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) 1, 2, 4-12, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shoykhet (U.S. 2021/0055269).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Shoykhet teaches a sample separation apparatus 10 for separating a fluidic sample, the sample separation apparatus comprising: a fluid drive arrangement comprising a first fluid drive unit 102 and a second fluid drive unit 104 configured to drive a mobile phase along a flow path 108 to a sample separation unit 30; a sample accommodation volume 106 configured to accommodate the fluidic sample; and a control unit 70 configured to control respective operations of the fluid drive units, and to control a fluidically decoupling of the second fluid drive unit from the flow path in a decoupled operation mode of the sample separation apparatus (see para. 0103, ‘The control unit 70, which may be a processor and which may be configured for controlling the entire operation of the sample separation apparatus 10, may be configured for pressure decoupling a respective one of the fluid drive units 102, 104 from the flow path 108 in one operation mode of the sample separation apparatus 10 to enable the at least one pressure-decoupled fluid drive unit 102, 104 to pressurize the sample accommodation volume 106 before fluidically coupling the sample accommodation volume 106 with the flow path 108’), wherein the control unit 70 is further configured to control, in the decoupled operation mode, the decoupled second fluid drive unit for: fluidically coupling to the sample accommodation volume; and intaking sample into the sample accommodation volume (see para. 0103, ‘The control unit 70, which may be a processor and which may be configured for controlling the entire operation of the sample separation apparatus 10, may be configured for pressure decoupling a respective one of the fluid drive units 102, 104 from the flow path 108 in one operation mode of the sample separation apparatus 10 to enable the at least one pressure-decoupled fluid drive unit 102, 104 to pressurize the sample accommodation volume 106 before fluidically coupling the sample accommodation volume 106 with the flow path 108’; see para. 0105, ‘it is possible according to an exemplary embodiment to temporarily decouple one of the fluid drive units 102, 104 out of the flow path 108 and to fluidically disconnect the fluid drive units 102, 104 from one another so that a pressure-decoupled fluid drive unit (for instance 104) can be temporarily used to bring the fluidic sample in the sample accommodation volume 106 from ambient pressure to system pressure of 1000 bar’).
Regarding claim 2, Shoykhet further teaches comprising at least one of: wherein, in the decoupled operation mode, the first fluid drive unit 102 is coupled to the separation unit 30; wherein, in the decoupled operation mode, the second fluid drive unit 104 is decoupled from the separation unit (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 4, Shoykhet further teaches wherein the control unit 70 is further configured to, in the decoupled operation mode, at least partially block a sample flow path, which leads from the second fluid drive unit 104 through the sample accommodation unit 106 in a process direction downstream of the sample accommodation unit, to thereby compress the fluidic sample (see figure 4; see para. 0113, ‘For such operation, the fluidic valve 112 may be switched into a position, such that the sample accommodation volume 106 is connected to the fluid drive unit 104 via corresponding fluidic channels, whereas the other end of the sample accommodation volume 106 may be blocked, thus enabling pressurization process when pushing additional solvent by the fluid drive unit 104 in or towards the other end of the sample accommodation volume 106’).
Regarding claim 5, Shoykhet further teaches wherein the control unit 70 is further configured to control a coupling between the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit, in a coupled operation mode, and the first fluid drive unit 102 and the second fluid drive unit 104 are fluidically coupled with each other (see figure 2; see para. 0109, ‘According to FIG. 2, the control unit 70 is configured for switching the fluid drive units 102, 104 into an operation mode in which each of the fluid drive units 102, 104 is fluidically coupled with the flow path 108 and is configured for supplying a respective one of a plurality of solvents A, B to be mixed at a mixing point 116 with the respectively other solvent(s) B, A to provide the mobile phase in the flow path 108’).
Regarding claim 6, Shoykhet further teaches at least one of: wherein, in the coupled operation mode, the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit are pressure-coupled with each other (see para. 0025, ‘the sample separation apparatus comprises a pressure coupling or decoupling unit (in particular a valve, more particularly a check valve or an active valve, e.g. a rotary valve) between the one cylinder-piston unit and the other cylinder-piston unit for selectively pressure coupling or pressure decoupling the one cylinder-piston unit with regard to the other cylinder-piston unit. In particular, the pressure coupling or decoupling unit may be controllable by the control unit’); wherein, in the decoupled operation mode, the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit are pressure-decoupled from each other (see para. 0094, ‘at least two fluid drive units (such as pumps like piston pumps) for driving solvent may be temporarily pressure-separated from one another’); wherein the first fluid drive unit is coupled in a high-pressure path (see para. 0102, ‘drive units 102, 104 (each configured as high-pressure pump)’, so when unit 104 Is de-coupled, unit 102 is still configured for ‘high-pressure’); wherein the second fluid drive unit is coupled in a normal-pressure path.
Regarding claim 7, Shoykhet further teaches wherein, in the coupled operation mode, a mobile phase is drawn by the first fluid drive unit from a solvent container, and then streamed to the second fluid drive unit (see para. 0022, ‘serially coupled’).
Regarding claim 8, Shoykhet further teaches wherein, in the coupled operation mode, the mobile phase is streamed, in a process direction downstream of the fluid drive arrangement, through the sample accommodation unit, thereby taking up the fluidic sample accommodated in the sample accommodation unit (see figure 2a).
Regarding claim 9, Shoykhet further teaches wherein the sample accommodation unit is configured as one of: a sample loop; a multi-sample storage; a sampler; an autosampler; an injection needle 91; wherein the sample accommodation volume is configured to be selectively fluidically coupleable with the flow path or fluidically de-coupleable from the flow path (see figure 2; see para. 0102, ‘The sample accommodation volume 106 may also be denoted as sample introduction unit, and may for instance be a sample loop, an injection valve, an autosampler, etc.’).
Regarding claim 10, Shoykhet further teaches at least one of: wherein the first fluid drive unit and/or the second drive unit comprises two or more pump units connected to a common motion source; wherein the first fluid drive unit is arranged in a process direction upstream of the second fluid drive unit (see figure 12); wherein the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit are fluidically coupled with each other in series; wherein the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit are fluidically coupled with each other in parallel (see para. 0022, ‘the fluid drive arrangement comprises a plurality of serially coupled and/or parallel coupled functionally cooperating fluid drive units for driving the mobile phase before injecting the fluidic sample from the sample accommodation volume in the flow path’).
Regarding claim 11, Shoykhet further teaches further comprising a switching unit arranged in a process direction between the first fluid drive unit and the second fluid drive unit, and coupled to the control unit 70, wherein the control unit is configured to switch between a coupled operation mode and the decoupled operation mode by the switching unit (0115, ‘The mentioned switching operation may bring the sample separation apparatus 10 in an operation mode in which one fluid drive unit 102 drives a solvent A as mobile phase along the flow path 108 and into the sample separation unit 30, and the other fluid drive unit 104 pre-pressurizes the sample accommodation volume 106 being presently fluidically decoupled from the flow path 108’).
Regarding claim 12, Shoykhet further teaches wherein the sample separation device is free of a metering device (see para. 0097, ‘since in instruments used for these purposes no metering pump may be present which can be otherwise used for pre-pressurizing the sample accommodation volume’).
Regarding claim 17, Shoykhet further teaches wherein the control unit is further configured to control: pressurizing the sample accommodation volume before fluidically coupling the sample accommodation volume with the flow path, wherein the pressurizing is done while the first fluid drive unit is operating; and de-pressurizing the sample accommodation volume after fluidically coupling the sample accommodation volume with the flow path for preparing a subsequent intake of fluidic sample in the sample accommodation volume, wherein the de-pressurizing is done while the first fluid drive unit is operating (see claim 1).
Regarding claim 18, wherein the sample separation device is configured as a fluidic chromatography device (see para. 0009, ‘In the context of this application, the term “sample separation apparatus” may particularly denote any apparatus which is capable of separating different fractions of a fluidic sample by applying a certain separation technique, in particular liquid chromatography’).
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.
Claim(s) 13 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shoykhet in view of Morgart et al. (U.S. 5,171,134, hereafter referred to as Morgart).
Regarding claims 13 and 16, Shoykhet does not explicitly teach a damper configured to damp flow pulsation in the flow path.
Morgart teaches that it was well known in the art to include a pulse dampener (12, 14, 18, 22) in a chromatography system in order to damp flow pulsation in the flow path; Morgart further teaches that ‘known pulse dampeners are constructed with a cover and body separated by an elastic membrane…the body has a cavity which contains a dampening fluid.’ (see ‘Background Information’).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the device of Shoykhet with the teaching of Morgart in order to smooth the flow of the mixture through the system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 14 and 15 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 JAMEL E WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)270-7027. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm.
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/JAMEL E WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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