DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election with traverse of Species III in the reply filed on 10/1/25 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the precursor sample block, joint precursor regions, a tear tab, and a tear track must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 § 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) 1-2, 8-10, and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being disclosed by Hess et al. (2015/0135917).
Hess et al. discloses the method/invention including the step of: producing a section ribbon from a sample block (see Fig. 6), the method comprising: producing a first part ribbon of the section ribbon (see Fig. 11, 18-21) from a first surface region of the sample block using a microtome comprising a blade 106, the first part ribbon having one or more first sections of the sample block and producing a second part ribbon (see Fig. 11, para. 0094) of the section ribbon from a second surface region of the sample block using the microtome comprising the blade, the second part ribbon having one or more second sections of the sample block, the second surface region being different from the first surface region (see Fig. 11), and retracting the sample block is retracted from the blade between the producing of the first part ribbon and the producing of the second part ribbon (see Fig. 18-19); wherein the first surface region and the second surface region are provided as disjoint surface regions (see Fig. 11, para. 0094) of the sample block; producing the sample block, wherein the first surface region 1002 and the second surface region 1002’ are provided as joint surface regions of the sample block (see Fig. 10); wherein the sample block is repositioned in one or more directions (see Fig. 13 and 18-19) relative to the blade between the producing of the first part ribbon and the producing of the second part ribbon; an ultra-microtome (para. 0004), and wherein the one or more first sections (see Fig. 13, para. 0094) and the one or more second sections (see Fig. 13, para. 0094) are produced as ultrathin sections; A microtome 100 configured to perform a method according to any of the preceding claim 1; a control unit 148, an undivided inner space (see Fig. 10), a first compartment and a second compartment, the first compartment (the area covered by sample 1002) and the second compartment (the area covered by sample 1002’) extending from and being contiguous with the undivided inner space.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 allowed.
Claims 3-7, 12-15, and 20-27 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OMAR FLORES SANCHEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-4507. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday8:00-4:00 pm.
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/OMAR FLORES SANCHEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3724