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. Response to Amendment This office action is responsive to the preliminary amendment filed on 11/9/23. As directed by the amendment: claims 3-6 have been amended, no claims have been cancelled, and no new claims have been added. Thus, claims 1-6 are presently pending in this application. 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. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim (s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung (US 20200171293) in view of Stevens (US 5693025) . Regarding claim 1, Chung discloses a Y-type connector (fig. 1-12) comprising a Y-type connector main body portion 100 including a main tube portion 100A having, in a longitudinal direction, a main tube passage portion 120A through which an introduction member formed in a linear shape including a guide wire or a catheter is inserted (see fig. 2, fully capable of receiving such a member) , and a side tube portion 100B having a side tube passage portion (interior of 100B) extending in a side direction from the main tube portion (see fig. 1) , wherein the Y-type connector main body portion includes a main body (body forming 100) , a sliding member 420 , and a lid member 430 , the main body has a sliding member insertion hole 140 formed at least in a merging portion between the main tube passage portion and the side tube passage portion (see fig. 1-3) , the sliding member is configured to slide relative to the main body portion (between fig. 2 position and fig. 11 position; par. 0081) , and formed in a form insertable into the sliding member insertion hole (via form of element 423) , and the lid member is formed to be attachable to the main body in a state in which the sliding member is inserted into the sliding member insertion hole (see fig. 2 and 11), except for specifically disclosing the sliding member is made of a material having higher slidability than a material of the Y-type connector main body portion, or a material softer than the material of the Y- type connector main body portion . However, Stevens teaches improving slidability of relatively slidable elements by either forming an element from a material with low coefficient of friction and/or utilizing lubricant (col. 11, ln. 7-21). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a material with sufficient slidability , such as taught by Stevens, to form the sliding member of Chung, for the purpose of providing sufficient structure and functionality to reliably perform the sliding action required by Chung. Regarding claim 2, Chung discloses the sliding member 420 is formed larger than the sliding member insertion hole (see fig. 2) . Regarding claim 3, Chung discloses the sliding member has a recessed groove (see annotated fig. 8 below) formed in a portion disposed on an inner peripheral side of the Y-type connector main body portion (groove identified in fig. 8 below is disposed on a portion of 140 of the main body portion , which includes an inner peripheral side in the form of the inner surface of 140) . Regarding claim 4, Chung discloses the lid member includes a piece extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the lid member at one side end portion (see “perpendicular piece” in annotated fig. 12 below) , a fitting groove provided in the piece (see annotated fig. 12 below) , and a protruding portion provided protruding in the longitudinal direction at another side end portion, and the main body includes a projection portion (410 and end of 140 at 410) to be fitted into the fitting groove (see annotated fig. 12 below) and a main body side groove to be fitted with the protruding portion (see annotated fig. 12 below) . Regarding claim 5, Chung discloses a distal end side of the lid member is formed in a tapered shape, and the Y-type connector includes a rotator having a contact surface capable of coming into surface contact with the tapered shape (see annotated fig. 12 below) . Regarding claim 6, Chung discloses the lid member and the sliding member are integrally formed (illustrated integrally formed into a combined mechanism in fig. 1-12) . Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see notice of references cited. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT NATHAN R PRICE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5421 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm Eastern time . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Michael Tsai can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5246 . 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. /NATHAN R PRICE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783