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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Frederic (FR 29773117).
Regarding to claims 1, 12:
Frederic discloses a method for classifying a specific pipetting procedure of a laboratory automation device, the method comprising:
determining a plurality of pressure curves of a plurality of pipetting procedures, which
are equivalent to the specific pipetting procedure (FIGs. 5-6);
determining a median curve from the plurality of pressure curves, wherein for each time
point of the median curve, a median value of the values of the plurality of pressure curves at this
time point is calculated (FIG. 5 shows the pressure curve Pref that reads on the claimed median curve);
determining a median curve range containing the median curve, the median curve range
having an upper limit curve and a lower limit curve being distant a deviation threshold from the
median curve (FIG. 5: The curve P+ reads on the claimed upper limit curve and the curve P- reads on the claimed lower limit curve);
controlling the laboratory automation device to perform the specific pipetting procedure
and measuring a specific pressure curve during the specific pipetting procedure (FIG. 5: The curve Pmes reads on the claimed specific pressure curve);
determining a deviation value of the specific pressure curve with respect to the median
curve range, wherein the deviation value is indicative of the specific pressure curve leaving the
median range (FIG. 6: The curve Pmes starts to go below the P- curve at tdef to leave the range P- to P+);
classifying the specific pipetting procedure as erroneous, when the deviation value is
greater than a threshold (FIG. 6: The curve Pmes starts to go below the P- curve at tdef to leave the tolerance range (P- to P+) indicating a defective/abnormality).
Regarding to claim 4: wherein the deviation value depends on an area of the specific pressure curve outside of the median range; and/or wherein the deviation value depends on a duration of the specific pressure curve outside of the median range (FIGs. 5-6: The deviation between the curves P-, P+ varies throughout the pressure curve; particularly, such deviation peaks during the pressure drop duration).
Regarding to claim 5: wherein the specific pipetting procedure is classified as unproblematic, when the deviation value is less than a first threshold; wherein the specific pipetting procedure is classified as potentially problematic, when the deviation value is greater than the first threshold and less than a second threshold; wherein the specific pipetting procedure is classified as erroneous, when the deviation value is greater than the second threshold.
Regarding to claim 13: comprising a pipetting arm for carrying a pipette (FG.1, element 2); a pump for changing a pressure in a volume connected to the pipette (FIG. 1: The motor 19 drives the piston 30); a pressure sensor for pressure measurements in the volume connected to the pipette (FG.1, elements 38 and 40); a control device for controlling the pump and the pipetting arm and for receiving a pressure signal from the pressure sensor (FG.1, element 16);
Prosecution Insights