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
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 “cavity A has a fusiform structure and is located on one side of the liquid channel, the cavity B is arranged below the liquid channel, and a tip of the cavity A opposite to the liquid channel is communicated with the cavity B” (claim 10) 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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “the cavity A has a fusiform structure and is located on one side of the liquid channel, the cavity B is arranged below the liquid channel, and a tip of the cavity A opposite to the liquid channel is communicated with the cavity B. The cavity B is arranged below the liquid channel, the cavity B can realize signal transmission with the liquid channel via the flowing-through membrane provided on its top, and the tip of the cavity A is communicated with the cavity B, forming a sealed area as a whole and enabling the liquid storage capacity of the sealing area to be expanded to a certain extent” (¶ 0020) as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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 § 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 1-11, 14, 16-21, and 23-24 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.
Claims 1-11, 14, 16-21, and 23-24 are not clear with respect to what Applicant is claiming. The claims do not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired.
Claim 1 provides a microfluidic device comprising a body and a liquid channel provided within the body. However, the phrase “wherein [...] provided [...]” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether elements within the phrase are part of the claimed invention. The claim is further unclear reciting “an arrangement position of the fluid input port does not include the sensing area” because it is unclear what is being claimed. Claims 2-11, 14, 16-19, 21, and 23-24 are similarly unclear, or the claims are rejected based on further claim dependency.
Claim 6 is vague and unclear reciting “[...] a conductive component, and the conductive component is used to transmit electrical signals” because the claim lacks specific material of the conductive component but merely recites how the conductive component is used, thus making the claim unclear whether the conductive component is an electrically conductive material.
Claim 14 is unclear reciting “collection area inside” because it is unclear what is being claimed.
Claim 20 is unclear whether the claim is claiming dependency to claim 1. The claim is further unclear what “it” in L5 is referring to.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-11, 14, 16-21, and 23-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1/a2 as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 2021/0164587 A1; please see its PCT application PCT/CN2019/081993 (WO 2019/196850 A1) for clear figures).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches:
1. A microfluidic device, comprising
a body (e.g., 2) and a liquid channel (e.g., 401, 402, 403, 404) provided within the body (see Figs. 11-1 to 11-4 for example);
wherein a sensing area (e.g., detection area ¶ 0115) is provided on the body;
wherein a fluid input port (e.g., 111) communicated with the liquid channel is also provided on the body (see ¶ 0115 for example).
With regard to limitations in claims 1-11, 14, 16-21, and 23-24 (e.g., wherein [...] is provided [...], wherein, the body is also provided with an on-off device, and the on-off device is used to control flow and interruption of liquid within the liquid channel, etc.), these claim limitations are considered process or intended use limitations, which do not further delineate the structure of the claimed apparatus from that of the prior art. The cited prior art teaches all of the positively recited structure of the claimed apparatus. The Courts have held that a statement of intended use in an apparatus claim fails to distinguish over a prior art apparatus. See In re Sinex, 309 F.2d 488, 492, 135 USPQ 302, 305 (CCPA 1962). The Courts have held that the manner of operating an apparatus does not differentiate an apparatus claim from the prior art, if the prior art apparatus teaches all of the structural limitations of the claim. See Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (BPAI 1987). The Courts have held that apparatus claims must be structurally distinguishable from the prior art in terms of structure, not function. See In re Danley, 120 USPQ 528, 531 (CCPA 1959); and Hewlett-Packard Co. V. Bausch and Lomb, Inc., 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (see MPEP §§ 2114 and 2173.05(g)). "Expressions relating the apparatus to contents thereof during an intended operation are of no significance in determining patentability of the apparatus claim." Ex parte Thibault, 164 USPQ 666,667 (Bd. App. 1969). Furthermore, "[i]nclusion of material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims." See In re Young, 75 F.2d *>996, 25 USPQ 69 (CCPA 1935) (as restated in In re Otto, 312 F.2d 937, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963)) (see MPEP § 2115).
Regarding claims 2-11, 14, 16-21, 23-24, Zhang teaches:
2. The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein, the body is also provided with an on-off device (e.g., microvalve 8).
3. The microfluidic device according to claim 2, a flow channel (e.g., 401, 402, 403, 404).
4. The microfluidic device according to claim 3, wherein, at least one hollow sealed chamber (e.g., 8400, 8401) is also provided within the body, and a top of at least one sealed chamber is provided with a flowing-through membrane (e.g., deformable film), and the sealed chamber and the liquid channel share the flowing-through membrane (see ¶ 0003, 0104 & Figs. 11-12 for example).
5. The microfluidic device according to claim 4, wherein, at least one liquid passing port (e.g., 8400) is also provided on the body, and the liquid passing port is communicated with the sealed chamber (see ¶ 0104 & Figs. 11-12 for example).
6. The microfluidic device according to claim 5, wherein, a bottom of the sealed chamber is provided with a sealing component or a conductive component (see i.e., plastic, rubber, hydrogel or a certain elastic polymer material ¶ 0118; silicon, ceramics, glass and plastic, wherein the plastic is selected from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), cycloolefin billet polymer (COP), polyamide (PA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polycarbonate (PC), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene acetone (PEEK), polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene diethylene (PPE), polystyrene (PS), polystone (PSU), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), etc. ¶ 0119).
7. The microfluidic device according to claim 6, wherein, the sealed chamber at least comprises a cavity A and a cavity B (e.g., 8400, 8401) that are communicated with each other (see Figs. 11-12 for example).
8. The microfluidic device according to claim 7, wherein, the conductive component is provided at a bottom of the cavity A (the claim is sufficiently broad to have read on ¶ 0118-0119 & Figs. 11-17 for example).
9. The microfluidic device according to claim 8, wherein, the flowing-through membrane is provided at a top of the cavity B, and a bottom of the cavity B is provided with the sealing component (the claim is sufficiently broad to have read on ¶ 0118-0119 & Figs. 11-17 for example).
10. The microfluidic device according to claim 7, wherein, the cavity A has a fusiform structure and is located on one side of the liquid channel, the cavity B is arranged below the liquid channel, and a tip of the cavity A opposite to the liquid channel is communicated with the cavity B (see Figs. 5-7, 12-13, 17-19 & ¶ 0029 for example).
11. The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein, a fluid storage device (e.g., 11, 12) is provided at the fluid input port in a cooperation and communication manner, a top end of the fluid storage device opens an opening, and a bottom end of the fluid storage device is communicated with the fluid input port (see Figs. 11-1 to 11-4 for example).
14. The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein, the body is also provided with a collection area (e.g., 11, 12), the collection area is communicated with a rear end of the liquid channel, and a liquid discharge port is opened above the collection area (see Figs. 11-1 to 11-4 for example).
16. The microfluidic device according to claim 1, wherein, the body comprises an upper plate and a lower plate that are connected to each other, and the liquid channel is a cavity formed between the upper plate and the lower plate, wherein a bottom of the liquid channel is a portion of an upper surface of the lower plate, and a top of the liquid channel is a portion of a lower surface of the upper plate (see Figs. 11 & 16 for example).
17. The microfluidic device according to claim 16, wherein, an area of the upper plate corresponding to the position of the sensing area is recessed toward the lower plate; an area of the lower plate corresponding to the position of the sensing area is hollowed-out (see Figs. 11 & 16 for example).
18. The microfluidic device according to claim 14, wherein, an air vent is provided (see ¶ 0104 for example).
19. The microfluidic device according to claim 11, wherein, a control valve (e.g., 8) is provided between the fluid input port and the fluid storage device (see Figs. 1, 2, 11 for example).
20. A microfluidic detection device comprising the microfluidic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a sensing device (e.g., detector) connected to the body and corresponding to the sensing area (¶ 0115).
21. The microfluidic detection device according to claim 20, wherein, a sealing element (e.g., 8) is provided between the sensing device and the body; the sensing device is detachably connected with the lower plate; the sealing element is detachably connected with the sensing device (see ¶ 0100-0101+ for example).
23. The microfluidic detection device according to claim 21, wherein, the sensing device comprises a carrier plate (see Figs. 11 & 16 for example).
24. The microfluidic detection device according to claim 23, wherein, the sealing element is a sealing sheet, and a through hole is opened in the sealing sheet, wherein the liquid channel and the sensing chip are communicated via the through hole (see ¶ 0003, Figs. 11 & 16 for example ).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEAN KWAK whose telephone number is (571)270-7072. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH, 4:30 am - 2:30 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CHARLES CAPOZZI can be reached at (571)270-3638. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEAN KWAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1798
DEAN KWAK
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1798
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