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 § 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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 9-16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clement et al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,737,151, hereinafter Clement) in view of Piehl et al. (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0144057, hereinafter Piehl).
With respect to Claim 1, Clement discloses a sampling device [see fig 1 unless otherwise noted] for assisting with an air sampling process, the device comprises:
(a) a channel [fig 1 shows the channel that syringe barrel 2 rest in] formed in a base [22] configured to support a syringe [fig 1 has the outline of the syringe; fig 9 shows more details of the syringe];
(b) a lever [34] and a clamp [26] extending from the base configured for actuating the syringe [fig 7 shows how the lever interacts to actuate the syringe]; and
(d) a restrictor configured to connect to a sampling component, the restrictor defining an orifice to regulate flow rate and volume of a desired sample entering the sampling component [fig 9, the tip of barrel 2 has an orifice that is able to connect to a sampling tube];
wherein the lever is configured to create a pulling force on the sampling component [see fig 7, pulls in one direction, pushes in the other].
Clement does not disclose (c) a lever stop positioned within the channel and protruding outwardly to engage the lever and configured to prevent the lever from moving forward.
Piehl discloses a similar device that actuates a syringe [see fig 31 and para 200] that shows using stop pin 359 as a lever lock.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Clement to have a lever stop positioned within the channel and protruding outwardly to engage the lever and configured to prevent the lever from moving forward for the benefit of being able to lock the lever, thus preventing accidental actuation.
With respect to Claim 2, Clement discloses that the syringe [fig 9] includes a barrel [2] and a plunger [4] within the barrel and a hub [protrusion at the tip of barrel] configured to extend out from the base in a linear direction to access the sampling component.
With respect to Claim 3, Clement discloses that the lever is configured to initiate movement of the plunger in a linear direction [clear from fig 7].
With respect to Claim 4, Clement discloses that the plunger [4] includes a flange [10] accessible by the clamp to initiate movement of the plunger in a linear direction [fig 9 best shows the details of the plunger and the flange, fig 7 shows how flange 10 attaches to clamp 26].
With respect to Claim 7, Clement discloses that the base [22] is configured to rest on a flat surface [flat surface shown in fig 4] to stabilize the syringe [fig 9] during use.
With respect to Claim 9, Clement discloses that the syringe is configured to fit and slide within the channel [see fig 7, elements 4, 5 and 10 slide].
With respect to Claim 10, Clement discloses further comprising a guide structure [portion of 12 that partially surrounds the syringe and portion of 26 that surrounds the actuated end of the syringe] extending from the base and defining a stabilization pathway for the syringe to restrict lateral or rotational displacement during operation.
With respect to Claim 11, Clement discloses that the guide structure is a guide bridge [in para 30 of the applicant’s specification, the guide bridge is said to prevent the syringe from lifting out and to help the syringe maintain linear position in use. The portion of 26 that goes over the top of the syringe achieves both feats and thus can be considered a guide bridge].
With respect to Claim 12, Piehl’s level stop is configured to engage a locking feature of the lever [para 200 and fig 31]. It isn’t clear if Piehl’s level stop is detachable. It would be desirable to make the lever stop removable for the benefit of being able to replace a broken stop or to prevent accidental locking during use, therefore it would have been obvious to make the level stop detachable for this purpose. See MPEP 2144.04-V-C.
With respect to Claim 13, Clement discloses that the channel is a linear channel and the lever is configured to cause linear motion of a plunger of the syringe [the channel is the portion of 22 that the plunger sits in, and linear motion is best seen in fig 7].
With respect to Claim 14, Clement discloses that the clamp [26] is configured to engage a flange [10] of a plunger of the syringe. Best seen in fig 7.
With respect to Claim 15, Clement discloses that the lever [34] is connected to the clamp [26] by a connector [42] configured to coordinate motion and facilitate uniform actuation of a plunger of the syringe. Best seen in fig 7.
With respect to Claim 16, Piehl discloses that the lever stop is positioned to interact with a locking feature on the lever configured for preventing undesired forward movement of the lever and enabling control over the syringe [see figure 31 and para 200; stop pin 359].
With respect to Claim 18, Clement discloses that the pulling force is a vacuum force [this is how syringes function].
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clement and Piehl in further view of Albright et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,106,835, hereinafter Albright).
With respect to Claim 5, Clement doesn’t disclose a volume of the syringe and Piehl discloses 5-30 ml [para 14] but suggests other volumes [para 33].
While neither specifically discloses that the syringe is configured to pull 150 ml volume of sample, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to choose a syringe size based on the task at hand.
Albright discloses an example of a VOC sampling syringe that has a volume of 150 ml. See column 18, lines 42-43.
Claims 6, 8, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Clement and Piehl in further view of Overton et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,611,846, hereinafter Overton).
With respect to Claim 6, neither Clement and Piehl disclose that the syringe is attached to and thus don’t disclose that the sampling component is a sorbent tube configured to form a seal with the syringe during use.
Overton discloses a chromatograph that analyzes soil VOCs [column 16, line 23], whereby the sample is added via a syringe [column 8, lines 15-16] that is connected to a sorbent tube concentrator [column 14, line 14- column 15, line 3].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the sampling device from the combination of Clement and Piehl as the syringe in Overton’s chromatographic analyzer for the benefit of being able to easily and accurately actuate the syringe.
With respect to Claim 8, neither Clement nor Piehl disclose that the base and syringe are configured to engage a sorbent tube for pulling a SVOC or VOC sample from soil.
Overton discloses a chromatograph that analyzes soil VOCs [column 16, line 23], whereby the sample is added via a syringe [column 8, lines 15-16] that is connected to a sorbent tube concentrator [column 14, line 14- column 15, line 3].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the sampling device from the combination of Clement and Piehl as the syringe in Overton’s chromatographic analyzer for the benefit of being able to easily and accurately actuate the syringe.
With respect to Claim 17, neither Clement nor Piehl disclose further comprising a coupling interface configured to facilitate secure attachment of a hub of the syringe to a sampling component.
Overton discloses a chromatograph that analyzes soil VOCs [column 16, line 23], whereby the sample is added via a syringe [column 8, lines 15-16] that is connected to a sorbent tube concentrator [column 14, line 14- column 15, line 3; this is a sampling component] via a coupling interface [connector 338, see fig 5a and column 8, lines 6-17].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the sampling device from the combination of Clement and Piehl as the syringe in Overton’s chromatographic analyzer, which would result in the hub of the syringe being coupled to the sorbent tube via a coupling interface, for the benefit of being able to easily and accurately actuate the syringe.
With respect to Claim 19, Clement discloses a method of air sampling using a sampling component, the method comprising:(a) providing an air sampling device [fig 1; note that pushing the level in one direction injects, while the other direction withdrawals] comprising:
(i) a channel [portion of 22 that holds syringe] formed in a base [22] configured to support a syringe [outline of syringe barrel seen in fig1, fig 9 shows full syringe details],
(ii) a lever [34] extending from the base [22], a clamp [26] connecting the lever [34] and the syringe [connects to syringe’s flange 10, best seen in fig 7], (iv) a restrictor [tip of barrel 2, see fig 9] defining an orifice [hole in tip of barrel 2] to regulate flow rate and volume of a desired sample entering a sampling component [whatever the hole in the tip of barrel connects to is where the sample is injected to and withdrawn from], wherein the lever [34] is configured to create a pulling force on the sampling component [fig 7, one direction pulls, the other pushes, anything the syringe is in fluid communication with is a sampling component]; (d) mounting the syringe within the channel of the base [22] with the hub extending outwardly opposite the lever [34] allowing the sampling component to access a target sampling area [wherever the sample is drawn from]; (e) clamping the syringe with the clamp [26] to secure the syringe within the channel; (f) initiating movement of the lever to actuate the syringe [best seen in fig 7]; and (h) allowing the device to pull sample into the sampling component for a predetermined period of time sufficient to obtain a desired volume of sample [a user would operate the lever as needed to achieve this].
Clement does not disclose (iii) a lever stop positioned within the channel and protruding outwardly to engage the lever and prevent the lever from moving forward nor (g) engaging the lever stop with a locking tab of the lever to prevent the lever from moving forward once pulled back forming a pulling force at an opening of the hub and the sampling device.
Piehl discloses a similar device that actuate a syringe [see fig 31 and para 200] that shows using stop pin 359 as a lever lock.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Clement to have (iii) a lever stop positioned within the channel and protruding outwardly to engage the lever and prevent the lever from moving forward nor (g) engaging the lever stop with a locking tab of the lever to prevent the lever from moving forward once pulled back forming a pulling force at an opening of the hub and the sampling device for the benefit of being able to lock the lever, thus preventing accidental actuation.
Neither Clement nor Piehl disclose (b) connecting the restrictor to the sampling component forming a sample train; (c) mounting the sampling component to the syringe.
Overton discloses a chromatograph that analyzes soil VOCs [column 16, line 23], whereby the sample is added via a syringe [column 8, lines 15-16] that is connected to a sorbent tube concentrator [column 14, line 14- column 15, line 3; this is a sampling component] via a coupling interface [connector 338, see fig 5a and column 8, lines 6-17].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use the sampling device from the combination of Clement and Piehl as the syringe in Overton’s chromatographic analyzer, which would result in the hub of the syringe being coupled to the sorbent tube via a coupling interface, for the benefit of being able to easily and accurately actuate the syringe.
With respect to Claim 20, Clement discloses that the base [22] further comprises a guide structure [portion of 22 that surrounds the syringe] extending from the base and defining a stabilization pathway for the syringe to restrict lateral or rotational displacement during operation, and further comprising the steps of removing the sampling device from the sample area and disconnecting the syringe from the base [the syringe is full detachable and may be removed to be replaced].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX T DEVITO whose telephone number is (571)270-7551. The examiner can normally be reached 12pm- 8 pm EST M-S.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, John Breene can be reached at 571-272-4107. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALEX T DEVITO/Examiner, Art Unit 2855
/SUMAN K NATH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
