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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claims 1-6 is withdrawn in view of the newly discovered reference(s) to Lofdahl. Rejections based on the newly cited reference(s) follow.
Claims 3-6, 8, 10, 12 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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, 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lofdahl (US4179319A).
Lofdahl discloses the claimed invention as follows (refer to Figs. 1 and 4):
Claim 1. A method for manufacturing an implantable1 device, the method comprising:
cutting a slit (see Fig. 4 and col. 6, lns. 36-51) in a piece of polymer (20, Figs. 3 and 4);
extending a plurality of insulated wires (14; see “plurality of individually insulated electrical conductors” in the abstract; see col. 3, lns. 20-50) through the slit, each wire of the insulated wires being parallel to a neighboring wire of the insulated wires (see Fig. 1); and
thermally bonding (see col. 3, lns. 40-45 and col. 6, lns. 36-51) the piece of polymer around each wire of the plurality of insulated wires such that the piece of polymer is sealed around insulation of each wire with a portion of each wire of the plurality of insulated wires extending through the piece of polymer
Claim 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the extending the plurality of insulated wires through the slit is performed at less than 100 degrees Celsius (C). It is understood from the reference this is performed at room temperature.
Claim 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before the thermally bonding: disposing a stiffener (the other 20; see Fig. 3) onto the plurality of insulated wires.
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lofdahl in view of Official Notice.
Lofdahl does not disclose the insulation of the insulated wires being composed of polyimide.
The examiner takes official notice of the fact that the use of polyimide as insulation for electrical wires is well known (e.g. magnet wires).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to use the technique disclosed by Lofdahl with wires having any type of insulation, such as polyimide, with predictable results.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lofdahl.
Lofdahl does not disclose the thermally bonding is performed for between 10 minutes and 15 minutes.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to adjust the thermally bonding time as needed, based on the materials used, to ensure a proper seal around the wires.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIVIUS R CAZAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8032. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday noon-8:30 pm ET.
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, Thomas Hong can be reached at 571-272-0993. 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.
/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
1 The claims do not link the recited structural elements to the intended purpose in a manner that specifically limits the resulting structure.