Appeal No. 2001-0062
Application 08/774,170
invention are a chamber or cavity “sleeve”2, which is in communication with a slot or
opening, and having a pair of spaced electrodes.
The claimed ECL cell is said to be useful for detection of chemical reactions and
may be utilized in arrays of individual reaction chambers for a high-throughput
microreaction unit, for example for detection of amplified DNA. In a preferred
embodiment, the ECL cell is a vertical assembly of micromachined silicon and glass and
contains thin-film electrodes (Appeal Brief, page 3, lines 15-16). The assembly also
contains micromachined fluid fill ports (Appeal Brief, page 4, lines 2-3).
The Rejection of Claims 1-5, 11, 14-18 and 24 Under 35 U.S.C. §103(a) over Heller in
view of Hall or Kamin
The Examiner states that Heller teaches a microfabricated device having a
sleeve reaction chamber, with a viewing window and inlet port disposed over a reactive
chip. (Examiner’s Answer, page 4, lines 5-8). Fluorescence detection is said to be
used in the example, and electrochemiluminescence detection suggested at column 19,
line 38 (Examiner’s Answer, page 5, lines 3-5). Hall and Kamin are said to teach an
electrochemiluminscence cell includes at least two electrodes, an optical detector, and
associated electronics for supplying a desired voltage. The Examiner thus concludes
that it would have been obvious to provide the associated electronics taught by Kamin
and Hall to Heller’s chamber in order to provide the electrochemiluminescence
suggested by Heller (Examiner’s Answer, page 5, lines 10-21).
2 The Appellants, in the parent application 08/492,678 advanced the definition of sleeve as “an envelope”,
which “enclose[s] completely.”
3
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