`“x
`‘\\f
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
`United States Patent and Trademark Office
`Address: COMIVHSSIONER FOR PATENTS
`PO. Box 1450
`Alexandria1 Virginia 22313-1450
`www.uspto.gov
`
`
`
`
`
`14/236,247
`
`01/30/2014
`
`Shinichi Yasui
`
`20186.0036USWO
`
`8676
`
`HAMRE, SCHUMANN, MUELLER & LARSON P.C.
`PO. BOX 2902
`MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55402-0902
`
`SIEFKE, SAMUEL P
`
`ART UNIT
`
`1779
`
`PAPER NUIVIBER
`
`NOTIFICATION DATE
`
`DELIVERY MODE
`
`03/25/2015
`
`ELECTRONIC
`
`Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
`
`The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
`
`Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above—indicated "Notification Date" to the
`following e—mail address(es):
`PTOMail@hsml.c0m
`
`PTOL—90A (Rev. 04/07)
`
`

`

`
`
`Applicant(s)
`Application No.
` 14/236,247 YASUI, SHINICHI
`
`
`AIA (First Inventor to File)
`Art Unit
`Examiner
`Office Action Summary
`
`
`SAM P. SIEFKE its“ 1779
`-- The MAILING DA TE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address --
`Period for Reply
`
`
`
`A SHORTENED STATUTORY PERIOD FOR REPLY IS SET TO EXPIRE g MONTHS FROM THE MAILING DATE OF
`THIS COMMUNICATION.
`Extensions of time may be available under the provisions of 37 CFR1.136(a).
`after SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`If NO period for reply is specified above, the maximum statutory period will apply and will expire SIX (6) MONTHS from the mailing date of this communication.
`-
`- Failure to reply within the set or extended period for reply will, by statute, cause the application to become ABANDONED (35 U.S.C. § 133).
`Any reply received by the Office later than three months after the mailing date of this communication, even if timely filed, may reduce any
`earned patent term adjustment. See 37 CFR 1 .704(b).
`
`In no event, however, may a reply be timely filed
`
`Status
`
`1)|:I Responsive to communication(s) filed on
`El A declaration(s)/affidavit(s) under 37 CFR 1.130(b) was/were filed on
`
`2b)|:l This action is non-final.
`2a)|:l This action is FINAL.
`3)I:I An election was made by the applicant in response to a restriction requirement set forth during the interview on
`
`; the restriction requirement and election have been incorporated into this action.
`
`4)|:| Since this application is in condition for allowance except for formal matters, prosecution as to the merits is
`
`closed in accordance with the practice under Exparte Quay/e, 1935 CD. 11, 453 O.G. 213.
`
`Disposition of Claims*
`
`5)IZI Claim(s) 1-13 is/are pending in the application.
`5a) Of the above claim(s)
`is/are withdrawn from consideration.
`
`6)I:I Claim(s)
`7)|:| Claim(s)
`8)|:I Claim(s)
`
`is/are allowed.
`is/are rejected.
`is/are objected to.
`
`
`9)IXI Claim(s 1-13 are subject to restriction and/or election requirement.
`I
`* If any claims have been determined allowable, you may be eligible to benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway program at a
`
`participating intellectual property office for the corresponding application. For more information, please see
`:i/wwwusnto. ov/ atentS/init events/
`
`
`
`
`hit
`iindex.‘s or send an inquiry to PPI-iieedback{®usgtc.00v.
`
`Application Papers
`
`10)I:l The specification is objected to by the Examiner.
`11)I:l The drawing(s) filed on
`is/are: a)I:I accepted or b)I:I objected to by the Examiner.
`Applicant may not request that any objection to the drawing(s) be held in abeyance. See 37 CFR 1.85(a).
`
`Replacement drawing sheet(s) including the correction is required if the drawing(s) is objected to. See 37 CFR 1.121 (d).
`
`Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119
`
`12)I:| Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or (f).
`Certified copies:
`
`a)I:l All
`
`b)|:l Some” c)I:l None of the:
`
`1.I:I Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.
`2.|:l Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No.
`3.|:| Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this National Stage
`
`application from the International Bureau (PCT Rule 17.2(a)).
`** See the attached detailed Office action for a list of the certified copies not received.
`
`Attachment(s)
`
`3) D Interview Summary (PTO-413)
`1) D Notice of References Cited (PTO-892)
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date.
`.
`.
`4) I:I Other'
`2) I] Information Disclosure Statement(s) (PTO/SB/08a and/or PTO/SB/08b)
`
`Paper No(s)/Mai| Date .
`US. Patent and Trademark Office
`PTOL—326 (Rev. 11-13)
`
`Office Action Summary
`
`Part of Paper No./Mai| Date 20150320
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 14/236,247
`
`Page 2
`
`Art Unit: 1779
`
`DETAILED ACTION
`
`The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent
`
`provisions.
`
`Election/Restrictions
`
`REQUIREMENT FOR UNITY OF INVENTION
`
`As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(a), a national stage application shall relate to one
`
`invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive
`
`concept (“requirement of unity of invention”). Where a group of inventions is claimed in
`
`a national stage application, the requirement of unity of invention shall be fulfilled only
`
`when there is a technical relationship among those inventions involving one or more of
`
`the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical
`
`features” shall mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of
`
`the claimed inventions, considered as a whole, makes over the prior art.
`
`The determination whether a group of inventions is so linked as to form a single
`
`general inventive concept shall be made without regard to whether the inventions are
`
`claimed in separate claims or as alternatives within a single claim. See 37 CFR
`
`1.475(e).
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 14/236,247
`
`Page 3
`
`Art Unit: 1779
`
`WHEN CLAIMS ARE DIRECTED TO MULTIPLE CATEGORIES OF
`
`INVENTIONS
`
`As provided in 37 CFR 1.475(b), a national stage application containing claims to
`
`different categories of invention will be considered to have unity of invention if the
`
`claims are drawn only to one of the following combinations of categories:
`
`(1) A product and a process specially adapted for the manufacture of said
`
`product; or
`
`(2) A product and process of use of said product; or
`
`(3) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said
`
`product, and a use of the said product; or
`
`(4) A process and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out
`
`the said process; or
`
`(5) A product, a process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said
`
`product, and an apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said
`
`process.
`
`Otherwise, unity of invention might not be present. See 37 CFR 1.475(c).
`
`Restriction is required under 35 U.S.C. 121 and 372.
`
`This application contains the following inventions or groups of inventions which
`
`are not so linked as to form a single general inventive concept under PCT Rule 13.1.
`
`In accordance with 37 CFR 1.499, applicant is required, in reply to this action, to
`
`elect a single invention to which the claims must be restricted.
`
`Group I, claim(s) 1-4, drawn to an information detection sensor.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 14/236,247
`
`Page 4
`
`Art Unit: 1779
`
`Group II, claim(s) 5-9, drawn to an information detection sensor .
`
`Group III, claim(s) 10-13, drawn to an information detection sensor.
`
`The groups of inventions listed above do not relate to a single general inventive
`
`concept under PCT Rule 13.1 because, under PCT Rule 13.2, they lack the same or
`
`corresponding special technical features for the following reasons:
`
`Group I,
`
`II, and Ill lack unity of invention because the groups do not share the
`
`same or corresponding technical feature. Group | special technical feature is a body
`
`case having a feeding opening. Group II special technical feature is a body casing
`
`having a loading opening, the loading opening including a connector. Group III special
`
`technical feature is a body case having a holding film and a covering film that sandwich
`
`the biological information detection sensor.
`
`Applicant is advised that the reply to this requirement to be complete must
`
`include (i) an election of a species or invention to be examined even though the
`
`requirement may be traversed (37 CFR 1.143) and (ii) identification of the claims
`
`encompassing the elected invention.
`
`The election of an invention or species may be made with or without traverse. To
`
`preserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does
`
`not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement,
`
`the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be
`
`presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely
`
`traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144.
`
`lf
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 14/236,247
`
`Page 5
`
`Art Unit: 1779
`
`claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are
`
`readable on the elected invention or species.
`
`Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions have unity of
`
`invention (37 CFR 1.475(a)), applicant must provide reasons in support thereof.
`
`Applicant may submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the
`
`inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case.
`
`Where such evidence or admission is provided by applicant, if the examiner finds one of
`
`the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used
`
`in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
`
`Conclusion
`
`Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
`
`examiner should be directed to SAM P. SIEFKE whose telephone number is (571 )272—
`
`1262. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and
`
`Friday 8am to 6:30pm.
`
`If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s
`
`supervisor, Bob Ramdhanie can be reached on 571-270-3240. The fax phone number
`
`for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571 -273-8300.
`
`

`

`Application/Control Number: 14/236,247
`
`Page 6
`
`Art Unit: 1779
`
`Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the
`
`Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for
`
`published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR.
`
`Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only.
`
`For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should
`
`you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic
`
`Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a
`
`USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information
`
`system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
`
`/SAM P SIEFKE/
`
`Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1779
`
`