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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/22/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 84 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 84, the claim recites the limitation of “the electronically conductive material further comprises” and depends from claim 80 where no mention of the electronically conductive material comprising anything is mentioned. It is unclear if this claim was supposed to depend from claim 83 which contains a limitation of the electronically conductive material comprises to further limit it or if this claim was intended to be separate. Clarification or an amendment to change the dependency or removal of the word “further” is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 80, 82-83, 85-89, 91-92, 94-110 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 80, the prior art fails to teach or suggest, alone or in combination:
An electrically non-conductive substrate having an antimicrobial and/or antiviral layer thereon, said layer comprising an electrically conductive material; wherein the electronically conductive material is arranged into at least two strips which are interdigitated on a surface of the substrate; the strips are spaced apart from each other, the distance between each adjacent strip is independently in a range of 2 um to 300 um, the width of each strip is independently in a range 0.5 um to 1 cm, the strips of electronically conductive material each having a thickness independently in a range of 5nm to 1000 um, and the strips are alternately connected to positive and negative connections of a power supply, so as to induce a voltage across the electrically conductive material layer between adjacent strips, such that a capacitor structure is formed on the surface of the substrate; wherein the antimicrobial and/or antiviral layer electrolyzes the water content that accompanies viruses, bacteria and/or fungi upon contact with the surface of the substrate.
Specifically, the prior art fails to teach or make obvious, alone or in combination, the limitation of “wherein the electronically conductive material is arranged into at least two strips which are interdigitated on a surface of the substrate; the strips are spaced apart from each other, the distance between each adjacent strip is independently in a range of 2 um to 300 um, the width of each strip is independently in a range 0.5 um to 1 cm, the strips of electronically conductive material each having a thickness independently in a range of 5nm to 1000 um, and the strips are alternately connected to positive and negative connections of a power supply, so as to induce a voltage across the electrically conductive material layer between adjacent strips, such that a capacitor structure is formed on the surface of the substrate; wherein the antimicrobial and/or antiviral layer electrolyzes the water content that accompanies viruses, bacteria and/or fungi upon contact with the surface of the substrate” in combination with the other claim limitations.
Cited Prior Art
Kendig et al (US 2012/0111719) teaches relevant art in in Fig. 1-6.
Feist et al (US 2011/0259416) teaches relevant art in [0026].
KAWACHI et al (US 2009/0009440) teaches relevant art in [0230].
TICHBORNE et al (US 2015/0114506) teaches relevant art in [0046].
NISHIYAMA et al (US 2012/0043671) teaches relevant art in [0040].
Hersam et al (US 2018/0010260) teaches relevant art in [0012].
FUJII (US 2015/0194267) teaches relevant art in [0030].
James et al (US 2011/0006265) teaches relevant art in Fig. 1-4.
James et al (US 2012/0153285) teaches relevant art in Fig. 1-3.
SEN et al (US 2020/0006783) teaches relevant art in Fig. 1-4.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL P MCFADDEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5649. The examiner can normally be reached M-Thur 8am-9pm PST.
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, Timothy Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. 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.
/MICHAEL P MCFADDEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Prosecution Insights