DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the filing of a Request for Continued Examination (RCE) filed 6/16/2026. As per the amendments therein, claims 1 and 12-13 have been amended, and no claims have been added or cancelled. Thus, claims 1-6 and 8-13 are pending in the application.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/16/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 5-6, 8-9, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruckdeschel et al. (US Pub. 2006/0243275) in view of Smith et al. (US Pat. 5,069,204) in view of Shahaf et al. (US Pat. 10,549,052).
Regarding claim 1, Ruckdeschel discloses an inhalation-synchronized fluid product dispenser device (see disclosed breath-actuated inhalation device 1 in Fig. 1 and abstract) comprising a body (the outer casing of the inhaler in Figs. 1-2, particularly housing 100 formed of upper section 4 and lower section 2) provided with a mouthpiece (see Figs. 1-2 mouthpiece 3), at least one fluid reservoir containing fluid (canister 46 in Fig. 3), and dispenser means for dispensing a dose of fluid on each actuation (delivery stem 50 in Figs. 3-5 and 14), said device comprising blocking means for said dispenser means (see Figs. 3 and 5 vortex nozzle 49, which remains in place to block delivery stem 50 for dispensing the medicament therefrom), said device comprising an inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Figs. 3-5, the system at the top of the inhaler device, including elements such as toggle 30, spring 44, escapement 52, and elastomeric diaphragm 60) comprising an inhalation-sensitive member that is deformable and/or movable under the effect of inhaling (see Figs. 3-5 elastomeric diaphragm 60), said inhalation-sensitive member co-operating with said blocking means so that, when said inhalation-sensitive member is deformed and/or moved under the effect of inhaling, it enables said dispenser means to be actuated (see Figs. 3-5 where during inhalation, diaphragm 60 moves upon inhalation, moving escapement 52 to allow spring 44 to spring against spring cup 38 to press the canister 46 downward, to allow medicament to exit delivery stem 50. Thus, the diaphragm 60 and vortex nozzle 49 cooperate to cause medicament to be dispensed from delivery stem 50), wherein said reservoir is movable between a rest position and an actuation position (see [0035] and [0038] and Figs. 3-5 where the canister 46 is pushed downward from a rest to an actuation state, in order to allow delivery stem 50 to dispense medicament); and wherein an actuator member is mounted to move axially in said body between a rest position and a primed position (see Figs. 3-5 and [0038] where escapement 52 has a rest position (Fig. 3 where escapement 52 is resting against diaphragm 60) and a primed position (Fig. 5 where escapement 52 has moved toggle 30, resulting in a state of activation)), a spring being arranged between said actuator member and said reservoir or an element that is fixedly secured to said reservoir so that the element fixedly secured to said reservoir is non-movable relative to the reservoir (see Figs. 3-5 where spring 44 is arranged between escapement 52 and spring cup 38/ canister 46, where the spring cup 38 is always in contact with the canister 46 so as to not move relative to (see [0038]). It is further noted that “arranged between” is broad enough to include interpretations where the spring is “functionally between” the actuator and element fixed to the reservoir. As a simplified non-limiting example, if A acts on B and B acts on C, then B is functionally between A and C), so that when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring transmits an axial force to said reservoir (see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where the movement of escapement 52 results in the motion of spring 44, which transmits its axial force to spring cup 38 and thus to the canister 46).
Ruckdeschel lacks a detailed description of when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring is compressed, so as to transmit an axial force to said reservoir, said compressed spring biasing said reservoir towards the actuation position.
However, Smith teaches a similar breath-actuated inhaler device, where an actuator is moved into a primed position to compress a spring, the compressed spring transmitted axial force against the reservoir to bias it into an actuation position (see Figs. 4-5 and Col. 5 lines 14-27 where the motion of a actuating extension 39 pushes up against the spring 48 so as to compress the spring, which pressed directly against the vial 6, resulting in an actuation state).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the actuation system of Ruckdeschel to actuate to compress a spring to transmit force against the reservoir as taught by Smith, as it would be a simple matter of design choice for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the actuation system to compress a spring on actuation rather than decompress as spring on actuation, as it would still yield the predictable result of providing a spring that responds to an actuation to transmit an axial force to a reservoir.
The modified Ruckdeschel device lacks a detailed description of a protective element of said inhalation-controlled trigger system, the protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member, said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies, wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system.
However, Shahaf teaches a similar medicament inhaler device where a protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the medicament device (Figs. 4A-10) can include a filter, the filter being able to be placed in a variety of locations, including within the charging mechanism around the piston so as to filter air as it enters the piston chamber), said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter can be designed for blocking particulates, bacteria, viruses, and moisture), wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter is to remove the wanted particles from the air, and the placement of the filter in the flow path upstream the charging mechanism will protect charging mechanism from the air that enters it).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the valve area of the modified Ruckdeschel device to include a filter as taught by Shahaf, as it would help filter out unwanted particles and germs that enter the device to ensure the user receives clean, filtered air. It is understood that Shahaf discloses a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed (Shahaf; Col. 63 lines 33-54), including locations that are upstream of the piston mechanism that is creating the dispersal of the medicament. Hence, in the modified Ruckdeschel device, the upstream location is somewhere between the valve stem 50 and the diaphragm 60, such that air entering the device to entrain the medicament is already filtered. One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading Shahaf, would understand that there are a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed within the device to filter the air, and that placing it between an inhalation-sensitive member and a trigger mechanism amounts to a matter of design choice, as it would still ensure that the air passing through is filtered.
Regarding claim 5, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein said product reservoir containing a fluid product and a propellant gas (Ruckdeschel; see [0035] where the canister is a pressurized metered dose inhaler) is mounted to slide axially relative to said body (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where canister 46 moves axially up and down), a metering valve (Ruckdeschel; see [0035] where a metering valve is on the bottom of canister 46), including a valve member (Ruckdeschel; [0035] and [0038] where the metering valve is understood to include a valve member), being assembled on said reservoir for selectively dispensing the fluid product (Ruckdeschel; see [0035] and [0038] where the valve stem dispenses the fluid).
Regarding claim 6, the modified Ruckdeschel device has a blocking element (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 toggle 30) that is movable and/or deformable between a blocking position in which said metering valve cannot be actuated (Ruckdeschel; Figs. 3-4 where the toggle 30 blocks the modified spring system from being able to be actuated), and an actuation position in which said metering valve is configured to be actuated (Ruckdeschel; see Fig. 5 where toggle 30 has been moved to allow the modified spring to transmit its axial force for actuation), a trigger element (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 rollers 56) that is movable and/or deformable between a locking position in which it blocks said blocking element in its blocking position (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-4 where roller 56 blocks movement of the toggle 30), and a release position in which it does not block said blocking element (Ruckdeschel; see Fig. 5 where the position of roller 56 has been moved to allow the toggle 30 to move), and said inhalation-sensitive member co-operating with said trigger element (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where movement of the diaphragm 60 moves escapement 52 which then moves the roller 56), so that when said inhalation-sensitive member is deformed and/or moved, it moves and/or deforms said trigger element towards its release position (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where movement of the diaphragm 60 moves escapement 52 which then moves the roller 56 into its position to release toggle 30), thereby making it possible to move and/or deform said blocking element from its blocking position towards its actuation position (Ruckdeschel; see Fig. 5 where the toggle 30 is able to move when roller 56 is no longer holding it).
Regarding claim 8, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein a laterally-actuated pusher is mounted to move by pivoting and/or in translation on said body between a rest position and a working position (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 where rail 62 is a pusher that is moved by the movement of diaphragm 60, to move laterally between a rest position (Figs. 3-4) and a working position (Fig. 5)), a movement of said laterally-actuated pusher towards its working position moving said actuator member axially towards its primed position (Ruckdeschel; see Fig. 5 where the rail 62 being moved results in motion of the connected escapement 52 to its primed position).
Regarding claim 9, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein said inhalation-sensitive member includes a deformable membrane that defines a deformable air chamber (Ruckdeschel; see [0036] where diaphragm 60 is elastomeric, and Fig. 4 where its defines part of an air chamber (being a wall defining an edge of the interior space around A that is an air chamber)), said deformable membrane being fastened to said trigger element, said deformable membrane being deformed during inhaling (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 where the diaphragm 60 has stop 64, coupling it to rail 62).
Regarding claim 11, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein the actuator member is mounted to slide axially in said body between the rest position and the primed position (Ruckdeschel; see Figs. 3-5 where escapement 52 moves axially from rest (Figs. 3-4) to its primed position (Fig. 5)).
Regarding claim 12, Ruckdeschel discloses an inhalation-synchronized fluid product dispenser device (see disclosed breath-actuated inhalation device 1 in Fig. 1 and abstract) comprising a body (the outer casing of the inhaler in Figs. 1-2, particularly housing 100 formed of upper section 4 and lower section 2) provided with a mouthpiece (see Figs. 1-2 mouthpiece 3), at least one fluid reservoir containing fluid (canister 46 in Fig. 3), and dispenser means for dispensing a dose of fluid on each actuation (delivery stem 50 in Figs. 3-5 and 14), said device comprising blocking means for said dispenser means (see Figs. 3 and 5 vortex nozzle 49, which remains in place to block delivery stem 50 for dispensing the medicament therefrom), said device comprising an inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Figs. 3-5, the system at the top of the inhaler device, including elements such as toggle 30, spring 44, escapement 52, and elastomeric diaphragm 60) comprising an inhalation-sensitive member that is deformable and/or movable under the effect of inhaling (see Figs. 3-5 elastomeric diaphragm 60), said inhalation-sensitive member co-operating with said blocking means so that, when said inhalation-sensitive member is deformed and/or moved under the effect of inhaling, it enables said dispenser means to be actuated (see Figs. 3-5 where during inhalation, diaphragm 60 moves upon inhalation, moving escapement 52 to allow spring 44 to spring against spring cup 38 to press the canister 46 downward, to allow medicament to exit delivery stem 50. Thus, the diaphragm 60 and vortex nozzle 49 cooperate to cause medicament to be dispensed from delivery stem 50); wherein said reservoir is movable between a rest position and an actuation position (see [0035] and [0038] and Figs. 3-5 where the canister 46 is pushed downward from a rest to an actuation state, in order to allow delivery stem 50 to dispense medicament) and wherein an actuator member is mounted to move axially in said body between a rest position and a primed position (see Figs. 3-5 and [0038] where escapement 52 has a rest position (Fig. 3 where escapement 52 is resting against diaphragm 60) and a primed position (Fig. 5 where escapement 52 has moved toggle 30, resulting in a state of activation)), a spring being arranged between said actuator member and an element that is fixedly secured to said reservoir so that the element fixedly secured to said reservoir is non-movable relative to the reservoir (see Figs. 3-5 where spring 44 is arranged between escapement 52 and spring cup 38/ canister 46, where the spring cup 38 is always in contact with the canister 46 so as to not move relative to (see [0038]). It is further noted that “arranged between” is broad enough to include interpretations where the spring is “functionally between” the actuator and element fixed to the reservoir. As a simplified non-limiting example, if A acts on B and B acts on C, then B is functionally between A and C), wherein, when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring transmits an axial force of the spring to the element fixedly secured to said reservoir (see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where the movement of escapement 52 results in the motion of spring 44, which transmits its axial force to spring cup 38 and thus to the canister 46).
Ruckdeschel lacks a detailed description of when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring is compressed, so as to transmit an axial force to said element fixedly secured to said reservoir, said compressed spring biasing said reservoir towards the actuation position.
However, Smith teaches a similar breath-actuated inhaler device, where an actuator is moved into a primed position to compress a spring, the compressed spring transmitted axial force against the reservoir to bias it into an actuation position (see Figs. 4-5 and Col. 5 lines 14-27 where the motion of an actuating extension 39 pushes up against the spring 48 through intermediate members so as to compress the spring, which pressed directly against the vial 6, resulting in an actuation state).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the actuation system of Ruckdeschel to actuate to compress a spring to transmit force against the reservoir as taught by Smith, as it would be a simple matter of design choice for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the actuation system to compress a spring on actuation rather than decompress as spring on actuation, as it would still yield the predictable result of providing a spring that responds to an actuation to transmit an axial force to a reservoir. It is understood that in the modified Ruckdeschel device, the modified spring taught by Smith presses against the spring cup of Ruckdeschel.
The modified Ruckdeschel device lacks a detailed description of a protective element of said inhalation-controlled trigger system, the protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member, said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies, wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system.
However, Shahaf teaches a similar medicament inhaler device where a protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the medicament device (Figs. 4A-10) can include a filter, the filter being able to be placed in a variety of locations, including within the charging mechanism around the piston so as to filter air as it enters the piston chamber), said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter can be designed for blocking particulates, bacteria, viruses, and moisture), wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter is to remove the wanted particles from the air, and the placement of the filter in the flow path upstream the charging mechanism will protect charging mechanism from the air that enters it).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the valve area of the modified Ruckdeschel device to include a filter as taught by Shahaf, as it would help filter out unwanted particles and germs that enter the device to ensure the user receives clean, filtered air. It is understood that Shahaf discloses a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed (Shahaf; Col. 63 lines 33-54), including locations that are upstream of the piston mechanism that is creating the dispersal of the medicament. Hence, in the modified Ruckdeschel device, the upstream location is somewhere between the valve stem 50 and the diaphragm 60, such that air entering the device to entrain the medicament is already filtered. One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading Shahaf, would understand that there are a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed within the device to filter the air, and that placing it between an inhalation-sensitive member and a trigger mechanism amounts to a matter of design choice, as it would still ensure that the air passing through is filtered.
Regarding claim 13, Ruckdeschel discloses an inhalation-synchronized fluid product dispenser device (see disclosed breath-actuated inhalation device 1 in Fig. 1 and abstract) comprising a body (the outer casing of the inhaler in Figs. 1-2, particularly housing 100 formed of upper section 4 and lower section 2) provided with a mouthpiece (see Figs. 1-2 mouthpiece 3), at least one fluid reservoir containing fluid (canister 46 in Fig. 3), and dispenser means for dispensing a dose of fluid on each actuation (delivery stem 50 in Figs. 3-5 and 14), said device comprising blocking means for said dispenser means (see Figs. 3 and 5 vortex nozzle 49, which remains in place to block delivery stem 50 for dispensing the medicament therefrom), said device comprising an inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Figs. 3-5, the system at the top of the inhaler device, including elements such as toggle 30, spring 44, escapement 52, and elastomeric diaphragm 60) comprising an inhalation-sensitive member that is deformable and/or movable under the effect of inhaling (see Figs. 3-5 elastomeric diaphragm 60), said inhalation-sensitive member co-operating with said blocking means so that, when said inhalation-sensitive member is deformed and/or moved under the effect of inhaling, it enables said dispenser means to be actuated (see Figs. 3-5 where during inhalation, diaphragm 60 moves upon inhalation, moving escapement 52 to allow spring 44 to spring against spring cup 38 to press the canister 46 downward, to allow medicament to exit delivery stem 50. Thus, the diaphragm 60 and vortex nozzle 49 cooperate to cause medicament to be dispensed from delivery stem 50), wherein said reservoir is movable between a rest position and an actuation position (see [0035] and [0038] and Figs. 3-5 where the canister 46 is pushed downward from a rest to an actuation state, in order to allow delivery stem 50 to dispense medicament); and wherein an actuator member is mounted to move axially in said body between a rest position and a primed position (see Figs. 3-5 and [0038] where escapement 52 has a rest position (Fig. 3 where escapement 52 is resting against diaphragm 60) and a primed position (Fig. 5 where escapement 52 has moved toggle 30, resulting in a state of activation)), a spring being arranged between said actuator member and said reservoir (see Figs. 3-5 where spring 44 is arranged between escapement 52 and spring cup 38/ canister 46, where the spring cup 38 is always in contact with the canister 46 so as to not move relative to (see [0038]). It is further noted that “arranged between” is broad enough to include interpretations where the spring is “functionally between” the actuator and element fixed to the reservoir. As a simplified non-limiting example, if A acts on B and B acts on C, then B is functionally between A and C), so that when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring transmits an axial force to said reservoir through a rigid structure (see Figs. 3-5 and [0035] and [0038] where the movement of escapement 52 results in the motion of spring 44, which transmits its axial force to spring cup 38 and thus to the canister 46, the spring cup being having a rigid structure).
Ruckdeschel lacks a detailed description of when said actuator member moves towards its primed position, said spring is compressed, so as to transmit an axial force to said reservoir, said compressed spring biasing said reservoir towards the actuation position.
However, Smith teaches a similar breath-actuated inhaler device, where an actuator is moved into a primed position to compress a spring, the compressed spring transmitted axial force against the reservoir to bias it into an actuation position (see Figs. 4-5 and Col. 5 lines 14-27 where the motion of an actuating extension 39 pushes up against the spring 48 so as to compress the spring, which pressed directly against the vial 6, resulting in an actuation state).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the actuation system of Ruckdeschel to actuate to compress a spring to transmit force against the reservoir as taught by Smith, as it would be a simple matter of design choice for a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the actuation system to compress a spring on actuation rather than decompress as spring on actuation, as it would still yield the predictable result of providing a spring that responds to an actuation to transmit an axial force to a reservoir.
The modified Ruckdeschel device lacks a detailed description of a protective element of said inhalation-controlled trigger system, the protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member, said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies, wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system.
However, Shahaf teaches a similar medicament inhaler device where a protective element being disposed inside the device between said mouthpiece and said inhalation-sensitive member (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the medicament device (Figs. 4A-10) can include a filter, the filter being able to be placed in a variety of locations, including within the charging mechanism around the piston so as to filter air as it enters the piston chamber), said protective element being made of a porous material that allows air to pass through it but blocks passage of water, dust and foreign bodies (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter can be designed for blocking particulates, bacteria, viruses, and moisture), wherein said protective element is configured and disposed to thereby avoid contamination of the inhalation-controlled trigger system (see Col. 63 lines 33-54 where the filter is to remove the wanted particles from the air, and the placement of the filter in the flow path upstream the charging mechanism will protect charging mechanism from the air that enters it).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the valve area of the modified Ruckdeschel device to include a filter as taught by Shahaf, as it would help filter out unwanted particles and germs that enter the device to ensure the user receives clean, filtered air. It is understood that Shahaf discloses a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed (Shahaf; Col. 63 lines 33-54), including locations that are upstream of the piston mechanism that is creating the dispersal of the medicament. Hence, in the modified Ruckdeschel device, the upstream location is somewhere between the valve stem 50 and the diaphragm 60, such that air entering the device to entrain the medicament is already filtered. One of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading Shahaf, would understand that there are a plurality of locations where a filter could be placed within the device to filter the air, and that placing it between an inhalation-sensitive member and a trigger mechanism amounts to a matter of design choice, as it would still ensure that the air passing through is filtered.
Claims 2-3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruckdeschel in view of Smith in view of Shahaf as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Knopeck et al. (US Pat. 9,308,199).
Regarding claim 2, the modified Ruckdeschel device has a porous protective element.
The modified Ruckdeschel device lacks a detailed description of the protective element being made of open-pore sintered material.
However, Knopeck teaches a similar medicament inhaler device, where a porous filtering membrane in the mouthpiece is made from sintered polymers, such as polypropylene (see Col. 12 lines 34-50; where the material is porous and thus open-pore).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material of the porous filter of the modified Ruckdeschel device to be a sintered polypropylene as taught by Knopeck, as it would be a simple substitution for one porous filter material for another, to yield the predictable result of still being able to filter out unwanted particles.
Regarding claim 3, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein said open-pore sintered material comprises a polyolefin material (Knopeck; see Col. 12 lines 34-50 where polypropylene is understood to be a polyolefin material).
Regarding claim 10, the modified Ruckdeschel device has wherein the polyolefin material is polypropylene (Knopeck; see Col. 12 lines 34-50 where polypropylene is understood to be a polyolefin material).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruckdeschel in view of Smith in view of Shahaf as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Loeser et al. (US Pub. 2009/0194107).
Regarding claim 4, the modified Ruckdeschel device has a protective element for filtering germs.
The modified Ruckdeschel device lacks a detailed description of said protective element is subjected to an antibacterial treatment.
However, Loeser teaches a similar respiratory device that delivers breathable gas to a patient, where a filter element includes a bioactive agent to resist germs and bacteria (see [0023]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the air filter of the modified Ruckdeschel device to carry a bioactive agent to combat bacteria as taught by Loeser, as it would help in the air filter’s ability to capture germs and bacteria to purify the inhaled air.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6 and 8-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Specifically, the newly applied Ruckdeschel primary reference and Smith teaching reference have not been previously applied or argued against.
For the above reasons, the rejections hold.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Thiel (US Pat. 3,456,644) and Phillips et al. (US Pat. 3,456,646) are cited to show similar actuation systems for inhalers relying on breath actuation and internal moving parts.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW D ZIEGLER whose telephone number is (571)272-3349. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Stanis can be reached at (571)272-5139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW D ZIEGLER/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/TIMOTHY A STANIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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