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 Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities.
It appears claim 4 should depend on claim 3 as there is no support for “the basket heater” in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
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, 5, 11-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ryan et al. (US 5,934,103), hereinafter referred to as Ryan.
With reference to claim 1, Ryan teaches a hyperpolarizer comprising: a spin exchange optical pumping cell (Fig. 3, 50, Column 4 lines 14-29); and a load-lock chamber positioned upstream of and in fluid communication with the spin exchange optical pumping cell (Fig. 3, 94, Column 6 lines 15-34), wherein the load-lock chamber is configured to hold an alkali metal source therein (Column 6 lines 15-34) for vaporization of alkali metal from the alkali metal source into a gas stream provided to the spin exchange optical pumping cell (Column 3 lines 60-64).
With reference to claim 2, Ryan further teaches the load-lock chamber is configured to have an open position and a sealably closed position, and wherein, when in the sealably closed position, the alkali metal is vaporized into the gas stream (Fig. 3, 94, Column 6 lines 15-34).
With reference to claim 5, Ryan further teaches the load-lock chamber has a first end portion that is in fluid communication with and that merges into an alkali metal vapor mixing chamber, both of which reside upstream of the spin exchange optical pumping cell (Fig. 3, are between valves 68 and 98). With reference to claim 11, Ryan further teaches an alkali metal source comprising Rubidium (Column 3 lines 58-60). With reference to claim 12, Ryan further teaches the alkali metal source comprises a plurality of tablets of Rb/Amax (Column 3 lines 58-60). With reference to claim 13, Ryan further teaches a sealed canister comprising the alkali metal source, wherein the sealed canister is configured to be opened at a use site to provide the alkali metal source for the load-lock chamber (Column 6 lines 15-31). With reference to claim 14, Ryan further teaches a pressurized gas manifold in fluid communication with the load-lock chamber and a supply of ultra-high purity nitrogen coupled to the pressurized gas manifold, wherein the hyperpolarizer is configured to direct ultra-high purity nitrogen to flow through the pressurized gas manifold and out the load-lock chamber when the load-lock chamber is in an open state for reloading alkali metal source into the load-lock chamber to thereby inhibit impurities from entering the load-lock chamber (Column 6 lines 15-34, Fig. 3, 22a).
With reference to claim 15, Ryan teaches a flow-through spin exchange optical pumping (SEOP) hyperpolarized gas production system for producing hyperpolarized gas comprising: a pressurized noble gas mixture in a gas manifold (Fig. 3, 22b); a load-lock chamber in fluid communication with the gas manifold with the pressurized noble gas mixture and configured to provide vaporized alkali metal to the pressurized noble gas mixture (Fig. 3, 94, Column 6 lines 15-34) ; and a flow-through optical pumping cell in fluid communication with the gas manifold with the pressurized gas mixture and positioned downstream of the load-lock chamber (Fig. 3, 24), wherein the flow-through optical pumping cell is configured to provide hyperpolarized noble gas (Column 3 lines 49-64).
With reference to claim 16, Ryan further teaches the hyperpolarized noble gas is hyperpolarized 129Xe gas (Column 3 lines 38-42). With reference to claim 17, Ryan further teaches an alkali metal mixing chamber in fluid communication with the load-lock chamber and positioned upstream of the flow-through optical pumping cell (Fig. 3, are between valves 68 and 98), wherein a magnetic field B0 surrounds at least part of the flow-through optical pumping cell (Column 3 lines 52-54), and wherein the load-lock chamber is positioned in or adjacent the magnetic field and comprises only non-ferromagnetic materials (Fig. 3, 94).
With reference to claim 18, Ryan teaches A method of providing alkali metal for a hyperpolarizer, comprising: providing a hyperpolarizer with a load-lock chamber, with the load-lock chamber positioned upstream of an optical pumping cell (Fig. 94); opening the load-lock chamber; inserting a solid alkali metal source into a container held inside the load-lock chamber (Column 6 lines 15-34); sealably closing the load-lock chamber with the inserted alkali metal source (Column 6 lines 15-34); then vaporizing alkali metal from the alkali metal source into a noble gas mixture stream (Column 6 lines 15-34); flowably providing the noble gas mixture stream with the vaporized alkali metal to the optical pumping cell (Column 3 line 65- Column 4 line 13); and producing at least one batch of hyperpolarized noble gas (Column 5 lines 1-14).
With reference to claim 19, Ryan further teaches opening the load-lock chamber; then inserting an additional solid alkali metal source into the container; and sealably closing the load-lock chamber with the additionally inserted solid alkali metal source and repeating the vaporizing, flowably providing and producing actions (Column 6 lines 15-34). With reference to claim 20, Ryan further teaches providing a sealed canister of the alkali metal source with the alkali metal source configured as a plurality or tablets comprising Rb (Column 6 lines 15-31).
With reference to claim 21, Ryan further teaches the load-lock chamber is coupled to a pressurized fluid flow manifold of the hyperpolarizer and remains coupled to the fluid flow manifold during the opening actions with ultra-high purity nitrogen directed to flow from the pressurized fluid flow manifold and out of the opened load-lock chamber (Column 6 lines 15-34, Fig. 3, 22a).
With reference to claim 22, Ryan further teaches the at least one batch of hyperpolarized noble gas comprises at least one bolus amount of inhalable hyperpolarized 129Xe gas (Column 3 lines 38-42).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4 and 6-10 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 does not disclose or suggest the claimed "a container holding the alkali metal source in a solid state in the load-lock chamber; and a basket heater in the load-lock chamber at least partially surrounding the container" in combination with the remaining claim elements as set forth in claims 3, 4, 9 and 10.
The prior art does not disclose or suggest the claimed "the load-lock chamber has a second end portion that comprises a first member that is sealably and releasably coupled to a second member, and wherein the second member has a closed primary surface and comprises at least one electrical feed through extending through the closed primary surface configured to couple to a power source." in combination with the remaining claim elements as set forth in claims 6-8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Freeman et al. (US 10,086,092 B2) teach a hyperpolarized noble gas production system with nanocluster suppression, detection and/or filtering and related methods and devices.
Zollinger et al. (US 6,667,008 B2) teach hyperpolarized noble gas extraction methods, masking methods, and associated transport containers.
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/GREGORY H CURRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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