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 § 102
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) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Braun et al. (US 6,613,286).
Regarding claim 12, Braun et al. disclose a device for measuring a viscosity of a fluid, the device comprising: a cartridge 10 having an injection port 24 configured to introduce fluid into the cartridge (col. 8 line 65 to col. 9 line 7); a plurality of inlet conduits 30A-F coupled to and extending away from the injection port 24 (see Fig. 2); a plurality of wells 32A-F, wherein the inlet conduits extend from the injection port to the wells, and are configured to deliver the fluid from the injection port to the wells (Fig. 2 and col. 9 lines 5-11); a plurality of outlet conduits 36A-F; and a plurality of vents (openings with plugs 38A-F); wherein the outlet conduits extend from the wells to the vents (see Figs. 2 and 14), and wherein each of the outlet conduits includes a hydrophobic surface (see col. 10 lines 23-27, surface of plug devices 38A-F in the conduits 36A-F are hydrophobic because they are made of Porex X6870 which is polyethylene).
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) 1-4, 10 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braun et al. (US 6,613,286) in view of Meng et al. (US 2021/0123903).
Regarding claim 1, Braun et al. disclose device for measuring viscosity of a fluid, the device comprising: a cartridge main body 10 having an injection port 24 configured to introduce fluid into the cartridge (col. 8 line 65 to col. 9 line 7); a plurality of inlet conduits 30A-F coupled to and extending away from the injection port 24 (see Fig. 2); and a plurality of wells 32A-F, wherein the inlet conduits extend from the injection port to the wells, and are configured to deliver the fluid from the injection port to the wells (Fig. 2 and col. 9 lines 5-11); a plurality of ferromagnetic elements 46 configured to sit within the wells (col. 11 lines 23-26).
Braun et al. do not disclose that the cartridge main body includes a hydrophilic surface to inhibit the formation of air bubbles within the wells. Meng et al. disclose a cartridge for use in analysis and measurements of a liquid sample injected into the cartridge main body through an injection port 2, where the liquid flows through conduits into wells (4, 5, 7, 9) (see Fig. 1), and Meng et al. disclose that the cartridge main body includes a hydrophilic surface that would inhibit the formation of air bubbles within the well 7 (see par. 0112). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have incorporated the teachings of Meng et al., of making wells/chambers of the cartridge with a hydrophilic surface, in the wells of the cartridge device of Braun et al. because it would have facilitated the filling of the wells with the sample blood or other liquid.
Regarding claims 2-4, Meng et al. disclose the hydrophilic surface being a coating within the wells that is a plasma-treated surface (par. 0112). It would have been obvious to include these details when combining the teachings of Meng with Braun for the same reasons as set forth above with regard to claim 1.
Regarding claim 10, Braun et al. disclose that each of the ferromagnetic elements 46 is a washer-like element having a circular shape and central aperture (see Fig. 9 col. 11 lines 19-21).
Regarding claim 11, Braun et al. disclose that the cartridge includes a plurality of outlet conduits 36A-F and a plurality of vents (openings with plugs 38A-F), wherein the outlet conduits extend from the wells 32A-F to the vents (see Fig. 14), wherein each of the outlet conduits includes a hydrophobic surface (see col. 10 lines 23-27, surface of plug devices 38A-F in the conduits 36A-F are hydrophobic because they are made of Porex X6870 which is polyethylene).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braun et al. (US 6,613,286) in view of Vasilakis et al. (US 2023/0142816).
Regarding claim 13, Braun et al. do not disclose the outlet conduits including a hydrophobic surface that is a hydrophobic coating. Vasilakis et al. disclose a device for performing measurements on a fluid sample that includes a cartridge with fluid conduits and wells (see Fig. 1), wherein there is an outlet conduit 120 and a vent 118, wherein the outlet conduit includes a hydrophobic surface that is a hydrophobic coating (par. 0044). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have used hydrophobic coating on the outlet conduit surfaces, as taught by Vasilakis et al., in the outlet conduits of Braun et al., because it would have more thoroughly kept the liquid sample in the measurement wells and out of the air vent path.
Claim(s) 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Braun et al. (US 6,613,286) in view of Yue et al. (US 2007/0014695).
Regarding claims 16 and 17, Braun et al. do not disclose the outlet conduits including a hydrophobic surface that is a molded microtextured surface. Yue et al. disclose a device for performing measurements on a fluid sample that includes a cartridge with fluid conduits and wells (see Fig. 1), wherein there is an outlet conduit to a vent, wherein the outlet conduit includes a hydrophobic surface that is a molded microtextured surface (see par. 0224). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have used hydrophobic microtextured surface on the outlet conduit surfaces, as taught by Yue et al., in the outlet conduits of Braun et al., because it would have more thoroughly kept the liquid sample in the measurement wells and out of the air vent path.
Regarding claim 18, Yue et al. do not explicitly disclose that the microtextured surface is formed as a machined microtextured surface. However, it would have been known to one of ordinary skill in the art that a microtextured surface can be created in various different ways, including by known machining techniques such as laser texturing or micro-milling. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used these known machining techniques to create the microtextured surface in the combination of Yue with Braun because they are known techniques that can be substituted in a known manner by simply applying them to the applicable surfaces; furthermore, this would yield only predictable results by creating a microtextured surface in the way that these known techniques are designed to do.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20 and 21 are allowed.
Claims 5-9, 14, 15 and 19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With regard to claim 5, Braun et al. and the other cited prior art do not teach or suggest each of the ferromagnetic elements being coated with a hydrophilic spray.
With regard to claim 6, Braun et al. and the other cited prior art do not teach or suggest each of the ferromagnetic elements including a metallic plating.
With regard to claim 14, neither Meng et al. nor Braun et al. teach or suggest outlet conduits with a hydrophobic coating that is a siloxane coating.
With regard to claim 19, neither Meng et al. nor Braun et al. teach or suggest the outlet conduits including a hydrophobic surface and a hydrophilic surface.
With regard to claim 20, Braun et al. and Meng et al. teach and/or suggest many of the limitations of the claim, which are similar to limitations described above with regard to claims 1 and 12; neither Braun et al. nor Meng et al. teach or suggest applying a hydrophilic coating to each of the ferromagnetic elements.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL M WEST whose telephone number is (571)272-2139. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am - 5:30 pm (CT).
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/PAUL M. WEST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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