NON-FINAL 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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10 December 2025 has been entered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s argument regarding whether Pogén’s channels are described as liquid drainage channels have been considered. However, the present rejection is under 35 U.S.C. 103, and Pogén is applied for its structural teaching of a fixed disc and vanes defining radially inward channels to a central outlet region. Todteberg teaches managing airflow for cooling, as discussed in the rejections below.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 30 June 2025. These drawings are acceptable.
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.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Todteberg et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,079,195, hereinafter Todteberg) in view of WO 2022/223222 (Pogén).
Regarding claim 1, Todteberg discloses a centrifuge (“laboratory centrifuge”, col. 1 line 36) with a rotor chamber (“housing”, col. 1 line 56) containing a rotor (3, Fig. 1) rotationally driven by a shaft defining a rotational axis (2, Fig. 1), and wherein the centrifuge comprises: an air inlet (inherently and necessarily present for “replacing at least some of said warm air with cooler, fresh air, col. 3 line 61) formed in the rotor chamber and an air outlet (inherently and necessarily present for “discharging warm air into the surrounding atmosphere, col. 3 line 60) formed in the rotor chamber, wherein the rotor comprises at least one receptacle (holders 4, Fig. 1), wherein the at least receptacle is configured to receive a sample container (“receptacles filled with a substance mixture”, col. 2 line 60-61), but does not disclose wherein the rotor is axially arranged between the air inlet and the air outlet, and wherein the rotor is characterized in that a rotationally fixed air cut disc is arranged within the rotor chamber between the air outlet and the rotor and the air cut disc defines an air flow channel from a radially outer perimeter of the air cut disc radially inwardly towards a centre position of the air cut disc.
Pogén discloses analogous art related to fluid flow management within a centrifuge rotor chamber, wherein the rotor (rotating member 7, Fig. 1) is axially arranged between the air inlet (gas inlet 20, Fig. 1) and the air outlet (drainage outlet 29, Fig. 1), and wherein the rotor is characterized in that a rotationally fixed air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1) is arranged within the rotor chamber between the air outlet and the rotor and the air cut disc defines an air flow channel (individual drainage channels 41, Fig. 3 and 5) from a radially outer perimeter of the air cut disc radially inwardly towards a centre position (where outlet 29 is located) of the air cut disc (Fig. 1, 3 and 5). It would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the centrifuge of Todteberg with the disc and channel arrangement of Pogén for the purpose of fluid flow control from a radially outer position of the casing to the outlet arranged at a radially inner position (page 6 lines 11-19, Pogén) and for managing airflow for cooling for the rotor as well as for the housing in which the rotor is accommodated (col. 1 line 40 – col. 2 line 3, Todteberg). Combining known centrifuge structural elements (stationary disc and radially inward channels) as taught by Pogén in a known laboratory centrifuge rotor environment of Todteberg to yield predictable flow control results without changing the principle of operation of either reference is consistent with KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007), Example A.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) is concentrically arranged with the rotational axis (X, Fig. 1, Pogén) and the air cut disc has one or more one air baffles (guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the one or more one air baffles (guiding vanes 40, Pogén) are in a spiral arrangement, and the one or more the air baffles are tangential to an outer perimeter of the air cut disc (page 16 lines 7-11, Fig. 3, Pogén).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the one or more air baffles (guiding vanes 40, Pogén) have engagement features for a torque-proof connection of the air cut disc with the rotor chamber (page 17 lines 4-23; vanes 40 are formed on the lower end wall 6 of the stationary casing 2, and disc 50 is welded to the vanes 40, Pogén).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) has a through-opening arranged at the centre portion of the air cut disc and shaft (spindle 8, Fig. 1, Pogén) passes through the through-opening (shaft casing for spindle 8 passes through the through-opening in Fig. 1, Pogén).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air inlet (gas inlet 20, Fig. 1, Pogén) and/or the air outlet (drainage outlet 29, Fig. 1, Pogén) are in concentric arrangement with the rotational axis (Fig. 1, Pogén).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air inlet (gas inlet 20, Fig. 1, Pogén), the air outlet (drainage outlet 29, Fig. 1, Pogén), the rotor (rotating member 7, Fig. 1, Pogén), the rotor chamber (casing 2, Fig. 1, Pogén) and the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) form an air flow path from the air inlet arranged in a lid (corresponds to upper end wall 5, Pogén) of the centrifuge, through a gap between the rotor outer perimeter and an axial wall of the rotor chamber over the air flow channel (individual drainage channels 41, Fig. 3 and 5, Pogén) defined by the air cut disc to the air outlet arranged in a bottom portion of the rotor chamber (see Fig. 1, there is an uninterrupted flow path for gas extending in the same manner as the claimed configuration, Pogén).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) separates radially inwardly guided air between the air cut disc and a bottom portion (lower end wall 6, Fig. 1, Pogén) of the chamber from the rotor (Fig. 1, Pogén).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein an outer perimeter of the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) corresponds to a lower outer rotation perimeter of the rotor (rotating member 7, Fig. 1, Pogén).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air outlet (drainage outlet 29, Fig. 1, Pogén) lies on a perimeter with respect to the rotor chamber (casing 2, Fig. 1, Pogén), wherein this perimeter is smaller than the rotation perimeter of the rotor (rotating member 7, Pogén) (Fig. 1 clearly shows the perimeter of the drainage outlet 29 to be smaller than the perimeter of the rotating member 7, Pogén).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air outlet (drainage outlet 29, Fig. 1, Pogén) is an annular opening which is radially outwardly limited by the rotor chamber (casing 2, Fig. 1, Pogén) and radially inwardly limited by a shaft casing of the centrifuge (casing for spindle 8, see annotated Fig. 1 below, Pogén).
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Regarding claim 12, the combination of Todteberg and Pogén discloses wherein the air cut disc (radial disc element 50 and guiding vanes 40, Fig. 1, Pogén) protrudes radially between the bottom portion (lower end wall 6, Fig. 1, Pogén) of the rotor chamber (casing 2, Fig. 1, Pogén) and the rotor (rotating member 7, Fig. 1, Pogén).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 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, because the prior art does not teach or suggest the air cut disc is in axial contact with the shaft casing of the centrifuge; wherein the centrifuge further comprises a lid and the air cut disc is arranged between the rotor and the lid, wherein the air inlet is arranged in a bottom portion of the rotor chamber and the air outlet is arranged in the lid of the centrifuge.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHUYI S LIU whose telephone number is (571)272-0496. The examiner can normally be reached MON - FRI 9:30AM - 2:30PM EST.
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/Shuyi S. Liu/Examiner, Art Unit 1774