Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 17/554,514

INTEGRATION OF A MEDICAMENT DELIVERY DEVICE WITH A SMARTWATCH AND A VEHICLE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 17, 2021
Priority
Dec 18, 2020 — provisional 63/127,218 +1 more
Examiner
PONTON, JAMES D
Art Unit
3783
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Insulet Corporation
OA Round
6 (Non-Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
6-7
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
456 granted / 571 resolved
+9.9% vs TC avg
Strong +33% interview lift
Without
With
+32.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
594
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.5%
-38.5% vs TC avg
§103
41.0%
+1.0% vs TC avg
§102
16.1%
-23.9% vs TC avg
§112
36.8%
-3.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 571 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . Claim Objections Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: The preamble of claim 4 currently reads “The method claim 3”. This should likely read “the method of claim 3”. Appropriate correction is required. Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamen et al. (US 2015/0011970 A1, hereafter “Kamen”) in view of Schmid et al. (US 2018/0126083 A1, hereafter “Schmid”). As to claim 1, Kamen discloses a method performed by a processor of a smartwatch (3500; see Fig. 35C-35E, para 0429), comprising: displaying a user interface element on a display of the smartwatch (3500) to request a bolus of medicament from a medicament delivery device (3502) (see para 0079, 0088, 0429); determining that the user interface element has been used to request a bolus of medicament be delivered to a user of the medicament delivery device (apparent since Kamen teaches “the mini-remote interface may include one or more user inputs which includes any mechanism by which a user and/or other operator/caregiver of the device and/or remote interface may control a function of the device and/or remote interface” – see all of para 0429, also para 0110); and responsive to the determining, wirelessly communicating from the smartwatch with a handheld management device (3512; see para 0432, 0433) for managing the medicament delivery device (para 0435 – “the remote interface 3512 may be used to control one or more devices/medical devices 3502, 3504, 3506”), wherein the management device (3512) is separate from the medicament delivery device and a glucose monitor (3504), controls delivery of medicament by the medicament delivery device (see para 0435), and receives glucose level values from the glucose monitor (para 0432, 0436, Fig. 35E). Kamen does not expressly recite that the wirelessly communicating includes forwarding an instruction to the handheld management device for the medicament delivery device to deliver the medicament bolus to the user. Schmid discloses wirelessly communicating including forwarding an instruction to a handheld management device (smartphone) for the medicament delivery device to deliver the medicament bolus to the user (see para 0031 teaching “the command to pull out the cotter pin can be sent via Bluetooth to the injection device. Thus, the command can be transmitted via Internet to a smartphone of the user. Subsequently, a smartphone app forwards this command via Bluetooth to the injection device. Consequently, this means that, for example, a treating physician or an insurer can authorize the administration of a drug via Internet”). The only difference between the prior art and the claimed invention is that the prior art does not specifically refer to a smartwatch wirelessly communicating with the handheld management device (e.g. a smartphone) to forward the instruction to the handheld management device (emphasis added). However, Kamen discloses communication between its smartwatch and handheld management device (as cited above) and Schmid discloses forwarding of instructions to a handheld management device (see para 0031 of Schmid). A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have had the necessary technological capabilities to modify the method of Kamen such that the wirelessly communicating includes forwarding an instruction to the handheld management device for the medicament delivery device to deliver the medicament bolus to the user. Based on the above findings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have combined the method of Kamen with the forwarding of instructions of Schmid to yield the predictable result of a system/method as claimed that uses instructions forwarded between different devices. As to claim 2, Kamen in view of Schmid discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the medicament includes insulin (para 0087, 0090 of Kamen). As to claim 3, Kamen in view of Schmid discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising determining a dosage of the bolus of medicament for the user (para 0088, 0100, 0450 of Kamen). As to claim 4, Kamen in view of Schmid discloses the method of claim 3, wherein the determining of the dosage comprises displaying a prompt on the display of the smartwatch to obtain information for the determining of the dosage (para 0438, 0439, 0450 of Kamen). As to claim 5, Kamen in view of Schmid discloses the method of claim 4, wherein the prompt requests a carbohydrates quantity (para 0438, 0439, 0450, 0463). Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamen in view of Schmid as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Weydt et al. (US 2021/0065894 A1, hereafter “Weydt”). As to claim 6, Kamen in view of Schmid teaches the method of claim 1 as described above, but is silent to further comprising displaying a reminder of when the user should eat on the display of the smartwatch. Weydt discloses a smartwatch (para 0047, claim 10), and displaying a reminder of when the user should eat on the display of the smartwatch (para 0047). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kamen (as already modified above) to include displaying a reminder of when the user should eat on the display of the smartwatch. One would have been motivated to do so as part of a patient’s diabetes treatment (see para 0004, 0047 of Weydt). Response to Arguments Applicant’s Remarks submitted 1/22/26 have been considered. With regard to the arguments concerning the previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103, while not agreeing with all of the Remarks, the examiner does agree that in the previous prior art of Yodfat/Saffer, is no teaching of the smartwatch wirelessly communicating with the management device (i.e., the PC 50) for the PC 50 to forward an instruction to the handheld management device for the medicament delivery device to deliver the medicament bolus. The previous rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been withdrawn. However, a new grounds of rejection is made above. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James D Ponton whose telephone number is (571)272-1001. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm. 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, Chelsea Stinson can be reached at 571-270-1744. 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. /James D Ponton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 8 earlier events
Oct 09, 2024
Response Filed
Feb 13, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
May 13, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 08, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Aug 13, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jan 22, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 01, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

6-7
Expected OA Rounds
80%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+32.7%)
2y 10m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 571 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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