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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/21/2024, 10/28/2024, and 4/2/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
Claims 1-13 are pending and being examined.
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.
Claim 1 is 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) “determine a first output of the sensing circuitry, wherein the first output corresponds to a first voltage difference between the first circuit branch and the second circuit branch in response to the working voltage…”, “determine a second output of the sensing circuitry, wherein the second output corresponds to a second voltage difference between the first circuit branch and the second circuit branch in response to the stimulate voltage…”, and “calculate the compensated reading of the system based at least in part on the first output and the second output…”.
The limitations of “determin[ing] a first output of the sensing circuitry, wherein the first output corresponds to a first voltage difference between the first circuit branch and the second circuit branch in response to the working voltage”, “determin[ing] a second output of the sensing circuitry, wherein the second output corresponds to a second voltage difference between the first circuit branch and the second circuit branch in response to the stimulate voltage”, and “calculate[ing] the compensated reading of the system based at least in part on the first output and the second output” are processes that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, cover mathematical concepts such as mathematical relationships and mathematical calculations. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers mathematical calculations, then it falls within the “Mathematical Concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. Therefore, the claim recites an abstract idea. See MPEP § 2106.04(a)(2).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The claim recites additional elements of “a second supply of a stimulate voltage to the sensing circuitry, wherein the stimulate voltage is lower than the working voltage…”; “a detector element and a compensator element coupled to the first branch, wherein the working voltage causes the gaseous substance to react on the detector and the stimulate voltage causes the gaseous substance to remain inert on the detector element” and “wherein the compensated reading corresponds to a concentration level of a gaseous substance in contact with the sensing circuitry”. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. The additional elements amount to no more than a high-level of generality such that they amount to no more than mere data gathering steps linked to the judicial exception. Accordingly, these additional elements do not integrate the abstract ideas into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract ideas as they are insignificant extra-solution activity. MPEP § 2106.05(g). The claims do not invoke any of the considerations that courts have identified as provided significantly more than an exception. Even when viewed as a combination, the additional elements fail to transform the exception into a patent-eligible application of that exception. Thus, claim 1 as a whole does not amount to significantly more than the exception itself. The claims are not patent eligible.
Claims 2-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as dependent thereon and also do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more or integrate the exception into a practical application. Appropriate correction is requested.
If Applicant believes that the instant invention pertains to an improvement in technology, then Examiner suggests pointing out exactly which elements lead to the technological improvement and ensuring that the claim recites those elements that lead to the technological improvement. When relying upon an improvement in technology as integrating the abstract idea into a particular practical application, the claim must be evaluated to ensure that the claim reflects the improvement in technology. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp., 838 F.3d 1307, 1316, 120 USPQ2d 1353, 1359 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The claim must include the components or steps of the invention that provide the improvement described in the specification. See also MPEP 2106.05(a) and MPEP 2106.04(d)(1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Austin Q Le whose telephone number is (571)272-7556. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.
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/A.Q.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1796
/MATTHEW D KRCHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1796
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