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 .
Acknowledgments
This office action is in response to the reply filed on 5/14/25. In the reply, the applicant amended claims 1, 23; canceled claims 2, 31; claims 16-17,24-26,28-29 are withdrawn. Claims 23,27,30,1,5,7-9,13,15 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/28/25 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97(b). Accordingly, the IDS is being considered by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 23, 27, 30, 1, 7, 9, 13, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Francis (US 2023/0230675).
Francis discloses an enteral nutrition system (Figs. 1a,b) : (claim 23)
A system comprising: a housing; a motor positioned within the housing; a pump 102 removably seated on the housing; a reservoir 123 that holds an enteral nutrition fluid; an inlet tube portion that connects the reservoir and the pump (Fig. 1b); an outlet tube portion that connects the pump and an end adaptor configured to be received in a patient cross-cutaneous access point (Fig. 1b) [0070]; a processor 101 configured to control operation of the motor; wherein the processor is configured for wireless communication [0068], a display coupled to the housing and electrically coupled to the processor [0099-0100]; and an electronic device 108 in wireless communication with the processor [0073]; wherein at least one of the display and the electronic device is configured to receive a feedback on a completed feed from a user [0078,0082]; and wherein the processor controls operation of the motor to adjust a rate of feeding for a subsequent feed based on the feedback; and wherein the feedback is analyzed to generate a predictive model for at least one selected from the group of a tolerable feeding rate, a feed type, a feeding schedule, and a feeding side effect. [0090-0096,0098,0194-0199]
27. wherein the feedback on the completed feed includes whether a user considers the completed feed was satisfactory, tolerable, or unacceptable. [0172, 0197-0198]
30. wherein at least one of the display and the electronic device is configured to receive a feedback on a current feed from a user; and wherein the processor controls operation of the motor to adjust a rate of feeding for a current feed based on the feedback. [0172,0011,0020,0095,0121,0140,0163—non-limiting examples]
1. a sensor for detecting when a user is lying down as opposed to sitting upright [0153-0154]
7. an optical sensor coupled to the inlet tube or the outlet tube [0064]
9. said pump is operable to pull a liquid from the reservoir, and pass said liquid through the inlet tube and the outlet tube for delivery to a user. Fig. 1b
13. further comprising a wearable apparatus and wherein the housing is coupled to the wearable apparatus. [0063,0108-0109]
15. the sensor of Francis is an accelerometer 362,116 [0106]
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 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.
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.
Claims 5, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Francis.
Francis discloses the invention as substantially claimed, see above, and including an inlet tube positioned between the reservoir and the pump and an outlet tube extending from the pump (Fig. 1b); but does not directly disclose a semi-permeable membrane into which the outlet tube is inserted to establish a lockable connection. (common within the connectors of Fig. 1b tubing)
Also, a pump being an inline pump is common in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add common design elements as well known in the art.
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.
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 DEANNA K HALL whose telephone number is (571)272-2819. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00am-5:30pm est.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Sirmons can be reached at 571-272-4965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DEANNA K HALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783