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 .
Acknowledgements
In response to the Amendment filed 5/13/2026, claims 1, 14, 15 and 20 are amended. Claims 1-20 remain pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 12-16, 19 and 20 are is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Misener (US 20140188133 A1).
As to claims 1 and 15, Misener discloses a connection system, comprising: a male connector (532) associated with a single patient-use ("SPU") medical device (134), the male connector including a flexible member (542) around the male connector with the flexible member proximal of a plug (540) of the male connector; and a female connector (546) associated with a multiple patient-use ("MPU") medical device (sensor/remote module [0152]), the female connector including a rigid member (544) around an opening of a receptacle of the female connector, and the flexible member configured to conform to the rigid member with a sterile drape (174) therebetween when the plug of the male connector is inserted into the receptacle of the female connector, thereby establishing one or more functional connections across the sterile drape between the SPU and MPU medical devices [0152-0153].
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As to claim 2, Misener discloses the connection system of claim 1, wherein the flexible member is fixedly coupled to the male connector [0153].
As to claim 5, Misener discloses the connection system of claim 1, wherein the rigid member is fixedly coupled to the female connector [0153].
As to claim 12, Misener discloses the connection system of claim 1, wherein conformation of the flexible member to the rigid member forms a fluid-tight seal [0152-0153].
As to claims 13 and 19, Misener discloses the connection system of claim 1, wherein the one-or-more functional connections are selected from electrical, optical, and fluid connections [0152].
As to claims 14 and 20, Misener discloses the connection system of claim 1, wherein the one-or-more functional connections between the SPU and MPU medical devices extend from a sterile field including the SPU medical device and a non-sterile field including the MPU medical device [0152].
As to claim 16, Misener discloses the method of claim 15, wherein the flexible member is a flexible disk fixedly or removably coupled to the male connector [0153].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7-11, 17, 18 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot as necessitated by amendment and 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.
Conclusion
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 IMANI N HAYMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5528. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30 AM - 3:30 PM.
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/IMANI N HAYMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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