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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/11/2026 has been entered. Claims 8 and 9 have been canceled, thus claims 1-7 and 10-11 remain pending.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 5-6 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang (US 2019/0275273 A1) in view of Khwaja (WO 2021/189138 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chang discloses a module, to be attached to a ventilator, the module comprising: one or more air inlet tubes (#46, 45 fig 3); a pressurized breathable air tank which accumulates air received from the ventilator (#19 fig 3, par 0271); one or more air outlet tubes (tubing/patient line between tank #19 and patient interface #14 fig 3) fed by air from the pressurized breathable air tank, wherein each of the one or more air outlet tubes is equipped with one or more air flow sensors (#17 fig 3, par 0264 “mixed gas flow sensor”), one or more valves (#30 fig 3, par 0274 “mixed gas control valve” and #15 fig 3 “exhalation valve”), and one or more antibacterial filters (#13 fig 3, par 0259), and wherein each of the one or more air outlet tubes further comprises a pressure sensor (#12 fig 3, par 0274) located after the one or more valves (see fig 3 showing the pressure sensor downstream of the valves); and a control system (#25 fig 3), including a HMI human interface central unit (par 0058 “user interface”).
Chang is silent to the module being an intelligent distribution module capable of providing breathable air to multiple patients.
Khwaja teaches an intelligent distribution module (abstract, #100 fig 3-4, #102 fig 7), to be attached to a ventilator (#51 fig 3-7), the intelligent distribution module comprising one or more air inlet tubes (connections between ventilator and port 1 in fig 7), one or more air outlet tubes (connections between port 1 and the patient fig 7-8, including separation to ports 2 and 3 shown in fig 8), each of the one or more air outlet tubes is equipped with one or more air flow sensors (par 0024, #140a/b fig 8 par 0088 discloses 140 as pressure sensors further disclosing the use of other sensors such as flow sensors), one or more valves (#160a/b fig 7, par 0090 discloses one way valves); and a control system (#130 fig 7, par 0083), including a HMI human interface central unit (#105 fig 7 “user interface”, par 0085).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize multiple patient lines/outlet tubes as taught by Khwaja stemming from the pressurized tank of Chang as doing so allows for the ventilator/module to treat multiple patients at once.
Regarding claim 3, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang further discloses one or more pressure sensors in the pressurized breathable air tank (#21 fig 3, par 0275).
Regarding claim 5, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang further discloses the one or more valves allow the passage of air flow from 0% to 100% (par 0274 discloses valve 30 as a proportional valve thus disclosing the valve allowing flow form 0%-100%).
Regarding claim 6, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang further discloses the one or more valves are electrically actuated valves (par 0274 discloses valve 30 being controlled by the controller thus disclosing electrically actuated).
Regarding claim 10, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang further teaches each of the one or more air outlet tube comprises one or more check or one-way valves (#16 fig 3, par 0260 “check valve 16”).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Chang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jonson (US 2003/0078512 A1).
Regarding claim 2, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Khwaja further discloses the control system comprises an HMI screen (#105 fig 7, 9, par 0085), which can manage one, two or three air outlet tubes simultaneously (see fig 3-8 showing 2 outlet tubes, par 0083 “independently monitoring and/or controlling certain parameters of the fluid in different breathing circuits, such as … the inspiratory branches”).
Khwaja is silent to an analog-digital converter module.
Jonson teaches a ventilation apparatus utilizing an analog-digital converter (par 0059 “The flow measured by the inspiratory flow sensor is subjected to analogue/digital conversion in the computer and compared to the intended flow at every instant”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate an analog-digital converter as taught by Jonson on the module of modified Chang so that the controller of Chang/Khwaja can utilize and monitor the measurements from the sensors.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Chang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Friberg (US 2005/0000519 A1).
Regarding claim 4, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang does not expressly disclose the one or more air flow sensors are proximal and / or bidirectional.
Friberg teaches a ventilation system that utilizes a proximal airflow sensor (par 0017, 0027, #23 fig 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a proximal flow sensor as taught by Friberg on the module of modified Chang as doing so allows for the system to monitor the breathing efforts of the patient (Friberg par 0017).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Chang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Valenta (US 4,186,737 A).
Regarding claim 7, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang discloses the use of a humidifier (par 0308 “inline humidifier”).However, Chang does not expressly disclose the humidifier being in one, two or three outlet tubes of the intelligent distribution module, located between the or each antibacterial filter and an air inlet pathway to the patient.
Valenta teaches a ventilation system with humidifiers (box H fig 1, col 3 ln 41-42) located in an outlet tube/inspiratory branches between the filter (box F fig 1, col 3 ln 41-42) and an air inlet pathway to the patient (#14 fig 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize humidifiers in the outlet tubes between the filter and patient interface as taught by Velenta on the module of modified Chang as doing so allows for the humidity of the breathing gas to be adjusted for the individual user and further prevents the introduced humidity from being filtered out or damaging the filter with moisture.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Chang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Larson (US 2013/0306062 A1).
Regarding claim 11, modified Chang discloses the module of claim 1. Chang is silent to the valves being manual valves.
Larson discloses a similar ventilation device (abstract) utilizing one or more manual valves in outlet tubes (#190 and 195 fig 1, par 0023 “manual valves 190, 195 located at or near each of the one or more dispensers”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize manual valves as taught by Larson on module of modified Chang as doing so allows for a user to operate the valves individually/directly avoiding issues present with non-manual valves such as loss of power to the electrical valves.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pfeiffer US 6,158,430 discloses a multi patient ventilator
Boussignac US 5,964,220 discloses a multi patient system with a reservoir/pressurized breathable air tank (4) fed by the ventilator
Lemer US 6,474,334 B1 discloses a multi-patient ventilation system
Naghavi WO 2007/137302 A2 discloses a multi-patient ventilation system , see fig 18
Delangre WO 2015/179915 A1 discloses a ventilation system utilizing an anti-bacterial filter
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIRA B DAHER whose telephone number is (571)270-0190. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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/KIRA B DAHER/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/BRADLEY H PHILIPS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799
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