DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims:
Claims 1-4 are pending.
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 § 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 1-4 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.
Regarding Claim 1:
The claim state “with an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of a plate well”. This limitation renders the claim indefinite because the size of the plate well is not defined. It is not clear what the diameter of a plate well is and the plate well does not appear to be part of the permeable membrane support, therefore it is not clear what diameters would meet this limitation.
The claim states “constructed to be supported on top of the plate well”. This limitation renders the claim indefinite because it is not clear if the plate well is intended to be part of the apparatus or not.
Regarding Claim 3:
The claim state “with an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of a plate well”. This limitation renders the claim indefinite because the size of the plate well is not defined. It is not clear what the diameter of a plate well is and the plate well does not appear to be part of the permeable membrane support, therefore it is not clear what diameters would meet this limitation.
The claim states “constructed to be supported on top of the plate well”. This limitation renders the claim indefinite because it is not clear if the plate well is intended to be part of the apparatus or not.
The remaining claims are indefinite as they depend from an indefinite claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claims are not disclosed and would not have been obvious in view of the prior art. Geunseon et al (KR101900466, Cited in IDS). Fedun (EP 0495213), and Jeong et al (US 2021/0346850) are considered to be the closest prior art. Jeong teaches a permeable membrane support having a removable permeable membrane, the permeable membrane support comprising: a lower support having a hollow cylinder shape with an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of a plate well so to be accommodated in the plate well, wherein the lower support includes: an upper end having a first opening and a lower end having a second opening (lower support 110) (see para. 0051-0053); an inner wall (inner wall 113) extending between the upper and lower ends and having an open channel defined therein and extending therebetween and communicating with the first and the second openings (see para. 0052); a support surface portion (bottom support portion 115) extending inwardly from an inner surface of a lower end of the inner wall and having a central opening defined therein constituting the open channel (see para. 0053); an upper support (upper support 120) including: a cylindrical lower member (cylindrical lower member121) constructed to be partially accommodated in the lower support (see para. 0055); and a permeable membrane (permeable membrane 130) disposed between the support surface portion of the lower support and a bottom surface of the cylindrical lower member of the upper support, wherein the permeable membrane includes a porous thin-film and a sealing pattern bonded to a circumference of the porous thin-film (see para. 0050), wherein the inner wall of the lower support and bridge of the upper support include a hook and a groove, respectively, or include a groove and a hook, respectively, for snap-fit coupling between the lower and upper supports, wherein when the upper support and the lower support have been fastened to each other in a snap-fit manner, the sealing pattern overlaps with and is positioned between the bottom surface of the cylindrical lower member and the support surface portion of the lower support (see para. 0065).
Jeong does not disclose a pair of opposing wings constructed to be supported on a top of the plate well; and a deformable beam portion extending upwardly from an upper circumferential end of the cylindrical lower member to the two opposing wings so as to connect the two opposing wings and the cylindrical lower member to each other. Jeong does not teach the inner wall of the lower support includes a sawtooth or the upper support includes a second sawtooth.
Fedun teaches a membrane support comprising a pair of opposing wings (overhangs 70) and a deformable beam portion (vertical struts 72) extending upwardly from an upper circumferential end of a cylindrical lower member to the two opposing wings so as to connect the two opposing wings and the cylindrical lower member to each other (see col. 4 lines 50-55, fig. 3).
Geunseon teaches a membrane support comprising sawtooth for snap-fit fastening (see fig. 8 of document provided with IDS).
Although the individual element of the claims are known in the prior art it would not have been obvious to replace the bridge and annular disk of Jeong with the opposing wings and beams of Fedun because the beams (vertical struts) of Fedun are designed to break away from the cylindrical member (see Fedun col. 4 lines 55-58) and would therefore not be able to support the snap-fit connections required by Jeong and the instant invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CLAIRE A NORRIS whose telephone number is (571)272-5133. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5 F: 8-12.
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/CLAIRE A NORRIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779 7/14/2026
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