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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120 as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 17962556, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. The prior filed application fails to provide support for a hole plug engaged to the milk outlet and used for partially sealing or completely sealing the milk outlet when the housing is assembled with the milk bowl (claim 1).
The instant application is examined with a filing date of 4/22/2023.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-11 are 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.
Regarding claim 1, the claim recites the milk outlet “spatially communicating” with the milk storage cavity. The scope of the term “spatially communicating” is unclear. It is unclear if this term is merely attempting to convey that the milk outlet is near the milk storage cavity due to the term “spatially” or if the term should be construed more narrowly and is intending to convey that the milk outlet fluidically communicates with the milk storage cavity. For examination purposes, the latter interpretation was used.
Regarding claim 2, the claim recites that when the breast shield is configured to attach to a breast, the milk outlet faces upward. It is unclear if this limitation is attempting to convey that the milk outlet faces upward only when the breast shield is capable of attaching to a breast or if the claim should be interpreted to mean that when the breast shield is attached to a breast, the milk outlet faces upward. For examination purposes, the latter interpretation was used.
Claims 3-11 are also rejected by virtue of being dependent on claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao (US 8118772) in view of De Becdelievre (US 11806454).
Regarding claim 1, Dao discloses a breast pump (fig. 6), including:
a milk bowl (reservoir 18 in fig. 6),
a breast shield connected to the milk bowl (adaptor 16 in fig. 6), wherein a milk storage cavity for storing milk is defined by the breast shield and the milk bowl (fig. 6 shows a cavity which receives milk 52), and
a main body detachably connected to the milk bowl (pump 12 in fig. 6 is fluidly detachable to the reservoir 18 via hose 50; 12:29-33 discloses that milk retrieval can occur via stem 48 indicating that the hose 50 is removable),
and wherein the milk bowl is provided with a milk outlet spatially communicating with the milk storage cavity (stem 48 in fig. 6), and the housing is provided with a hole plug engaged to the milk outlet and used for partially sealing or completely sealing the milk outlet when the housing is assembled with the milk bowl (hose 50 in fig. 6 plugs to the stem 48 to seal the stem 48 to atmosphere in order to create suction).
Dao further discloses that the main body is an air pump used for generating negative pressure (12:47-49). However, Dao does not explicitly teach or disclose the main body comprises a housing detachably connected to the milk bowl and the air pump is disposed in the housing. Additionally, Dao does not explicitly teach or disclose that the breast shield is detachably connected to the milk bowl in this embodiment.
De Becdelievre teaches a breast pump (fig. 1A) comprising a milk bowl (outer shell 20 in fig. 6) and a breast shield (breast shield 21 in fig. 6) which are detachably connected (5:50-53). De Becdelievre further teaches that the milk bowl is detachably connected to a main body (unit 11 in fig. 1A is detachably connected to shell 20 via a hose 12). De Becdelievre teaches that the main body includes a housing detachably connected to the milk bowl (upper case 151 and lower case 152 in fig. 18 form a housing which is detachable from shell 20 via hose 12) and a pump disposed in the housing (pump unit subsystem 154 in fig. 18).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the milk bowl and the breast shield to be detachably connected, as taught by De Becdelievre, in order to allow the components to be cleaned more easily (5:50-53). Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the main body of Dao with the main body of De Becdelievre so that the main body comprises a housing and a pump disposed in the housing. This modification would allow a user to control use of the pump and receive feedback from the pump, as taught by De Becdelievre (11:7-10).
Regarding claim 2, in the modified pump of Dao, Dao discloses when the breast shield is configured to attach to a breast, the milk outlet faces upward (fig. 6 shows stem 48 positioned upward).
Regarding claim 4, in the modified pump of Dao, Dao discloses the milk outlet has an inner wall surface that is arc-shaped, or the hole plug has an outer wall surface that is arc-shaped and corresponds to the milk outlet (Merriam-Webster defines “arc” as “something curved”; fig. 11B shows that the cross-section of hose 50 is circular so that it is curved).
Regarding claim 6, in the modified pump of Dao, Dao discloses when the housing is assembled with the milk bowl, an outer wall surface of the hole plug is spaced apart from an inner wall surface of the milk outlet (fig. 6 shows that hose 50 would be placed over stem 48 so that the outer surface of hose 50 would be spaced apart from the inner wall of stem 48 by the thickness of both the hose 50 and stem 48).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dao in view of De Becdelievre, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pollen (US 20150217034).
Regarding claim 3, modified Dao teaches all of the claimed limitations set forth in claim 1, as discussed above. Dao further discloses that, instead of a stem, the milk outlet can be “a single port hole” (12:29-33). However, modified Dao does not teach or disclose the milk outlet is arranged on an outer edge of the milk bowl.
Pollen teaches a similar breast pump (fig. 1 and 5) comprising a milk bowl (outer shell 24 in fig. 5) and a breast shield (receiver 22 in fig. 5). Pollen further teaches an outlet arranged on an outer edge of the milk bowl which is configured to receive a vacuum hose (opening 82 in fig. 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the milk outlet of modified Dao to be a single port hole and to have modified the single port hole of modified Dao to be arranged on an outer edge of the milk bowl, as taught by Pollen. Pollen teaches that modifying the placement of the milk outlet to be arranged on an outer edge of the milk bowl would not affect operation of the device since a vacuum hose can still be connected to the milk outlet and since it has been held that a mere rearrangement of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art and doing so would not have modified operation of the device. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 7-11 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Regarding claim 5, the closest prior art is Dao, as discussed above. Dao teaches that both the milk outlet (stem 48 in fig. 6) and the hole plug (hose 50 in fig. 6) form a cylinder; as such, Dao does not teach or disclose the milk outlet or the hole plug is semi-cylindrical in shape.
Regarding claim 7, the closest prior art is Dao, as discussed above. Dao does not teach or disclose the housing is provided with a positioning groove, the hole plug extends from a groove bottom of the positioning groove, the milk bowl is provided with a hole wall forming the milk outlet, and, when the housing is assembled with the milk bowl, the hole plug is engaged to the milk outlet, and the hole wall is engaged to the positioning groove.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY FREDRICKSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7481. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9 AM - 5 PM EST).
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/COURTNEY B FREDRICKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783