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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because it is a “use” claim and is an improper definition of a process. The process claim does not set forth any steps involved in the process (i.e. the claim merely recites use without any active, positive steps delimiting how this use is actually practiced). See MPEP §2173.05(q).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are allowed.
Regarding claim 1 and dependents thereof, the prior art does not teach, “A sensor for determining the concentration of an acidic or basic compound dissolved in water, wherein the determination is based on an ingress of gas or vapor of said compound, causing a change in pH value, within an inner buffer separated from a sample side by a membrane that is essentially permeable to gases and essentially impermeable to ions, characterized in that a layer is provided between the membrane and the sample side, wherein the layer substantially covers the membrane, wherein the layer is water-soluble and has pH buffering properties.” US 20070175769 (herein Hsiung) is cited by the Office as relevant Art. Hsiung teaches pCO2 sensor ([0020]). A solution dissolved in water ([0018]) is dropped on an ion-sensing window 16. Gas-permeable layer 24 allows air molecules to diffuse through, and the pH value of layer 22 changes in response to CO2 concentration in the air ([0020]). However, Hsiung does not teach a membrane that is essentially permeable to gases and essentially impermeable to ions, with a water-soluble layer that has pH buffering properties. Non-Patent Literature titled, “pH-Activated Dissolvable Polymeric Coatings to Reduce Biofouling on Electrochemical Sensors” (herein Ucar) is also cited as relevant prior art because it teaches a water-dissolvable polymer layer applied to sensors for protection.
Conclusion
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/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/PHILIP T FADUL/Examiner, Art Unit 2852