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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 March 27th, 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted January 27th, 2026 has been considered by the Examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-7, filed March 27th, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-7 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and claims 8-9 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of newly found prior art that teaches the claim limitations.
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 1-7 & 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori (WO 2020035919 A1, earliest effective filing date, original & translated documents attached), herein referred to as “Mori” in view of Zhou et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 20190030297, previously cited), herein referred to as “Zhou”.
Note that the Mori reference utilizes the English translation such that page numbers are given in reference to copied sections.
Regarding claim 1, Mori discloses a catheter (balloon-type electrode catheter 100), comprising:
a first shaft (outer tube 10) configured to be inserted into a body (Page 3: The balloon-type electrode catheter 100 of this embodiment is a balloon type electrode catheter that is introduced transvascularly), the first shaft including a first lumen (central lumen 10L) that extends in an axial direction from a proximal end side (Page 3: proximal end side of the outer tube 10) toward a distal end side (Page 3: the distal end portion of the outer tube 10; see Fig. 1);
a second member (sublumen 101L; any one of sublumens 101L to 112L, numbering is arbitrary), together with a first member (outer tube 10) that is a main constituent member of the first shaft (wherein the outer tube 10 is a main constituent member of itself), directly forming an inner circumferential surface defining the first lumen (Page 3: an outer tube having a central lumen 10L and sublumens 101L to 112L; Page 4: there are a central lumen 10L and twelve sub-lumens arranged around the same at equal angle (30 degrees) intervals), and
a second shaft (shaft of sublumen 102L; Page 4: each of the sublumens 101L to 112L is formed by a lumen tube surrounding the same) including a second lumen (sublumen 102L) extending in the axial direction (see Fig. 4), the second shaft including the second member (sublumens 101L-112L),
wherein a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the second shaft forms, together with the first member, the inner circumferential surface defining the first lumen (see Fig. 4; Page 3: an outer tube having a central lumen 10L and sublumens 101L to 112L).
But Mori fails to disclose the second member having frictional properties lower than frictional properties of the first member.
However, Zhou discloses the second member having frictional properties lower than frictional properties of the first member ([0069]: The outer tubular layer 40, in one implementation, is constructed of a relatively elastic material. An exemplary material includes NEUSOFT. NEUSOFT is a translucent polyether urethane based material; [0085]: longitudinal rods 60 are comprised of relatively high stiffness materials such as HDPE, fluropolymer and PTFE; see Fig. 5; wherein in view of paragraph [0040] of the instant application's specification: "The first member (main constituent member of the outer shaft 10) is formed of, for example, nylon or urethane, and the second member (each sub-shaft 101 to 112) is formed of, for example, a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA)", Zhou teaches the claimed frictional properties). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the frictional properties of the first and second members of Mori to the frictional properties taught by Zhou for the purpose of mediating friction between inner and outer tubular layers thereby reducing the push force needed (Zhou: Abstract, [0010], [0072]).
Regarding claim 2, Mori discloses wherein the second member extends in the axial direction (see Fig. 4; Page 4: the sublumens 101L to 105L … supply fluid to the inside of the balloon 30).
Regarding claim 3, Mori discloses wherein the second member extends in the axial direction from a proximal end toward a distal end of the first shaft (see Fig. 4; Page 4: the sublumens 101L to 105L … supply fluid to the inside of the balloon 30).
Regarding claim 4, Mori discloses wherein a plurality of the second members are disposed along a circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface (Page 3: an outer tube having a central lumen 10L and sublumens 101L to 112L; Page 4: there are a central lumen 10L and twelve sub-lumens arranged around the same at equal angle (30 degrees) intervals; see Fig. 4 where the sublumens are formed along an inner circumference of outer tube 10).
Regarding claim 5, Mori discloses wherein intervals in the circumferential direction between the plurality of second members are substantially constant (see Fig. 4; Page 4: there are a central lumen 10L and twelve sub-lumens arranged around the same at equal angle (30 degrees) intervals).
Regarding claim 6, Mori discloses wherein the second member projects into the first lumen from the first member (Page 3: an outer tube having a central lumen 10L and sublumens 101L to 112L).
Regarding claim 7, Mori in view of Zhou discloses wherein the second member includes a fluororesin (Zhou: [0085]: longitudinal rods 60 are comprised of relatively high stiffness materials such as HDPE, fluropolymer and PTFE).
Regarding claim 9, Mori discloses a balloon (balloon 30) attached to the distal end side of the first shaft (page 3: a balloon 30 connected to the distal end side of the outer tube 30), the balloon configured to be inflatable by a fluid supplied from a proximal end side of the second shaft into the second lumen (page 4: each of the sublumens 191L to 105L is in communication with the fluid supply connector 22 … as a result, the sublumens 101L to 105L (five of the twelve sub-lumens formed in the outer tube 10) supply fluid to the inside of the balloon 30 (expansion portion 31).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Abigail M Ziegler whose telephone number is (571)272-1991. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST.
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/ABIGAIL M ZIEGLER/Examiner, Art Unit 3794
/BEVERLY M FLANAGAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794
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