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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Poles C, D
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description:
FIG. 4, element 42
Note that element 42 is included in the list of reference numerals on page 5 of the specification; however, it is not mentioned in the description of the invention.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 3, 5, and 6 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 3 recites the limitation "the objective lens" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted “the objective lens” to mean “an objective lens”.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “air pressure on the side where the axial ion source is located is higher than air pressure on the side where the axial ion guide assembly is located” in lines 2-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted “air pressure on the side where the axial ion source is located is higher than air pressure on the side where the axial ion guide assembly is located” to mean “air pressure on a side of the vacuum interface where the axial ion source is located is higher than air pressure on a side of the vacuum interface where the axial ion guide assembly is located”.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “the RF voltage applied by at least a portion of the multipole segments” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted “the RF voltage applied by at least a portion of the multipole segments” to mean “the RF voltage applied to at least a portion of the multipole segments”.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4-8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0056351 A1), hereinafter Zhang, in view of Park (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0149902 A1), hereinafter Park.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses an ion source apparatus (FIG. 1) comprising: an ion guide (FIG. 1, element 1), comprising an axial ion guide assembly (annotated FIG. 1 (below), element A) and a lateral ion guide assembly (annotated FIG. 1, element B), the axial ion guide assembly being a multipole assembly composed of a plurality of segmented multipoles extending axially (FIG. 1 and paragraph 0053, line 5), an ion outlet of the lateral ion guide assembly arranged towards a gap between two adjacent segmented multipoles (FIG. 4b shows trajectories of ions exiting the lateral ion guide (i.e., traveling from the direction of element 12) directed towards a gap between two adjacent segmented multipoles of the axial ion guide assembly); a power supply, configured to apply RF voltage to at least a portion of the segmented multipoles to form RF field that confines ions radially within the ion guide (paragraph 0064, lines 14-15); and an axial ion source, located at one end of the axial ion guide assembly along the axial direction (FIG. 1, ion source 2).
Zhang fails to disclose a lateral ion source, having a target plate and a laser source, the target plate being located on one side of the lateral ion guide assembly away from the axial ion guide assembly, a sample carrier surface of the target plate facing an ion inlet of the lateral ion guide assembly, the laser source emitting laser to the target plate to desorb sample on the sample carrier surface.
However, Park discloses a lateral ion source (FIG. 5A, elements 114, 116), having a target plate (FIG. 5A, element 116) and a laser source (FIG. 5A, element 114), the target plate being located on one side of the lateral ion guide assembly away from the axial ion guide assembly (FIG. 5A: target plate 116 is located on the lower side of the lateral ion guide assembly, spaced apart from the axial ion guide assembly, i.e., multipole rods 132), a sample carrier surface of the target plate facing an ion inlet of the lateral ion guide assembly (FIG. 5A, ion inlet 128), the laser source emitting laser to the target plate to desorb sample on the sample carrier surface (paragraph 0055).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang to include a lateral ion source, having a target plate and a laser source, the target plate being located on one side of the lateral ion guide assembly away from the axial ion guide assembly, a sample carrier surface of the target plate facing an ion inlet of the lateral ion guide assembly, the laser source emitting laser to the target plate to desorb sample on the sample carrier surface, based on the teachings of Park that this type of ion source advantageously enables analysis of samples with high molecular weights (Park, paragraph 0006).
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1: Annotated FIG. 1 (Zhang)
Regarding claim 4, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Park discloses that the power supply also applies DC voltage to the segmented multipoles to form DC electric field driving ions along the axial direction through the axial ion guide assembly (paragraph 0059).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang in view of Park to include that the power supply also applies DC voltage to the segmented multipoles to form DC electric field driving ions along the axial direction through the axial ion guide assembly, based on the additional teachings of Park that this enables controllable trapping duration in accordance with desired outcomes such as sufficient cooling of ions and better ion focusing (Park, paragraph 0059).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Park discloses that the axial ion guide assembly comprises a vacuum interface docking with the axial ion source (paragraph 0061, lines 1-5), and air pressure on the side where the axial ion source is located is higher than air pressure on the side where the axial ion guide assembly is located (paragraph 0061: the ion source is an API, i.e., an Atmospheric Pressure Ionization source, and the first pumping stage 145 is at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang in view of Park to include that the axial ion guide assembly comprises a vacuum interface docking with the axial ion source, and air pressure on the side where the axial ion source is located is higher than air pressure on the side where the axial ion guide assembly is located, based on the additional teachings of Park that this enables the removal of undesirable neutral gas particles (Park, paragraph 0061).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Zhang discloses a controller, which is configured to control the RF voltage applied by the power supply to the segmented multipoles (paragraph 0064, lines 14-24), the segmented multipoles comprise a plurality of multipole segments which is located on both sides of the gap and docked with the lateral ion guide assembly (FIG. 4b shows multipole segments on both sides of the gap which is in communication with the ion trajectory entering the gap from the lateral ion guide assembly), and the controller comprises a polarity switching unit configured to switch polarity of the RF voltage applied by at least a portion of the multipole segments (paragraph 0056).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Zhang discloses that the multipole assembly is a quadrupole assembly (paragraph 0062, line 3).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Zhang discloses that the axial ion source is an electrospray ion source, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source, a desorption corona beam ion source, a matrix assisted laser desorption ionization source or a combination thereof (paragraph 0053, lines 9-12).
In addition, Park discloses that the lateral ion source is a matrix assisted laser desorption ionization source (paragraph 0055).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang in view of Park to include that the lateral ion source is a matrix assisted laser desorption ionization source, based on the additional teachings of Park that a matrix assisted laser desorption ionization source advantageously enables analysis of samples with high molecular weights (Park, paragraph 0006).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Zhang discloses a mass spectrometer, comprising the ion source apparatus (paragraph 0065, lines 1-3).
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Izgarian (U.S. Patent No. 7,180,058 B1), hereinafter Izgarian.
Regarding claim 2, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
Zhang in view of Park fails to disclose that the target plate is a metal target plate or a transparent target plate coated with a transparent conductive layer.
However, Izgarian discloses that the target plate is a metal target plate or a transparent target plate (column 3, line 28) coated with a transparent conductive layer (column 3, lines 22-23).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang in view of Park to include that the target plate is a metal target plate or a transparent target plate coated with a transparent conductive layer, based on the teachings of Izgarian that the transparent target plate enables positioning of components such that enhanced focusing of a laser to a smaller spot size is achieved (Izgarian, column 1, lines 55-67 and column 5, lines 27-45).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang in view of Park and Izgarian as applied to claim 2 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 2.
In addition, Izgarian discloses a microscope system (column 5, lines 1-3), the objective lens (FIG. 2, element 132) of the microscope system located on one side of the target plate (FIG. 2: lens 132 is located on the rear side of the target plate 110) away from the multipole assembly (FIG. 2: multipole assembly 140 (column 5, lines 14-15) is located on the front side of target plate 110) and being operable to focus on the target plate (column 4, lines 65-66).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified Zhang in view of Park and Izgarian to include a microscope system, the objective lens of the microscope system located on one side of the target plate away from the multipole assembly and being operable to focus on the target plate, based on the additional teachings of Izgarian that this arrangement enables enhanced focusing of a laser to a smaller spot size (Izgarian, column 1, lines 55-67 and column 5, lines 27-45).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 above, as evidenced by Helicon (“The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide”, Torr. 2018), hereinafter Helicon.
Regarding claim 9, Zhang in view of Park as applied to claim 1 discloses the ion source apparatus according to claim 1.
In addition, Zhang discloses that the working pressure of the ion guide is 10-1000 Pa (paragraph 0062, lines 13-15 disclose a preferable working pressure of 1 torr – 4 torr; Helicon discloses that 1 torr equals 133.322 Pa; therefore, Zhang discloses that a working pressure of the ion guide is (1 torr * 133.322 Pa/torr) to (4 torr * 133.322 Pa/torr), which equals 133.322 Pa to 533.288 Pa).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Makarov et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0178563 A1), hereinafter Makarov, teaches a lateral matrix assisted laser desorption ionization source, comprising a metal target plate and a laser source.
Prater et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0120753 A1), hereinafter Prater, teaches an ion source comprising a microscope system, the objective lens of the microscope system located on one side of the target plate and being operable to focus on the target plate.
Ristroph (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0225598 A1), hereinafter Ristroph, teaches an ion source apparatus comprising: an ion guide, comprising an axial ion guide assembly and a lateral ion guide assembly, the axial ion guide assembly being a multipole assembly composed of a plurality of segmented multipoles extending axially.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALINA R KALISZEWSKI whose telephone number is (703)756-5581. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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/A.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2881
/DAVID E SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2881