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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/15/2026.
Claim Interpretation
Claims 1-14 recite a preamble reciting an “apparatus”, however, the claims do not positively claim any structural limitations. As such, there is no physical “apparatus” claimed.
In Claim 1, the “first logic”, “second logic”, and “third logic” are the only positively recited limitations. The “imaging device” is not a positively recited structural limitation as it merely sends information to the “first logic” but is not part of the “chromatography support apparatus”. This is the same for the recited “chromatography instrumentation”. As such, these physical elements are not limiting to the claims.
It follows, then, that claimed elements which further limit the “imaging device” and the “chromatography instrumentation” are not positively recited either. This includes the “a mass spectrometer inlet” in Claim 6,”an electrospray emitter and a chromatographic column” in Claim 7, “a sweep cap having an annulus region” in Claim 9, and the “camera” recited in Claim 14.
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.
Claims 1-14 are 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 the claims are not directed to a process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter. While the preamble of the claim states that the claims are drawn to “A chromatography support apparatus”, the three positively recited limitations to a “first logic”, a “second logic”, and a “third logic” do not actually include any tangible elements. As such, there is no “apparatus” claims.
Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, “logic” can encompass non-statutory transitory forms of signal transmission which are not patentable under 35 USC 101. See MPEP 2106, In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346, 84 USPQ2d 1495 (Fed. Cir. 2007), and Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA, Inc., 851 F.3d at 1294-95, 112 USPQ2d at 1134.
Similarly, software expressed as code or a set of instructions detached from any medium is an idea without physical embodiment. See Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 550 U.S. 437, 449, 82 USPQ2d 1400, 1407 (2007); see also Benson, 409 U.S. 67, 175 USPQ2d 675 (An "idea" is not patent eligible). Thus, a product claim to a software program that does not also contain at least one structural limitation (such as a "means plus function" limitation) has no physical or tangible form, and thus does not fall within any statutory category.
And, while not limiting to the claims as currently presented, Applicant is reminded that for a machine-learning computational model and/or a trained neural network to be patent eligible under 2A of the analysis of patentability, the claims must recite specific mathematical relationships, formulas, or calculations. As such, any amendments to the claims to overcome the 101 rejection should consider the eligibility of claim limitations pertaining to the machine-learning computational model and/or a trained neural network.
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.
Claims 1-14 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: “by processing the imaging device” is indefinite as it is unclear how an “imaging device” would be processed. It is also unclear what “processing” requires.
Claims 1-14 recite an “apparatus” but do not recite any positively claimed physical claim limitations. It is, therefore, unclear if the claim is an apparatus and what the structure of the apparatus would be. Given the claim language, it is interpreted that the claims are drawn to signals and are not, together, an apparatus.
Because there is no structure claimed, it is not possible to perform a prior art search under USC 102 and 103.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALLISON FITZSIMMONS whose telephone number is (571)270-1767. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am - 2:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin Lebron can be reached at (571)272-0475. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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ALLISON FITZSIMMONS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1773
/ALLISON G FITZSIMMONS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1773
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