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 .
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.
Claims 1-6 & 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kordis et al. (US 5904680) herein referred to as Kordis.
Regarding claim 1, Kordis discloses A catheter (Figure 1) comprising: a shaft to be inserted into a body (Figure 1, 40); a plurality of splines connected to a distal end side of the shaft (Figure 1, 22); and a distal end member connected to a distal end side of the splines (Figure 2, 24), wherein the plurality of splines include a first spline and a second spline (See annotated Figure 1 below), and the first spline and the second spline are located adjacent to each other (See annotated Figure 1 below) and motions of the first spline and the second spline are restrained by a first restraining member (Column 8, lines 1-13; wherein core body restrains the motion of the spline).
PNG
media_image1.png
189
169
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 1, wherein the first restraining member includes a first end and a second end (Column 8, lines 1-13; wherein a core body is going to have a first end and a second end), at least a portion on the first end side of the first restraining member is located within the first spline (Column 8, lines 1-13; wherein the core body is located within the spline), at least a portion on the second end side of the first restraining member is located within the second spline (Figure 23; wherein first and second splines will share the same core body therefore at least a portion on the second end side of the core body is located within the second spline), and the first restraining member includes a protruding portion protruding such that the protruding portion is closer to a distal end of the catheter than a distal end of the first spline and a distal end of the second spline are (Figure 23, 46).
Regarding claim 3, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 2, wherein the distal end member covers a distal end portion of the first spline, a distal end portion of the second spline, and the protruding portion of the first restraining member (Figure 28).
Regarding claim 4, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 3, wherein in plain view of a lower surface of the distal end member, a wall portion forming an inner surface of the distal end member includes a first recess portion and a second recess that are located adjacent to each other (Figure 29A; 56A-D), at least a portion of the distal end portion of the first spline is located in the first recess portion, and at least a portion of the distal end portion of the second spline is located in the second recess portion (Figure 29B).
Regarding claim 5, Kordis discloses The catheter according to claim 4, wherein an interior of the distal end member is filled with an adhesive (Column 15, lines 58-61; wherein the adhesive is glue).
Regarding claim 6, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 3, wherein the distal end member includes a bundling member bundling the protruding portion of the first restraining member (Figure 27, 50).
Regarding claim 8, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 1, wherein the first restraining member is wire (Column 8, lines 1-13).
Regarding claim 9, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 1, wherein the first restraining member is provided separately from the distal end member and the shaft (Column 8, lines 1-13; wherein the core body is located within the spline).
Regarding claim 10, Kordis discloses A catheter (Figure 1) comprising: a shaft to be inserted into a body (Figure 1, 40); a plurality of splines connected to a distal end side of the shaft (Figure 1, 22); and a distal end member connected to a distal end side of the splines (Figure 2, 24), wherein motions of the splines adjacent to each other are restrained by one restraining member (Column 8, lines 1-13; wherein core body restrains the motion of the spline)
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kordis in view of Just et al. (US 20130172715) herein referred to as Just.
Regarding Claim 7, Kordis discloses the catheter according to claim 6 wherein the bundling member is provided with a through-hole which penetrates from the first surface to the second surface and into which the protruding portion of the first restraining member is inserted (Figure 27, 54). However, Kordis does not explicitly disclose wherein the bundling member has a plate shape including a first surface and a second surface that is a back surface of the first surface, the second surface faces a distal end surface of the first spline and a distal end surface of the second spline.
Just discloses a catheter (Figure 1) wherein the bundling member has a plate shape including a first surface and a second surface that is a back surface of the first surface (Figure 5, 137 & 135), the second surface faces a distal end surface of the first spline and a distal end surface of the second spline (Figure 5, 128 & 137). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the bundling member as taught by Kordis to have the shape taught by Just. The motivation being the plate can be separated from a second element by a select distance to allow movement (Just, Paragraph [0047].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALYSSA M PAPE whose telephone number is (703)756-5947. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joanne Rodden can be reached at 303-297-4276. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
ALYSSA M. PAPE
Examiner
Art Unit 3794
/JOANNE M RODDEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3794