly enclosed by the plate seat member and the cover member, when the plate seat member holds the clamp plate and the cover member closes the plate seat member; a plurality of valve units (paragraph [0043]; Fig. 8A: part 37) configured to be coupled to the cover member such that at least one valve unit is associated to each of the conduit openings of the clamp plate, when the plate seat member holds the clamp plate and the cover member closes the plate seat member (Fig. 8B); a first fluid terminal configured to receive a first fluid container (plurality of elements above the tips 37); a second fluid terminal configured to receive a second fluid container (plurality of elements above the tips 37); and a control unit (Fig. 1: part 60), wherein the cover member is equipped with channels each having a first open end and a second open end, each of the first open ends of the channels of the cover member is positioned to be connected to one of the conduit openings of the clamp plate, when the plate seat member holds the clamp plate and the cover member closes the plate seat member, the valve units are configured to be coupled to the second open ends of the channels of the clamp plate such that all of the at least one conduit openings per receptacle are associated to one valve, the first fluid terminal and the second fluid terminal are coupled to each of the valve units, and the control unit is configured to selectively connect the first fluid terminal and the second fluid terminal to the second open ends of the channels of the cover member (paragraphs [0011]-[0014], [0029]-[0032], and [0038]-[0051]; Figs. 1, 6A, 6B, 8A, 8B, and 9).
As for claim 2, Kobayashi further teaches a water tank (Fig. 1: part 100) as the first fluid container, wherein the water tank is received in the first fluid terminal.
As for claim 3, Kobayashi further teaches an alcoholic liquid tank (Fig. 1: part 100) as the second fluid container, wherein the alcoholic liquid tank is received in the second fluid terminal.
As for claim 4, Kobayashi further teaches a pump (Fig. 2: parts 42 and 46) configured to forward a first fluid from the first fluid terminal and a second fluid from the second fluid terminal to each of the valve units.
As for claim 5, Kobayashi further teaches that the control unit is configured to control the pump such that the first fluid and the second fluid are selectively forwardable to the valve units (paragraphs [0038]-[0051]; Fig. 4).
As for claim 7, Kobayashi further teaches a cleanness evaluation arrangement (Fig. 2: part 49) to assess a level of cleanness of the conduits of the clamp plate.
As for claim 9, Kobayashi further teaches that the control unit is configured to apply a cleaning procedure involving at least a step of forwarding a first fluid though the conduits of the clamp plate and a step of forwarding a second fluid through the conduits of the clamp plate (paragraphs [0038]-[0051]; Fig. 4).
As for claim 12, Kobayashi further teaches that the plate seat member is equipped with a fluid outlet (Fig. 1: part 40).
As for claim 15, Kobayashi further teaches that the control unit is coupled to the valve units and configured to modulate the valve units in order to selectively connect the first fluid terminal and the second fluid terminal to the second open ends of the channels of the cover member (paragraphs [0038]-[0051]; Fig. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 8, 10-11, and 13-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Kobayashi et al. JP 2010158174 A, the closest prior art, differs from the instant claims in failing to teach the particular claimed limitations of a pressurized gas vessel, gas flow cleanness evaluation, and fixation formation. Furthermore, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the plate cleaning device taught by Kobayashi as claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEVON J SHAHINIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1384. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30am-6:00pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Barr can be reached at (571)272-1414. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LEVON J SHAHINIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1711