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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 teaches “pants…comprising: a pants member” wherein the space division member is connected to “the pants in the internal space”. It is unclear what structure in the instant device constitutes “the pants”, as only “the pants member” is defined in the specification. This lacks clarity as it is unclear how a component of the pants can be connected to the pants (i.e., If product A comprises components B, C, and D, component C could not connect to product A as C is a constituent component of product A). For the purpose of examination, components claimed as “the pants” and “the pants member” are considered to be “the pants member” of the instant specification.
Claim 3 recites “a floor board disposed in the second space, wherein a support and the expansion section locate sequentially on the floor board”, but it is unclear what arrangement of parts is described by “locate sequentially on the floor board”. If the intention is to describe the physical arrangement of the support and the expansion section, describing how they are located in relation to another component is necessary. Sequential is defined as “forming or following in a logical order or sequence” (Oxford Languages), but no “logical” order or sequence is taught in the claims or specification.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the space for the urine/feces" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 11 and 13 recite “in ordinary day” as a condition which determines fan operation. It is unclear from the claims and specification what constitutes an “ordinary day”.
Claims 15, 16, 26, and 27 recite the relative “strength” of components, but it unclear what parameter or characteristic is being described.
Claim 17 recites “a light sensor located in the pants member” as well as “a light sensor senses a light reflected by the collected urine/feces”, but it unclear what components and actions are claimed here, or where the light originates from.
Claim 17 states that “it is detected through the sensed result whether or not the user discharges the urine/feces”, but is in unclear if this refers to the user urinating/defecating, or the detection of material in the discharge pipe and/or collection container.
Regarding claim 29, it is unclear if “a part corresponding to the floor board” is an additional component which is similar to the floor board, or if another meaning is intended. The claim additionally recites “a contact part of the first sub pants and the second pants is formed of transparent material”. It is unclear from the claims and specification if the first and second sub pants comprise a contact part, or if an additional component, which is in contact with both sub pants, and said component(s) is(are) formed of a transparent material.
Claims 2, 4-8, 10, 12, 14, and 18-25 are rejected based on their dependency.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 6167578 B1 (Kitamura).
Regarding claim 1, Kitamura teaches pants for urine/feces comprising:
a pants member (3) (Fig. 2) configured to have an internal space (the entire area inside 3);
a space division member (20) connected to the pants in the internal space, thereby dividing the internal space into a first space (where the patient is located) and a second space (outside of 20 where it connects to 3b, the area between 3a and 3b); and
an expansion section (3c) disposed in the second space,
wherein a hip of a user or the hip and a thigh locate in the first space (Col. 2: l. 66 – Col. 3: l. 2 describing the positioning of the user within the device), the hip or the hip and the thigh are lifted when the expansion section is expanded in the second space to form a space for urine/feces (8) where the urine/feces is collected (Col. 3: ll. 33-36);
Regarding claim 2, Kitamura further teaches a support (6) disposed on or below the expansion section in the second space (Fig. 2), wherein the space division member is removable from the pants member (shown independently in Figs. 6 and 7).
Regarding claim 28, Kitamura teaches pants for urine/feces comprising:
a first sub pants (20) in which a body of a user is inserted (Fig. 7);
a second sub pants (3b) connected to the first sub pants and configured to have an internal space (the area inside 3); and
an expansion section (3c) included in the second sub pants,
wherein a hip or the hip and a thigh are lifted when the expansion section is expanded in the second sub pants (as seen in Fig. 2), thereby forming a space for urine/feces (8) in which the urine/feces is collected in the first sub pants (Col. 3: ll. 33-36).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
KR 20220060295 A discloses a pants-like device for disposal of waste comprising inflating members and an optical sensor for detection of waste.
CN 113081452 A discloses pants for the collection of urine/feces comprising an inflatable member and a weight sensor for the detection of waste.
EP 0494488 A1 discloses a waste collection device comprising water level sensors and an external expansion section for lifting the hips.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HANS KALIHER whose telephone number is (303)297-4453. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 08:00-05:00 MT.
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/HANS KALIHER/Examiner, Art Unit 3781
/SARAH AL HASHIMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3781