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 Amendments and Arguments/Remarks
The applicant’s amendments and arguments/remarks with regards to the 35 USC 112 rejection have been considered and are persuasive. The amendments make it clear that the belt is for use with a blood pressure measurement device; and that the cuff structure includes the inflatable airbag referred to functionally in claim 1, thus fixing the antecedent basis issue. Accordingly, the 35 USC 112(b) rejections are withdrawn.
Applicant’s amendments and arguments/remarks with respect to the 35 USC 103 rejection of claims 1, 5-8 and 10-12 have been considered, but are moot in view of the new ground of rejection presented below. Specifically, the examiner has provided the Kleker reference which teaches the known concept of utilizing an asymmetrical shape in order to ensure proper insertion/alignment of an element into its seating. The 103 rejections below comprise further details of the rejection and combination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 5-8 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawaguchi (US 2021/0060825 A1) in view of Yoshihide (WO 2017/119384) and Kleker (US 2007/0240178 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 5-8, and 10-12; Kawaguchi discloses a belt (Figure 1, pointed side band body 3, buckle-side band body 4) that is wrappable around a living body (Paragraph 0039) for a blood pressure measurement device (Figure 1, electronic device E, Paragraph 0004), comprising: a first belt constituted in a band shape (Figure 1, buckle-side band body 4); a second belt (Figure 1, point side band body 3) including a belt body (Figure 2, outer sheath 6) and an insert (Figure 2, resin portion 5), the belt body being constituted in a band shape using a resin material (Paragraph 0051) and including a plurality of holes formed along a longitudinal direction (Figure 2, length adjustment holes 32), the insert being disposed in the belt body with the plurality of the holes (Figure 2); and a connector adapted to connect the first belt and the second belt (Figure 2, buckle 42, buckle tongue 43), the connector having a buckle prong (Figure 2, buckle tongue 43), wherein the insert is constituted by a plate-shaped member (Figure 2, resin portion 5) and has a plurality of hole reinforcing portions each disposed between the holes of the belt body (Modified Figure 4, reinforcing portions), and the insert including the plurality of hole reinforcing portions is arranged within the belt body (Figure 4); the first belt (element 4) has the buckle prong (element 43), which is insertable into any of the plurality of holes (elements 32) of the second belt (element 3).
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Modified Figure 4
However, Kawaguchi fails to teach an inflatable air bag provided on a living side; and the insert being formed of a homogeneous material having a higher tensile strength in a circumferential direction of the living body than the resin material; or that the insert is divided into a first longitudinal portion and a second longitudinal portion by a line passing along a center of the insert in a width direction of the insert, the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion are different.
Yoshihide teaches a belt (element 20) for blood pressure monitoring device (abstract) that has a separate inflatable air bag (element 22) from the belt provided on an inner side of the belt (figure 13d, 14d-f) and an insert (element 23) wherein the insert is formed of a homogeneous material having a higher hardness than a resin material (element 24) of the belt body wherein structure of the inflatable air bag, homogeneous insert and the outer resin layer improves compression efficiency at the measurement site when the airbags are inflated which help increase measurement accuracy (page 2 final paragraph through 3rd paragraph of page 3 of the English translation; figures 13d, 14d-f). Furthermore, although Yoshihide teaches that the homogeneous insert material has a high hardness than the resin material, it is clear and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing that the homogenous insert material (element 23) would have a higher tensile strength in a circumferential direction of the living body than the resin material as Yoshihide’s translation specifically discloses the element 23 is a reinforcing layer and that the belt outer layers suppress the expansion of the outside of the fluid bag and thus restrict the air bag inflation to press it against the living body in order to improve compression efficiency which in turn improves the blood pressure measurement accuracy, see page 2 final paragraph through paragraph 3 of page 3 of English translation of Yoshihide. Thus, In order to resist expansion due to inflation, the reinforcing layer (element 23) and peripheral layer (element 24) would have to have a higher tensile strength, and further since the reinforcing layer (element 23) is providing reinforcement to the belt, then the reinforcement layer (homogenous insert element 23) would have to have a high tensile strength than the peripheral layer which is the resin material and inflatable bag or else the outward inflation of the inflatable bag would not be suppressed and the insert element 23 would not be referred to as a reinforcement layer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Kawaguchi’s belt to include a homogeneous insert having a higher tensile strength in a circumferential direction and to modify for use with a separate inflatable air bag provided on the body side of the belt as taught by Yoshihide in order increase measurement accuracy by improving compression efficiency at the pressure measurement site (page 2 final paragraph through 3rd paragraph of page 3 of the English translation).
Further regarding claims 1, 5-8, and 10-12; The Kawaguchi/Yoshihide combination is described above, Kawaguchi further disclose and teaches that the insert is formed into the belt body via molding (paragraphs [0053]-[0066]; figures 8-12). However, the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide combination does not disclose that the insert is divided into a first longitudinal portion and a second longitudinal portion by a line passing along a center of the insert in a width direction of the insert, the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion are different.
Kleker teaches the well-known concept of forming an insert in a non-symmetrical shape corresponding to a complementary shaped seating in order to ensure that the insert is properly inserted since it can only be inserted in a unique orientation.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the insert of the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide combination to be formed in a non-symmetrical shape (i.e. insert is divided into a first longitudinal portion and a second longitudinal portion by a line passing along a center of the insert in a width direction of the insert, the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion are different) as taught by Kleker in order to ensure that the insert is properly seated on the belt body when forming the second belt by molding as disclosed by Kawaguchi, thus reducing/preventing manufacturing errors.
Further regarding claim 5; the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination described above teaches a cross section (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, line IV-IV) of each of the hole reinforcing portions (Kawaguchi, Modified Figure 4, reinforcing portions) orthogonal to a width direction of the belt body (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, outer sheath 6) is constituted as a rectangle (Kawaguchi, Figure 4).
Further regarding claim 6; the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination described above teaches a center of the cross section (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, line IV-IV) of each of the hole reinforcing portions (Kawaguchi, Modified Figure 4, reinforcing portions) coincides with a center of a cross section (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, line IV-IV) of a part between two adjacent holes (Kawaguchi, Figure 5, length adjustment holes 32) of the belt body (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, outer sheath 6), the cross section of the part between the two adjacent holes being orthogonal to the width direction and a thickness direction of the belt body (Kawaguchi, Figure 4).
Further regarding claim 7, the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination described above teaches the cross section (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, line IV-IV) of the part between the two adjacent holes (Kawaguchi, Figure 5, length adjustment holes 32) being orthogonal to the width direction and a thickness direction of the belt body (Kawaguchi, Figure 2, outer sheath 6, Figure 4). The examiner notes that it would have been routine optimization to position the hole reinforcing portion biased toward a side opposite to the connector with respect to a center of a cross section of a part between two adjacent holes. This is supported by the disclosure of Kawaguchi where it states that the distance between the holes of the insert can vary (Kawaguchi, Paragraph 0050)(MPEP 2144.05(ll)).
Regarding claims 8 and 10-12; Kawaguchi discloses a blood pressure measurement system (Kawaguchi electronic device element E used to obtain blood pressure, paragraph [0004]). The Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination belt is described in the rejection of claim 1 above. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to substitute the belt of Kawaguchi’s blood pressure measurement system with the belt of the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination as described in the rejection of claims 1 and 5-7 above, in order to improve compression efficiency and effectively improve measurement accuracy as taught by Yoshihide.
Furthermore, regarding claims 8 and 10-12; Yoshihide teaches providing a cuff structure (element 22) provided on an inner side of the belt (elements 23 and 24) and configured to be inflated with a fluid (Yoshihide figures 12d and 13d-f and page 2 final paragraph through 3rd paragraph of page 3 of the English translation). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to further modify the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination to include a cuff structure provided on an inner side of the belt and configured to be inflated with a fluid as taught by Yoshihide in order to measure blood pressure and improve compression efficiency and measurement accuracy.
Further regarding claims 10-12; the Kawaguchi/Yoshihide/Kleker combination blood pressure measurement device described in the rejection of claim 8 would also use the belts as described in the rejections of claims 5-7 above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
/ADAM J EISEMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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