DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claims 4, 9 and 11-14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 4 recites “PSMA” which is undefined. Claim 3 defines what PSMA stands for. While the examiner will interpret PSMA to mean is poly(styrene-maleic anhydride) for examination, PSMA is undefined for claim 4 because neither claim 4 nor any claim from which it depends defines the acronym.
Likewise, claim 9 recites “PSMA” which is undefined.
Claim 11 recites NFC which is undefined.
Claim 12 recites NFC which is undefined.
Claim 13 recites RFID which is undefined.
Claim 14 recites RFID which is undefined.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lewis (U.S. Patent No. 6093308). Lewis teaches a sensor (figs. 4A-1, 4A as well as abstract) for sensing volatile biogenic amines comprising a substrate (ceramic capacitor, fig. 4A-1), an interdigitated electrodes layer (interdigitated electrodes, fig. 4A-1) on one side of the substrate; a copolymer layer (conducting polymer, fig. 4A-1) comprising maleic anhydride (table #, sensor 8. See col. 14, lines 26-48) on the interdigitated electrodes layer. The applicant should note that the language in italics is considered intended use and is not being given patentable weight.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lorwongtragool (An Electronic Nose for Amine Detection Based on Polymer/SWNT-COOH Nanocomposites, 2010 3rd International Nanoelectronics Conference (INEC), IEEE, 2010.) Lorwongtragool teaches a sensor for sensing volatile biogenic amines (title) comprising a substrate (alumina, see first sentence chapter "sensor fabrication"); an interdigitated electrodes layer on one side of the substrate (see first sentence chapter "sensor fabrication"); a copolymer layer comprising maleic anhydride on the interdigitated electrodes layer (see abstract: polystyrene-co-maleic anhydride).
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) 2-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lorwongtragool (An Electronic Nose for Amine Detection Based on Polymer/SWNT-COOH Nanocomposites, 2010 3rd International Nanoelectronics Conference (INEC), IEEE, 2010.) in view of Rigby (WO2022094105). Regarding claims 2, 14 and 19, Lorwongtragool teaches the salient features of the claimed invention except for a silicon component for capacitance measuring; an antenna for wireless communication. Rigby teaches an amine detector using a silicon component (¶49, fig. 20) for capacitance measuring (figs. 21-22); an antenna (30) for wireless communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize the features of Rigby for the purpose of receiving and transmitting the deliverable information to a receiver, external to the device.
Regarding claims 3-4, 9-10 and 20, Lorwongtragool teaches polystyrene-co-maleic anhydride in the abstract.
Regarding claims 5-6 and 11-12, ¶10 of Rigby teaches the antenna may include an NFC unit or an RFID.
Regarding claims 7 and 15-18, Rigby teaches a printed circuit board (40) wherein the substrate is a substrate of the printed circuit board; the interdigitated electrodes layer (20) printed on a first side (right side) of the printed circuit board; the copolymer layer coated on the interdigitated electrodes layer; the antenna (30) printed on a second side (left side) of the printed circuit board; the silicon component integrated into the printed circuit board. See fig. 1B.
Regarding claims 8 and 13, Rigby teaches a ood package comprising the sensor. See figs. 1A-C and ¶¶107-108.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lewis (U.S. Patent No. 6093308) in view of Gontard (EP3168608). Lewis teaches the salient features of the claimed invention except for a silicon component for capacitance measuring; an antenna for wireless communication. Gontard teaches an amine detector using a silicon component (¶63, fig. 20) for capacitance measuring (¶¶61 and 71); an antenna (¶63, fig. 20) for wireless communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to utilize the features of Rigby for the purpose of receiving and transmitting the deliverable information to a receiver, external to the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Millenson(U.S. Patent No. 20130280696) teaches using a maleic anhydride copolymer in a sensor and measuring a change in capacitance of the sensor.
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/CHRISTOPHER E MAHONEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
