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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority (LU103022, filed on September 27, 2022) under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “four vertically on top of each other arranged level” should be corrected to read “four levels arranged vertically on top of each other” to correct grammar and improve clarity.
The phrase “an aspiration needle rinsing station for cleaning of the vertically crossing aspiration needle which is arranged onto said first level plate” should be corrected to read “an aspiration needle rinsing station for cleaning the vertically crossing aspiration needle which is arranged on said first level plate” to correct grammar.
The phrase “a fourth level, below the third level, comprising a base plate comprising” should be corrected to read “a fourth level, below the third level, comprises a base plate comprising” to correct grammar.
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “a bore and guiding” should be corrected to read “a bore and a guide” to correct grammar.
Claim 5 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “engages into the gearing” should be corrected to read “engages the gearing” to correct grammar.
Claim 6 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “fixed on top of the first level plate[[,]] and which carries two valves” should be corrected to read “fixed on top of the first level plate and carries two valves” to correct grammar.
Claim 7 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “to a waste” should be corrected to read “to waste” to correct grammar and improve clarity.
Claim 9 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “the rinsing channel surrounds in the inner part the bore and guiding” should be corrected to read “the rinsing channel in the inner part surrounds a bore and a guiding” to correct grammar and improve clarity.
Claim 14 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “The device of claim[[s]] 1” should be corrected to read “The device of claim 1” to correct grammar.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-17 are 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitations “one position … configured for … loading and unloading,” “one position … provides an injector assembly … for aspirating,” and “the remaining positions … provide an injector assembly … for dispensing.” It is unclear whether the recited “one position” for loading and unloading is the same position as the “one position” that provides the injector assembly for aspirating, or whether these are different positions. It is further unclear whether “the remaining positions” each provide a respective injector assembly or whether multiple positions share a single injector assembly because the claim recites “an injector assembly” while referencing multiple positions. The SPEC indicates that three of five positions can be equipped with an injector unit (¶[0060]) while also indicating that each of five container-receiving positions comprises an injector assembly (¶[0093]). Claims 2 to 17, which depend from Claim 1, are similarly rejected by virtue of dependency.
Claim 1 recites “injector assemblies which are arranged on a first level plate,” yet also recites that “one position of the plurality of container receiving positions provides an injector assembly” and that “the remaining positions of the plurality of container receiving positions provide an injector assembly.” It is unclear whether each container receiving position includes a respective injector assembly or whether injector assemblies arranged on the first level plate are shared among multiple container receiving positions. Claims 2 to 17, which depend from Claim 1, are similarly rejected by virtue of dependency.
Claim 5 recites the limitations “the gear wheel” and “the gearing”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim 9 recites the limitation “the bore and guiding”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because Claim 2 introduces “a bore and guiding” but Claim 9 does not depend from Claim 2.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the motor”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim because Claim 1 recites a motor for actuating the toothed rack and a motor as a drive for rotating the carousel, but does not introduce a motor for actuating the container receiving positions. Claim 13, which depends from Claim 11, is similarly rejected by virtue of dependency.
Claim 12 recites the limitation “the motor for actuating the container receiving positions”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation.
Claim 13 recites the limitation “the recesses of the container receiving positions”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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.
Claims 1-7, 10-11, and 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHU et al. (US20200080998A1, hereinafter ZHU) in view of BLECKA et al. (US20130216454A1, hereinafter BLECKA) and BJØRSON et al. (US20090117010A1, hereinafter BJØRSON)
Regarding Claim 1, ZHU discloses an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer with sample adding, incubation, cleaning, measurement, and software control modules, in which a sample and magnetic bead reagent are added to a reaction cup, the cup is cleaned to remove unreacted material, and the resulting complex is measured to obtain a measurement result (¶[0002]).
FIG. 1 illustrates a cleaning device 10 including a turntable 130 that supports a reaction cup 20 in multiple supporting stations arranged around an outer circumference and rotates about a central axis. The cleaning device 10 includes a magnetic microbeads adsorption mechanism 100, a primary cleaning mechanism 200, a secondary cleaning mechanism 300, and mixing mechanisms 400, and cleans magnetic microbeads 30 in the reaction cup 20 during rotation to remove impurities before subsequent testing (¶[0047]).
The primary cleaning mechanism 200 includes primary cleaning components 210 that inject cleaning solution to the reaction cup 20 and extract waste liquor from the reaction cup 20, and a secondary cleaning component 310 extracts waste liquor from the reaction cup 20 and is located near the cup outlet station 12. The cleaning device 10 further includes a liquid injection mechanism 500 arranged on the pedestal 120, and the liquid injection mechanism 500 is configured to inject cleaning solution to the reaction cup 20 at the cup inlet station 11 (¶¶[0049]–[0050]).
FIG. 2 illustrates an optocoupler 121 arranged on a pedestal 120 and an induction piece 122 arranged on a turntable 130, where movement of the induction piece 122 near the optocoupler 121 excites the optocoupler 121 to generate a level signal that defines an initial position of the turntable 130 (¶[0058]). This optocoupler arrangement provides an optical position signal for the turntable, and is considered functionally equivalent to the claimed light barriers for determining the angle of rotation of the carousel.
FIG. 10 illustrates a first drive component 240 including a first motor 241, a gear 242, and a rack 243, where the gear 242 meshes with the rack 243 to drive a first support frame 230 to slide up and down along a linear guide rail relative to a pedestal 120, thereby moving primary cleaning components 210 toward or away from a reaction cup 20 (¶[0061]).
FIG. 11 to FIG. 15 illustrate each primary cleaning component 210 including a needle sleeve 600, a liquid injection needle 700, and a liquid extraction needle 800, where the needle sleeve 600 is arranged on the first support frame 230, the liquid injection needle 700 is configured to inject cleaning solution to the reaction cup 20, and the liquid extraction needle 800 is configured to extract waste liquor from the reaction cup 20 (¶[0064]). The first support frame 230 above the turntable is reasonably interpreted as the first level plate carrying the injector assemblies.
FIG. 16 illustrates the secondary cleaning mechanism 300 including a cleaning groove 360, and a second mounting frame 320 having a first fixed plate 321 and a second fixed plate 322 that are spaced apart and fixedly connected with the pedestal 120 (¶[0077]). It is reasonably interpreted that fixed plates 321 and 322 correspond to a stationary side wall structure positioned adjacent one side of the carousel.
The liquid extraction needle 800 is driven downward to extend into the reaction cup 20 for waste liquor extraction, then is moved away and driven downward to extend into the cleaning groove 360 for cleaning to prevent cross contamination (¶[0081]), and the turntable 130 rotates continuously and is stopped at stations for processing, including waste liquor extraction and cleaning solution injection by liquid injection needles 700, and vibration mixed by a mixing rotor 410 (¶[0088]).
However, ZHU does not explicitly disclose the centrally arranged rotor axis of a motor as a drive for rotating the carousel, a side wall PCB mounted to the fixed side wall, stacked printed circuit boards below the second level, a carousel having four vertically arranged levels, nor that one position of the plurality of container receiving positions is configured for loading and unloading of containers to the carousel.
BLECKA discloses a similar automated analyzer system for the simultaneous detection of multiple analytes, where the system comprises a housing and a reagent carousel rotatably coupled to the housing, and an incubator carousel rotatably coupled with the housing, and magnetic material associated with the incubator carousel for assisting in washing samples held by the incubator carousel (¶[0009]). FIG. 26 illustrates rotational drive 440 including a motor, where rotational drive 440 rotates the reagent carousel 70 to required locations and stops at precise locations for reagent dispense, reagent aspiration, and pack presentation for replacement, and the reagent carousel 70 may be lifted to an installation and removal position for replacing reagent packs (¶¶[0209]–[0210]).
A plurality of sensors monitor the position and status of the reaction vessel handler components, and signals from the sensors are communicated to system 10 via a sensor interface board 182 and a backplane printed wire assembly 200 (¶[0127]). FIG. 35 illustrates power in and rotational printed circuit board 532 directly mounted to base 526, and vertical movement PCB 534 mounted on the nonmoving portion of vertical column 525, where vertical movement PCB 534 includes a sensor to detect the vertical home position of the reagent robot and probe assembly 510. Liquid level sense PCB 536 uses capacitance sensing to determine when the probe comes into contact with a liquid, and detects the change and communicates a signal to the system (¶¶[0268]–[0270]).
Advantageously, BLECKA’s Fluidics PCB provides a central location for control and sensor connections, which minimizes wiring length and increases serviceability, and further locates sensors on the board to reduce sensor size while maximizing reliability (¶[0470]). In view of ZHU’s software control modules and sensing (¶[0058]), a person skilled in the art would integrate BLECKA’s printed circuit board based sensor and control connections to provide electrical communication between sensors, actuators, and system control.
Regarding the limitation “one position of the plurality of container receiving positions is configured for a loading and unloading of containers to the carousel,” ZHU provides a cup inlet station 11 and a cup outlet station 12 as defined stations around the turntable (¶¶[0049]–[0050]). BLECKA provides carousel access for replacement by stopping at precise locations and by lifting the reagent carousel to an installation and removal position (¶¶[0209]–[0210]). Designating one position as the loading and unloading position is a predictable access choice in a compact carousel analyzer.
The limitation “four vertically on top of each other arranged levels,” including the arrangement of each level, is considered a routine packaging and layout choice for integrating mechanical subsystems within an analyzer housing. ZHU illustrates the device as a stacked assembly with structures arranged vertically, including support frames above the turntable, the turntable carrying reaction cups, a pedestal below the turntable, and drive components arranged below the pedestal (¶[0047], ¶¶[0049]–[0050], ¶[0061], ¶[0084]). ZHU’s support frames 230 and 340 above the turntable are reasonably interpreted as the first level, the turntable 130 holding the reaction cups is reasonably interpreted as the second level, the pedestal 120 below the turntable is reasonably interpreted as the third level, and the drive components arranged below the pedestal, including motor 431 and motor 441 in the mixing mechanism 400, are reasonably interpreted as the fourth level.
Regarding the limitations “a side wall PCB mounted to the fixed side wall” and “stacked printed circuit boards below the second level,” BLECKA shows printed circuit boards mounted on fixed structure, including a rotational printed circuit board directly mounted to a base, a vertical movement PCB mounted on a nonmoving portion of a vertical column, and a liquid level sense PCB that provides sensing signals communicated to the system (¶¶[0268]–[0270]).
In view of modified ZHU’s stationary mounting structures adjacent the turntable and below the pedestal and the software controlled sensing and actuation, mounting a printed circuit board on the stationary side wall structure and arranging printed circuit boards stacked below the turntable as packaging permits is an obvious integration choice for providing electrical communication between sensors, actuators, and system control.
Regarding the limitation “a base plate comprising counter bearings for the centrally arranged rotor axis of a motor as a drive for rotating the carousel and a slide bearing between an upper end of the rotor axis and the first plate,” the specification admits rotating carousels providing positions for receiving containers are known prior art (¶[0005]). In motor driven carousel analyzers such as ZHU modified by BLECKA (¶[0209]), supporting the central rotor axis with bearings for alignment and smooth rotation renders counter bearings in a base plate and an upper slide bearing to the first plate an obvious mechanical design choice.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate a motor driven carousel and printed circuit boards, as disclosed by BLECKA, into the sample purification device by ZHU.
However, modified ZHU does not explicitly disclose bubble sensors for monitoring aspiration of fluids from the containers and for monitoring rinsing of the aspiration needle, nor a fluid system connected by pumps.
BJØRSON discloses a pipetting apparatus for aspiration and dispensation of liquids using a pressure sensor and data processing, and further addresses detecting gas bubbles in the system liquid (¶[0002]). A typical pipetting apparatus includes a motor driven pump, where the motor drive of the pump and the pressure transducer are electrically connected to a data processing unit that monitors the drive of the pump and processes the data received from the pressure transducer (¶[0004]).
The pipetting apparatus includes an impulse generating means that is electrically controlled and induces vertical movement of the system liquid column, resulting in a pressure variation in a gas filled space, and the pressure variation recorded with the pressure transducer and processed by the data processing unit is indicative of the presence or absence of gas bubbles in the system liquid contained in the fluidic space (¶¶[0070]–[0071]).
Advantageously, the recorded process includes flushing the adapters for disposable pipette tips with system liquid as part of the pipetting workflow (¶[0114], ¶[0129]). In this workflow, the impulse generating means induces reciprocal movement of the system liquid column and the resulting pressure variation is used for detecting gas bubbles in the system liquid contained in the fluidic space (¶¶[0070]–[0071]), where such gas or air bubbles affect pipetting precision and accuracy and are often not visible to an operator (¶¶[0138]–[0139]). In view of modified ZHU, the analyzer relies on complete waste removal and thorough needle rinsing to prevent cross contamination (¶[0081]). A person skilled in the art would incorporate a pump driven fluid system with bubble sensing into modified ZHU, since BJØRSON includes a motor driven pump in the pipetting apparatus (¶[0004]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate bubble sensors and a pump driven fluid system, as disclosed by BJØRSON, into the aspirated and rinsing fluid path of the sample purification device by modified ZHU.
Regarding Claim 2, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. FIG. 10 of ZHU illustrates first drive component 240 including first motor 241, gear 242, and rack 243, where gear 242 meshes with rack 243 to drive the structure up and down along a linear guide rail relative to pedestal 120 (¶[0061]).
Regarding Claim 3, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. FIG. 10 of ZHU illustrates gear 242 meshing with rack 243 to drive first support frame 230 up and down (¶[0061]), and FIG. 11 to 15 illustrate needle sleeves 600 having mounting holes for the needles, where the liquid injection needle 700 and liquid extraction needle 800 are fixed to the needle sleeve 600 (¶¶[0064]–[0067]).
Regarding Claim 4, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 3. FIG. 16 of ZHU illustrates second drive component 350 driving second support frame 340 to slide relative to second mounting frame 320 in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction (¶[0080]).
Regarding Claim 5, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. FIG. 10 of ZHU illustrates first motor 241 connected to gear 242, where gear 242 meshes with rack 243 (¶[0061]).
Regarding Claim 6 and 7, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. FIG. 11 to FIG. 15 of ZHU illustrate primary cleaning components 210 including a needle sleeve 600 arranged on the first support frame 230, a liquid injection needle 700 configured to inject cleaning solution to the reaction cup 20, and a liquid extraction needle 800 configured to extract waste liquor from the reaction cup 20 (¶[0064]). FIG. 15 further illustrates a needle connecting pipe head 811 connected with a liquid extraction pipe and a communication hole 613 mounting a liquid injection pipe 613a for supplying cleaning solution to the needle assembly.
BLECKA discloses a manifold based fluid handling arrangement including a General-Purpose Manifold for routing liquids and valves controlling flow, including a DI Selector Valve and a Wash & Separate Clean Valve, and fluid supply paths including Wash Buffer and DI Water and routing liquid waste to waste storage through the Waste Management System (¶¶[0418]–[0426]).
An injector manifold which is fixed on top of the first level plate is made obvious over ZHU’s support frame 230 above the turntable carrying the injector structure of the primary cleaning components 210.
Regarding Claim 11, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. ZHU discloses a mixing rotor 410 eccentrically arranged on a fourth drive component 440, the fourth drive component 440 being a motor 441, where a bottom wall of the mixing rotor 410 is eccentrically connected to an output shaft of the fourth drive component 440 and the reaction cup 20 is held in the mixing rotor 410, such that when the motor works the mixing rotor 410 is vibrated due to the eccentricity (¶[0084]).
Regarding Claim 13, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 11. ZHU discloses an optocoupler and a corresponding moving piece that excites the optocoupler to generate a level signal for detecting and determining an initial position of a moving component (¶[0058]). BLECKA discloses motor drives and sensor feedback having multiple sensor inputs for positional feedback (¶[0117]).
Regarding the limitation “arranged at the level of the recesses of the container receiving positions,” an optical sensor is aligned at the same level as the feature being detected to generate a reliable detection signal. Arranging the sensor at the level of the recesses yields predictable position detection of the container receiving position during rotation.
Regarding Claim 14, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. BLECKA discloses a power in and rotational printed circuit board having a single electrical connection to the instrument via a backplane, where input signals are received via a ribbon cable and operational voltages are transferred via a cable to a vertical movement printed circuit board, and the vertical movement printed circuit board distributes power and sensing to a motor and connects additional components via cables (¶¶[0268]–[0270]). It is reasonably interpreted that “plugs” recite electrical connectors for board to board and board to harness connections in a modular printed circuit board stack.
Regarding Claim 15, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. BLECKA discloses a vertical movement printed circuit board mounted on a nonmoving portion of a vertical column (¶[0269]). Arranging the fixed circuit board vertically on one side of the rotatable carousel is an obvious packaging choice for compact integration and reliable wiring in an analyzer.
Regarding Claim 16, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. BLECKA discloses integrated circuit boards communicating over an integrated compact PCI bus main system processor board of host computer 40, where the main system processor board includes on board RAM and flash disk permanent storage (¶[0118]).
Regarding Claim 17, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. BLECKA discloses a reagent carousel arranged in a housing, where a reagent cooler lid provides access to the reagent carousel, the rotational drive moves the reagent carousel to required locations including a pack presentation location for replacement, and the reagent carousel may be lifted to an installation and removal position for replacing reagent packs (¶¶[0208]–[0210]).
Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHU in view of BLECKA and BJØRSON as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of DUNFEE et al. (US20210220879A1, hereinafter DUNFEE).
Regarding Claim 8 and 9, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. ZHU provides a secondary cleaning mechanism 300 including a cleaning groove 360 (¶[0077]), and a needle is moved into the cleaning groove 360 for cleaning to prevent cross contamination (¶[0081]).
However, modified ZHU does not explicitly disclose the cleaning groove comprising “an outer part and an inner part, wherein a rinsing channel runs through both parts,” nor “the inner part of the aspiration needle rinsing station is sealed against the outer part of the aspiration needle rinsing station and the rinsing channel surrounds in the inner part the bore and guiding for the vertically crossing aspiration needle.”
DUNFEE discloses a wash station for a probe in analytical instrumentation of a clinical analyzer in an in vitro diagnostics environment (¶[0002]). The wash station cleans an exterior of a probe while allowing waste fluid to be collected and drained, and includes a wash nozzle and a basin sized to receive and secure the nozzle, where the basin captures waste fluid and includes a drain port for draining waste fluid (¶¶[0008]–[0013]).
FIG. 1–4 illustrate a wash station 100 including a wash nozzle 200 and a basin 300, where a probe 150 is inserted into the wash nozzle 200 for cleaning and the basin 300 receives and secures the wash nozzle 200 to capture waste fluid (¶[0035]). The wash nozzle includes side slits 240 and 250 on opposing side portions of the cavity 205 to allow the probe 150 to pass through, and includes a fluid inlet port 230 connected to the cavity 205 and configured to fill the cavity with fluid, where the fluid inlet port 230 is located below a nominal level of the probe 150 when the probe is in the cavity 205 (¶¶[0038]–[0039]).
In normal operation, the nozzle fluid supply fills the cavity 205 via the fluid inlet port 230, and the cavity geometry allows the nozzle 200 to fill to a predetermined level while fluid flows out primarily through the side slits 240 and 250 and to a lesser extent through the bottom opening 260, such that the area of the probe 150 being washed is consistent across a wide range of flow rates (¶[0044]).
Based on the illustrated wash station, the basin receives and secures the wash nozzle, such that the interface between the wash nozzle and the basin is reasonably interpreted as “sealed against” for retaining rinsing fluid during cleaning. The probe is inserted into the wash nozzle cavity for cleaning, and the cavity provides “the bore and guiding for the vertically crossing” aspiration needle, where rinsing fluid fills the cavity and surrounds the probe within the inner part.
Advantageously, DUNFEE provides an efficient and thorough probe washing apparatus that avoids bath washing time costs and avoids manual tuning associated with fly through fountain washing (¶¶[0003]–[0007]). Since ZHU’s cleaning groove functions as a bath type needle cleaning arrangement, a person skilled in the art would implement DUNFEE’s probe washing apparatus at ZHU’s needle cleaning location to reduce wash cycle time while maintaining thorough probe cleaning to mitigate carryover.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to substitute a probe washing apparatus, as disclosed by DUNFEE, for the needle cleaning arrangement of the sample purification device by modified ZHU.
Regarding Claim 10, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 8. ZHU discloses a needle connecting pipe head 811 connected with a liquid extraction pipe (¶[0067]) and a communication hole 613 mounting a liquid injection pipe 613a for supplying cleaning solution to the needle assembly (¶[0070]). BJØRSON discloses detecting the presence of gas bubbles in the system liquid of a pipetting apparatus (¶[0002]). BLECKA discloses sensors monitoring position and status of a handler, and the motors and sensors are electrically connected to system 10 via a backplane printed wire assembly 200 (¶[0127]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHU in view of BLECKA and BJØRSON as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of (BOLT US20050275361A1).
Regarding Claim 12, modified ZHU makes obvious a sample purification device of Claim 1. ZHU discloses software control modules (¶[0002]) and motors actuating analyzer components, including motor 241 driving gear 242 and rack 243 (¶[0061]) and motor 441 driving mixing rotor 410 (¶[0084]). BLECKA discloses sensors monitoring position and status and determining home and step positions, where motors and sensors are electrically connected to system 10 via backplane printed wire assembly 200 (¶[0127]). However, modified ZHU does not explicitly disclose that the motor for actuating the container receiving positions is an EC motor comprising a plurality of Hall sensors.
BOLT discloses a brushless DC motor drive and a method and system for determining an alignment error of a Hall sensor, where Hall effect sensors determine rotor position based on sensing a magnetic field of a rotor magnet and a technique determines Hall sensor alignment error by measuring a back EMF waveform, preferably while the motor is coasting (¶¶[0002]–[0004]).
Advantageously, BOLT calculates an angular offset between a selected back EMF waveform and a selected Hall signal, stores offsets in a motor control unit, and uses the offsets to adjust motor control signals for maximum torque (¶[0005]). In view of ZHU’s software control modules (¶[0002]), a person skilled in the art would select a brushless DC motor drive with Hall effect sensors to provide commutation and rotor position feedback for controlled actuation of the analyzer mechanisms.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate a brushless DC motor drive with Hall effect sensors, as disclosed by BOLT, in the sample purification device by modified ZHU.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAK L. CHIU whose telephone number is (703)756-1059. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00am - 6:00pm (CST).
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/TAK L. CHIU/ Examiner, Art Unit 1777
/KRISHNAN S MENON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1777