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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 2 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Makarov, et al (U.S. Patent 11,133,162 B2).
Regarding claim 2, Makarov discloses a gas analyzing apparatus comprising:
A plasma generator (65) and an electron impact ion source (110) as ionization devices that are configured to generate an ion flow of a sample gas;
An analyser (100) that is configured to analyze the ion flow supplied from the ionization devices (Fig. 1);
A first sample inlet (30) that is configured to supply the sample gas to the plasma generator; and
A second sample inlet (75) that is configured to supply the sample gas to the electron impact ion source.
Regarding claim 5, Makarov discloses a split-flow type exhaust system that includes a first stage to supply a negative pressure to a chamber of the plasma generator and a second stage to exhaust gas from the analyzer (column 7, lines 34-37).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The prior art fails to teach opening, when an internal pressure of the process chamber is high, the first sample inlet, closing the second sample inlet, deactivating the electron impact ion source and generating a plasma by the plasma generator; and closing, when the internal pressure of the process chamber is low, the first sample inlet, opening the second sample inlet, and activating the electron impact ion source.
Makarov does not teach closing either the first inlet or the second inlet at any time; in fact, if either inlet were to be closed in Makarov’s apparatus, no sample would reach the analyzer and the apparatus would not work.
Claims 3 and 4 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to teach the apparatus further comprising a controller that is configured to switch the first sample inlet and the second sample inlet. As described above, closing either sample inlet in Makarov’s apparatus would render it non-functional..
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.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL P MASKELL whose telephone number is (571)270-3210. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10A-6P.
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/MICHAEL MASKELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2878 08 August 2026
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