DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Second Non-Final Office Action
Since new grounds of rejections not necessitated by applicant’s amendment of the claims nor based on information submitted in an information disclosure statement filed during the period set forth in 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p), this second action is NON-FINAL. See MPEP 706.07(a).
See the 101 rejection below which was not a rejection made in the prior office action.
Claim Objections
In view of the amendments to claims 5 and 8, the objection of claims 5 and 8 has been withdrawn.
Claim rejections under 35 §112(b)
With respect to the amendments to the claims, the rejections of claims 1-8 have been withdrawn.
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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
The claim(s) recite(s) a mathematical concept, particularly a calculation for correcting an age of columbite-tantalite (Prong 2A: YES, see MPEP 2106.04 II). The mathematical calculation includes
determining a positive correlation between a lead-uranium ratio and a uranium ion ratio of a reference material 1 (claim 1)
calculating a lead-uranium isotope ratio and a lead-uranium age of a reference material 2 based on the same positive correlation (claim 1)
calculating a lead uranium ratio and a lead uranium age of a sample to be tested based on the determined positive correlation and a lead-uranium ion ratio and the uranium ion ratio of the sample (claim 1)
performing deviation correction, determining the positive correlation after correction, calculating the lead-uranium ratio and the lead-uranium age of the sample (claim 2)
according to the equations presented in the claims, particularly in claim 1, and the specification (see the equations in Table 1).
The claims do not apply this calculation to a practical application and the claims do not amount to anything beyond this application. Genetic Techs. Ltd. v. Merial LLC, 818 F.3d 1369, 1376, 118 USPQ2d 1541, 1546 (Fed. Cir. 2016) teaches that the inventive concept “cannot be furnished by the unpatentable law of nature (or natural phenomenon or abstract idea) itself” (see MPEP 2106.05 I). This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application (Prong 2B: NO, see MPEP 2106.05) because the additional elements are directed to mere data gathering, which is insignificant extra-solution activity (see MPEP 2106.05(g)).
Measuring the reference material 1 to obtain not less than 3 sets of the lead-uranium ion ratio and the uranium ion ratio in claim 1 is mere data gathering because the measuring is used to obtain input for an equation (In re Grams, 888 F.2d 835, 839-40; 12 USPQ2d 1824, 1827-28 (Fed. Cir. 1989))
Measuring the reference material 2 to obtain a lead-uranium ion ratio and a uranium ion ratio in claim 1 is mere data gathering because the measuring is used to obtain input for an equation (In re Grams, 888 F.2d 835, 839-40; 12 USPQ2d 1824, 1827-28 (Fed. Cir. 1989))
Measuring the lead-uranium ion ratio and the uranium ion ratio of the sample is mere data gathering because the measuring is used to obtain input for an equation (In re Grams, 888 F.2d 835, 839-40; 12 USPQ2d 1824, 1827-28 (Fed. Cir. 1989))
The limitations of claim 4-6, which detail the preparation prior to measuring the sample are mere data gathering because the measuring, and preparations therefor, are used to obtain input for an equation (In re Grams, 888 F.2d 835, 839-40; 12 USPQ2d 1824, 1827-28 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
The limitations of claims 7-8, which detail the measuring, is mere data gathering because the measuring is used to obtain input for an equation (In re Grams, 888 F.2d 835, 839-40; 12 USPQ2d 1824, 1827-28 (Fed. Cir. 1989)), as evidenced by claims 1-3, which demonstrate how the information gathered from the measuring is utilized in the equations in order to accomplish the “determining…” and “calculating…” steps.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because measuring steps used to acquire input for equations are merely tangential additions to the claim and do not amount to an inventive concept. See MPEP 2106.05(g).
Conclusion
Similar art made of record and not relied upon is considered related to applicant's disclosure.
Ling, et. al. (CN 112927762 A; cited in the IDS filed 04/23/2024). Ling, et. al. is directed to a method for high precision age of micron-sized titanite.
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LAURA E TANDY
Examiner
Art Unit 2881
/DAVID E SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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