Ex Parte Freeouf

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Feb 21, 2013

11301324 (P.T.A.B. Feb. 21, 2013)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
11/301,324 12/12/2005 John Lawrence Freeouf 110 1448
7590 02/21/2013
Alvin J. Riddles
44 Lake Drive South
P.O. Box 34 Candlewood, Isle
New Fairfield, CT 06812-0034
EXAMINER
MASKELL, MICHAEL P
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2881
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
02/21/2013 PAPER
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.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
_____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
_____________

Ex parte JOHN LAWRENCE FREEOUF
_____________

Appeal 2010-009573
Application 11/301,324
Technology Center 2800
______________

Before, KALYAN K. DESHPANDE, DAVID M. KOHUT, and
JOHN G. NEW, Administrative Patent Judges.

KOHUT, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL

Appeal 2010-009573
Application 11/301,324

2
This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) of the Final
Rejection of claims 1-9.
1
We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We affirm the Examiner’s rejection of these claims.

INVENTION
The invention is directed to a quadrupole mass spectrometer apparatus
for measuring signals of content and quantity of ionized gaseous ambient.
Spec. 3-4. Claim 1 is representative of the invention and is reproduced
below:
1. Quadrupole mass spectrometer apparatus comprising in
combination:
a body member having first and second parallel plane
surfaces,
a spatial volume positioned and enclosed within said body
member,
a configuration of four, parallel, equidistant around a circle,
rod shaped, specific length, conductor members, located within
said spatial volume, each said rod shaped conductor member
extending between said first and second parallel plane surfaces,
a first ion path opening through said first plane surface
member extending into the center of said configuration of
conductor members,
a second ion path opening through said second plane surface
member exiting at the center of said configuration of conductor
member,
means establishing in said spatial volume, in diagonally
located pairs of said four rod members, a combined field,
containing a direct current (DC) level and a phased radio
frequency (RF) signal;
means introducing into said first ion path opening an ionized
gaseous ambient containing at least one desired chemical, and,
means detecting at said second ion path opening the presence
of ions of said desired chemical.

1
Claims 10 and 11 were previously withdrawn.
Appeal 2010-009573
Application 11/301,324

3
REFERENCES
Korte US 4,757,198 July 12, 1988

Chutjian US 5,596,193 Jan. 21, 1997

Parker US 2002/0120404 A1 Aug. 29, 2002

Collings US 7,256,395 B2 Aug. 14, 2007
(filed Jan. 10, 2005)

REJECTION AT ISSUE
Claims 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as being
anticipated by Chutjian. Ans. 3-5.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable
over the combination of Chutjian and Korte. Ans. 6.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable
over the combination of Chutjian and Parker. Ans. 6-7.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being unpatentable
over the combination of Chutjian and Collings. Ans. 7.

ISSUE
Did the Examiner err in finding that Chutjian discloses a body
member with two parallel surfaces and a spatial volume, as required by
independent claims 1 and 5?

ANALYSIS
Appellant argues that the Examiner has failed to provide any guidance
as to how Chutjian discloses the claimed structural features, which include a
circle of rods that form a spatial volume through a stack of supporting
Appeal 2010-009573
Application 11/301,324

4
members, as required by claims 1 and 5. App. Br. 18-19. However, the
Examiner finds that Chutjian teaches rods 130 that form a circle that defines
the spatial volume through the stack of retainer plates (120 and 145), i.e.,
supporting members. Ans. 8. We agree with the Examiner’s findings that
each of Appellant’s elements are disclosed by Chutjian.
Appellant replies by contending that the plates disclosed by Chutjian
have extra material that interferes with the operation and the conducting rods
project beyond the retainer plates and into a region that can disrupt the
performance of the invention and disrupt the trajectories of the ions. Reply
Br. 2-3. Therefore, Appellant contends the retainer plates disclosed by
Chutjian cannot serve the same function as Appellant’s insulating surfaces.
Reply Br. 3. We note that Appellant’s argument regarding the reference
containing extra material is not commensurate in scope with the claim. Even
if the reference contains rod counter bores and conducting rods that project
beyond the retainer plates, as argued by Appellant (Reply Br. 2-3), the claim
does not preclude them. Additionally, Appellant has not provided sufficient
evidence to show that the reference would not function as Appellant’s
invention, especially in light of the fact that both the invention and the
reference are quadrupole mass spectrometers. As such, we sustain the
Examiner’s rejection of claims 1 and 5 and claims 2-4 and 6-9 that are
dependent upon claims 1 and 5 since Appellant does not argue any of the
other claims with particularity.
Appeal 2010-009573
Application 11/301,324

5
CONCLUSION
The Examiner did not err in finding that Chutjian discloses a body
member with two parallel surfaces and a spatial volume, as required by
independent claims 1 and 5.

SUMMARY
The Examiner’s decision to reject claims 1-9 is affirmed.
No time period for taking any subsequent action in connection with
this appeal may be extended under 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a)(1)(iv).
AFFIRMED

ELD