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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11 May 2026 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 2103845790 to Yuan (Yuan).
Regarding claim 22, Yuan teaches a device (Fig. 1) for assisting in the placement of an umbilical catheter in premature and newborn infants, comprising: a first leg (3) and a second leg (3), each of which comprises a first end and a second end; a spring element (Fig. 1, left side) in a region of the second end of each of the first leg and the second leg, wherein the first and second legs are connected to one another in the region of the second ends thereof via the spring element, wherein the spring element holds the first and second legs by a spring force in a first operating state (not illustrated) in which the respective first ends of the first and second leg are spaced apart from each other and wherein the first and second leg can be transferred against the spring force into a second operating state in which the respective first ends of the first and second leg are arranged directly adjacent to each other (as illustrated in Fig. 1); a recess (4) in a region of the first end of each of the first leg and the second leg, wherein the recesses together form a cylindrical receptacle when in the second operating state; and wherein the device in the second operating state is configured to provide visibility and access for a catheter to vessels and arteries of the umbilical cord after it is cut such that an umbilical catheter may be placed therein to administer medications, and wherein the device is formed in one piece.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-5, 10 and 16-21 are allowable over the prior art of record.
Claims 23 and 24 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 limitations of a clamp having first and second legs and further having an elevation with first and second portions extending respectively from the first and second legs and being configured to provide access to an umbilical cord as in claims 1 and 23 or having a breaking edge as in 16 are not shown in or fairly suggested by the prior art of record in combination with the remaining limitations of those claims. The examiner notes that Yuan teaches an elevation (1, 2), but that this elevation extends only from one leg of the clamp rather than two legs as required by claim 23.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 7, filed 11 May 2026, with respect to anticipation and obviousness have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn. Claim 22 is herein rejected over Yuan as discussed above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP E STIMPERT whose telephone number is (571)270-1890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8a-4p.
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/PHILIP E STIMPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783 8 July 2026
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