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 .
Election/Restrictions and Claim Status
1. Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II, Species B7, and claims 19-20 in the reply filed on 12/11/25 is acknowledged.
2. Claims 1-20 are pending with claims 1-18 withdrawn. Claims 19 and 20 are examined herein.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Requirement for Information
4. Applicant and the assignee of this application are required under 37 CFR 1.105 to provide the following information that the examiner has determined is reasonably necessary to the examination of this application.
5. In response to this requirement, please provide a copy of each of the following items of art referred to in the disclosure as filed (see paragraphs [0009-0010]). In particular the publication referred to as “Art” appears particularly relevant to a determination of patentability.
6. In responding to those requirements that require copies of documents, where the document is a bound text or a single article over 50 pages, the requirement may be met by providing copies of those pages that provide the particular subject matter indicated in the requirement, or where such subject matter is not indicated, the subject matter found in applicant’s disclosure.
7. The applicant is reminded that the reply to this requirement must be made with candor and good faith under 37 CFR 1.56. Where the applicant does not have or cannot readily obtain an item of required information, a statement that the item is unknown or cannot be readily obtained may be accepted as a complete reply to the requirement for that item.
8. This requirement is an attachment of the enclosed Office action. A complete reply to the enclosed Office action must include a complete reply to this requirement. The time period for reply to this requirement coincides with the time period for reply to the enclosed Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
9. 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.
10. Claim 20 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
11. Regarding claim 20, the recitation “wherein the oscillatory electric current power source provides a fundamental frequency of a plasma current sheet bounce effect” is indefinite because it merely expresses a function of the invention. The clause does not adequately delineate specific structure of the power source, nor does it clearly introduce an active process step and therefore does not properly define the metes and bounds of the claim. (MPEP 2173.05(g))
12. Further regarding claim 20, the recitation “the oscillatory electric current power source is dynamically adjusted to enhance the plasma current sheet bounce effect” is indefinite for the same reasons described above. It does not describe particular structure nor does it introduce or further limit a specific process step (see also MPEP 2111.04).
13. Finally regarding claim 20, the recitation “the oscillatory electric current power source is a harmonic or subharmonic of the fundamental frequency of the plasma current sheet bounce effect” is indefinite for the same reasons described above, It does not describe particular structure of the power source nor does it introduce a process step.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
14. 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 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.
15. For applicant's benefit, the portions of the reference(s) relied upon in the below rejections have been cited to aid in the review of the rejections. While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection, it is noted that prior art must be considered in its entirety, including disclosures that teach away from the claims. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
16. 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.
17. Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fisch, US 4,615,861.
18. Regarding claim 19, Fisch discloses a method for thermonuclear heating of plasma comprising (Abs.; column 1, lines 12-14): providing a pinch reactor (Fig. 1, ref. 10; column 3, lines 16-18); providing an oscillatory electric current power source (26, 28, 30; column 3, lines 35-38; column 9, lines 53-55) in communication with the pinch reactor; and energizing the pinch reactor with an oscillatory electric current from the oscillatory electric current power source (column 11, lines 3-38; column 13, lines 1-10) to generate thermonuclear fusion through the resonant excitation of a plasma current sheet (this recitation of intended use has not been afforded patentable weight).
19. It should be noted, as stated in MPEP 2173.06, “where there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of a claim, it would not be proper to reject such a claim on the basis of prior art. As stated in In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962), a rejection under 35 U.S.C. §103 should not be based on considerable speculation about the meaning of terms employed in a claim or assumptions that must be made as to the scope of the claims.” Therefore, no art rejections have been made for claim 20.
Interviews
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
Additional References
The attached Notice of Reference Cited (PTO-892) cites additional prior art made of record and not relied upon that is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARON M DAVIS whose telephone number is (571)272-6882. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 7:00 - 5:00 pm ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jack Keith can be reached at 571-272-6878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHARON M DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3646