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 Amendment
This office action is in response to the amendment filed on 01/23/2026. As directed by the amendment, claim 1 have been amended. As such, claims 1-14 are pending in the instant application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see pages 4-8 of Remarks, filed 01/23/2026, pertaining to the
newly amended limitations have been noted. However, a new ground(s) of rejection has been
provided below to address the newly added limitations.
On page 8 of Remarks, applicant stated that Dantanarayana (US 20040094157 A1) fails to disclose a flap capable of covering any openings of orifices 42. As such, Dantanarayana now teaches a vent and AAV housing (fixed portion 14 and cover 40, see Fig. 4) including at least one first opening and at least one second opening extending therethrough (fixed portion includes orifice 20 (taken as first opening) and cover 40 comprises of two orifices 42 (taken as second opening) as seen in Figs. 1 and 4 and [0070]-[0071]). Therefore, movable portion 12 covers orifice 20 when in a fully pressurized position as seen in Fig. 2 and [0070]-[0074].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) in view of Barlow (US 20130213400 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Baluchagi teaches a patient interface (patient interface 3000, see Fig. 7) to deliver a flow of air at a positive pressure with respect to ambient air pressure to an entrance to the patient's airways (“…the patient interface may form a seal, e.g., with a region of the patient's face, to facilitate the delivery of gas at a pressure at sufficient variance with ambient pressure to effect therapy, e.g., at a positive pressure of about 10 cmH.sub.2O relative to ambient pressure.” See [0024]) including at least the entrance of a patient's nares while the patient is sleeping, to ameliorate sleep disordered breathing (Baluchagi teaches a device or apparatus to provide improvements in respiratory conditions such as sleep disordered breathing as seen [0087]. Baluchagi further teaches a patient interface 3000 with a seal forming structure 3100 and nasal portion hole 3102 to seal the patient’s nares as seen in Fig. 11 and [0231]), the patient interface comprising:
a seal-forming structure (seal-forming structure 3100, see Figs. 7-23) configured and arranged to form a seal with a region of a patient's face surrounding the entrance to the patient's airways (“The seal-forming structure 3100 according to examples of the present technology may seal around the patient's nares and mouth separately, i.e., oro-nasal.” See [0230] and Fig. 34), the seal-forming structure configured to form at least a portion of a plenum chamber (plenum chamber 3200, see Fig. 21) pressurizable to a therapeutic pressure (the seal-forming structure forms at least part of the plenum chamber as seen in Fig. 21 and [0234] which is pressurizable to a therapeutic pressure as seen in [0259]); and
a vent and AAV assembly (anti-asphyxia valve assembly 3850, see Fig. 10) configured to regulate flow therethrough to (1) provide a vent flow path when pressure in the plenum chamber is above a predetermined magnitude (Baluchagi teaches anti-asphyxia valve 3850 with an anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 which moves to a closed position by the force of pressure and closes anti-asphyxia valve hole 3852 as seen in Fig. 29 and [0321]. Baluchagi further teaches anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 to include holes that allow air to pass through to atmosphere for venting in a closed position as seen in [0321]. Therefore, Baluchagi teaches a vent flow path through the holes of asphyxia valve flap 3851 when the flap 3851 closes valve hole 3852 due to pressure above a predetermined magnitude) and (2) provide a breathable flow path when pressure in the plenum chamber is below the predetermined magnitude or not delivered (Baluchagi teaches the anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 to be in an open neutral position when there is no pressure applied to the flap and allows the patient to breathe from the atmosphere as seen in Fig. 30 and [0321]),
the vent and AAV assembly comprising:
a vent and AAV housing (anti-asphyxia valve assembly 3850 comprises a housing as seen in Fig. 10 which surrounds anti-asphyxia valve holes 3862 and includes anti-asphyxia valve hole divider 3855) including at least one first opening and at least one second opening extending therethrough (Baluchagi teaches anti-asphyxia valve hole divider 3855 across the anti-asphyxia valve hole 3852, dividing the hole into two openings/holes as seen in Figs. 10 and 29-30), each of the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening configured to allow gas to flow between the plenum chamber and ambient (each of the two openings of the anti-asphyxia valve hole 3852 allows gas to flow between plenum chamber 3200 and ambient as seen in Figs. 12 and 29-30 and [0080]); and
an AAV member (anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851, see Figs. 29-30) provided to the vent and AAV housing (see Figs. 29-30), the AAV member including at least one flap portion (anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851, see Figs. 29-30) configured and arranged to be movable between an activated position and a deactivated position to regulate flow through the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening (Baluchagi teaches anti-asphyxia valve 3850 with an anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 which moves between an opened (deactivated) and closed (activated) position due to pressure to regulate the two opening/holes of anti-asphyxia valve hole 3852 as seen in Figs. 29-30 and [0321]),
wherein the at least one flap portion includes a plurality of vent holes therethrough (“…the anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 may include holes that allow air to pass through to atmosphere, e.g., for venting, in the closed position.” See [0321]),
wherein the at least one flap portion is movable to the activated position when pressure in the plenum chamber is above the predetermined magnitude to cover the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening so that the at least one first opening is closed by the at least one flap portion and a vent flow of gas is allowed to pass along the vent flow path that extends through the plurality of vent holes of the at least one flap portion and through the at least one second opening (Baluchagi teaches anti-asphyxia valve 3850 with an anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 which moves to a closed position by the force of pressure and closes anti-asphyxia valve holes 3852 as seen in Fig. 29 and [0321]. Baluchagi further teaches anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 to include holes that allow air to pass through to atmosphere for venting in a closed position as seen in [0321]. Therefore, Baluchagi teaches a vent flow path through the holes of asphyxia valve flap 3851 and the anti-asphyxia valve hole 3852 through when the flap 3851 closes valve holes 3852 (including the first opening) due to pressure above a predetermined magnitude), and
wherein the at least one flap portion is movable to the deactivated position when pressure in the plenum chamber is below the predetermined magnitude or not delivered to uncover the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening so that a breathable flow of gas is allowed to pass along the breathable flow path that extends through the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening (Baluchagi teaches the anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 to be in an open neutral position when there is no pressure applied to the flap, and anti-asphyxia valve holes 3852 are left opened to allow the patient to breathe from the atmosphere through anti-asphyxia valve holes 3852 as seen in Fig. 30 and [0321]).
But it is unclear on the plurality of vent holes arranged to align with the at least one second opening when the at least one flap portion is in the activated position.
However, Barlow teaches vent holes 25 to be spread throughout flap 261 of anti-asphyxia valve 260 as seen in Figs. 89-90 and [0151].
Baluchagi teaches “…the anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 may include holes that allow air to pass through to atmosphere, e.g., for venting, in the closed position…” as seen in [0321]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by Baluchagi to have the vent holes be arranged throughout the flap as taught by Barlow as a design choice that aids in the diffusivity of the vent flow. Baluchagi in view of Barlow teaches the plurality of vent holes arranged to align with the at least one second opening when the at least one flap portion is in the activated position (Baluchagi in view of Barlow teaches the holes of Baluchagi to be spread throughout the valve flap 3851 (as taught by Barlow) and therefore, the holes are aligned with the at least one second opening when the flap portion is in the activated position/closed).
Regarding claim 14, Baluchagi in view of Barlow teaches a CPAP system for providing gas at positive pressure for respiratory therapy to a patient (Baluchagi teaches a treatment system as shown in Fig. 1C comprising a patient interface 3000, a RPT device 4000 and air circuit 4170 delivering positive pressure to patient 1000 as seen in [0093]), the CPAP system comprising:
an RPT device (RPT device 4000, see Fig. 1C of Baluchagi) configured to supply a flow of gas at a therapeutic pressure (RPT device 4000, such as a CPAP device, is to generate a pressurized flow of air for delivery to an interface to the airways as seen in [0048] of Baluchagi);
a patient interface (patient interface 3000, see Fig. 7 of Baluchagi) according to claim 1 (see claim 1 above); and
an air delivery conduit (air circuit 4170, see Fig. 1C of Baluchagi) configured to pass the flow of gas at the therapeutic pressure from the RPT device to the patient interface (“Air from the RPT device is humidified in a humidifier 5000, and passes along an air circuit 4170 to the patient 1000.” See [0093] of Baluchagi).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) in view of Barlow (US 20130213400 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Walker (US 20060076017 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Baluchagi in view of Barlow teaches the patient interface of claim 1, but does not teach the AAV member includes a first flap portion and a second flap portion, each of the first and second flap portions including the plurality of vent holes.
However, Walker teaches the AAV member includes a first flap portion and a second flap portion (Walker teaches a flap 132 comprising of three flexible flaps 135 which are separated by three slits 136 as shown in Figs.16a, 7 and 19 and [0077], wherein there is a first flap portion and a second flap portion).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by Baluchagi in view of Barlow to include a slit to separate the AAV member into a first flap portion and second flap portion as taught by Walker as an alternative AAV member design which performs the same function (see [0075]-[0076]). Furthermore, modified Baluchagi teaches each of the first and second flap portions including the plurality of vent holes (modified Baluchagi teaches anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 of Baluchagi to comprise of a first flap portion and a second flap portion (taught by Walker) and Baluchagi further teaches the anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 to comprise of vent holes as seen in [0321]).
Claim(s) 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) in view of Barlow (US 20130213400 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wells (US 20150217074 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Baluchagi in view of Barlow teaches the patient interface of claim 1, and Baluchagi further teaches anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 with vent holes (see [0321]) but does not teach wherein the at least one flap portion includes a textile vent or a microvent providing the plurality of vent holes.
However, Wells teaches vents 3400 located in the plenum chamber 3200 of patient interface 3000 as seen in Fig. 147 and [0581]. Wells further teaches the vent portion 72, 73 made from textile, wherein the textile is formed by interlacing fibers to form an interlaced structure defining tortuous air paths for air to pass therethrough as seen in Fig. 155 and [0581].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by Baluchagi in view of Barlow to replace the vent holes with the vent portions taught by Wells as an alternative vent design and method in which the air flow exiting from the vent is non-linear, avoids laminar flow and a wide plume with turbulent flow is generated (see [0583].
Regarding claim 12, modified Baluchagi teaches the patient interface of claim 11, and further teaches wherein the at least one flap portion includes the textile vent (anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 of Baluchagi is modified with the vent portion taught by Wells made from textile as seen in [0581] of Wells), and wherein the textile vent comprises a textile material with the plurality of vent holes formed by interspaces between the fibers of the textile material (Wells teaches the vent portion 72, 73 made from textile, wherein the textile is formed by interlacing fibers to form an interlaced structure defining tortuous air paths for air to pass therethrough as seen in Fig. 155 and [0581]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Baluchagi teaches the patient interface of claim 11, and further teaches wherein the at least one flap portion includes the microvent, and wherein the microvent comprises a semi-permeable material with the plurality of vent holes formed in a substrate of the semi-permeable material, and each of the plurality of vent holes includes a diameter of 1 micron or less (anti-asphyxia valve flap 3851 of Baluchagi is modified with the vent portion taught by Wells made from textile as seen in [0581] of Wells. Wells further teaches vent holes 3400/vent portions to be microholes defined in a substrate of a semi-permeable material (see [0580]) in which the semi-permeable material is textile (see [0602]).
Claim(s) 1, 6-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dantanarayana (US 20040094157 A1) in view of Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) and Barlow (US 20130213400 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Dantanarayana teaches a patient interface (breathing mask shell 32, see Fig. 7) to deliver a flow of air at a positive pressure with respect to ambient air pressure to an entrance to the patient's airways including at least the entrance of a patient's nares while the patient is sleeping, to ameliorate sleep disordered breathing (“Treatment of OSA by CPAP gas delivery systems involves the continuous delivery of air (or breathable gas) pressurized above atmospheric pressure to a patient's airways via a conduit and a mask. CPAP pressures of 4 cm H.sub.20 to 30 cm H.sub.20 are typically used for treatment of sleep disordered breathing due to OSA and/or central apnea, depending on patient requirements.” See [0005]), the patient interface comprising:
a vent and AAV assembly (flow regulation vent 10, see Figs. 1-4) configured to regulate flow therethrough to (1) provide a vent flow path when pressure in the plenum chamber is above a predetermined magnitude (flow regulation vent 10 comprises of a movable portion 12 that as CPAP pressure increases, the forces act on movable portion 12 to move the movable portion 12 towards fixed portion 14 to reduce gas flow as can be seen in Fig. 2 and [0074]. Movable portion 10 further comprises of one or more bleed orifices 24 to provide a vent flow path when movable portion 12 is moved towards fixed portion 14 as seen in Fig. 2 and [0070]) and (2) provide a breathable flow path when pressure in the plenum chamber is below the predetermined magnitude or not delivered (movable portion 12 is in a relaxed position as shown in Fig. 3, where there is a maximum gas flow between movable portion 12 and orifice 20 when there is little to no pressure, allowing the patient to continue breathing if the flow generator was to stop working as seen in [0073]),
the vent and AAV assembly comprising:
a vent and AAV housing (fixed portion 14 and cover 40, see Fig. 4) including at least one first opening and at least one second opening extending therethrough (fixed portion includes orifice 20 (taken as first opening) and cover 40 comprises of two orifices 42 (taken as second opening) as seen in Figs. 1 and 4 and [0070]-[0071]), each of the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening configured to allow gas to flow between the patient interface and ambient (orifices 20 and 42 allows gas to flow from the patient interface to the atmosphere as seen in Figs. 4 and 7 and [0071] and [0073]-[0074]); and
an AAV member (movable portion 12, see Figs. 1 and 7) provided to the vent and AAV housing (see Fig. 4 and 7), the AAV member including at least one flap portion (movable portion 12, see Figs. 1 and 7) configured and arranged to be movable between an activated position and a deactivated position to regulate flow through the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening (movable portion 12 regulates flow within support ring 36 such that movable portion moves between a fully pressurized position (activated) in Fig. 2 and [0070] and a relaxed position (deactivated) in Fig. 3 and [0030] to regulate flow through orifices 20 and 42 as seen in Figs. 1-4 and [0071] and [0073]-[0074]),
wherein the at least one flap portion includes a plurality of vent holes therethrough (Movable portion 12 further comprises of one or more bleed orifices 24 seen in Fig. 1 and [0070]),
wherein the at least one flap portion is movable to the activated position when pressure in the plenum chamber is above the predetermined magnitude to cover the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening so that the at least one first opening is closed by the at least one flap portion and a vent flow of gas is allowed to pass along the vent flow path that extends through the plurality of vent holes of the at least one flap portion and through the at least one second opening (flow regulation vent 10 comprises of a movable portion 12 that as CPAP pressure increases, the forces act on movable portion 12 to move the movable portion 12 towards fixed portion 14 to close orifice 20 to reduce gas flow as can be seen in Figs. 2 and 6 and [0074]. Movable portion 10 further comprises of one or more bleed orifices 24 to provide a vent flow path through the bleed orifices 24 and two orifices 42 when movable portion 12 is moved towards fixed portion 14 as seen in Fig. 2 and [0070]), and
wherein the at least one flap portion is movable to the deactivated position when pressure in the plenum chamber is below the predetermined magnitude or not delivered to uncover the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening so that a breathable flow of gas is allowed to pass along the breathable flow path that extends through the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening (movable portion 12 is in a relaxed position as shown in Fig. 3, where there is a maximum gas flow between movable portion 12 and orifice 20 when there is little to no pressure, allowing the patient to continue breathing if the flow generator was to stop working as seen in [0073]. Furthermore, the breathable flow of gas passes along through the two orifices 42 out of cover 40 as seen in Fig. 4).
And Dantanarayana further teaches a breathing mask shell 32 for covering the mouth and/or nostrils of the patient 50 as seen in Fig. 7 and [0071]
But does not teach a seal-forming structure configured and arranged to form a seal with a region of a patient's face surrounding the entrance to the patient's airways, the seal-forming structure configured to form at least a portion of a plenum chamber pressurizable to a therapeutic pressure;
the plurality of vent holes arranged to align with the at least one second opening when the at least one flap portion is in the activated position.
However, Baluchagi teaches a seal-forming structure (seal-forming structure 3100, see Figs. 7-23) configured and arranged to form a seal with a region of a patient's face surrounding the entrance to the patient's airways (“The seal-forming structure 3100 according to examples of the present technology may seal around the patient's nares and mouth separately, i.e., oro-nasal.” See [0230] and Fig. 34), the seal-forming structure configured to form at least a portion of a plenum chamber (plenum chamber 3200, see Fig. 21) pressurizable to a therapeutic pressure (the seal-forming structure forms at least part of the plenum chamber as seen in Fig. 21 and [0234] which is pressurizable to a therapeutic pressure as seen in [0259])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by Dantanarayana to replace the breathing mask shell with the seal forming structure and plenum chamber taught by Baluchagi for a target seal-foaming region that provides a cushioning function (see [0210]), especially as Dantanarayana teaches already teaches a similar structure as shown in Fig. 7.
However, Barlow teaches vent holes 25 to be spread throughout flap 261 of anti-asphyxia valve 260 as seen in Figs. 89-90 and [0151].
Dantanarayana teaches movable portion 12 to comprises of one or more bleed orifices 24 seen in Fig. 1 and [0070] Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by Dantanarayana in view of Baluchagi to have the vent holes be arranged throughout the flap as taught by Barlow as a design choice that aids in the diffusivity of the vent flow. Modified Dantanarayana teaches the plurality of vent holes arranged to align with the at least one second opening when the at least one flap portion is in the activated position (Dantanarayana further teaches the number, size positioning and shape of orifices 42 can be altered as appropriate as seen in [0071]. Therefore, Modified Dantanarayana teaches the holes of Dantanarayana to be spread throughout movable flap 12 (as taught by Barlow) and therefore, the holes are aligned with the orifices 42 when the flap portion is in the activated position/closed).
Regarding claim 6, modified Dantanarayana teaches the patient interface of claim 1, and Dantanarayana further teaches further comprising an AAV cover (base portion 30, see Figs. 4-6) to retain the AAV member to the vent and AAV housing (base portion 30 comprises a support ring 36 to aid in retaining movable portion 12 to cover 40 as seen in Figs. 4-6).
Regarding claim 7, modified Dantanarayana teaches the patient interface of claim 6, and Dantanarayana further teaches wherein the AAV cover forms a stop for the at least one flap portion when in the deactivated position (base portion 30 forms a stop for movable portion 12, where when movable portion 12 is in a relaxed position it moves towards base portion 30 as seen in Fig. 5 and [0072]. Therefore, base portion 30 forms a stop for movable portion 12).
Regarding claim 9, modified Dantanarayana teaches the patient interface of claim 1, and Dantanarayana further teaches wherein at least the at least one flap portion comprises a plastic material (Dantanarayana teaches vent 10 to be made of a unitary sheet of material such as plastic as seen in [0078], wherein movable portion 12 is part of vent 10 as seen in Fig. 7 and [0070]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dantanarayana (US 20040094157 A1) in view of Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) and Barlow (US 20130213400 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Goldspink (US 20180236200 A1).
Regarding claim 10, modified Dantanarayana teaches the patient interface of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the AAV member comprises a silicone material.
However, Goldspink teaches wherein the AAV member comprises a silicone material (Goldspink teaches an anti-asphyxia valve assembly to include a AAVs constructed of liquid silicone rubber as seen in Fig. 19 and [0206]).
Dantanarayana teaches “…the vent 10 is constructed from a unitary sheet of material such as stainless steel or other metal or plastic, although other materials exhibiting the desired combination of rigidity, flexibility, springiness and resistance to bending fatigue can also be used (see [0078]).” Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the patient interface taught by modified Dantanarayana to have the AAV member be made out of liquid silicone rubber as taught by Goldspink as Goldspink also teaches an anti-asphyxia valve with a pair of AAVs which performs in a similar function to both Dantanarayana and Baluchagi (if pressurized gas is of sufficient magnitude, the flap portions 6682 of the AAVs will be block off ports 6665, and if the pressurized gas is not of sufficient magnitude, the flap will remain in rest position to allow the patient to breathe ambient air as seen in [0206]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 2-5 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 2 recites “further comprising a diffusing member provided to the vent and AAV housing, the diffusing member configured and arranged such that the at least one second opening is covered by the diffusing member so that at least a portion of the vent flow of gas passes through the diffusing member along the vent flow path and the at least one first opening is not covered by the diffusing member so that at least a portion of the breathable flow of gas bypasses the diffusing member along the breathable flow path.” Claim 1 is rejected by Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1) and Dantanarayana (US 20040094157 A1) in view of Baluchagi (US 20200368478 A1). However, neither Baluchagi or Dantanarayana teaches the limitations of claim 2.
Dantanarayana (WO 2016041019 A1; hereinafter Pradeep) teaches orifices 3402 covered by a diffusing member 3406 to reduce the perceptible noise generated by the vent 3400 as seen in Fig. 9C and [126]. However, Pradeep does not teach arranging the diffusing member such that at least one second opening is covered by the diffusing member so that at least a portion of the vent flow of gas passes through the diffusing member along the vent flow path and the at least one first opening is not covered by the diffusing member so that at least a portion of the breathable flow of gas bypasses the diffusing member along the breathable flow path.
As a result, because no references of record or reasonable conclusion thereof, could be found which disclose or suggest all features of claim 2, claim 2 is allowable subject matter. Claims 3-5 depend from claim 2 and are considered allowable subject matter by virtue of their dependency on claim 2.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tina Zhang whose telephone number is (571)272-6956. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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/TINA ZHANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3785 /BRANDY S LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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