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 .
Status of Claims
This present office action is responsive to the Application filed on August 31, 2023. As directed, claims 1-20 are presently pending in this application.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites, “a patient” in ln 10 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the patient--
Claims 2-5 are objected by dependency to claim 1.
Claim 5 recites, “the left and the right positioner holders” in ln 2-3 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right positioner holders-- for consistency.
Claim 6 recites, “a patient’s throat” in ln 13-14 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the patient’s throat--
Claim 6 recites, “a preselected position relative patient biological features” in ln 14-15 which Examiner suggest amending to read --a preselected position relative to the patient’s biological features--
Claim 6 recites, “the left and the right leg” in ln 16 and “the two legs” in ln 16-17 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right legs-- for consistency.
Claims 7-12 are objected by dependency to claim 6.
Claim 7 recites, “the left and the right leg” in ln 2-3 and “the left and the right leg” in ln 3 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right legs-- for consistency.
Claim 9 recites, “the left and the right leg” in ln 2 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right legs-- for consistency.
Claim 10 recites, “a patient” in ln 3 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the patient--
Claim 11 recites, “the left and the right positioners” in ln 1-2 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right positioners-- for consistency.
Claim 13 recites, “to a patient above and below the patient’s mouth” in ln 5-6 which Examiner suggest amending to read --to the patient above and below the patient’s mouth--
Claim 13 recites, “in a the clamped” in ln 11 which Examiner suggest amending to read --in the clamped--.
Claim 13 recites, “to the patients above” in ln 14 which Examiner suggest amending to read --to the patient above--
Claim 13 recites, “an endotracheal tube that may be arranged in the tube-receiver passageway” in ln 15-16 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the endotracheal tube which has been received in the tube-receiver passageway--
Claims 14-20 are objected by dependency to claim 13
Claim 14 recites, “the left and the right leg” in ln 5 and “the left and the right leg” in ln 6 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right legs-- for consistency.
Claim 17 recites, “a patient” in ln 2 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the patient--
Claim 18 recites, “the left and the right between-the-teeth positioners” in ln 1-2 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right between-the-teeth positioners-- for consistency.
Claim 20 recites, “the left and the right positioner holders” in ln 2-3 which Examiner suggest amending to read --the left and right positioner holders-- for consistency.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mackinnon et al. (US 20230372653 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Mackinnon et al. discloses, an endotracheal tube placement system (an assembly 100 of Figs 1A and 1B),
the system comprising a clamp (adjustable clip 60, Fig 1A) adapted to be coupled to a patient's face (¶0031-0032, implies adapted to be coupled to a patient’s mouth via clamp 40), the clamp shaped to receive an endotracheal tube in a tube-receiver passageway (¶0042, “…clip 60 for retaining and securing the EET… are oval or elliptical in shape, this is done for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that other shapes may be used”) and configured to move from an unclamped position (as shown in Fig 5A prior to inserting the ETT) in which the endotracheal tube is free to slide through the tube-receiver passageway to a clamped position (¶0044, “leaving the tip portion 71 properly engage with one of the (e.g., serrated) teeth 65, fixedly securing the third side 66 to the first side 62 and, moreover, securing the EET”) in which the endotracheal tube is engaged by the clamp to resist movement through the tube-receiver passageway (¶0042-48, implies that the tube is engaged by the clamp to resist movements from the three sides);
a clamp lock (teeth 65 of 66, Fig 5A) configured to selectively retain the clamp in the clamped position to hold the endotracheal tube in place relative to the clamp (¶0044); and
at least one between-the-teeth positioner (bite blocks 25, Fig 2) sized to be placed between upper and lower teeth of the patient when the clamp is coupled to the patient's face (¶0045, “the bite blocks 25, such that the bite blocks 25 are aligned with the patient's wisdom teeth or rearmost molars”), the at least one between-the-teeth positioner coupled to the clamp (60 is connected via the components, 20, 30, 40, 50 as shown in Fig 1A).
Regarding claim 2, Mackinnon et al. discloses the system of claim 1 as discussed above.
Mackinnon et al. further discloses, wherein the at least one between-the-teeth positioner includes left and right positioners (25 on each side as shown in Fig 2) movably coupled to the clamp (¶0045, implies that the bite blocks 25 are moveable by the arms 24 to align with the teeth).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 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.
Claims 6-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the claim objections, set forth in this Office action.
Reasons for Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding the subject matter of claim 3, the closest identified prior art document of record is Mackinnon et al. (US 20230372653 A1).
Mackinnon et al. discloses, the main components of claim 1 having the at least one between-the-teeth positioner (25, Fig 2) coupled via a pair of arms (24, Fig 2), but the prior art does not specifically suggest or teach wherein each of the at least one between-the-teeth positioner includes a flexible tether coupled to the clamp and a bite member coupled to the flexible tether opposite the clamp, and wherein the bite member is sized to space upper and lower teeth of the patient apart from one another a preselected distance greater than the tube-receiver passageway defined by the clamp.
Regarding the subject matter of claim 6, the closest identified prior art document of record is Haider et al. (US 20160095995 A1).
Haider et al. discloses, the main components of claim 5, but the prior art does not specifically discloses, wherein the clamp lock is located spaced apart from the free end of the two legs of the clamp.
Regarding the subject matter of claim 13, the closest identified prior art document of record are Kim et al. (KR 101086556 B1) and Lee (KR 20220115286 A).
Kim et al. discloses, the main components of claim 13 and the clamp mount that extends upwardly and downwardly from the tube to provide structure for fixation to above and below the patient's mouth (PG 2, ln 17-26, implies that the body of the mask is to be worn around the mouth below the cheekbone so the structure would be fixated above and below the patient’s mouth; a body of the mask shown in Fig 1), but the prior art does not specifically suggest or teach having attachable means via tape strips adhered to the clamp mount of the clamp at locations spaced above and below the tube-receiver passageway, wherein the tape strips are adapted to be further adhered to above and below the patient's mouth to fix the clamp to the patient while remaining spaced apart from an endotracheal tube that may be arranged in the tube-receiver passageway.
Lee discloses, the main components of claim 13, and the clamp mount (a body portion 10, Fig 1) that extends upwardly and downwardly from the tube to provide structure for fixation to above and below the patient's mouth, but the prior art teach away from using tape strips as it may cause skin trouble (PG 2, see “Background-art” section).
No other prior arts have been found that teaches or suggest the limitation of claims 3, 6, and 13 respectively.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAEICK JANG whose telephone number is (703)756-4569. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 4:30.
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/J.J./Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/JOSEPH D. BOECKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785