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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1: In Line 1, the Examiner assumes that “comprising.” should actually be --comprising:--.
Claim 10: In Line 1, the Examiner assumes that “comprising;” should actually be --comprising:--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hein et al. (US 2016/0202190), hereinafter Hein.
Claim 18: Hein discloses an optical analysis device (Figs. 2,6) for imaging a test sample (2), the optical analysis device comprising:
a camera (24) [0116];
a housing base (6) defining an interior volume (evident from Fig. 6) and configured to receive (at 3) the test sample (2) (“a basic housing body (6)… manifests a recess (8), the shape of which corresponds with that of the test cassette” [0109]);
a light source (26) disposed within the interior volume of the housing base (6) [0117]; and
a light chamber (evident in annotated figure below) disposed within the interior volume of the housing base (6), the light chamber defining a camera aperture (evident in annotated figure below);
wherein the camera (24) is selectively positionable (inherently positionable until a proper fit/alignment is achieved) adjacent the camera aperture of the light chamber [0116], and
wherein the light chamber is disposed between the light source (26) and the test sample (2) (evident in Fig. 6) [0117].
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annotated top portion of Fig. 6 of Hein
Claim 19: Hein further discloses wherein the light chamber comprises at least one transparent or translucent panel (apparent that at least the top panel (see annotated figure below) is transparent/translucent so that light from the source 24 is transmitted to the sample (at 3)).
Claim 20: Hein further discloses wherein the light chamber comprises at least one wall that defines a light tunnel (apparent that at least the side walls (see annotated figure below) define the light tunnel for axes 25/16).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claims 1-9: None of the prior art of record, alone or in combination, teaches or discloses an optical analysis device for imaging a test sample with a camera, comprising:
a light source disposed both within the interior volume of the housing base and radially-outwardly of the at least one wall that defines the light tunnel,
in combination with the rest of the limitations of independent claim 1.
Claims 10-17: None of the prior art of record, alone or in combination, teaches or discloses an optical analysis device for imaging a test sample, comprising:
a light source disposed both within the interior volume of the housing base and radially-outwardly of the light tunnel;
in combination with the rest of the limitations of independent claim 10.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. Mander et al. (US 9,041,920) disclose an optical analysis device (100, Fig. 1) for imaging a test sample (114, in 116) with a camera (638), comprising:
a housing base (102) defining an interior volume (102b) and configured to receive the test sample (114) (Col. 7, Lines 40-44).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to HINA F AYUB whose telephone number is (571)270-3171. The Examiner can normally be reached on 9am-5pm ET Mon-Fri.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Tarifur Chowdhury can be reached on 571-272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Hina F Ayub/
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2877