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 . Applicants are respectfully reminded that they and other individuals, as set forth in 37 CFR 1.56, have a duty to bring to the attention of the Office any material prior art or other information cited or brought to their attention in any related foreign application. See MPEP 2001.06(a). The individuals covered by 37 CFR 1.56 have a duty to bring to the attention of the examiner, or other Office official involved with the examination of a particular application, information within their knowledge as to other copending United States applications which are “material to patentability” of the application in question. The individuals covered by 37 CFR 1.56 cannot assume that the examiner of a particular application is necessarily aware of other applications which are “material to patentability” of the application in question, but must instead bring such other applications to the attention of the examiner. See Dayco Prod., Inc. v. Total Containment, Inc., 329 F.3d 1358, 1365-69, 66 USPQ2d 1801, 1806-08 (Fed. Cir. 2003). For example, if a particular inventor has different applications pending in which similar subject matter but patentably indistinct claims are present that fact must be disclosed to the examiner of each of the involved applications. Similarly, the prior art references from one application must be made of record in another subsequent application if such prior art references are “material to patentability” of the subsequent application. See Dayco Prod., 329 F.3d at 1369, 66 USPQ2d at 1808. See MPEP 2001.06(b).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 12/31/2020 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 20 is 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.
In claim 20, Applicant provides “further comprising a ridge and notch for allowing a suitable device to slot and lock the smart medication blister pack into a position such that the circuit is lined up and make contact with the device, further wherein a foil of the smart medication blister pack may be in a suitable form configured to be retrofittable to existing blister packs as at least one of a label or as an alternative foil of a suitable material.” Applicant has failed to make clear Applicant’s intent in the above such as at the end of the claim.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mehregany (US 20160103085 A1)
Mehregany discloses:
1. A smart medication blister pack (figs 1-7) comprising: a plurality of cavities configured to store one or more tablets (116 capable of performing the above intended use); a cover (Exterior surfaces of device as in figs 1, 3, 4); at least one of a circuit printed on the cover and a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag (paragraph 13, 9 with circuits and RFID); a reminder module configured to provide a reminder to a user when at least one cavity of the plurality of cavities breaks (paragraph 60 such as providing dosage reminders); a receiving module configured to receive one or more instructions about the medication from an authorized person (paragraph 60 such as with dosage and expiration date); a self-programming module configured to arrange the one or more instructions comprising one or more timing of the medication based on one or more events (paragraph 60 such as with signal processing and computation); and a communication module configured to communicate with one or more computing devices (such as in paragraph 60 such as via communications link). The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above.
2. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1, wherein the one or more events comprising at least one of a breaking of at least one of the plurality of cavity, a time at which the cavity breaks, and a time zone (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above), further wherein the one or more computing devices comprising at least one of a mobile phone, a mobile phone application, a personal digital assistant, a smart watch, a fitness tracking device, a smart television, a tablet computer, a laptop, a computer, and a server (capable of performing the above intended use).
3. The smart medication blister pack of claim 2, wherein the user receives a reminder on an associated computing device that is in communication with the smart medication blister pack, wherein the reminder being a medication reminder (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use).
4. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1, wherein the authorized person comprising at least one of a doctor, a patient, the user, a pharmacist, a manufacturer of the one or more tablets, and a caretaker (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use, wherein the one or more instructions comprising at least one of a timing for taking the one or more tablets, a date of manufacturing of the one or more tablets, a batch information of the one or more tablets, an expiry information of the one or more tablets, manufacturer information, and dosage information (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use.
5. The smart medication blister pack of claim 4 further comprising a chip configured to store the one or more instructions and information about the one or more tablets, a manufacturer of the medicine, dosage, diseases, side effects, usage, expiry date, manufacturing date, and batch information, wherein the communication module communicates the information with the one or more computing devices (such as with memory module in paragraph 60).
6. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1, wherein the reminder module further comprising at least one of an audio module for providing an audio reminder and a visual module for providing a visual reminder (such as in paragraph 60 with a/v).
7. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1, wherein the communication module is further configured to send the cavity breakage information and information of the smart medication blister pack to a central server (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use).
8. The smart medication blister pack of claim 7 further comprising an authentication module configured to check if the smart medication blister pack is authentic based on at least one of information of the blister pack and communication with the central server (such as in paragraph 77-79).
9. The smart medication blister pack of claim 8, wherein the reminder module is configured to inform the user if at least one of the smart medication blister pack and the one or more tablets of the blister pack is authentic or not based on at least one of the communication with the central server and the information of the smart medication blister pack (such as in paragraph 77-79).
10. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1 further comprising a battery configured to provide power to the circuit (paragraph 60).
11. The smart medication blister pack of claim 1, wherein the cover is formed using a material comprising at least one of paper, plastic, laminate, metal, and any metallic foil (paragraph 55).
12. A smart medication blister pack (figs 1-7) comprising: a plurality of cavities configured to keep one or more tablets (116 capable of performing the above intended use); a cover (Exterior surfaces of device as in figs 1, 3, 4); a circuit printed on the cover (paragraph 13, 9 with circuits and RFID); a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag (paragraph 13, 9 with circuits and RFID); a reminder module comprising at least one of an audio module and a visual module for providing an audio reminder and a visual reminder, respectively to a user when at least one of the plurality of cavities breaks, wherein the user receives a reminder on an associated computing device that is in communication with the smart medication blister pack (paragraph 60 such as providing dosage reminders and a/v); a receiving module configured to receive one or more instructions about the medication from an authorized person (paragraph 60 such as with dosage and expiration date); a self-programming module configured to arrange the one or more instructions of the medication based on one or more events; a communication module configured to communicate with one or more computing devices (paragraph 60 such as with signal processing and computation); and a chip for storing the one or more instructions and information about the one or more tablets, a manufacturer of the medicine, dosage, diseases, side effects, usage, expiry date, manufacturing date, and batch information, wherein the communication module communicates the information with the one or more computing devices (such as with memory module in paragraph 60).
13. The smart medication blister pack of claim 12, wherein the one or more events comprising at least one of a breaking of at least one of the plurality of cavity, a time at which the cavity breaks, and a time zone (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above).
14. The smart medication blister pack of claim 12, wherein the one or more computing devices comprising at least one of a mobile phone, a mobile phone application, a personal digital assistant, a smart watch, a fitness tracking device, a smart television, a tablet computer, a laptop, a computer, and a server (capable of performing the above intended use).
15. The smart medication blister pack of claim 12, wherein the authorized person comprising at least one of a doctor, a patient, the user, a pharmacist, a manufacturer of the medication, and a caretaker (capable of performing the above intended use).
16. The smart medication blister pack of claim 12, wherein the one or more instructions comprising at least one of a timing for taking the one or more tablets, a date of manufacturing of the one or more tablets, a batch information of the one or more tablets, an expiry information of the one or more tablets, manufacturer information, and dosage information (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use).
17. A smart medication blister pack (figs 1-7) comprising: a plurality of cavities configured to keep one or more tablets (116 capable of performing the above intended use); a cover made up of a material comprising at least one of paper, plastic, laminate, metal, and any metallic foil a cover (Exterior surfaces of device as in figs 1, 3, 4; material in paragraph 55); a circuit printed on the cover (paragraph 13, 9 with circuits and RFID); a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag (paragraph 13, 9 with circuits and RFID); a reminder module comprising at least one of an audio module and a visual module for providing an audio reminder and a visual reminder , respectively to a user when at least one of the plurality of cavities breaks, wherein the user receives a reminder on an associated computing device that is in communication with the smart medication blister pack (paragraph 60 such as providing dosage reminders with a/v); a receiving module configured to receive one or more instructions about the medication from an authorized person (paragraph 60 such as with dosage and expiration date); a self-programming module configured to arrange the one or more instructions of the medication based on one or more events; a communication module configured to communicate with one or more computing devices (paragraph 60 such as with signal processing and computation); a chip for storing the one or more instructions and information about the one or more tablets, a manufacturer of the medicine, dosage, diseases, side effects, usage, expiry date, manufacturing date, and batch information, wherein the communication module communicates the information with the one or more computing devices; and an authentication module configured to check if the smart medication blister pack is authentic based on at least one of information of the blister pack and communication with a server (such as with memory module in paragraph 60).
18. The smart medication blister pack of claim 17, wherein the reminder module is configured to inform the user if the blister pack is authentic or not based on the at least one of information of the smart medication blister pack and the communication with the server (The Office notes Applicant’s use of “configured to”. The prior art discloses modules that are capable of providing many functions including the above; capable of performing the above intended use).
19. The smart medication blister pack of claim 17 further comprising a battery configured to provide power to the circuit (paragraph 60).
20. The smart medication blister pack of claim 17 further comprising a ridge and notch for allowing a suitable device to slot and lock the smart medication blister pack into a position such that the circuit is lined up and make contact with the device (protrusions and recesses on exterior of the device such as shown by shape in fig 1b that permits the above intended use for allowing), further wherein a foil of the smart medication blister pack may be in a suitable form configured to be retrofittable to existing blister packs as at least one of a label or as an alternative foil of a suitable material (The Office notes the 112 rejection above, and Applicant’s use of may be of which does not require).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW D PERREAULT whose telephone number is (571)270-5427. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:00am-5:30pm. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Stashick can be reached on (571)272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ANDREW D PERREAULT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3735