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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is responsive to the amendment filed on 4 June 2025. As directed by the amendment: claim 3 has been amended, claims 2, 4, 11, 19, and 20 have been or remain canceled. Thus claims 1, 3, 5-10, 12-18, and 21-22 are presently pending in this application. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have overcome the objection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 4 March 2025.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4 June 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 9 of REMARKS/ARGUMENTS, applicant argues Nakao does NOT disclose “an aspiration cassette adapted to be attached to a multi-cassette receiving interface of a surgical console, ...; AND an irrigation cassette adapted to be attached to the multi-cassette receiving interface,” and the Office Action is factually incorrect alleging otherwise. In fact, at page 5, the Office Action appears to contradict its mistaken allegation stating that Nakao discloses “the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3....,” and not to the “multi-cassette receiving interface of a surgical console” as required by claim 1.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The assemblies 20 and 30 are being interpreted by the examiner as individual cassettes. Nakao describes the combination of the assemblies 20 and 30 as being attached to the multi-cassette receiving interface 4. Fig 1 shows how 10 is inserted and Fig 5 further shows how elements on subassembly 30 would attach to components in the receiving interface. It is clear that subassembly 30 is attached to BOTH the receiving portion 4 and to the assembly 20. There is no contradiction in how the assembly 30 can be attached to two elements.
On page 9, applicant argues the office is incorrect in alleging the irrigation cassette 20 is fully capable of providing only irrigation to the aspiration cassette 30. If Nakao’s main assembly 20 is not providing aspiration to the sub assembly 30, sub assembly 30 is not an aspiration cassette configured to provide both aspiration and irrigation.
The examiner respectfully disagrees. The cassettes 20 and 30 of Nakao are configured for use in many ways, being controlled in part by the control unit 40. The cassettes are configured to provide only irrigation, only aspiration, both irrigation and aspiration and neither. All of these functions are determined by how the valves are opened or closed and if the pump is driven.
The examiner also responded to this argument in the Final action mailed 4 March 2025. The response is copied below:
“The examiner respectfully disagrees. The position of the examiner is that elements 20 and 30 of Nakao can be reasonably considered cassettes, and the labels designating irrigation and aspiration do not impart any structural limitations that would preclude the consideration of either element 20 or 30 as an aspiration or irrigation cassette. The examiner agrees that both elements 20 and 30 of Nakao include both irrigation and aspiration connections/features, however, the claims do not require either cassette to exclude these structural features, only that the cassettes do include the positively recited structural features. The amended limitations are mainly functional, requiring “the aspiration cassette configured to provide both aspiration and irrigation” and “the irrigation cassette configured to provide only irrigation to the aspiration cassette”. The examiner understands that the cassettes 20 and 30 of Nakao are both structured to provide both irrigation and aspiration, however, because the amended limitations are functional, the cassettes of Nakao must require the structures that would allow them to be used in the claimed way. The cassettes of Nakao, while having connections for both irrigation and aspiration, can be used to provide both, neither, or only one of either aspiration or irrigation. If the device of Nakao functioned in a way that irrigation could not be supplied without also simultaneously supplying aspiration, then the device would not teach the claimed functional limitations, however, this is not the case, the cassettes can provide aspiration and irrigation independently so they are configured as claimed.”
While the examiner agrees that the main assembly 20 could not provide only irrigation to sub assembly 30 while the sub assembly 30 SIMULTANEOUSLY provides irrigation and aspiration, this is not currently required by the claim.
On page 10, applicant argues Nakao discloses a single cassette 10 with a main assembly 20 and sub assembly 30, not two cassettes as claimed.
The position of the examiner is that the assemblies 20 and 30, while not being labeled individual cassettes by Nakao et al., include all the structure imparted by the word cassette and can be interpreted as such. It is irrelevant that Nakao et al. refers to the assembly as a whole as the cassette instead of the individual components 20 and 30. If there is a difference in structure between the assemblies 20 and 30 and what the applicant intends to be interpreted as a cassette, this should be specified in the claim.
On pages 10-12 applicant argues the office action seemingly obfuscates the differences in how the cassettes couple by referring to the elements as second component (14 Fig 4) and first component (12 Fig 4) and ignoring the actual teaching of Barnitz, which refers to the elements 14 and 12 as first cassette 14 and base member 12, conveniently ignoring Barnitz’s “second cassette 16” which is an irrigation cassette.
The examiner understands that the second cassette of Barnitz is described as an irrigation cassette, however, the position of the examiner is that this is irrelevant. The examiner has not looked to Barnitz for how the second cassette 16 is coupled to the first cassette 14. Rather the position of the examiner is that the coupling between elements 14 and 12 would be obvious to incorporate into the coupling of the cassettes 20 and 30 of Nakao to provide a simple way to securely connect all couplings without needing the user to connect each coupling individually and to allow simple disconnection of the cassette as described in the rejection.
The examiner also responded to this argument in the Non-Final action mailed 26 September 2023. The response is copied below:
“The second cassette 16 of Barnitz was not relied upon for the rejection. The link between the first cassette and the second cassette is already taught by Nakao et al. however, Barnitz was used because Nakao is silent to the specifics of the link. While the face seal of Barnitz is not formed between two cassettes, the seal is a fluid tight and secure coupling between two components. The teachings of the valves of Barnitz would be relevant even if none of the elements were described as cassettes.”
The reason the examiner referred to elements 12 and 14 as first and second components is not to obfuscate anything, instead it is to clarify that it is the connection between elements 12 and 14 of Barnitz that the examiner is relying on to modify Nakao. The position of the examiner is that it does not matter that there happens to be another element in Barnitz that is described as a second cassette. The examiner is not relying on this element for the rejection. One of ordinary skill in the art could look past the way the components of Barnitz are named to see the benefits of the coupling mechanism between components 12 and 14 and apply them to a coupling between cassettes, such as between 20 and 30 of Nakao.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 5-10, 13-16, 18, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakao et al. (US 6,511,454 B1) in view of Barnitz et al. (US 5,810,766 A).
Regarding claim 1, Nakao et al. discloses a system (Fig 1), comprising: an aspiration cassette (30 Fig 2) adapted to be attached to a multi-cassette receiving interface (4 Fig 1) of a surgical console (1 Fig 1), the aspiration cassette configured to provide both aspiration and irrigation (the aspiration cassette 30 is fully capable of providing both aspiration and irrigation, irrigation fluid can be pumped into the irrigation fluid lines 31a and 31b in the aspiration cassette at the same time as a vacuum is applied to aspiration fluid lines 34a and 34b Fig 3) with at least one input (33a,b Fig 3) and at least one output (32a,b Fig 3); an irrigation cassette (20 Fig 2) adapted to be attached to the multi-cassette receiving interface (10 Fig 1 is made of two cassettes, including the first cassette 20 Fig 2, and is attached to the receiving interface 4 Fig 1, Col 6 lines 47-49 “the cassette 10 is attached to the main body 1 with the use of cassette receiving portion 4”), the irrigation cassette configured to provide only irrigation to the aspiration cassette (the irrigation cassette 20 is fully capable of providing only irrigation to the aspiration cassette, when the pump 41 is not driven, when valve 44 is open, or when the valves 45a and 45b are closed), the irrigation cassette including at least one input (6, 23 Fig 3) for coupling to an irrigation source (Col 2 lines 24-25 “supplying an irrigation fluid from an irrigation source to a surgical site”); and a one-way fluid link between the irrigation cassette and the aspiration cassette to provide irrigation to the aspiration cassette (the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3 between tubes 25a and 25b to tubes 31a and 31b, irrigation is done with fluids and is fully capable of flowing in only one direction); wherein the irrigation cassette is configured to be used for multiple procedures (the irrigation cassette is fully capable of being removed after multiple procedures) and the aspiration cassette is configured to be replaced after each procedure (the aspiration cassette is fully capable of being removed after each procedure).
However, Nakao et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the aspiration cassette includes at least one valve having a face seal and the irrigation cassette includes a face seal channel to receive the face seal of the aspiration cassette to form the fluid link between the irrigation cassette and the aspiration cassette, wherein the face seal is configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during cassette capture.
Barnitz et al. teaches a second component (14 Fig 4) includes at least one valve (endcap 42 together with check valve 44 Fig 4 can be considered at least one valve) having a face seal (42 Fig 4) and a first component (12 Fig 4) includes a face seal channel (142 Fig 5) to receive the face seal of the second component (See connections as shown in Fig 4) to form the fluid link between the first component and the second component (Col 3 lines 56-59 “Sealing member 142 may be located between cassette 14 and tubular member 140a to seal the interface between base member 12 and cassette 14”), wherein the face seal is configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the first component during cassette capture (Col 7 lines 1-13 the biasing spring of the latch sub-assembly holds the cassette and the base member together tightly automatically which forms the seal). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to include at least one valve as taught by Barnitz et al. to prevent unintentional reverse flow of liquid (Col 5 lines 42-44) and it would have been obvious for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to be configured to automatically connect to a face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during cassette capture as taught by Barnitz et al. to provide a simple way to securely connect all couplings without needing the user to connect each coupling individually and to allow simple disconnection of the cassette.
Regarding claim 3, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one input (6, 23 Fig 3) of the irrigation cassette (20 Fig 2) is connected to a bottle or bag for irrigation (5 Fig 3).
Regarding claim 5, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one output (32a,b Fig 3) of the aspiration cassette (30 Fig 2) is an eye irrigation output (Col 2 lines 24-25 “supplying an irrigation fluid from an irrigation source to a surgical site”, Col 5 lines 45-46 “the irrigation tubes 32a and 32b”, Col 4 line 30 “for cataract surgery”).
Regarding claim 6, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the at least one input (33a,b Fig 3) of the aspiration cassette (30 Fig 2) is an eye aspiration input (Col 2 lines 26-27 “to remove the irrigation fluid with residual tissue by aspiration”, Col 5 line 47 “the aspiration tubes 33a and 33b”, Col 4 line 30 “for cataract surgery”).
Regarding claim 7, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the one-way fluid link (22 Fig 3) is an inter-cassette irrigation connection (the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3, the connection between tubes 25a and 25b to tubes 31a and 31b is for irrigation).
Regarding claim 8, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 7. Modified Nakao et al. teaches alternate sealing members (Barnitz et al.- 60 and 64 Fig 5) are resilient (Barnitz et al.- Col 2 line 58). However, modified Nakao et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the face seal of the aspiration cassette is comprised of an elastomer.
Nazarifar teaches a face seal (22 Fig 7) is comprised of an elastomer (Col 2 lines 36-38 “Fitting 22 preferably is formed of a resilient material such as silicone rubber or other equivalent elastomer”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the face seal of modified Nakao et al. to be comprised of an elastomer as taught by Nazarifar to ensure the connection provides a fluid tight seal.
Regarding claim 9, modified Nakao et al. discloses the system of claim 7, wherein the one-way fluid link comprises a channel for irrigation (Nakao et al.- the connecting unit 22 Fig 3 allows fluid connection of the irrigation fluid lines 25a,b to 31a,b; Barnitz et al.- the face seal includes a channel for fluid flow, see Figs 4 and 5).
Regarding claim 10, Nakao et al. discloses a phacoemulsification system (Fig 1, Col 4 lines 25-40), comprising: a surgical handpiece (9a Fig 3); a surgical console (1 Fig 1) configured to receive multiple cassettes via a two pack capture interface (10 Fig 1 is made of two cassettes, 20 and 30 Fig 2, and is attached to the receiving portion 4 Fig 1, Col 6 lines 47-49 “the cassette 10 is attached to the main body 1 with the use of cassette receiving portion 4”, the receiving portion 4 includes a first interface with elements 41, 43a, 43b, 44, 45a, and 45b as shown in Fig 2 to interface with an irrigation cassette as shown in Fig 2, and includes elements 51 to interface with 50 of an aspiration cassette as shown in Fig 5); an irrigation cassette (20 Fig 2) adapted to be removably coupled to the two pack capture interface of the surgical console (a first interface with elements 41, 43a, 43b, 44, 45a, and 45b as shown in Fig 2 to interface with a first cassette as shown in Fig 2); and an aspiration cassette (30 Fig 2) adapted to be removably coupled to the two pack capture interface (tags 50 of the second cassette couple to the sensors 51 of the surgical console as shown in Fig 5) of the surgical console; wherein the aspiration cassette is connected to the surgical handpiece via one or more tubing lines to provide both aspiration and irrigation (32a, 33a Fig 3, irrigation can be provided through 32a, aspiration through 33a); wherein the irrigation cassette is configured to provide only irrigation to the aspiration cassette (the irrigation cassette 20 is fully capable of providing only irrigation to the aspiration cassette, when the pump 41 is not driven, when valve 44 is open, or when the valves 45a and 45b are closed) via a one-way fluid link (the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3 between tubes 25a and 25b to tubes 31a and 31b, irrigation is done with fluids and is fully capable of flowing in only one direction); wherein the irrigation cassette is configured to be used for multiple procedures (the irrigation cassette is fully capable of being removed after multiple procedures) and the aspiration cassette is configured to be replaced after each procedure (the aspiration cassette is fully capable of being removed after each procedure).
However, Nakao et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the aspiration cassette includes at least one valve having a face seal and the irrigation cassette includes a face seal channel for receiving the face seal of the aspiration cassette to provide the one-way fluid link, the face seal configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during cassette capture.
Barnitz et al. teaches a second component (14 Fig 4) includes at least one valve (endcap 42 together with check valve 44 Fig 4 can be considered at least one valve) having a face seal (42 Fig 4) and a first component (12 Fig 4) includes a face seal channel (142 Fig 5) for receiving the face seal of the second component (See connections as shown in Fig 4) to provide the one-way fluid link (Col 3 lines 56-59 “Sealing member 142 may be located between cassette 14 and tubular member 140a to seal the interface between base member 12 and cassette 14”), the face seal configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the first component during cassette capture (Col 7 lines 1-13 the biasing spring of the latch sub-assembly holds the cassette and the base member together tightly automatically which forms the seal). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to include at least one valve as taught by Barnitz et al. to prevent unintentional reverse flow of liquid (Col 5 lines 42-44) and it would have been obvious for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to be configured to automatically connect to a face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during cassette capture as taught by Barnitz et al. to provide a simple way to securely connect all couplings without needing the user to connect each coupling individually and to allow simple disconnection of the cassette.
Regarding claim 13, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the irrigation cassette (20 Fig 3) is configured to be utilized for more than one surgical procedure (the irrigation cassette is fully capable of being used for more than one surgical procedure, Col 6 lines 20-37, the irrigation cassette, “main assembly 20”, is described as being used for both cataract surgery and vitreous surgery on the patient’s eye, the irrigation cassette is structurally fully capable of being removed after any desired number of surgical procedures, including more than one).
Regarding claim 14, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the aspiration cassette (30 Fig 3) is configured to be replaced after each surgical procedure (the aspiration cassette is fully capable of being replaced after each surgical procedure, Col 6 lines 20-37, the aspiration cassette, “sub assembly 30”, is described as being replaced after cataract surgery or vitreous surgery, the aspiration cassette is structurally fully capable of being removed after any desired number of surgical procedures, including only one).
Regarding claim 15, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the aspiration cassette and irrigation cassette are configured to be replaced at differing intervals (the cassettes are both structurally fully capable of being replaced after any desired number of surgical procedures, including at differing intervals, Col 6 lines 20-37).
Regarding claim 16, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 10, wherein the at least one valve is a check valve (Barnitz et al. 44, Col 5 line 26).
Regarding claim 18, Nakao et al. discloses a system (Fig 1), comprising: an irrigation cassette (20 Fig 2) adapted to be attached to a multi-cassette receiving interface (10 Fig 1 is made of two cassettes, including the first cassette 20 Fig 2, and is attached to the receiving interface 4 Fig 1, Col 6 lines 47-49 “the cassette 10 is attached to the main body 1 with the use of cassette receiving portion 4”) of a surgical console (1 Fig 1), the irrigation cassette having at least one input (6, 23 Fig 3) for coupling to an irrigation source (5 Fig 3); and an aspiration cassette (30 Fig 2) adapted to be attached to the multi-cassette receiving interface (10 Fig 1 is made of two cassettes, including the aspiration cassette 30 Fig 2, and is attached to the receiving interface 4 Fig 1, Col 6 lines 47-49 “the cassette 10 is attached to the main body 1 with the use of cassette receiving portion 4”), the aspiration cassette having at least one input (33a,b Fig 3) and at least one output (32a,b Fig 3) to respectively provide aspiration and irrigation to a patient (aspiration can be provided through 33a,b irrigation can be provided through 32a,b); wherein the irrigation cassette is configured to provide only irrigation to the aspiration cassette (the irrigation cassette 20 is fully capable of providing only irrigation to the aspiration cassette, when the pump 41 is not driven, when valve 44 is open, or when the valves 45a and 45b are closed) via a one-way fluid link (the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3 between tubes 25a and 25b to tubes 31a and 31b, irrigation is done with fluids and is fully capable of flowing in only one direction); wherein the aspiration cassette and the irrigation cassette are configured to connect during cassette capture to form a fluid link (the second cassette connects to the first cassette via connecting unit 22 Fig 3, irrigation and aspiration is done with fluids); and wherein the irrigation cassette is configured for use in multiple procedures (the first cassette is fully capable of being removed after multiple procedures) and the aspiration cassette is configured to be replaced after each procedure (the second cassette is fully capable of being removed after each procedure).
However, Nakao et al. does not explicitly disclose wherein the aspiration cassette includes at least one valve having a face seal and the irrigation cassette includes a face seal channel to receive the face seal of the aspiration cassette, wherein the face seal is configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during aspiration cassette capture to establish the one-way fluid link between the irrigation cassette and the aspiration cassette.
Barnitz et al. teaches a second component (14 Fig 4) includes at least one valve (endcap 42 together with check valve 44 Fig 4 can be considered at least one valve) having a face seal (42 Fig 4) and a first component (12 Fig 4) includes a face seal channel (142 Fig 5) to receive the face seal of the second component (See connections as shown in Fig 4), wherein the face seal is configured to automatically connect to the face seal channel of the first component during capture of the second component (Col 7 lines 1-13 the biasing spring of the latch sub-assembly holds the cassette and the base member together tightly automatically which forms the seal) to establish the one-way fluid link between the first and second components (Col 3 lines 56-59 “Sealing member 142 may be located between cassette 14 and tubular member 140a to seal the interface between base member 12 and cassette 14”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to include at least one valve as taught by Barnitz et al. to prevent unintentional reverse flow of liquid (Col 5 lines 42-44) and it would have been obvious for the aspiration cassette of Nakao et al. to be configured to automatically connect to a face seal channel of the irrigation cassette during aspiration cassette capture as taught by Barnitz et al. to provide a simple way to securely connect all couplings without needing the user to connect each coupling individually and to allow simple disconnection of the cassette.
Regarding claim 21, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 18 wherein the at least one valve comprises a check valve (Barnitz et al. 44, Col 5 line 26).
Regarding claim 22, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 18 wherein the irrigation cassette includes pressurized infusion (Col 3 lines 62-64 “An irrigation bottle 5 filled with an irrigation fluid is adjusted its height by the vertical movement of the pole 3 thereby to regulate pressure of the irrigation fluid.” The first cassette is configured to route the pressurized infusion fluid).
Claims 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakao et al. (US 6,511,454 B1) in view of Barnitz et al. (US 5,810,766 A) and Nazarifar (US 5,676,530 A).
Regarding claim 12, modified Nakao et al. teaches the system of claim 10. Modified Nakao et al. teaches alternate sealing members (Barnitz et al.- 60 and 64 Fig 5) are resilient (Barnitz et al.- Col 2 line 58).
However, modified Nakao et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the face seal has elastomeric properties.
Nazarifar teaches a face seal (22 Fig 7) has elastomeric properties (Col 2 lines 36-38 “Fitting 22 preferably is formed of a resilient material such as silicone rubber or other equivalent elastomer”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the face seal of modified Nakao et al. to have elastomeric properties as taught by Nazarifar to ensure the connection provides a fluid tight seal.
Regarding claim 17, modified Nakao et al. teaches alternate sealing members (Barnitz et al.- 60 and 64 Fig 5) are resilient (Barnitz et al.- Col 2 line 58).
However, modified Nakao et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the face seal has elastomeric properties.
Nazarifar teaches a face seal (22 Fig 7) has elastomeric properties (Col 2 lines 36-38 “Fitting 22 preferably is formed of a resilient material such as silicone rubber or other equivalent elastomer”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing for the face seal of modified Nakao et al. to have elastomeric properties as taught by Nazarifar to ensure the connection provides a fluid tight seal.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/A.E.V./Examiner, Art Unit 3783
/BHISMA MEHTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3783