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 .
Drawings
Figure 10 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
“conveyance machine” in claim 5. The specification further describes the limitation as “In the example shown in FIG. 6, the conveyance machine 90 includes a belt conveyor 91, a sorting robot 92, and a belt conveyor 93 (see FIG. 7) provided inside the safety cabinet 32” (see paragraph [0061] Applicant’s specification)
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 6 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Okura teaches of:
A clean room facility (Figs. 3-4) comprising:
a processing room (5) configured to allow a first device used for preparing a sample to be arranged therein (there is a first device within 5 for preparing a sample; ¶ [0032], “Preparation Room 5 is a space for storing items and reagents used in cell manipulation It is preferable to install shelves for storing items, a refrigerator, and an autoclave for sterilizing items used in the operation room 2 in the preparation room 5.”);
a room (2) configured to allow second devices related to culture or inspection of the sample to be arranged therein (Fig. 1, 26 is a second device and is a biosafety cabinet for culture and inspection of cells within a sample; ¶ [0029], “It is preferable to install a safety cabinet 26 for handling cultured cells in the control room 2.”);
a partition partitioning the processing room and each of the rooms (Fig. 3, see walls separating 5 from 2);
an openable and closable door or window (Fig. 3, 11+18 are formed in the partition wall separating 2 from 5) provided in the partition and used for moving of the sample (11+18 is formed to allow a sample to move from room 5 to 2); and
Okura fails to explicitly teach:
a plurality of rooms configured to allow second devices related to culture or inspection of the sample to be arranged therein
a wall partitioning adjacent rooms among the plurality of rooms
Tanaka teaches of:
a plurality of rooms (Fig. 1, there are a plurality of rooms 2 within clean room 1) configured to allow second devices related to culture or inspection of the sample to be arranged therein (each room 2 has a biosafety cabinet 25 positioned therein for the culture and inspection of cells)
a wall partitioning adjacent rooms among the plurality of rooms (Figs. 1 and 3, sidewall 22 acts as a partition wall between adjacent rooms)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
partition room 2 so that it has a layout similar to Fig. 1 of Tanaka, where room 2 now acts as a primary clean room with a plurality of rooms subdivided within it, make the air supply and return arrangements for each of the rooms identical to what is shown for room 2 in Fig. 4 of Okura so that each of the plurality of rooms within room 2 have a room chamber 12a above them with a supply fan 17, return fans 18 and 19 and are connected to the air condition system 13 through return and supply ducts
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for a variety of different processes involving the sample to occur simultaneously, improving efficiency within the facility (Tanaka, ¶ [0012], “The facility and the implementation method for manufacturing an article by using the facility according to the above aspect of the present invention are advantageous in that when the manufacture of an article and other work are concurrently performed in parallel, the work can be efficiently performed while maintaining the cleanliness of a location where the article is manufactured”)
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
room pressure of the processing room is different from room pressure of each of the plurality of rooms (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, see the different pressures in each of the rooms 2 and 5 shown in pascals).
Okura fails to explicitly teach:
wherein cleanliness of the processing room is equal to cleanliness of each of the plurality of rooms
Tanaka teaches of:
wherein cleanliness of the processing room is equal to cleanliness of each of the plurality of rooms (Fig. 2, the clean room 1 has a plurality of rooms 2 which have the same grade B cleanliness, the grade B+ differs from grade B only in monitoring frequency and not level of cleanliness; ¶ [0032], “the areas inside the work booths 2 have the same grade of cleanliness (grade B in this embodiment) as the area that is outside the work booths 2 but is inside the clean room 1.”; ¶ [0037], “Among the levels of grade B, grade B and grade B.sup.+ may be distinguished from each other in according to the monitoring frequency.”)
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
maintain all of the rooms within the clean room facility of Okura at the same level of cleanliness
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
the workers within the clean room would not have to change clothes when walking between each of the rooms, improving efficiency of the facility (Tanaka, ¶ [0032], “the areas inside the work booths 2 have the same grade of cleanliness (grade B in this embodiment) as the area that is outside the work booths 2 but is inside the clean room 1. Therefore, when workers enter or exit a work booth 2 or move between work booths 2, the workers do not need to change their clothes according to the level of cleanliness and can perform work efficiently”)
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 3, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the room pressure of the processing room is higher than the room pressure of each of the plurality of rooms.
A further embodiment of Okura teaches of:
wherein the room pressure of the processing room is higher than the room pressure of each of the plurality of rooms (Fig. 5, 5 has a higher pressure than room 2)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the pressure level of the processing room 5 to be higher than the plurality of rooms within 2 in the combined teachings
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
The pressure in each of the rooms can be modified as needed with the given system of Okura, particularly it would be beneficial to have processing room 5 be higher when the sample being tested within the facility is a virus as the high pressure within 5 would prevent any dangerous samples from escaping the plurality of other rooms within 2
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a room chamber provided behind a ceiling of each of the plurality of rooms (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, there is a room chamber 12a above 2, in the combination made in the rejection of claim 1 above, the room 2 is partitioned into a plurality of rooms with their own room chambers, containing air supply and air return fans, positioned above them connected to air conditioner 13);
an air supply fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 17) provided in the room chamber and configured to supply air to the room corresponding to the room chamber (17 is provided in each room chamber to supply air from the chamber to the respective room beneath; ¶ [0047], “a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) unit 17 is used as the filter fan unit”); and
an air returning fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 19; ¶ [0051], “a second return air fan 19 is provided to return the air from the ceiling chambers 12a to d”) configured to return at least a part of air flowing out from the room to a chamber behind a ceiling of the processing room (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 12d) through a duct shaft (19 returns air from the plurality of rooms 2 to the central air conditioner 13 which returns at least part of the air returned from 19 to a chamber 12d behind a ceiling of processing room 5 via a duct shaft shown as solid line with directional arrows extending downstream from 13), wherein the room chamber is partitioned from the adjacent room chamber by a wall member (Okura as modified, Figs. 3-4, see wall member separating 12a and 12b, the same logic applies to the plurality of rooms of room 2 made in the combination in the rejection of claim 1, each of the plurality of rooms has a room chamber that is partitioned from an adjacent room chamber by a wall member), and is partitioned from the processing room by a separation wall (Okura as modified, Figs. 3-4, Okura as modified, Figs. 3-4, 12a is separated from 5 via separation wall above the ceiling of room 2 that partitions 12a from 12d, as stated above, the same logic applies to the plurality of rooms within 2 that are also partitioned from the processing room 5 via separation walls).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a room chamber provided behind a ceiling of each of the plurality of rooms (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, there is a room chamber 12a above 2, in the combination made in the rejection of claim 1 above, the room 2 is partitioned into a plurality of rooms with their own room chambers, containing air supply and air return fans, positioned above them connected to air conditioner 13);
an air supply fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 17) provided in the room chamber and configured to supply air to the room corresponding to the room chamber (17 is provided in each room chamber 12a and 12c to supply air from the chamber to the respective room beneath; ¶ [0047], “a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) unit 17 is used as the filter fan unit”); and
an air returning fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 18+19; ¶ [0051], “a second return air fan 19 is provided to return the air from the ceiling chambers 12a to d”) configured to return at least a part of air flowing out from the room to the room chamber corresponding to the room through a duct shaft (18+19 returns air from room 2 to the central air conditioner 13 which returns at least part of the air returned from 18+19 to the chamber 12a via a duct shaft shown as a solid line with direction arrows extending from 13), wherein the room chamber is partitioned from the adjacent room chamber by a wall member (Okura as modified, Figs. 3-4, see wall member separating 12a and 12b, the same logic applies to the plurality of rooms of room 2 made in the combination in the rejection of claim 1, each of the plurality of rooms has a room chamber that is partitioned from an adjacent room chamber by a wall member), and is partitioned from the processing room by a separation wall (Okura as modified, Figs. 3-4, 12a is separated from 5 via separation wall above the ceiling of room 2 and separates 12a from 12d, as stated above, the same logic applied to the plurality of rooms within 2 that are also partitioned from the processing room 5 via separation walls).
Claim(s) 2 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1) and in further view of Shomura (US 20160339130 A1).
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein when sterilization of at least one of the plurality of rooms is performed, the room is filled with a predetermined sterilizing gas.
Tanimoto teaches of:
wherein when sterilization of at least one of the plurality of rooms is performed, the room is filled with a predetermined sterilizing gas (see combination made below, Fig. 2, during sterilization of each of the chambers 10, 31 and 32, sterilizing gas is supplied to one of the chambers from 63 via lines 64, when one of the chambers is selected to be sterilized the dampers leading into and out of the chamber are closed, in the exemplary situation where chamber 33 is sterilized, dampers 85 and 95 are closed and fans 51 and 53 are stopped while sterilizing gas is supplied into the chamber; ¶ [0051], “a first decontamination is performed on object A stored in the first operation chamber 31. That is, the open-close valves 66 and 75 are open and the circulation blower 74 is actuated so that hydrogen peroxide vapor generated in the evaporator 63 is supplied to the first operation chamber 31 through the second branch passage 64b, and flows back to the evaporator 63 through the first branch passage 72a. At the same time, the air volume regulating valves 85 and 95 are closed and the air supply fan 51 and the air discharge fan 53 are stopped so that the first operation chamber 31 is maintained at a positive relative pressure controlled by the open-close operations of the pressure-adjusting valves 70 and 78. The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide a sterilizing gas supply system to the facility of Okura as modified, comprising a sterilizing gas supply source with lines leading to each of the rooms of the facility and leading out of the rooms to return the used sterilized gas back to its source, further provide valves for each room that the sterilizing gas line is fed to so that the supply of sterilizing gas can be selectively distributed to any of the rooms in the facility, further, during operation of sterilization of any of the rooms within the facility, close all dampers and turn off all fans leading in and out of the selected room
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for any of the rooms within the facility to be sterilized and further the closing of the dampers in and out of the room would allow for that room to be over pressurized with the sterilizing gas, ensuring that all surfaces within the room are in contact with the gas and sterilized, improving safety and efficiency within the facility (Shomura, ¶ [0051], “The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”)
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 6, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein during sterilization of a predetermined room among the plurality of rooms, the air supply fan and the air returning fan corresponding to the room are stopped, and the air supply fans and the air returning fans corresponding to the other rooms are driven.
Shomura teaches of:
wherein during sterilization of a predetermined room among the plurality of rooms, the air supply fan and the air returning fan corresponding to the room are stopped (see combination made below, Fig. 2, during sterilization of each of the chambers 10, 31 and 32, sterilizing gas is supplied to one of the chambers from 63 via lines 64, when one of the chambers is selected to be sterilized the dampers leading into and out of the chamber are closed, in the exemplary situation where chamber 33 is sterilized, dampers 85 and 95 are closed and fans 51 and 53 are stopped while sterilizing gas is supplied into the chamber; ¶ [0051], “a first decontamination is performed on object A stored in the first operation chamber 31. That is, the open-close valves 66 and 75 are open and the circulation blower 74 is actuated so that hydrogen peroxide vapor generated in the evaporator 63 is supplied to the first operation chamber 31 through the second branch passage 64b, and flows back to the evaporator 63 through the first branch passage 72a. At the same time, the air volume regulating valves 85 and 95 are closed and the air supply fan 51 and the air discharge fan 53 are stopped so that the first operation chamber 31 is maintained at a positive relative pressure controlled by the open-close operations of the pressure-adjusting valves 70 and 78. The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”) , and the air supply fans and the air returning fans corresponding to the other rooms are driven (when decontamination is performed in the adjacent chamber 32, the fans 51 and 53 of the first chamber 31 are maintained on; ¶ [0056], “After step (3), step (4) is performed, in which the second closing member 39 is closed, and a separate aeration for the object A is carried out as a second decontamination in the second operation chamber 32. At this time, regarding the first operation chamber 31, the air volume regulating valves 85 and 95 are open by a predetermined opening degree, and the air supply fan 51 and the air discharge fan 53 are actuated for a predetermined volume of air so that aeration for the inner wall surfaces continues from the initial aeration”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide a sterilizing gas supply system to the facility of Okura as modified, comprising a sterilizing gas supply source with lines leading to each of the rooms of the facility and leading out of the rooms to return the used sterilized gas back to its source, further provide valves for each room that the sterilizing gas line is fed to so that the supply of sterilizing gas can be selectively distributed to any of the rooms in the facility, further, during operation of sterilizing of any of the rooms within the facility, close all dampers and turn off all fans leading in and out of the selected room and maintain the normal operating state of the fans and dampers of the other rooms not undergoing sterilization
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for any of the rooms within the facility to be sterilized, further the closing of the dampers in and out of the room would allow for that room to be over pressurized with the sterilizing gas, ensuring that all surfaces within the room are in contact with the gas and sterilized, improving safety and efficiency within the facility (Shomura, ¶ [0051], “The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”) and maintaining the normal operation of the other rooms not undergoing sterilization would ensure that they maintain their desired pressure value and are continually aerated
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1) and in further view of Toyoshima (US 20200216788 A1).
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 1, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
further comprising:
a conveyance machine configured to convey a container of the sample, wherein the conveyance machine conveys the container between the first device and the second device provided in a predetermined room.
Toyoshima teaches of:
a conveyance machine (Fig. 1, 4+5+6) configured to convey a container of the sample (sample container 3 is conveyed via belt 4), wherein the conveyance machine conveys the container between the first device (4 conveys the sample from first device 10) and the second device provided in a predetermined room (6 is a sorting robot that conveys the sample container 3 to one of a plurality of second devices 1a for cell culturing; ¶ [0028], “Here, the configuration of the Koji container moving device 6 is not particularly limited, and is realized by, for example, a crane or a mobile lifting device”).
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add the conveyance machine to Okura as modified so that it is positioned in room 2 and receives a sample from the first device in room 5 and then conveys the device to any of the second devices within the plurality of rooms within room 2
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the automatic conveyance of samples from the processing room to any of the plurality of rooms for culturing cells within room 2, this would reduce the amount of time a user would have to enter any of the plurality of rooms within room 2, thus improving cleanliness, safety and efficiency of the cell culturing facility of Okura
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1) and in further view of Aihara (JP 2001056140 A).
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 6, and the combined teachings further teach:
a second damper provided in a vicinity of a downstream end of the duct shaft in a manner of corresponding to each of the rooms (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, see variable dampers 20a downstream from 13 that correspond to 12d) and configured to switch to enable or block communication between the duct shaft and the chamber (the variable damper 20a of 12d can enable or disable communication of the duct shaft and 12d).
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
a first damper provided in the separation wall in a manner of corresponding to each of the rooms and configured to enable or block communication between the chamber and the room chamber
Aihara teaches of:
a first damper (Fig. 5, 56) provided in the separation wall in a manner of corresponding to each of the rooms (see combination made below, 57 is provided in separation wall of 44 for room 12) and configured to enable or block communication between the chamber and the room chamber (damper 57 is capable of enabling or blocking communication between the chamber within 44 and the ceiling plenum chamber)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
position damper 57 of Aihara into the separation wall between the plurality of room chambers 12a and the chamber 12d of Okura as modified so that air between the chambers can be selectively transferred between one another during normal operation within the facility
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would prevent the pressure within the plurality of rooms from falling out of their desired pressure range in the event of a failure of the variable dampers, resulting in excess air supplied or exhausted from the rooms, by allowing air between adjacent chambers to be shared (Aihara, ¶ [0045], “In addition, in the clean room 59 shown in Figure 5, a manual damper 57 is provided on the ceiling plenum chamber 26 side. Furthermore, the urethane shaft 64 is equipped with a check damper 70 and a motor damper 56 that can take in air from the non-unidirectional flow clean area 14 as needed. As a result, even if there is local exhaust that exceeds the intake volume of the unidirectional flow clean area 12, the unidirectional flow clean area 12 will not become negatively pressurized.”)
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 7, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the first damper enables communication between the chamber and the room chamber during general use of the room corresponding to the first damper (see combination made in the rejection of claim 7 above, dampers 57 remain open during normal use of the facility to allow the transfer of air between the room chambers and the chamber), and the second damper enables communication between the duct shaft and the chamber during general use of the room corresponding to the second damper (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, dampers 20a downstream from 13 remain open during normal use to allow air to be supplied to each of the room chambers)
Claim(s) 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1) and in further view of Liu (CN 108019855 A).
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 11, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a first air returning fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 18 is a first air returning fan), as the air returning fan, configured to guide a part of air flowing out from the room through a predetermined gap to the duct shaft (18 guides air out of the rooms under each of the chambers 12a-12e through a predetermined gap which is the height of each of the chambers 12a-12e to the duct shaft which is shaft downstream from 13 leading back into the chambers 12a-12e)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
exhaust remaining air.
Liu teaches of:
exhaust remaining air (Fig. 1, air is exhausted from each of the rooms via 8 and then selectively exhausted from the facility via 6 or returned back to the respective chamber above the room)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add an exhaust outlet with a controllable damper to each of the room chambers and chamber of the combined teachings so that the first return fan 18 of each room chamber and chamber can selectively guide air within the chamber to an exhaust flow path leading outside of the facility
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for each of the plurality room to exhaust air as needed from their respective room chambers to maintain a desired pressure level within each room without needing to open doors to allow excess air to flow out of the exhaust dampers 20b positioned on the opposite side of the facility of Okura as modified
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 12, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
a second air returning fan (Okura as modified, Fig. 4, 19), as the air returning fan, configured to guide air flowing out from the room to the duct shaft via the second air returning fan (19 guides air flowing out of each room within the facility to the duct shaft downstream from 13 which leads back to the room chamber and chamber).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okura (JP 2013240358 A) in view of Tanaka (US 20230032285 A1) and Aihara (JP 2001056140 A) and in further view of Shomura (US 20160339130 A1).
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach of the clean room facility according to claim 7, however, the combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
wherein the first damper blocks communication between the chamber and the room chamber during sterilization of the room corresponding to the first damper, and the second damper blocks communication between the duct shaft and the chamber during sterilization of the room corresponding to the second damper.
Shomura teaches of:
wherein the first damper blocks communication between the chamber and the room chamber during sterilization of the room corresponding to the first damper, and the second damper blocks communication between the duct shaft and the chamber during sterilization of the room corresponding to the second damper (see combination made below, Fig. 2, during sterilizing of each of the chambers 10, 31 and 32, sterilizing gas is supplied to one of the chambers from 63 via lines 64, when one of the chambers is selected to be sterilized the dampers leading into and out of the chamber are closed, in the exemplary situation where chamber 33 is sterilized, dampers 85 and 95 are closed and fans 51 and 53 are stopped while sterilizing gas is supplied into the chamber; ¶ [0051], “a first decontamination is performed on object A stored in the first operation chamber 31. That is, the open-close valves 66 and 75 are open and the circulation blower 74 is actuated so that hydrogen peroxide vapor generated in the evaporator 63 is supplied to the first operation chamber 31 through the second branch passage 64b, and flows back to the evaporator 63 through the first branch passage 72a. At the same time, the air volume regulating valves 85 and 95 are closed and the air supply fan 51 and the air discharge fan 53 are stopped so that the first operation chamber 31 is maintained at a positive relative pressure controlled by the open-close operations of the pressure-adjusting valves 70 and 78. The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
provide a sterilizing gas supply system to the facility of Okura as modified, comprising a sterilizing gas supply source with lines leading to each of the rooms of the facility and leading out of the rooms to return the used sterilized gas back to its source, further provide valves for each room that the sterilizing gas line is fed to so that the supply of sterilizing gas can be selectively distributed to any of the rooms in the facility, further, during operation of sterilizing of any of the rooms within the facility, close all dampers and turn off all fans leading in and out of the selected room
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for any of the rooms within the facility to be sterilized and further the closing of the dampers in and out of the room would allow for that room to be over pressurized with the sterilizing gas, ensuring that all surfaces within the room are in contact with the gas and sterilized, improving safety and efficiency within the facility (Shomura, ¶ [0051], “The first operation chamber 31 is filled with hydrogen peroxide vapor, which acts on the object A to remove microbes adhering to a surface of the object A and also removes microbes adhering to the inner walls of the first operation chamber 31, which has been exposed to the external environment by opening the first closing member 37.”)
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL JAMES GIORDANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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