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) 1, 4, 7 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Miki et al. (US 2016/0320286).
Regarding claim 1, Miki et al. disclose a pore device used together with a measurement device 200, the pore device comprising: a pore chip (110 or 10); a chamber (21,22) partitioned by the pore chip (see Fig. 10 and par. 0089, partitioned at wall 31); a measurement terminal group (13a,13b) structured to apply an electric signal to the chamber from the measurement device and/or to output an electric signal generated in the chamber to the measurement device 200 (see pars. 0067-0068, chips 10 such as one in Fig. 10, are examples of the chip 110 that is generically shown in Figs. 1-6; see Fig. 1 and pars. 0041 and 0043, describing chip with micropore and electrodes where determination device 200 applies voltage to and reads voltage from electrodes of chip); a nonvolatile memory 120 (par. 0042); and interface means 300 connected to the nonvolatile memory such that the nonvolatile memory is accessible from an outside of the pore device (par. 0040), wherein the non-volatile memory is writable with a use history of the pore device to be read out when the pore device is collected by its manufacturer. (see pars. 0042 and 0048; the memory is written with an indication of whether it is used which is a usage history, and it is capable of being read out when the pore device is collected by anyone included its manufacturer).
Regarding claim 4, Miki et al. disclose that the interface means 300 includes a plurality of terminals to be coupled to a memory interface of the measurement device to the nonvolatile memory (see par. 0040 and Figs. 1 and 3).
Regarding claim 7, Miki et al. disclose a fine particle measurement system comprising: a pore device 100; and a measurement device 200, wherein the pore device includes: a pore chip (110 or 10); a chamber (21,22) partitioned by the pore chip (see Fig. 10 and par. 0089, partitioned at wall 31); a measurement terminal group (13a,13b) structured to apply an electric signal to the chamber from the measurement device and/or to output an electric signal generated in the chamber to the measurement device 200 (see pars. 0067-0068, chips 10 such as one in Fig. 10, are examples of the chip 110 that is generically shown in Figs. 1-6; see Fig. 1 and pars. 0041 and 0043, describing chip with micropore and electrodes where determination device 200 applies voltage to and reads voltage from electrodes of chip); a nonvolatile memory 120 (par. 0042); and interface means 300 connected to the nonvolatile memory such that the nonvolatile memory is accessible from an outside of the pore device (par. 0040), wherein the non-volatile memory is writable with a use history of the pore device to be read out when the pore device is collected by its manufacturer. (see pars. 0042 and 0048; the memory is written with an indication of whether it is used which is a usage history, and it is capable of being read out when the pore device is collected by anyone included its manufacturer).
Regarding claim 10, Miki et al. disclose that the interface means 300 includes a plurality of terminals to be coupled to a memory interface of the measurement device to the nonvolatile memory (see par. 0040 and Figs. 1 and 3).
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) 2, 6, 8 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miki et al. (US 2016/0320286) in view of Naono (US 2022/0317016).
Regarding claims 2 and 8, Miki et al. do not disclose the nonvolatile memory being structured to store unique information of the pore device in advance of shipment of the pore device. Naono discloses a pore device 200 with a pore chip (230,241), a measurement chamber (210,220) partitioned by the pore chip, and a nonvolatile memory 390 (par. 0095, means 390 may be semiconductor memory), wherein the nonvolatile memory is structured to store unique information of the pore device in advance of shipment of the pore device, and wherein a corresponding measurement device 120,140 is structured to read the unique information from the nonvolatile memory and automatically set measurement conditions in accordance with the unique information (pars. 0094-0096, semiconductor memory stores unique sensor ID; pars. 0172-0178).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have to have employed the teachings of Naono, of including a unique sensor ID in the nonvolatile memory and reading this information with the measurement device, in the device and system of Miki et al., because it would have provided an efficient way to keep track of individual sensor modules/chips and their particular features and histories, and it would have provided information useful more accurately making particle measurements with the sensor chip device.
Regarding claims 6 and 12, Miki et al. disclose the pore device further comprising: a contact sheet 115 on which the nonvolatile memory 120 and the interface means are mounted (see Figs. 4 and 5), and also on which the pore chip 110 is mounted. Miki et al. do not disclose a pore chip case structured to house the pore chip and that is bonded to the contact sheet. Naono discloses using a pore chip case 300 for housing a pore chip (par. 0094 and Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have used some kind of pore chip case as taught by Naono, to house the pore chip on the contact sheet of Miki et al., because it would have provided protection and support structure for the pore chip and its elements.
Claim(s) 5 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miki et al. (US 2016/0320286) in view of McKirdy (US 2019/0271681).
Regarding claims 5 and 11, Miki et al. do not disclose the interface means, and the nonvolatile memory constituting a radio frequency (RF) tag, and the RF tag being accessible from a reader and writer of the measurement device in a non-contact manner. McKirdy discloses a microfluidic chip device (Fig. 11) used together with a measurement device (par. 0090, interface device with RFID sensor reader) wherein the microfluidic chip includes a nonvolatile memory (RFID element in Fig. 11) and wherein an interface with the nonvolatile memory and the measurement device constitutes a RF tag (Fig. 11) and the RF tag is accessible from a reader and writer of the measurement device in a non-contact manner (par. 0090). It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art to have used a RF tag type memory with RF tag reading/writing interface, as taught by McKirdy, in the device and system of Miki et al., because the RF tag would allow the memory information to be accessed by the measurement device or other devices without direct physical contact.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 17 December 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant has argued that Miki does not teach all of the limitations of claims 1 and 7, because Miki does not teach that the usage history in the memory is read out when the pore device is collected by its manufacturer. This argument is not persuasive because both claims 1 and 7 are apparatus type claims, and the limitation about how the memory of the pore device is read out and by whom it is read out is only an intended use of the apparatus. This type of limitation only limits the claimed device or system to the extent that the claimed intended use requires specific structural elements in order for the device or system to be used in the claimed manner. This means the claims only require an apparatus that is capable of being written with a use history and that is capable of having that usage history read out when it is collected by its manufacturer. The memory 120 in Miki is a nonvolatile memory, such as a RAM (see par. 0042) that is written with a usage state/history, and this type of memory is capable of being read out by any user including by its manufacturer when it is collected.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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