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 § 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) 1, 6, 9, & 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klein DE 69636549 in view of STENGEL WO 2012093050.
With respect to claim 1, Klein a device for determining a concentration of cells of a given size in a sample of fluid, the sample comprising a plurality of cells, comprising:
a light source (fig 1b, 2) (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 1-2) arranged to emit light along a central axis to illuminate the plurality of cells in the fluid sample (fig 1b);
a detector (fig 1b, 4) (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 1-2) arranged to receive light at a plurality of displacements “plurality of optical signal paths” (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 3-4) from (fig 1b, 3 & 5) the central axis, the light having passed through the plurality of cells in the fluid sample, and to produce a plurality of signals, each associated with, and indicative of an intensity “intensity information” (pg. 7, ¶ 6) of the received light at, a respective one of the plurality of displacements; and
a processor (fig 1c, 6) (pg. 12, ¶ 1, lines 3-4) arranged to determine a concentration of cells “number of cells and the entire particle presence” (pg. 5, ¶ 2, lines 8-10) of a given size, based on the plurality of signals from the detector, wherein the processor is arranged to compare “compares output values of the detector array” (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 10-13) the plurality of signals from the detector with one or more profiles “reference values” (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 10-13), indicative of a particular concentration “determine the concentration of the former” (pg. 19, ¶ 1, lines 10-13).
Klein does not specifically teach pre-stored profiles.
Stengel, in the same field of endeavor as Klein of particle concentration measurements, teaches profiles are pre-stored as reference values (pg. 4, ¶ 6, lines 5-6). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to pre-store reference values in Klein’s processor as a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results for performing calculations.
With respect to claim 6 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the device wherein the detector comprises a plurality of photodetectors (fig 1b, 4 Kein), each associated with one of the plurality of displacements (fig 1b Klein).
With respect to claim 9 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the device wherein the sample is contained within a container, wherein the container either contains a dynamic, flowing, sample (fig 1b) “PARTICLES IN LIQUIDS” (title Kein).
With respect to claim 11 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the device wherein the device is arranged to provide user feedback in the form of one or more of a numerical concentration value “generate a value indicative of the concentration” (pg. 4, ¶ 4).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Klein DE 69636549 in view of STENGEL WO 2012093050 in further view of CHANDLER CN 101849176.
With respect to claim 12 according to claim 111, the combination does not teach the user feedback additionally comprises one or more of: a visual signal to the user; and communicating with a remote device to transmit the concentration of cells to the remote device.
Chandler, in the same field of endeavor of Klein of particle counting, teaches displaying the particle count, which has been wirelessly communicated to a remote location via a wireless access point (claims 11-13). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Chandler’s display and wireless communication with the combination’s processor to conveniently display concentration values to user’s in remote locations.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7, 8, & 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims or to include the limitation(s) and any intervening claims into the base claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 2, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “measure a first light intensity reading at a first displacement from the central axis and measure a second light intensity reading at a second displacement from the central axis and determine, using a first method, the concentration of cells on the basis of the first and second light intensity readings and a difference therebetween”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 2.
As to claim 5, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “plurality of displacements are in the range of substantially 1 ° to 15°, measured from the central axis”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 5.
As to claim 7, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “the plurality of photodetectors are arranged on both sides of the central axis, such that a first subset of the plurality of displacements is positioned on a first side of the central axis and a second, nonoverlapping, subset of the plurality of displacements is positioned on a second side of the central axis”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 7.
As to claim 8, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “the first
method uses an Area Under the Curve, AUC, method and the second method uses a Generalised Weighted Ratio, GWR, method”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 8.
As to claim 10, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious “the container is arranged such that light from the light source strikes it an angle sufficient to reduce reflection of light back to the
light source”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 10.
Conclusion
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/MAURICE C SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2877