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) 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2018/0078582 to Min et al. (Min).
In Reference to Claim 16
Min discloses:
A dual pump harvesting apparatus, comprising a first pump 48 and a second pump 50, wherein one end of the first pump is connected to an initial sample container and an other end of the first pump is connected to a centrifugal container 54;
one end of the second pump 50 is connected to the centrifugal container and an other end of the second pump is connected to an intermediate container and a waste liquid container, see paragraph [0044];
It should be appreciated that the applicant’s functional language in the claims does not serve to impart patentability. While features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. Apparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does. A claim containing a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus if the prior apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claims. See MPEP 2114. Furthermore, Min is capable of performing the claimed function.
Min discloses a controller capable of performing the functional language of a flow rate difference between the second pump and the first pump during concentration is set to be a flow rate threshold, and
a flow rate of the second pump is higher than that of the first pump to perform a continuous flow concentration.
In Reference to Claim 17
Min discloses:
A cell formulating system, wherein the cell formulating system comprises the dual pump harvesting apparatus according to claim 16.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claims 1-15 are allowed primarily because the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
Furthermore, the prior art of record does not teach “setting a flow rate difference between the first pump and the second pump to be a flow rate threshold, and setting a flow rate of the second pump to be higher than that of the first pump to perform a continuous flow concentration.” as within the context of the claimed invention as disclosed and within the context of the other limitations present in claim 1;
Therefore, the prior art of record cannot anticipate Applicant’s claimed invention by a single reference nor render Applicant’s claimed invention obvious by the combination of more than one reference.
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.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO whose telephone number is (571)270-3452. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00.
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, Mark III Laurenzi can be reached on (571) 270-7878. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY AYALA DELGADO/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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