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 6-7, 12-13 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 6 (7 by dependency) recites that one or more engagement claws are located apart from the first principal surface. It is unclear how this can be if claim 1 requires the one or more attaching members (which includes the claws) to overlap the substrate in the first principal surface of the substrate.
Claim 7 recites that there is a distance between each of the one or more engagement claws and the first principal surface. It is unclear how this can be if claim 1 requires the one or more attaching members (which includes the claws) to overlap the substrate in the first principal surface of the substrate.
Claim 12 (13 by dependency) “recites wherein the one or more attaching members are disposed farther from the biosensor than is the processing unit”. It is unclear what this means. Are the attaching members further from the biosensor than they are from the processing unit? Or are the attaching members at a further distance from the biosensor than the processing unit is from the biosensor?
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art of record (Baker et al. - US 2008/0139953 A1) while teaching a biosensor and processor also teaches a retention clip to mechanically secure communication and computation modules. Baker, however does not mention the use of attaching members such that a total area of one or more overlap regions in which the one or more attaching members overlap the substrate in the first principal surface of the substrate when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first principal surface of the substrate is smaller than a sensor area of the sensor surface of the biosensor.
Examiner further notes that the use of such attachment members is not a design choice, as the Specification clearly states that the purpose of the attaching members’ configuration is to reduce parasitic capacitance arising from the capacitive coupling between the substrate and a member in contact with the substrate. Therefore Examiner notes that there is criticality to the limitations of the claimed invention.
None of the prior art considered, alone or in combination, teaches that particular feature combined with the other limitations of the claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY B SHAH whose telephone number is (571)272-0686. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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JAY SHAH
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3791
/JAY B SHAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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