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 responding to applicant’s amendment filed on 3/5/2026. Claims 1-6, 16, and 19 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
The 112 rejections have been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendment and remarks.
The Ribbles has been withdrawn in view of applicant’s amendment and remarks.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 16 recites the limitation "the controller" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rygiel (U.S. Patent No. 5,815,862).
Regarding independent claim 1, Figures 6-9 discloses applicant’s claimed method of positioning a supine patient utilizing an inflatable device (column 3 lines 16-22 and see Figure 4) comprising at least three independently inflatable chambers (1-7), the method comprising:
receiving a plurality of patient metrics (column 4 lines 5-13 discloses patient metrics at neck and lower back and torso and head locations);
determining a first chamber pressure target value, a second chamber pressure target
value, and a third chamber pressure target value based on the plurality of patient
metrics (column lines 4 lines 13-17); and
inflating the inflatable device (column 4 lines 33-43),
wherein the step of inflating the inflatable device further comprises:
inflating a first chamber of the at least three independently inflatable chambers to
the first chamber pressure target value;
inflating a third chamber of the at least three independently inflatable chambers to
the second chamber pressure target value; and
inflating a second third chamber of the at least three independently inflatable
chambers to the third chamber pressure target value.
Regarding claim 5, Rygiel reference, presented above, discloses applicant’s claimed method of claim 1, wherein the step of inflating the inflatable device
further comprises:
ordering the inflation of the first, second, and third chambers to reduce a risk of acute
hyperextension of a neck of the patient (column 4 lines 13-18).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-15 and 19-20 are allowed.
Claims 2-4 and 16-17 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.
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 CAMTU TRAN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-4799. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rachael E Bredefeld can be reached at 571-270-5237. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CAMTU T NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3786
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