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 .
Applicant’s arguments filed in the reply on March 2, 2026 were received and fully considered. Claims 1, 3, 5, 7, 9-14, and 16-20 were amended. Claims 8 and 15 were cancelled. Claims 21-22 were added. Please see below for more detail.
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.
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) 1-3, 6, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sageder et al (US 2019/0008439) (“Sageder”) as noted in Applicant IDS dated 7/08/2022 in view of Laugstol (US 2018/0078208) as evidenced by Bibian et al (US 2020/0196900) (“Bibian”) and further in view of Stivoric et al (US 2009/0177068) (“Stivoric”) and further in view of King et al (US 2022/0071511) (“King”).
Regarding Claim 1, while Sageder teaches a device (Abstract, Figs. 6-8), comprising:
a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] with a housing formed by the enclosure of the top housing 850, button 860, and bottom housing 870, this enclosure includes a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface);
a load cell positioned within the housing (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] load cell 810);
a rigid support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] screw connections 890 / rigid supports with a first end within the enclosure / housing and a second outside the enclosure / housing);
wherein the first end of the rigid support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] first end of the screw connections 890 are positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell 810); and
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes through an opening within the bottom surface of the housing, wherein the center section of the rigid support contacts the bottom surface of the housing surrounding the opening, wherein the second end of the rigid support is outside of the housing (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] shown relationship in Figures 6 and 7, Specifically, the bottom end / second end of the screw connection / rigid support is outside of bottom housing 870), and
further teaches the device is intended as waterproof ([0122]),
Sageder fails to teach a plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing.
However King teaches a medical scale (Abstract) comprising
A housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] housing 126)
A strain gauge with the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] strain gauge transducers 122);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing, the flexible section having an opening (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] lateral flexure spring elements / flexible sections at bottom surface, having an opening for the feet);
a support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] sensor feet);
wherein the first end of the support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
wherein the center section of the support passes through the opening in the flexible section, wherein the center section of the support is in contact with the flexible section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
a bottom plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the rigid support of the scale of Sageder coupled at the second end to a bottom plate as taught in King as a way to modulate the height of the scale relative to a user, which can be desirable for convenience or comfort when placing and/or retrieving a container on top of the scale. Further, it is a simple substitution of one form of floor-interfacing structure of a strain gauge-based scale (Sageder: lid 880 spaced apart from screw and mating with bottom housing 870) for another (King: bottom plate connected to screw) to obtain the predictable of a stably placed weight measuring device in a planar manner.
Yet their combined efforts fail to teach
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing;
a rigid section positioned within the flexible section, the rigid section having an opening surrounded by rigid material;
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes through the opening in the rigid section positioned within the flexible section, wherein the center section of the rigid support contacts the rigid material of the rigid section surrounding the opening.
However Laugstol teaches a strain gauge-based medical device (Abstract) where the structure of the system comprises
a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] sensor unit 1 has a housing of the outer part of front part 9 and the outer part of back part 10);
a strain gauge positioned within the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] strain gauge 3);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] flexible section at bottom surface of housing Is the flexible ring 7);
a rigid section positioned within the flexible section, the rigid section having an opening surrounded by rigid material (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] snap button 8 within flexible ring and interfacing with screw 5, where metal snap buttons are generally standard forms of constructing snap connectors as noted in Bibian: [0065]);
a rigid support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 / rigid support);
wherein the first end of the rigid support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] first end of the screw 5 is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge 3); and
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes within the opening in the rigid section positioned within the flexible section, wherein the center section of the rigid support contacts the rigid material of the rigid section surrounding the opening, wherein the second end of the rigid support is outside of the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 passes within the opening of the snap button 8 to join the strain gauge to the bottom part of the housing, the snap button 8 shown to be within flexible ring 7, where the center section of the screw is in an intermediate portion of the opening and the second end of the screw 5 is outside of the housing, still within the snap button 8’s opening).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the flexible and rigid sections of Laugstol in the scale of Sageder as Laugstol teaches that this flexible ring provides a watertight seal to this strain gauge-based medical device ([0048]), a capability desired by the housing in Sageder ([0122]) and which was previously provided by the lid 880 of Sageder. Thus, if one wants to modulate the height of the scale of Sageder as enabled by King while maintaining the desired watertightness of Sageder’s lid, a reconfiguration of the rigid support with Laugstol’s teachings will accomplish this. Furthermore, Sageder teaches an interchangeability in the weight sensor between a load cell and a strain gauge ([0104]).
Regarding Claim 2, Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric teach the device of claim 1, wherein the flexible section is positioned within the bottom surface of the housing (See Claim 1 rejection, Laugstol’s flexible ring 7 is within the bottom surface of the housing).
Regarding Claim 3, Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric teach the device of claim 2, the device further comprising: wherein the plate is a bottom plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 2 Rejection).
Regarding Claim 6, Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric teach the device of claim 1, wherein the center section of the rigid support includes a flexible or rigid material to connect an interface between the center section with the rigid section positioned within the flexible section (See Claim 1 Rejection, the center section of the screw of Sageder will be of a rigid material and interface with the center section of a rigid section in view of the teachings of Laugstol and Stivoric).
Regarding Claim 21, Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric teach the device of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein an inside of the housing is sealed from liquid entering from outside of the housing (See Claim 1 Rejection, Sageder teaches a watertight construction by a lid at the bottom housing and Laugstol teaches how that same characteristic can be achieved by the rigid and flexible portions of the bottom housing).
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sageder in view of King as further in view of Laugstol as evidenced by Bibian and further in view of Stivoric and further in view of DiMaria-Ghalili et al (US 2016/0166096) (“DiMaria-Ghalili”).
Regarding Claim 4, while Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric teach the device of claim 1, their combined efforts fail to teach wherein the flexible section is positioned within the top surface of the housing.
However DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a load-cell based weight sensor (Abstract, Figs. 1, 10-11, [0035], [0050], [0076]) where the weight sensors may be used in flipped configurations (Figs. 10-11, [0076]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the flexible section of Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric in a top surface of the housing as DiMaria-Ghalili teaches that load-cell weight sensors may function in inverted configurations. Thus, if one measures urine flow with Sageder’s system flipped, the previously taught “bottom surface” can now be considered the “top surface”).
Regarding Claim 5, Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, Stivoric, and DiMaria-Ghalili teach the device of claim 4, wherein the plate is a top plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 4 Rejection, DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a flipping capability of measurement for scales and when applied with King’s plate would cause the plate to be a top coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing. This would still enable a desired modulation in the scale by the addition of King’s teachings).
Claim(s) 7, 9-10, 13-14, 16, 20, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sageder in view of King and further in view of Laugstol.
Regarding Claim 7, while Sageder teaches a device (Abstract, Figs. 6-8), comprising:
a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] with a housing formed by the enclosure of the top housing 850, button 860, and bottom housing 870, this enclosure includes a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface);
a load cell positioned within the housing (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] load cell 810);
a rigid support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] screw connections 890 / rigid supports with a first end within the enclosure / housing and a second outside the enclosure / housing);
wherein the first end of the rigid support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] first end of the screw connections 890 are positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell 810);
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes through an opening within the bottom surface of the housing, wherein the center section of the rigid support contacts the bottom surface of the housing surrounding the opening, wherein the second end of the rigid support is outside of the housing (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] shown relationship in Figures 6 and 7, Specifically, the bottom end / second end of the screw connection / rigid support is outside of bottom housing 870), and
further teaches the device is intended as waterproof ([0122]), Sageder fails to teach a plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing.
However King teaches a medical scale (Abstract) comprising
A housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] housing 126)
A strain gauge with the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] strain gauge transducers 122);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing, the flexible section having an opening (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] lateral flexure spring elements / flexible sections at bottom surface, having an opening for the feet);
a support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] sensor feet);
wherein the first end of the support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
wherein the center section of the support passes through the opening in the flexible section, wherein the center section of the support is in contact with the flexible section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
a bottom plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the rigid support of the scale of Sageder coupled at the second end to a bottom plate as taught in King as a way to modulate the height of the scale relative to a user, which can be desirable for convenience or comfort when placing and/or retrieving a container on top of the scale. Further, it is a simple substitution of one form of floor-interfacing structure of a strain gauge-based scale (Sageder: lid 880 spaced apart from screw and mating with bottom housing 870) for another (King: bottom plate connected to screw) to obtain the predictable of a stably placed weight measuring device in a planar manner.
Yet their combined efforts fail to teach
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing;
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes through the opening in the flexible section.
However Laugstol teaches a strain gauge-based medical device (Abstract) where the structure of the system comprises
a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] sensor unit 1 has a housing of the outer part of front part 9 and the outer part of back part 10);
a strain gauge positioned within the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] strain gauge 3);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] flexible section at bottom surface of housing Is the flexible ring 7);
a rigid support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 / rigid support);
wherein the first end of the rigid support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] first end of the screw 5 is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge 3); and
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes within the opening in the flexible section (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 passes within the opening of the snap button 8 to join the strain gauge to the bottom part of the housing, the snap button 8 shown to be within flexible ring 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the flexible and rigid sections of Laugstol in the scale of Sageder as Laugstol teaches that this flexible ring provides a watertight seal to this strain gauge-based medical device ([0048]), a capability desired by the housing in Sageder ([0122]) and which was previously provided by the lid 880 of Sageder. Thus, if one wants to modulate the height of the scale of Sageder as enabled by King while maintaining the desired watertightness of Sageder’s lid, a reconfiguration of the rigid support with Laugstol’s teachings will accomplish this. Furthermore, Sageder teaches an interchangeability in the weight sensor between a load cell and a strain gauge ([0104]).
Regarding Claim 9, Sageder, King,and Laugstol teach the device of claim 7, wherein the flexible section is positioned within the bottom surface of the housing (See Claim 9 Rejection, Laugstol’s flexible ring 7 is within the bottom surface of the housing).
Regarding Claim 10, Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach the device of claim 9, further comprising: wherein the plate is a bottom plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 9 Rejection).
Regarding Claim 13, Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach device of claim 7, wherein the center section of the rigid support includes a flexible or rigid material to connect an interface between the center section with the rigid section positioned within the flexible section (See Claim 7 Rejection, the center section of the screw of Sageder will be of a rigid material and interface with the center section of the flexible section in view of the teachings of Laugstol).
Regarding Claim 22, Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach the device of claim 7, further comprising:
wherein an inside of the housing is sealed from liquid entering from outside of the housing (See Claim 7 Rejection, Sageder teaches a watertight construction by a lid at the bottom housing and Laugstol teaches how that same characteristic can be achieved by the rigid and flexible portions of the bottom housing).
Regarding Claim 14, while Sageder teaches a method of manufacturing a device (Abstract, Figs. 6-8, this device would require a corresponding method of manufacture), comprising:
positioning a load cell within a housing, the housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] with a housing formed by the enclosure of the top housing 850, button 860, and bottom housing 870, this enclosure includes a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface, with a positioned load cell, with a positioned load cell 810 within the housing);
passing a rigid support through the opening in the flexible section, wherein a center section of the rigid support is in contact with the flexible section (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] screw connections 890 / rigid supports with a first end within the enclosure / housing and a second outside the enclosure / housing, necessitating a passing of the rigid support when constructing the device);
positioning a first end of the rigid support within the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] first end of the screw 5 is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge 3, necessitating an appropriate positioning step); and
coupling the first end of the rigid support to the load cell within the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] first end of the screw 5 is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge 3, necessitating an appropriate coupling step),
positioning a second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (Figs. 6-8, [0285]-[0294] shown relationship in Figures 6 and 7, Specifically, the bottom end / second end of the screw connection / rigid support is outside of bottom housing 870), and
further teaches the device is intended as waterproof ([0122]),
Sageder fails to teach coupling a plate to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing.
However King teaches a medical scale (Abstract) comprising
A housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] housing 126)
A strain gauge with the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] strain gauge transducers 122);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing, the flexible section having an opening (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] lateral flexure spring elements / flexible sections at bottom surface, having an opening for the feet);
a support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043] sensor feet);
wherein the first end of the support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
wherein the center section of the support passes through the opening in the flexible section, wherein the center section of the support is in contact with the flexible section (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]); and
a bottom plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (Figs. 2D-2E, [0042]-[0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the rigid support of the scale of Sageder coupled at the second end to a bottom plate as taught in King as a way to modulate the height of the scale relative to a user, which can be desirable for convenience or comfort when placing and/or retrieving a container on top of the scale. Further, it is a simple substitution of one form of floor-interfacing structure of a strain gauge-based scale (Sageder: lid 880 spaced apart from screw and mating with bottom housing 870) for another (King: bottom plate connected to screw) to obtain the predictable of a stably placed weight measuring device in a planar manner.
Yet their combined efforts fail to teach
positioning a flexible section within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing, the flexible section having an opening.
However Laugstol teaches a strain gauge-based medical device (Abstract) where the structure of the system comprises
a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one side surface connected between the top surface and the bottom surface (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] sensor unit 1 has a housing of the outer part of front part 9 and the outer part of back part 10);
a strain gauge positioned within the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] strain gauge 3);
a flexible section positioned within at least one of the bottom surface or the top surface of the housing (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] flexible section at bottom surface of housing Is the flexible ring 7);
a rigid support having a first end, a second end, and a center section (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 / rigid support);
wherein the first end of the rigid support is positioned within the housing and coupled to the load cell (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] first end of the screw 5 is positioned within the housing and coupled to the strain gauge 3); and
wherein the center section of the rigid support passes within the opening in the flexible section (Figs. 4a-4c, [0043]-[0045] screw 5 passes within the opening of the snap button 8 to join the strain gauge to the bottom part of the housing, the snap button 8 shown to be within flexible ring 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the flexible and rigid sections of Laugstol in the scale of Sageder as Laugstol teaches that this flexible ring provides a watertight seal to this strain gauge-based medical device ([0048]), a capability desired by the housing in Sageder ([0122]) and which was previously provided by the lid 880 of Sageder. Thus, if one wants to modulate the height of the scale of Sageder as enabled by King while maintaining the desired watertightness of Sageder’s lid, a reconfiguration of the rigid support with Laugstol’s teachings will accomplish this. Furthermore, Sageder teaches an interchangeability in the weight sensor between a load cell and a strain gauge ([0104]). Finally, this placement requires an appropriate positioning step during manufacture.
Regarding Claim 16, Sageder and Laugstol teach the method of claim 14, wherein the flexible section is positioned within the bottom surface of the housing (See Claim 14 Rejection, Laugstol’s flexible ring 7 is within the bottom surface of the housing).
Regarding Claim 17, Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach the method of claim 16, wherein the plate is a bottom plate; and
Wherein coupling the plate to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing comprises coupling the bottom plate to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 16 Rejection).
Regarding Claim 20, Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach the method of claim 14, wherein the center section of the rigid support includes a flexible or rigid material to connect an interface between the center section with the rigid section positioned within the flexible section (See Claim 14 Rejection, the center section of the screw of Sageder will be of a rigid material and interface with the center section of a rigid section in view of the teachings of Laugstol, King, and Stivoric).
Claim(s) 11-12 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sageder in view of King and further in view of Laugstol and further in view of DiMaria-Ghalili.
Regarding Claim 11, while Sageder, King, and Laugstol teach the device of claim 7, their combined efforts fail to teach wherein the flexible section is positioned within the top surface of the housing.
However DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a load-cell based weight sensor (Abstract, Figs. 1, 10-11, [0035], [0050], [0076]) where the weight sensors may be used in flipped configurations (Figs. 10-11, [0076]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the flexible section of Sageder, King, and Laugstol in a top surface of the housing as DiMaria-Ghalili teaches that load-cell weight sensors may function in inverted configurations. Thus, if one measures urine flow with Sageder’s system flipped, the previously taught “bottom surface” can now be considered the “top surface”).
Regarding Claim 12, Sageder, King, Laugstol, and DiMaria-Ghalili teach the device of claim 11, wherein the plate is a top plate coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 11 Rejection, DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a flipping capability of measurement for scales and when applied with King’s plate would cause the plate to be a top coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing. This would still enable a desired modulation in the scale by the addition of King’s teachings).
Regarding Claim 18, while Sageder and Laugstol teach the method of claim 15, their combined efforts fail to teach the method wherein the flexible section is positioned within the top surface of the housing.
However DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a load-cell based weight sensor (Abstract, Figs. 1, 10-11, [0035], [0050], [0076]) where the weight sensors may be used in flipped configurations (Figs. 10-11, [0076]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the flexible section of Sageder and Laugstol in a top surface of the housing as DiMaria-Ghalili teaches that load-cell weight sensors may function in inverted configurations. Thus, if one measures urine flow with Sageder’s system flipped, the previously taught “bottom surface” can now be considered the “top surface”).
Regarding Claim 19, Sageder, King, Laugstol, and DiMaria-Ghalili teach the device of claim 18, wherein the plate is a top plate; and
Wherein coupling the plate to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing comprises coupling the top plate to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing (See Claim 18 Rejection, DiMaria-Ghalili teaches a flipping capability of measurement for scales and when applied with King’s plate would cause the plate to be a top coupled to the second end of the rigid support outside of the housing. This would still enable a desired modulation in the scale by the addition of King’s teachings).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments filed 3/02/2026 with respect to the 35 USC 112(d) rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection(s) is/are withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments filed 3/02/2026 with respect to the 35 USC 103 rejections of Claims 1, 7, and 14 have been fully considered, but are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments do not address the reference King that was previously applied to claims with the most relevant subject matter (Claims 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, and 19). To address pages 12-13 of the submitted remarks, Examiner will clarify the WHY regarding how the claimed invention is obvious. Sageder provides a similar uroflowmetry system based on measuring an applied load. King provides another similarly scale while also showing a plate that extends away from the housing and to the ground. Examiner has clarified above that this enables a height modulation for the scale which would be advantageous by reducing effort needed to reach the level of the scale. However, changing this structure of Sageder for this advantage could potentially remove the required water tightness of the unit. But the teachings of Laugstol clarify how this necessary water tightness function can still be achieved. Thus it would be obvious to make the change in structure and it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art why one makes this change.
Applicant’s amendments filed 3/02/2026 with respect to the 35 USC 103 rejections of Claims 1, 7, and 14 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection(s) is/are withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of
Sageder, King, Laugstol, Bibian, and Stivoric for Claim 1
Sageder, King, and Laugstol for Claims 7 and 14.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 JAIRO H PORTILLO whose telephone number is (571)272-1073. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 am - 5:15 pm.
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/JAIRO H. PORTILLO/
Examiner
Art Unit 3791
/PUYA AGAHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
Prosecution Insights