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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on 25 January 2024. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-20 are currently presented in the instant application. In light of a preliminary amendment, claims 3 and 6-7 have been amended, and claims 8-20 have been newly added.
Information Disclosure Statement(s)
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1/25/2024 and 3/20/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Haag et al. (Publication No.: US 2020/0149944 A1, herein known as D1).
With respect to claim 1, D1 discloses a flow passage adapter configured to be attached to an inflow port of a flow rate measuring unit to introduce a measurement target fluid into the flow rate measuring unit (see Fig. 14, gas enters the particle filter 100 through inlet 1308, and then eventually moves into the metrology unit 1312; entire process is detailed in [0049]-[0057]), the flow passage adapter comprising:
a flow passage which is disposed in a body of the flow passage adapter and through which the measurement target fluid is to flow (see flow path seen in Fig. 14); and
a plurality of ribs disposed in the flow passage such that the measurement target fluid introduced into the flow passage collides with the plurality of ribs (plurality of fingers 412 and ramp 414; [0052]),
the flow passage adapter being configured to be attached to the flow rate measuring unit such that the flow passage adapter covers the inflow port of the flow rate measuring unit (see Fig. 14 and Fig. 2).
With respect to claim 2, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein at least some ribs of the plurality of ribs have grooves in surfaces with which the measurement target fluid collides (ramp 414 has grooves 416; Fig. 4; [0038]).
With respect to claim 3, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein the inflow port of the flow rate measuring unit is a first inflow port, the flow passage includes an introduction flow passage for the measurement target fluid, and the introduction flow passage has a second inflow ports extending in a direction opposite to a flowing direction to the flow rate measuring unit (inflow port 122, seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and [0056]; the port 122 as seen in Fig. 14 allows the flow to enter from the left direction as flow 1414 before the gas then enters the metrology unit through an unreferenced port, in which the flow now moves to the right as seen in flow 1416).
Even if this is considered not the case, such as if port 122 is considered to be just the first inflow port, then:
if port 122 is considered to have the flow towards the left as seen in flow 1414, then a second inflow port extending in a direction opposite that flow could be the unreferenced port where flow 1410B flows
if port 122 is considered to have the flow towards the right as seen in flow 1416, then the region of the housing past the holes 116 that surrounds the metrology unit and causes the flow to change from vertical to horizontal can be considered the second inflow port.
With respect to claim 4, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein the introduction flow passage is arranged along a periphery of a measurement flow passage of the flow rate measuring unit (see above rejection of claim 3, port 122 is arranged around the outside of the entrance to the metrology unit; and in the other interpretations both the suggested ports can be considered to be arranged “along a periphery” in the broadest reasonable interpretation as the device surrounds the metrology unit).
With respect to claim 5, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein in a state where the flow passage adapter is attached to the flow rate measuring unit, the introduction flow passage is partially formed by an outer peripheral surface of the flow rate measuring unit (see above rejection of claim 3, only the port for flow 1410B would not qualify here).
With respect to claim 6, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein the introduction flow passage includes a plurality of introduction flow passages (see above rejection of claim 3, for the first and third interpretations, the holes 116 can be considered the plurality of introduction flow passages, and for the second interpretation, flow paths 108, 110, or alternatively holes 416 of the ramp 414 can all be considered introduction flow passages).
With respect to claim 7, D1 further discloses an adapter wherein the body of the flow passage adapter includes a first body and a second body which are obtained by dividing the body into two parts, and the first body and the second body are joined to each other to attach the body to the flow rate measuring unit such that the flow passage adapter covers the inflow port of the flow rate measuring unit ([0028] the body of the particle trap is assembled upper portion 102 and lower portion 104).
With respect to claim 8, see the rejection of claim 3 above.
With respect to claim 9, see the rejection of claim 4 above.
With respect to claim 10, see the rejection of claim 5 above.
With respect to claims 11-12 and 18-20, see the rejection of claim 6 above.
With respect to claims 13-17, see the rejection of claim 7 above.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Andrii et al. (Publication No.: US 2020/0400473 A1)
Xiong et al. (Publication No.: US 2020/0292364 A1)
Rosenbaum et al. (Publication No.: US 2008/0072979 A1)
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANA HANCOCK whose telephone number is (571)270-7547. The examiner can normally be reached on 10AM-6PM EST M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached on (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/D.H/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
12/27/2025
/STEPHANIE E BLOSS/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852