DETAILED ACTION
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 20-22, 24-27, 30, and 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1/a2 as being anticipated by U. S. Patent No. 6,210,336 to Fredriksen.
Regarding Claim 20 and 30, Fredriksen teaches an ultrasound coupling system for coupling an ultrasound transducer to a body surface to be examined, comprising a flexible stand-off cushion, and a tab connected to the stand-off cushion for coupling the stand-off cushion to the ultrasound transducer (figs. 9-16 teaches an ultrasonic probe with a cushion).
Regarding Claim 21, Fredriksen teaches that the flexible stand-off cushion has an envelope forming a hollow and the tab is integrally formed with the envelope, or alternatively, the ultrasound coupling system comprises a frame holding the stand-off cushion, wherein the tab is connected to the frame (fig. 9 element 905 is a frame that connects the cushion element 904).
Regarding Claim 22, Fredriksen teaches that the ultrasound coupling system of wherein the flexible stand-off cushion comprises an envelope which forms a hollow having an opening and being filled with a liquid, gel-like and/or relatively soft material, wherein the opening is located so that it faces the end surface of the ultrasound transducer in a state where the stand-off cushion is coupled to the ultrasound transducer (col. 9 lines 33-60 teaches gel cushion, comprising an envelope with a closed hollow).
Regarding Claim 24, Fredriksen teaches that the hollow is a closed hollow (col. 9 lines 33-60 teaches gel cushion, comprising an envelope with a closed hollow).
Regarding Claim 25, Fredriksen teaches that the the hollow is filled with a liquid, gel-like and/or relatively soft material (col. 9 lines 33-60 teaches gel cushion, comprising an envelope with a closed hollow).
Regarding Claim 26, Fredriksen teaches that the flexible stand-off cushion comprises an upper envelope layer and a lower envelope layer which are attached to each other (col. 9 lines 33-60 teaches gel cushion, comprising an envelope with a closed hollow).
Regarding Claim 27, Fredriksen teaches that the the upper envelope layer and the lower envelope layer are attached to each other, thereby forming an attached area for forming a closed hollow of the flexible stand-off cushion (figs. 9-16 and col. 9 lines 33-60 teaches gel cushion, comprising an envelope with a closed hollow).
Regarding Claim 34, Fredriksen teaches a frame holding the stand-off cushion, wherein the tab is connected to the frame.
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.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent No. 6,210,336 to Fredriksen in view of U. S. Publication No. 2017/0303894 to Scully.
Regarding Claim 23, Frederiksen teaches all of the above claimed limitations but does not expressly teach that the tab has an adhesive region.
Scully teaches that the tab has an adhesive region (abstract and para 0110 teaches an adhesive region).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify Frederiksen with a setup such that the tab has an adhesive region as taught by Scully, since such a setup would result in easy attachment of the gel pad with subject, for better imaging.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 28 and 29 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art of record are U. S. Patent No. 6,210,336 to Fredriksen; U. S. Publication No. 2015/0057545 to Takagi et al.; U. S. Publication No. 2018/0263597 to Tchang et al. none of the prior art alone or in combination teaches that the upper envelope layer and the lower envelope layer are attached at predefined areas where the upper envelope area and the lower envelope layer extend beyond the flexible stand-off cushion.
Conclusion
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/SANJAY CATTUNGAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3798