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 .
Specification
The application has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible typographical and grammatical errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which he/she may become aware in the application.
The Information Disclosure Statements filed 06/30/2025 has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites on lines 27-28 the limitation “adapt the first compensation based on the second calibration signal”. This limitation is unclear. No prior “second calibration” has been recited, and it is unclear whether this “second calibration” is mistakenly referring to the prior recited “first calibration signal”, or a different/additional calibration signal. Clarification and correction are required.
Claims 2-20 are also rejected due to their dependency on independent claim 1 herein rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
The following art rejection is issued considering “the second calibration signal” as the “first calibration signal”, as reflected in the drawings.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected because of the following informality: Claim 21 recites on lines 5-6 “convert the analyte signal at a first electrode”. This limitation should be corrected to -- convert the analyte signal at the first electrode--.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 5, 15, 19, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KANOUN (US 2021/0262977).
Regarding claim 1, KANOUN teaches in figures (1) through (3B) a circuit for processing an analyte signal (See [0002]) obtained from an electrochemical cell, the circuitry comprising: measurement circuitry (120) having a first measurement input coupled to a first electrode (we, fig 3A, 3B) of the electrochemical cell (101; fig 1), the measurement circuitry configured to convert the analyte signal at the first measurement input to a first analog output signal; an analog-to-digital converter (ADC 341) having an first ADC input for receiving the first analog output signal (iout, See [0031]), the ADC configured to convert the first analog output signal to a first digital output signal (iwe) at an ADC output; compensation circuitry (150; See [0036])) configured in a measurement mode to: apply a first compensation to the first digital output signal to obtain a first compensated digital output signal, the first compensation to compensate for non-linearity (See [0034}, the offset current improves linearity) in one or both of the measurement circuitry and the ADC; and, apply a first calibration signal at the first electrode (we) and adapt the first compensation based on the first calibration signal and the first compensated digital output signal.
Regarding claim 21, KANOUN teaches in figures (1) through (3B) a method of processing an analyte signal (See [0002]) obtained from an electrochemical cell (101), the method comprising: measurement circuitry (120) having a first measurement input coupled to a first electrode (we) of the electrochemical cell (101), the measurement circuitry configured to convert the analyte signal at the first electrode of the electrochemical cell (101) to a first analog output signal; convert the first analog output signal to a first digital output signal, through ADC (341); in a measurement mode to: apply a first compensation to the first digital output signal (through compensation circuitry (150; See [0036])) to obtain a first compensated digital output signal, the first compensation to compensate for non-linearity (See [0034}, the offset current improves linearity) in one or both of the measurement circuitry and the ADC; and in a calibration mode to: apply a first calibration signal to the first electrode (we) and adapt the first compensation based on the first calibration signal and the first compensated digital output signal.
Regarding claim 5, KANOUN teaches in figures (1) through (3B) a circuit for processing an analyte signal (See [0002]) obtained from an electrochemical cell, wherein, in the measurement mode, the first compensation
Regarding claims 15 and 19, KANOUN teaches in figures (1) through (3B) a system for processing an analyte signal (See [0002]) obtained from an electrochemical cell, the system and circuitry comprising the electromechanical cell (See electromechanical cell 101 of fig 1).
Regarding claim 20, KANOUN teaches in figures (1) through (3B) an electronic device for processing an analyte signal (See [0002]) obtained from an electrochemical cell, wherein the electronic device comprises an analyte sensing device (See paragraph [0003]).
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 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KANOUN (US 2021/0262977) in view of Hahn et al (US 2020/0072782).
Regarding claims 2 and 4, KANOUN teaches the essential features of the claimed invention, as set forth above, except for the measurement circuitry being a transimpedance amplifier. However, this limitation is obvious because the use of transimpedance amplifiers to measure an output of an electrode of an electromechanical cell is well-known in the art, as evidenced by Hahn et al (See paragraph [0047]). The transimpedance amplifier is a current conveyer because it is a voltage to current converter.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH J LAUTURE whose telephone number is (571)272-1805. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 AM-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dameon Levi can be reached at 5712722105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSEPH J LAUTURE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845
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