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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action in response to the above identified patent application filed on 07/28/2023. Claims 1-5 are currently pending and being examined.
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 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.
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 1-3, and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikeda (USPAP 2007/0270645).
In reference to independent claim 1, Ikeda discloses a balloon catheter (12, fig 1 and 8) comprising: a hollow shaft (40) having: a lumen (66) that extends in a longitudinal direction of the hollow shaft (40); an opening (71) that communicates between the lumen (66) and an outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (outer peripheral surface of 40); and at least one groove (73) in the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (40) and that extends across the opening and along the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (para 0060 discloses “openings 70 and 71 may be provided in the tip portion and base end portion of the connection ring 41, respectively. The openings 70 and 71 are provided in concave grooves 72 and 73 formed in the outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 over a round in a circumferential direction, respectively. Widths of the concave grooves 72 and 73 are formed in widths of the tip portion 60A and base end portion 60B of the balloon 60”); and an expandable and contractible balloon (60) arranged so as to cover at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (fig 8 shows balloon covering the outer peripheral surface of 40) such that an inside of the balloon communicates with the lumen via the opening (see fig 8, wherein the balloon covers the two grooves 72 and 73).
In reference to dependent claim 2, Ikeda discloses the balloon catheter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one groove (73) extends along the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (40) in a circumferential direction of the hollow shaft (para 0060 discloses “The openings 70 and 71 may be provided in the tip portion and base end portion of the connection ring 41, respectively. The openings 70 and 71 are provided in concave grooves 72 and 73 formed in the outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 over a round in a circumferential direction”).
In reference to dependent claim 3, Ikeda discloses the balloon catheter according to claim 2, wherein the at least one groove (73) annularly extends along an entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (para 0060 discloses “The openings 70 and 71 may be provided in the tip portion and base end portion of the connection ring 41, respectively. The openings 70 and 71 are provided in concave grooves 72 and 73 formed in the outer peripheral surface of the connection ring 41 over a round in a circumferential direction”).
In reference to dependent claim 5, Ikeda discloses the balloon catheter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one groove includes a plurality of grooves that extend across the opening (fig 8 discloses 2 circumferential grooves 72 and 73).
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ikeda (USPAP 2007/0270645) in view of Miyauchi (JP 2017217253).
In reference to dependent claim 4, Ikeda discloses the balloon catheter according to claim 1, wherein the at least one groove (73, fig 8) extends along the outer peripheral surface of the hollow shaft (40) in a direction perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of the hollow shaft (fig 8 shows the grooves 73 perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of the hollow shaft 40).
Ikeda does not teach the groove being inclined.
Miyauchi, a similar balloon catheter, teaches the groove (32d, fig 9) being inclined (fig 9 clearly shows the groove 32d inclined relative to the longitudinal direction of the hollow shaft).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incline the grooves of Ikeda as taught by the openings of Miyauchi so it is “capable of suppressing an occurrence of a deflation error” abstract; Miyauchi.
Conclusion
Examiner has cited particular columns and line and/or paragraph numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
The examiner requests, in response to this Office action, support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line no(s) in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the examiner in prosecuting the application.
When responding to this office action, Applicant is advised to clearly point out the patentable novelty which he or she thinks the claims present, in view of the state of the art disclosed by the references cited or the objections made. He or she must also show how the amendments avoid such references or objections See 37 CFR 1.111(c).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Qiu (USPAP 2014/0012193) discloses a balloon catheter with a catheter opening.
Eidenschink (USPAP 2016/0296734) discloses a balloon catheter with catheter openings.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLES W NICHOLS whose telephone number is (571)272-6492. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Tsai can be reached at (571) 270-5246. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLES W NICHOLS/Examiner, Art Unit 3783