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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takahashi et al. (Pub. No. WO 2021/053865 A1, for which the national stage entry publication US 2022/0344140 A1 is being relied upon as an accurate translation; hereafter Takahashi).
Regarding claim 1, P1 discloses an ion analyzer which dissociates an ion originating from a sample by bringing a radical into contact with the ion within a reaction chamber, the ion analyzer comprising: a generation chamber which communicates with the reaction chamber and into which a source gas from which the radical is to be generated is introduced (see P1 Fig. 1, item 51); a power supplier configured to supply electric power for generating an electric discharge within the generation chamber (see P1 Fig. 1, item 54); a source-gas supplier configured to supply the source gas to the generation chamber (see P1 Fig. 1, items 52 and 53); and a controller configured to control the source-gas supplier and the power supplier (see P1 Fig. 1, item 72) so as to perform, in a switchable manner, a radical introduction mode in which a supply of electric power to the generation chamber is performed while the source gas is supplied to the generation chamber for supplying the radical to the reaction chamber (see P1 paragraph [0063] “the first gas is supplied from the first gas supply source 52 to the radical generation chamber 51 of the radical generation/irradiation unit 5. Then, radio-frequency power (microwave) is supplied from the radio-frequency plasma source 54 to the spiral antenna 552, and radicals are generated inside the radical generation chamber 51.”), and a source-gas-only introduction mode in which the supply of electric power to the generation chamber is not performed while the source gas is supplied to the generation chamber for supplying the source gas to the reaction chamber (see P1 paragraph [0068] “When the user selects the second operation mode, the operation mode selection unit 92 displays selection screens of the normal mode and the short-time mode on the display unit 99. When the user selects the normal mode, the valve 59 is opened, and the second gas is fed into the tubular body 551. The valve 59 is opened for a predetermined time, during which the second gas continues to flow inside the tubular body 551. Alternatively, waiting may be performed for a predetermined time in a state where the air inside the tubular body 551 is replaced with the second gas.” Note that in the second mode, the power from the radio-frequency plasma source is not supplied, in contrast with the first mode.).
Regarding claim 5, P1 discloses the ion analyzer according to claim 1, wherein: the source-gas supplier includes a gas regulator configured to regulate a flow rate of a flow of the source gas supplied to a gas passage connected to the generation chamber or allow/block the flow of the source gas to the gas passage (see P1 Fig. 1, valve 59), and the controller is configured to control the gas regulator so as to perform a tube gas removal mode in which the flow of the source gas is supplied to the gas passage in the gas regulator until a predetermined condition is satisfied (see P1 paragraph [0068] “waiting may be performed for a predetermined time in a state where the air inside the tubular body 551 is replaced with the second gas.”).
Regarding claim 6, P1 discloses an ion analyzing method which includes introducing a radical generated within a generation chamber into a reaction chamber and dissociating an ion originating from a sample by bringing the radical into contact with the ion within the reaction chamber, the ion analyzing method comprising: a first step for performing an analysis under a condition under which a source gas from which the radical is to be generated can be changed to the radical and the radical can be supplied to the reaction chamber, by supplying the source gas to the generation chamber and supplying electric power for generating an electric discharge to the generation chamber (see P1 paragraph [0063] “the first gas is supplied from the first gas supply source 52 to the radical generation chamber 51 of the radical generation/irradiation unit 5. Then, radio-frequency power (microwave) is supplied from the radio-frequency plasma source 54 to the spiral antenna 552, and radicals are generated inside the radical generation chamber 51.”); and a second step for performing an analysis under a condition under which the source gas cannot be changed to the radical and the source gas can be supplied to the reaction chamber, by supplying the source gas to the generation chamber without supplying the electric power to the generation chamber (see P1 paragraph [0068] “When the user selects the second operation mode, the operation mode selection unit 92 displays selection screens of the normal mode and the short-time mode on the display unit 99. When the user selects the normal mode, the valve 59 is opened, and the second gas is fed into the tubular body 551. The valve 59 is opened for a predetermined time, during which the second gas continues to flow inside the tubular body 551. Alternatively, waiting may be performed for a predetermined time in a state where the air inside the tubular body 551 is replaced with the second gas.” Note that in the second mode, the power from the radio-frequency plasma source is not supplied, in contrast with the first mode.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 7-9 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOAM S REISNER whose telephone number is (571)270-7542. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:30PM.
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, STEPHANIE BLOSS can be reached at 571-272-3555. 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.
/NOAM REISNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852 9/2/2026
Prosecution Insights