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
Per the amendments to the drawings, the drawing objections have been withdrawn.
Per the amendments to the claims, the claim objections have been withdrawn.
Per the amendments to the claims, the 112(b) rejections have been withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: the recitation of “configured to receive the one or more mechanical stops such that the connector refrains from moving relative to a facepiece” should read ---configured to receive the one or more mechanical stops such that the connector refrains from moving relative to the facepiece--- for proper antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gangadhar (EP 3643363 A1) in view of Reischel (WO 9813103 A1) and further in view of Kiefer (WO 02092170 A2).
Regarding claim 1, Gangadhar discloses a respirator (Figure 1 above; connector base and connector column) comprising:
a connector comprising a connector base and a connector column (Figure 1 below; connector base and connector column);
wherein the connector base defines one or more mechanical stops (Figure 2 below; where the adaptor piece includes mechanical stops to support engagement of the respirator cartridge and the adaptor piece, which could be arranged to have been on the connector piece);
wherein the connector column defines connector threading (Figure 1 below; connector threading);
an adaptor comprising an adaptor base and an adaptor column (Figure 1 below; adaptor, Figure 2 below; adaptor base/column);
wherein the adaptor column defines adaptor threading configured to operably engage with the connector threading of the connector such that the adaptor and the connector are operably engaged (Figure 1 below; all the parts fit together to be engaged with each other, and Figure 2 below; adaptor threading);
a respirator cartridge comprising a housing (Figure 1 below; where there is a housing and a fitment portion that connects with the adaptor and the respirator cartridge to be also connected, making them all engaged);
and a facepiece having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, the facepiece comprising one or more attachment slots defining one or more cavities, wherein the one or more cavities are configured to receive the one or more mechanical stops such that the adaptor refrains from moving relative to a facepiece (Figure 1 below; where the first side of the facepiece is the side that faces the user’s face and the second side of the facepiece is the portion of the facepiece that faces the adaptor, Figure 4 below; where the one or more attachment slots that define cavities are the portions, where the one or more cavities are configured to receive the one or more mechanical stops (of Figure 2 below on the adaptor), allowing for the adaptor to refrain from moving relative to a facepiece, where ‘315’ is the mechanical stoppers that are configured to support an engagement of pieces – refraining movement of the pieces relative to the facepiece of the mechanical stopper (Gangadhar Detailed Description [030]) and prevents slippage of the respirator cartridge when engaged with the adaptor (Gangadhar Detailed Description [014]) – refraining movement of the pieces relative to the facepiece of the mechanical stopper).
Gangadhar fails to disclose the mechanical stops being configured to receive the mechanical stops such that the connector refrains from moving relative to a facepiece.
Reischel discloses a face mask assembly comprising:
one or more mechanical stops such that the connector refrains from moving relative to a facepiece (Reischel Detailed Description of the Drawings [0009]; where the tabs ‘60’ are mechanical stops of the connector ‘50’ of Reischel Figures 4-5 that align into complementary slots for automatically aligning and orienting filter cartridges).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the respirator of Gangadhar by including the mechanical stops on the connector as taught by Reischel, since, it provides a positive rotational stop point, and automatic aligning and orienting of the air filter cartridges (Reischel [0009]), which allows for the connector to be further prevented from spinning or freely moving.
Modified Gangadhar fails to disclose the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots, with the facepiece in between the adaptor and the connector.
Kiefer discloses a respirator facepiece wherein:
the connector is configured to be positioned on the first side of the facepiece with the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots; and the adaptor is configured to be positioned on the second side of the facepiece and connected to the connector via the connector column (Figure 5 below; where there is a connector (piece that connects the facepiece to the adaptor) that is positioned on the first side of the facepiece with the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots, and the adaptor (that connects to the connector and the respirator cartridge ‘800’) is on the second side of the facepiece and gets connected to the connector via the connector column (Kiefer [0065]; ‘276’ the threading on the inside of the flange that connects the portions together)).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the respirator of modified Gangadhar to have the orientation of the facepiece between the adaptor and the connector and the connector extending through the facepiece as taught by Kiefer, since, not only does this orientation improve the resonance of the user’s voice that can be transmitted through the facepiece (Kiefer [0046]), the orientation of the facepiece with the adaptor and the connector allows for a gas-tight teal and for fast attachment of the cartridges without stress on the facepiece body (Kiefer [0044, 0003, 0005]).
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Figure 1: annotated Figure 1 of Gangadhar.
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Figure 2: annotated Figure 3 of Gangadhar.
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Figure 3: annotated Figure 22 of Carney.
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Figure 4: annotated Figure 1 of Gangadhar.
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Figure 5: annotated Figure 2C of Kiefer.
Regarding claim 3, Modified Gangadhar in view of Kiefer further discloses the respirator of claim 1, further comprising a gasket disposed between the adaptor and the respirator cartridge, wherein the adaptor column further defines a lip on an outer surface, and wherein the gasket is configured to be operably engaged with the lip of the adaptor column (Figure 1 above; gasket is between adaptor and the respirator cartridge, the gasket is configured to be with the adaptor column, where the lip (Figure 2 above; where there is a lip on the outer surface of the adaptor column), helps to be operably engaged with the gasket by connecting and keeping the gasket held within the lip of the adaptor column).
Regarding claim 4, Modified Gangadhar in view of Kiefer further discloses the respirator of claim 1, wherein the respirator cartridge is configured to receive one or more filters within the housing (Gangadhar [0045] col 14. Lines 11-13; respirator cartridge includes one or more filter elements; filter elements are in the housing as seen by Figure 1).
Regarding claim 5, Modified Gangadhar in view of Kiefer further discloses the respirator of claim 1, wherein the respirator assembly is configured to be operably engaged with the facepiece (Figure 1 above; where the respirator assembly is all connected together into the facepiece).
Regarding claim 7, Modified Gangadhar in view of Keifer further discloses the respirator of claim 1, wherein the adaptor threading engages with the connector threading to secure the adaptor to the connector (Figures 1 and 2 above; where the adaptor threading engages to connect with the connector threading to secure the adaptor to the connector).
Regarding claim 8, Modified Gangadhar in view of Keifer further discloses the respirator of claim 7, wherein the adaptor column defines one or more adaptor protrusions, wherein the respirator cartridge is secured to the adaptor by the one or more adaptor protrusions (Figure 1 above; the threaded lines of the figure allow for the connection of all of the respiratory assembly to the facepiece and the adaptor comprises threading (thus attaching and securing) of the connector to the adaptor, there are adaptor protrusions in Figure 2 above, that allow for the securement of the pieces of the adaptor and the respirator cartridge of Figure 1 above to go together).
Claims 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gangadhar (EP 3643363 A1) in view of Reischel (WO 9813103 A1), further in view of Kiefer (WO 02092170 A2), and even further in view of Carney (WO 2022026002 A1) and as evidenced by Stephen (GB 2541082 A).
Regarding claim 2, modified Gangadhar in view of Keifer further discloses the respirator of claim 1.
Modified Gangadhar in view of Keifer is silent to wherein one or more of the connector threading and the adaptor threading comprise bayonet threads.
Carney discloses a patient interface wherein:
wherein one or more of the connector threading and the adaptor threading comprise bayonet threads (Figure 3 above; where there is an adaptor with an adaptor column defining adaptor threading on the inner side that is bayonet threading (threads) ‘252’ that connects to the connector with bayonet threading (threads) ‘254’).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the respirator assembly of modified Gangadhar in view of Kiefer by including bayonet threading as the threading on the inner surface of a connector as taught by Carney, since, it allows for removable interlocking components that can seal the facepiece together with translational and rotational constraint (Carney [00106]).
Additionally, it would have been readily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the bayonet threading would provide a frictional benefit, because as evidenced by Stephen (GB 2541082 A), conventional bayonet coupling relies on a combination of friction and resilience (strength) to hold the two parts of the coupling against each other (Stephen Description [027]).
Regarding claim 6, Gangadhar discloses a method for using a respirator assembly (Gangadhar [0002-0003], Figures 1-2 above), the method comprising:
attaching, by a connector threading on the connector column and an adaptor threading, the connector to an adaptor, the adaptor including an adaptor base and an adaptor column; and securing, by one or more adaptor protrusions on the adaptor column, the adaptor to a respirator cartridge (Figure 1 above; the threaded lines of the figure allow for the connection of all of the respiratory assembly to the facepiece and the adaptor comprises threading (thus attaching and securing) of the connector to the adaptor, there are adaptor protrusions in Figure 2 above, that allow for the securement of the pieces of the adaptor and the respirator cartridge of Figure 1 above to go together, where Figure 2 above has the adaptor base and column labeled);
inserting, by one or more mechanical stops, an adaptor into one or more cavities of an attachment slot of a facepiece, the connector including a base and a connector column and the facepiece having a first side and a second side opposite the first side (Figure 1 above; where the first side of the facepiece is the side that faces the user’s face and the second side of the facepiece is the portion of the facepiece that faces the adaptor and where the pieces are inserted, where the connector has a base and a connector column, Figure 4 above; where the one or more attachment slots that define cavities are the portions, where the one or more cavities are configured to receive the one or more mechanical stops (of Figure 2 above on the adaptor), allowing for the adaptor to refrain from moving relative to a facepiece, where ‘315’ is the mechanical stoppers that are configured to support an engagement of pieces – refraining movement of the pieces relative to the facepiece of the mechanical stopper (Gangadhar Detailed Description [030]) and prevents slippage of the respirator cartridge when engaged with the adaptor (Gangadhar Detailed Description [014]) – refraining movement of the pieces relative to the facepiece of the mechanical stopper).
Gangadhar fails to disclose a connector being inserted into the one or more cavities of an attachment slot of a facepiece.
Reischel discloses a face mask assembly comprising:
inserting a connector into one or more cavities of an attachment slot of a facepiece (Reischel Figures 4-7; where the connector ‘50’ is seen being inserted into the attachment slot of the facepiece ‘16’).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the respirator of Gangadhar by having the connector being inserted into the one or more cavities of an attachment slot of a facepiece as taught by Reischel, since it allows for automatic alignment and orientation of the air filter cartridges (Reischel [0009]).
Modified Gangadhar fails to disclose the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots, with the facepiece in between the adaptor and the connector.
Kiefer discloses a respirator facepiece wherein:
wherein the connector is configured to be positioned on the first side of the facepiece with the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots; and the adaptor is configured to be positioned on the second side of the facepiece and connected to the connector via the connector column (Figure 5 above; where there is a connector (piece that connects the facepiece to the adaptor) that is positioned on the first side of the facepiece with the connector column extending through the one or more attachment slots, and the adaptor (that connects to the connector and the respirator cartridge ‘800’) is on the second side of the facepiece and gets connected to the connector via the connector column (Kiefer [0065]; ‘276’ the threading on the inside of the flange that connects the portions together)).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the respirator of modified Gangadhar to have the orientation of the facepiece between the adaptor and the connector and the connector extending through the facepiece as taught by Kiefer, since, not only does this orientation improve the resonance of the user’s voice that can be transmitted through the facepiece (Kiefer [0046]), the orientation of the facepiece with the adaptor and the connector allows for a gas-tight teal and for fast attachment of the cartridges without stress on the facepiece body (Kiefer [0044, 0003, 0005]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Ranson (WO 2023044571 A1): interchangeable filter system for a respirator.
Karich (WO 2022077127 A1): respirator mask with adaptor, connector piece on the first side of the mask, adaptor on the outside piece.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AISLINN MOIRA JONES whose telephone number is (571)272-3835. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5, EO Friday 7:30-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brandy Lee can be reached at 5712707410. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/AISLINN M JONES/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/BRANDY S LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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