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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(h)(1). When an exploded view is shown in a figure which is on the same sheet as another figure, the exploded view should be placed in brackets. Please note that brackets are necessary to clearly show and divide which elements are part of each figure.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 6-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1 line 13, --the-- should be inserted after “said top of”. In lines 19-20, “the same stud” lacks antecedent basis. In line 20, “the same time” lacks antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Epstein et al. (US 2020/0367826) in view of Burness et al. (US 7,445,522).
Regarding claim 1, Epstein discloses an electrode connector for establishing electrical connection to a biomedical patient electrode having an upwardly projecting electrode stud from a top surface thereof, the stud including a radially enlarged base, a stud neck, a stud head and a top of stud head (intended use), the connector comprising: a main connector body (12) comprising a retaining portion (at 17), and having a first main connector opening (top of 17) and a second main connector opening (bottom of 17), the main connector body defining a closed ended structure with an opening (at 20, opposing 32) extending through the main connector body; a jaw member (14) pivotally connected to the main connector body, the jaw member having a first jaw member opening and a second jaw member opening (top and bottom of 17, Figs. 1 and 3); the main connector body and jaw member pivotably connected to each other through the first main connector opening and the second main connection opening and the first jaw member opening and the second jaw member opening, using a pivot connection (16, Fig. 3); the main connector body and the jaw member biased from an open configuration (Fig. 2) to a closed configuration (by 26); the jaw member further comprising a first electrically conducting contact and a second electrically conducting contact (left and right side of 28), the first electrically conducting contact being arc-shaped, and disposed in electrically conducting contact with a portion of the stud upon attachment of the connector to the stud, the second electrically conducting contact disposed in electrically conducting contact with a portion of the stud upon attachment of the connector to the stud; a biasing member (26) engaging the main connector body and the jaw member and biasing the members to the closed configuration.
Burness teaches (in Fig. 13) a jaw contact comprising a first electrically conducting contact (216) and a second electrically conducting contact (210), the first electrically conducting contact being arc-shaped and disposed in electrically conductive contact with the stud neck (50), the second electrically conducting contact being plane-shaped and disposed in electrically conducting contact with the top of the stud head upon attachment of the connector to the stud at about the same time, when the main connector body and the jaw member change from the open configuration to the closed configuration. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to form the jaw contact with arc and plate contacts, as taught
Regarding claim 6, Epstein discloses the biasing member comprising a spring (26).
Regarding claim 7, Epstein discloses the biasing member comprising resilient material (Figs. 1 and 2).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Epstein and Burness, and in view of Zhou et al. (US 9,408,547).
Regarding claim 8, Epstein discloses substantially the claimed invention except for the material of the biasing member. Zhou teaches using a radiolucent material for the resilient biasing member (see Abstract). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was effectively filed to use a radiolucent material as the preferred material, in order to prevent interference with x-rays and since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design preference. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection, as applied.
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 FELIX O FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-2003. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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/FELIX O FIGUEROA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2833