Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/752,507

Systems and Accessories for Optical Analysis of Samples on Portable Electronic Devices

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Jun 24, 2024
Priority
Jul 29, 2020 — provisional 63/058,159 +1 more
Examiner
FABIAN JR, ROBERTO
Art Unit
2877
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Apple Inc.
OA Round
4 (Final)
72%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
6m
Est. Remaining
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 72% — above average
72%
Career Allowance Rate
88 granted / 123 resolved
+3.5% vs TC avg
Strong +26% interview lift
Without
With
+26.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
176
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
95.2%
+55.2% vs TC avg
§102
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
§112
1.3%
-38.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 123 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered and are persuasive. This is a non-final rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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 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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu, Hongying, et al. "Optofluidic fluorescent imaging cytometry on a cell phone." Analytical chemistry 83.17 (2011): 6641-6647 (hereinafter Zhu), in view of Alt, E. et al., US 9310300 B2 (hereinafter Alt), in view of Lin, Hsing-Ying, et al. "Direct detection of orchid viruses using nanorod-based fiber optic particle plasmon resonance immunosensor." Biosensors and Bioelectronics 51 (2014): 371-378 (hereinafter Lin), and further in view of Al-Rawashdeh, Nathir, and Colby A. Foss Jr. "UV/Visible and infrared spectra of polyethylene/nanoscopic gold rod composite films: effects of gold particle size, shape and orientation." Nanostructured Materials 9.1-8 (1997): 383-386. (hereinafter Al-Rawashdeh) OR Banin, U., et al., US 9529228 B2 (hereinafter Banin), and further in view of Lee, D. et al., KR 20110027013 A (hereinafter Lee). Regarding claim 1, Zhu teaches an accessory that is operable with a portable electronic device to measure a sample on a transparent substrate that has nanostructures coated with reagent, the accessory comprising: a housing (see annotated fig. below) configured to removably couple to the portable electronic device (Fig. 1(D) has the portable cell phone), wherein the housing has a portion and configured to receive the transparent substrate (see annotated fig. below, the transparent glass is inserted to the accesory); and a light source configured to emit light into an edge of the transparent substrate to illuminate the sample (see annotated fig. 1(C) below; note that the fluorescent beads correspond to the sample) and cause the light to be extracted from the transparent substrate (see annotated fig. 1(C) below). PNG media_image1.png 434 627 media_image1.png Greyscale However, Zhu does not teach nanostructures and wherein the nanostructures comprise nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes and a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing. Alt, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches nanostructures (col 9 line 59; the nanostructure is the nanoparticle). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Alt to Zhu to have nanostructures in order to provide an improved capabilities for performing optical assays (col 3 lines 31-34). Zhu, when modified by Alt, fails to teach wherein the nanostructures comprise nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes and a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing. Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, discloses wherein the nanostructures comprise nanorods (this is “AuNR” in Fig. 2(b); Note that the dimension of the substrate of Lin is in the range of Zhu, which means the nanorods in the substrate of Lin can be integrated into Zhu device without breaking the device.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Zhu, when modified by Alt, to have wherein the nanostructures comprise nanorods in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility (Abstract lines 13-14). Zhu, when modified by Alt and Lin, fails to teach nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes and a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing. Al-Rawashdeh, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes (fig. 4 shows nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching Al-Rawashdeh to Zhu, when modified by Alt and Lin, to have nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes in order to maximize the plasmon resonance signal of the measurement. OR Banin, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes (fig. 2c shows nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching Banin to Zhu, when modified by Alt and Lin, to have nanorods with aligned longitudinal axes in order to optimize emission signal from the measurement (col 12 lines 54-56). Zhu, when modified by Alt, Lin, and Al-Rawashdeh or Banin, does not teach a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing. Lee, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing (p. 5 para 8; note the transparent substrate corresponds to the biochip 215). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching Lee to Zhu, when modified by Alt, Lin, and Al-Rawashdeh or Banin, to have a sensor configured to detect whether the transparent substrate is present within the housing in order to save electrical energy (p. 5 para 8). Regarding claim 2, Zhu does not teach the accessory of claim 1, wherein the illumination from the light source is configured to travel through the transparent substrate in a direction perpendicular to the aligned longitudinal axes. Banin, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 1, wherein the illumination from the light source is configured to travel through the transparent substrate in a direction perpendicular to the aligned longitudinal axes (this is shown if fig. 2c; note this is a general teaching). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching Banin to Zhu, when modified by Alt and Lin, to have the accessory of claim 1, wherein the illumination from the light source is configured to travel through the transparent substrate in a direction perpendicular to the aligned longitudinal axes in order to optimize emission signal from the measurement (col 12 lines 54-56). Regarding claim 3, Zhu does teach the accessory of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a first light-emitting device that emits light at a first wavelength and a second light-emitting device that emits light at a second wavelength. Alt, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 1, “wherein the light source comprises a first light-emitting device that emits light at a first wavelength and a second light-emitting device that emits light at a second wavelength” (see column 18 lines 38-41). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Alt to Zhu to have the accessory of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a first light-emitting device that emits light at a first wavelength and a second light-emitting device that emits light at a second wavelength in order to generate different light wavelength bands in the performance of optical diagnostic assays which enable performance of optical assays with apparatus attachably and removably coupled to widely conventional mobile electronic device (col 3 lines 51-54). Regarding claim 4, Zhu does teach the accessory of claim 3, wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a first plasmon resonance peak at the first wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has not reacted with the sample, and wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a second plasmon resonance peak at the second wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has reacted with the sample. Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 3, wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a first plasmon resonance peak at the first wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has not reacted with the sample (Fig. 2(b) “AuNR”), and wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a second plasmon resonance peak at the second wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has reacted with the sample (Fig. 2(b) “AuNR”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Zhu to have the accessory of claim 3, wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a first plasmon resonance peak at the first wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has not reacted with the sample, and wherein the nanostructures are configured to exhibit a second plasmon resonance peak at the second wavelength when the reagent on the nanostructures has reacted with the sample in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility, and lower detection limit than ELISA (Abstract lines 13-14). Regarding claim 5, Zhu does not teach the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanostructures and wherein the reagent comprises an antibody. Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanostructures and wherein the reagent comprises an antibody (Abstract lines 6-9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Zhu to have the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanostructures and wherein the reagent comprises an antibody in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility, and lower detection limit than ELISA (Abstract lines 13-14). Regarding claim 6, Zhu does teach the accessory of claim 5, “wherein the light source comprises first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices, and wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a first wavelength and the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength”. Alt, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 5, “wherein the light source comprises first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices, and wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a first wavelength and the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength” (see column 18 lines 38-41). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Alt to the modified of Zhu to have the accessory of claim 5, “wherein the light source comprises first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices, and wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a first wavelength and the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light at a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength” in order to generate different light wavelength bands in the performance of optical diagnostic assays which enable performance of optical assays with apparatus attachably and removably coupled to widely conventional mobile electronic device (col 3 lines 51-54). Regarding claim 8, Zhu teaches the accessory of claim 1, further comprising: a battery configured to power the light source (p. 1 col 2 para 2 lines 3-7). Regarding claim 10, Zhu teaches the accessory of claim 9, wherein the sensor comprises an optical sensor (see annotated Fig. 1 (B) above). Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu, Alt, Lin, Al-Rawashdeh OR Banin, and Lee, as applied to claim 6 above, and in view of Viegas, D. et al., US 20180143133 A1 (hereinafter Viegas), and further in view of Raring, J., US20130044782A1 (hereinafter Raring). Regarding claim 7, the modified device of Zhu fails to teach the accessory of claim 6, wherein the first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices have linewidths of less than 5 nm. Viegas, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 6, wherein the first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices (this corresponds different wavelengths of the laser, para [0094] lines 4-9). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Viegas to the modified device of Zhu to have the accessory of claim 6, wherein the first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices have linewidths of less than 5 nm in order to allow efficient detection of individual Raman modes (para [0094] lines 4-9). Zhu, when modified by Viegas, does not teach light-emitting devices have linewidths of less than 5 nm. Raring, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches light-emitting devices have linewidths of less than 5 nm (para [0009] last sentence; laser diodes is a type of semiconductor light-emitting device). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Raring to the modified device of Zhu to have light-emitting devices have linewidths of less than 5 nm in order to prevent severe image distortion in display application (para [0008] last sentence, para [0009] last sentence; replacing the laser diode of Raring to Zhu). Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu, Alt, Lin, Al-Rawashdeh OR Banin, and Lee as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jena, S. et al., US 20140072189 A1 (hereinafter Jena). Regarding claim 11, the modified device of Zhu does teach the accessory of claim 1, further comprising: a magnet configured to attract the portable electronic device. Jena, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 1, further comprising: a magnet configured to attract the portable electronic device (see Fig. 3 element 66, para [0098] last sentence). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Jena to the modified device of Zhu to have the accessory of claim 1, further comprising: a magnet configured to attract the portable electronic device in order to secure properly the alignment of the accessory to the camera of the mobile device (see para [0098] lines 9-11). Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu, Alt, Lin, Al-Rawashdeh OR Banin, and Lee as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ozcan, A. et al., US 10365214 B2 (hereinafter Ozcan). Regarding claim 12, the modified device of Zhu does teach the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanorods, wherein the light source comprises first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices, wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has not reacted with the reagent, and wherein the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has reacted with the reagent. Ozcan, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanorods (this corresponds to the gold nanoparticles both present in the sample solution and the control solution; see column 3 lines 12-16), wherein the light source comprises first (see Fig. 1A element 30, column 6 lines 9-15) and second semiconductor light-emitting devices (see Fig. 1A element 28, column 6 lines 9-15), “wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has not reacted with the reagent” (this is equated to the solid line graph, 0 nM concentration of mercury, in Fig. 9A), and “wherein the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has reacted with the reagent” (this is equivalent to all graphs in Fig. 9A that contain a certain mercury concentration). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Ozcan to the modified device of Zhu to have the accessory of claim 1, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanorods, wherein the light source comprises first and second semiconductor light-emitting devices, wherein the first semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has not reacted with the reagent, and wherein the second semiconductor light-emitting device is configured to emit light coinciding with a spectral peak in a plasmon resonance of the metal nanorods exhibited when the sample has reacted with the reagent in order to detect the mercury levels within the water (see column 1 lines 33-34). Claim(s) 13, 14, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ozcan, A. et al., US 9057702 B2 (hereinafter Aydogan) in view of Alt, and further in view of Raring. Regarding claim 13, Aydogan teaches an accessory configured to operate with an electronic device, comprising: a housing (fig. 3B “housing 52”, col 8 lines 59-62) configured to removably couple to the electronic device (fig. 4 shows “mobile device 10” attached to “housing 52”), wherein the housing has a portion configured to receive a transparent substrate (fig. 3A “66”, col 9 lines 10-13) that supports a sample (the fluorescent beads which is also the sample) and that has a peripheral edge including first and second edge surfaces (the three edge surfaces of flow cell 66 are exposed to the 3 LEDs as shown in fig. 3B); and “light sources configured to emit light into the first and second edge surfaces of the transparent substrate to illuminate the sample” (the three edge surfaces of flow cell 66 are exposed to the 3 LEDs as shown in fig. 3B) and “scatter light from the sample in a perpendicular direction relative to the emitted light towards a sensor in the electronic device” (light from the fluorescent beads travel in a perpendicular to the sensor of the mobile device 15, col 5 line 46). Aydogan, does not disclose nanostructures and wherein the light sources include at least one light-emitting diode configured to emit light that has a linewidth of less than 5 nm and a wavelength of at least 600 nm. Alt, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches nanostructures (col 9 line 59; the nanostructure is the nanoparticle). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Alt to Zhu to have nanostructures in order to provide an improved capabilities for performing optical assays (col 3 lines 31-34). `Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches wherein the light sources include at least one light-emitting diode configured to emit light that has a wavelength of at least 600 nm (see supporting, p. 2 last para). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Aydogan to have wherein the light sources include at least one light-emitting diode configured to emit light that has a wavelength of at least 600 nm in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility, and lower detection limit than ELISA (Abstract lines 13-14). Aydogan, when modified by Lin, fails to teach has a linewidth of less than 5 nm. Raring, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches has a linewidth of less than 5 nm (para [0009] last sentence; laser diodes is a type of semiconductor light-emitting device). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Raring to Aydogan to have a linewidth of less than 5 nm in order to prevent severe image distortion in display application (para [0008] last sentence, para [0009] last sentence; replacing the laser diode of Raring to Zhu). Regarding claim 14, Aydogan teaches the accessory of claim 13, wherein the light sources comprise semiconductor light-emitting devices (fig. 3B “60”, col 8 line 64). Regarding claim 15, Aydogan teaches the accessory of claim 13, wherein the peripheral edge of the transparent substrate has third and fourth edge surfaces (fig. 3A shows “66” has 4 sides), and wherein the light sources are configured to emit light into at least three of the first, second, third, and fourth edges surfaces (fig. 3B shows 3 LEDs illuminate the 3 sides of “66”). Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aydogan and Alt as applied to claim 13 above, in view of Lin, and further in view of Viegas . Regarding claim 16, Aydogan does not teach the accessory of claim 13, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanoparticles with dimensions of less than 400 nm. Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches the accessory of claim 13, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanoparticles with dimensions of less than 400 nm (p. 2 col 2 para 4 lines 23-25; note that Alt teaches nanostructures). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Aydogan to have the accessory of claim 13, wherein the nanostructures comprise metal nanoparticles with dimensions of less than 400 nm in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility, and lower detection limit than ELISA (Abstract lines 13-14). Claim(s) 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aydogan, Alt, Lin, and further in view of Ming, Kevin, et al. "Integrated quantum dot barcode smartphone optical device for wireless multiplexed diagnosis of infected patients." Acs Nano 9.3 (2015): 3060-3074 (hereinafter Ming) OR Jiang, L. et al., . CN 107132210 A (hereinafter Jiang). Regarding claim 17, Aydogan teaches a system for measuring biological samples, comprising: an electronic device with a light sensor (fig. 1A “15”, col 5 line 46); and an accessory (fig. 3B “52”, col 8 line 60), comprising: a housing configured to receive the transparent substrate (fig. 3A shows “52” housed “66”); and a “light source in the housing that is configured to emit light into a peripheral edge of the transparent substrate” (fig. 3B shows three LEDs illuminate the side of “66”) to “cause the light to scatter from the sample” (the fluorescent beads light up, col 4 lines 63-65) into the light sensor (col 4 lines 63-65). Aydogan does not teach nanostructures and a transparent substrate having nanostructures coated with reagent. Alt, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches nanostructures (col 9 line 59; the nanostructure is the nanoparticle). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Alt to Zhu to have nanostructures in order to provide an improved capabilities for performing optical assays (col 3 lines 31-34). Aydogan, when modified by Alt, does not teach a transparent substrate having nanostructures coated with reagent. Lin, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches a transparent substrate having nanostructures coated with reagent on a corrugated surface (Fig. 2(b) “AuNR-Bio”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Lin to Aydogan, when modified by Alt, to have a transparent substrate having nanostructures coated with reagent on a corrugated surface in order to provides faster analysis, better reproducibility, and lower detection limit than ELISA (Abstract lines 13-14). Aydogan, when modified by Alt and Lin, does not teach a corrugated surface. Ming, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches a corrugated surface (fig. 1 shows the surface of the chip is corrugated). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Ming to Aydogan, when modified by Alt and Lin, to have a corrugated surface in order to contain different barcodes in each well (Fig. 1 (b)). OR Jiang, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches a corrugated surface (Abstract line 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Ming to Aydogan, when modified by Alt and Lin, to have a corrugated surface in order to have good sensitivity, chemical stability and spatial uniformity, and low processing cost (Abstract last sentence). Regarding claim 19, Aydogan teaches the system of claim 18, wherein the light source comprises semiconductor light-emitting devices (fig. 3B shows 3 LEDs illuminate the 3 sides of “66”). Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aydogan, Alt, Lin, Al-Rawashdeh, and in further view of Ming or Jiang. Regarding claim 18, the modified apparatus of Aydogan fails to teach the system of wherein the nanostructures are coated on the corrugated surface and have aligned longitudinal axes. Al-Rawashdeh, from the same field of endeavor as Zhu, teaches the system of wherein the nanostructures are coated on the corrugated surface and have aligned longitudinal axes (this is shown in fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching Al-Rawashdeh to the modified apparatus of Aydogan, to have the system of wherein the nanostructures are coated on the corrugated surface and have aligned longitudinal axes in order to maximize the plasmon resonance signal of the measurement. Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aydogan, Alt, Lin, and Ming or Jiang, as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Ozcan. Regarding claim 20, Aydogan does not teach the system of claim 19, wherein the semiconductor light-emitting devices include a first semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a first wavelength and a second semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength, and wherein the light sensor is configured to measure the scattered light to detect spectral shifts in plasmon resonances of the nanostructures. Ozcan, from the same field of endeavor as Aydogan, teaches the system of claim 19, wherein the semiconductor light-emitting devices include “a first semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a first wavelength” (col 17 claim 4) and “a second semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a second wavelength” (col 17 claim 4) that is different than the first wavelength (the two LEDs have different wavelengths), and “wherein the light sensor is configured to measure the scattered light to detect spectral shifts in plasmon resonances of the nanostructures” (this is equated to the solid line graph, 0 nM concentration of mercury and that contain a certain mercury concentration, in Fig. 9A). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to apply the teaching of Ozcan to Aydogan to have the system of claim 19, wherein the semiconductor light-emitting devices include a first semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a first wavelength and a second semiconductor light-emitting device configured to emit light at a second wavelength that is different than the first wavelength, and wherein the light sensor is configured to measure the scattered light to detect spectral shifts in plasmon resonances of the nanostructures in order to detect the mercury levels within the water (see column 1 lines 33-34). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERTO FABIAN JR whose telephone number is (571)272-3632. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (8-12, 1-5). 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 at (571) 272-2287. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ROBERTO FABIAN JR/Examiner, Art Unit 2877 /MICHELLE M IACOLETTI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2877
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 24, 2024
Application Filed
Apr 21, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 21, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 26, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Nov 21, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Apr 02, 2026
Response Filed
May 27, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12601686
METHOD OF RAMAN SPECTROSPY FOR DETERMING CONCENTRATION OF A TARGET COMPONENT OF A MEDIUM INCLUDING MULTIPLE COMPONENTS
2y 4m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12555691
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING PATHOGENS USING SPECTROMETER SCANS
2y 12m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12546727
Calibration Of Parametric Measurement Models Based On In-Line Wafer Measurement Data
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 10, 2026
Patent 12516980
LASER DEVICE, EVALUATION METHOD FOR LASER LIGHT SPECTRUM, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD
2y 3m to grant Granted Jan 06, 2026
Patent 12510482
GAS ANALYZING METHOD
2y 7m to grant Granted Dec 30, 2025
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
72%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+26.2%)
2y 5m (~6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 123 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month