Final Rejection
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 § 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 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Konuma (JP 2011072511) in view of Ross (US 5,466,897).
Konuma discloses a medical equipment cover comprising a medical condom (10; Figure 1) comprising:
a support portion (14) made of a hard material (the reinforcing member 14) and having a through-hole centrally formed (see opening to insert probe 11; Figure 6) therein; and a cover portion (cover body of 10) connected to and extending from an inner circumference of the support portion (inner circumference of 14), made of an elastically deformable material (made from a flexible plate material 15), and configured to be put on a probe body of a medical probe for obstetrics and gynecology (placed on body of 11a medical probe 11),
Konuma does not disclose wherein the medical condom is supplied through an automatic medical condom supply device that comprises:
a device body;
a guide bracket installed outside an outlet of the device body and configured to support an edge of the medical condom discharged through the outlet and guide movement of the medical condom; and
a condom support member installed at a front end of the guide bracket and configured to support the support portion located at the edge of the medical condom such that a width between the inner circumference and an outer circumference of the support portion is fixed, thereby allowing a medical probe to be coupled with the medical condom.
Ross discloses a stethoscope diaphragm dispenser (48; Figure 4B) wherein the medical condom (cover) is supplied through an automatic medical condom supply device (48; Figure 4B) that comprises:
a device body (38);
a guide bracket (86) installed outside an outlet (68) of the device body (38) and configured to support an edge of the medical condom (support an edge 33 of diaphragm 24; Figure 2, 5) and discharged through the outlet (68) and guide movement of the medical condom (see movement of slide 86; Figure 4B); and
a condom support member (edge 72; Figure 5) installed at a front end of the guide bracket (86) and configured to support the support portion (support an edge 33 of diaphragm 24; Figure 2, 5) located at the edge of the medical condom (24) such that a width between the inner circumference (circumference of 78) and an outer circumference of the support portion (circumference of 72) is fixed, thereby allowing a medical probe (10) to be coupled with the medical condom (24; see Figure 4B).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Kim to include wherein the medical condom is supplied through an automatic medical condom supply device that comprises:
a device body;
a guide bracket installed outside an outlet of the device body and configured to support an edge of the medical condom discharged through the outlet and guide movement of the medical condom; and
a condom support member installed at a front end of the guide bracket and configured to support the support portion located at the edge of the medical condom such that a width between the inner circumference and an outer circumference of the support portion is fixed, thereby allowing a medical probe to be coupled with the medical condom as taught by Ross because the released articles can be moved to the outside of the dispenser body wherein the access to the dispensed article can be more readily accessible to a user and can be seen as being positioned outside the dispenser for extraction.
Referring to claim 13. Konuma discloses a medical equipment cover (10; Figure 1) wherein the support portion (14) has a constant thickness (member 14 is a constant thickness rim) between the inner circumference thereof to which the cover portion (cover body of 10) is connected and an outer circumference (14) thereof.
Referring to claim 14. Konuma discloses a medical equipment cover (10; Figure 1) wherein the cover portion is made of a material different from that of the support portion (the support is made from a reinforcing member 14 and the cover portion is made from a flexible plate material 15).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 11 are allowed.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/25/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See new rejections cited in light of Konuma (JP 2011072511) in view of Ross (US 5,466,897) disclosing the newly added limitations wherein the medical condom is supplied through an automatic medical condom supply device that comprises:
a device body;
a guide bracket installed outside an outlet of the device body and configured to support an edge of the medical condom discharged through the outlet and guide movement of the medical condom; and
a condom support member installed at a front end of the guide bracket and configured to support the support portion located at the edge of the medical condom such that a width between the inner circumference and an outer circumference of the support portion is fixed, thereby allowing a medical probe to be coupled with the medical condom.
Applicant’s Amendment to the drawings filled 11/25/2025 is acknowledged and is entered.
Amended claims 1-8 and 11 are deemed allowed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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 RAKESH KUMAR whose telephone number is (571)272-8314. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH from 8AM-6:30PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gene Crawford can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RAKESH KUMAR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3651