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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/21/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Amendment to claims 1, 3 of 4/21/2026 acknowledged and entered.
Cancellation of claim 2 of 4/21/2026 acknowledged and entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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 § 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 1, 3, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Morimoto (WO 2018003737 A1) in view of 大原 健一 (JP 3619423 B2) and Takahashi (JP 2008229067 A).
The applied reference has a common assignee with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2).
Regarding claim 1, Morimoto teaches An ultrasound endoscope comprising:
an insertion part in which a distal end hard part (fig. 1, element 40), a bending part (fig. 1, element 42) connected to a proximal end side of the distal end hard part, and a soft part (fig. 1, element 44) connected to a proximal end side of the bending part are provided along a longitudinal axis direction (p. 5, para. 8);
an ultrasound transducer (fig. 2, element 30) in which a plurality of ultrasound oscillators (fig. 2, element 50) configured to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves are arranged along a peripheral direction of the distal end hard part (p. 6, para. 2);
a forceps channel (fig. 2, element 84) that is inserted into the insertion part and has a distal end side opened on a distal end surface of the distal end hard part (p. 7, para. 4);
a shield ring (fig. 5, element 41c) that is disposed between the ultrasound transducer and the forceps channel, and suppresses electromagnetic waves emitted from the ultrasound transducer (p. 6, para. 9, metal ring 41c is composed of metal such as SUS, which applicant cites in para. [0067] of disclosure as being suppressant of electromagnetic waves);
an ultrasonic wave shielded cable (fig. 5, element 72) that passes through the bending part from the soft part and has a distal end part disposed on an inner side of the shield ring on which the forceps channel is disposed (p. 11, para. 6-7, fig. 5 shows the distal end of the shield cable 72 disposed adjacent to the forceps tube 84 on the same inner side of the metal ring 41c);
and a plurality of signal wires (fig. 5, element 58) that are accommodated in the ultrasonic wave shielded cable, extend from the distal end part of the ultrasonic wave shielded cable (p. 11, para. 6-7), and are connected to the plurality of ultrasound oscillators (p. 10, para. 6), respectively,
wherein the shield ring has an opening portion for wiring the plurality of signal wires from the inner side of the shield ring to an outer side of the shield ring on which the ultrasound transducer is disposed (fig. 5, p. 12, para. 6-8, coaxial cables pass through a gap in the metal ring 41c, which is filled with a filler),
Morimoto does not explicitly teach an ultrasound endoscope wherein the forceps channel has a metallic forceps pipe disposed on the inner side of the shield ring, and a forceps tube that is disposed on the inner side of the shield ring and connected to a proximal end side of the forceps pipe on the inner side of the shield ring via a connection part,
the forceps tube has a tube distal end part and other parts other than the tube distal end part,
the tube distal end part has a region facing the opening portion of the shield ring and is formed of resin, and
a metal element wire is wound around only the other parts.
However, 大原 健一 teaches wherein the forceps channel has a metallic forceps pipe (fig. 1, element 15/35, [0029], treatment insertion hole 15 is connected to the treatment instrument passage hole 35 via a stainless steel pipe) disposed on the inner side of the shield ring (fig. 1, element 41, [0031], stainless steel pipe is disposed adjacent the transducer array portion 41 wherein the shield ring of Morimoto is disposed), and a forceps tube (fig. 1, element 15/35, [0029], treatment insertion hole 15) that is disposed on the inner side of the shield ring and connected to a proximal end side of the forceps pipe on the inner side of the shield ring via a connection part,
the forceps tube has a tube distal end part and other parts other than the tube distal end part (All tubes have a distal end proximal end portion),
However, Takahashi teaches the tube distal end part has a region facing the opening portion of the shield ring and is formed of resin (p. 1, para. 3, instrument channel made of a soft resin, the tube extending in a direction that could be considered “facing” the opening portion of the shield ring in so far as the tube has a radial dimension to match the radial opening hole), and
a metal element wire (fig. 5, element 12, p. 4, para. 3, coil 12) is wound around only the other parts.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the forceps tube of Morimoto to include a metal pipe as taught in 大原 健一 in order to provide support for the instrument insertion channel (大原 健一 [0034]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the forceps tube of Morimoto to include a wire wrapping and be composed of resin as taught in Takahashi in order to maintain flexibility and resilience of the tube (Takahashi p. 1, para. 3, p. 4, para. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Morimoto in view of 大原 健一 and Takahashi teaches The ultrasound endoscope according to claim 2
Further, Morimoto teaches the endoscope wherein bending rigidity of the tube distal end part is higher than bending rigidity of the other parts (p. 5, para. 8, hard distal end portion 40 is described as being hard while the other parts including the bending portion 42 and the flexible portion 44 are described as flexible, i.e. less rigid).
Regarding claim 4, Morimoto in view of 大原 健一 and Takahashi teaches The ultrasound endoscope according to claim 3
Further, Takahashi teaches the endoscope wherein the forceps tube is provided with grooves for winding the metal element wire around the tube distal end part and the other parts, and the groove provided in the tube distal end part is shallower than a depth of the groove provided in the other parts (fig. 5, element 11, p. 4, para. 3, spiral groove 11).
This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C.102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B); or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. See generally MPEP § 717.02.
Conclusion
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/TIMOTHY TUAN LUU/Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/MICHAEL J CAREY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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