DETAILED ACTION
Note: The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-5 in the reply filed on August 15, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 6-9 are withdrawn from consideration.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365 is acknowledged. The prior-filed applications (Provisional 62/951990 filed on 12/20/2019; and 17/127520 filed on 12/18/2020) are acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 15, 2026 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102(A)(1)
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 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A)(1) as being anticipated by Miller-Lionberg et al. (US PG Pub. No. 2017/0370809 A1) (hereinafter “Miller”).
Miller was cited in applicant’s IDS submitted on August 15, 2026.
With respect to claim 1, Miller teaches a thoracic inlet assembly for a portable sampling device, comprising: a housing with an upper surface (housing 12 has an upper surface; see Figs. 1A); an inlet aperture defined through the upper surface (cyclone inlet aperture 52/234); see Figs. 1D, 1E, 3H); and an inlet slot configured to function as a size-selective inlet for the inlet aperture (par.0095 “size-selective inlet (e.g., the cyclone assembly 40) through the sample device 10”; see Fig. 1B).
With respect to claim 5, Miller teaches a size-selective outlet configured to receive a sample airflow into a sampling chamber of the thoracic inlet assembly (par.0109+ “size-selective outlet 240 opens into a sample chamber”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller in view of Marple et al. (US Patent No. 5040424) (hereinafter “Marple”).
With respect to claims 2 and 3, Miller teaches a thoracic inlet assembly for a portable sampling device.
However, Miller does not teach the limitations further recited in claims 2 and 3.
Regarding claim 2, Marple teaches a flow limiter disposed on the upper surface and configured to interact with the aperture to form the inlet slot (cylindrical nozzle 38 in Fig. 1; col. 4, lines 8+ “accelerates the incoming air flow pass through nozzle 38”).
Regarding claim 3, Marple teaches wherein the flow limiter comprises: a dish portion having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a protrusion extending downward from the lower surface, wherein the protrusion is configured to be disposed at least partially within the aperture, thereby at least partially obstructing the aperture so as to create the inlet slot (conical wall 37 terminating in nozzle 38 protruding toward/into receiving tube 45; see Fig. 1).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (“PHOSITA”) when the invention was filed to modify Miller to incorporate a flow limiter, dish portion, and a protrusion, in the manner recited, for the purpose of limiting/accelerating incoming air flow, as evidence by Marple (col. 4, lines 8+).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miller and Marple, as applied to claims 1-3 above, in further view of Marple et al. (US Patent No. 6543301 B2) (hereinafter “Marple 2”).
With respect to claim 4, Miller and Marple teach a thoracic inlet assembly for a portable sampling device.
However, Miller and Marple do not teach the limitations further recited in claim 4.
Marple 2 teaches one or more shims disposed between the lower surface of the dish portion and the upper surface of the housing, the one or more shims used to configure a width of the inlet slot (col. 2, line 63+ “the nozzle plate has a series of dimples formed in it…five such dimples indicated at 38A, 38B, 38C, 38D and 38E in FIG. 3 are provided…. so that a gap will be maintained for airflow outwardly as indicated by the direction of the arrows in FIG. 3, and this flow then will be discharged out through the normal passageways indicated at 30 of the impactor”).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to PHOSITA when the invention was filed to modify Miller and Marple to incorporate one or more shims (dimples) in the manner recited in order to support the orifice plates sufficiently so that a gap will be maintained (configure a width of the inlet slot) for airflow outwardly, as evidence by Marple 2 (col. 2, line 63+).
Conclusion
No claim is allowed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PUYA AGAHI whose telephone number is (571)270-1906. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM - 5 PM.
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/PUYA AGAHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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