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
Applicant’s response of 7/15/25 is received and reviewed. Claims 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, and 20 are amended, claims 2-6, 9-13, and 16-19 are cancelled, and claims 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, and 20 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 20 is objected to because of the following informalities: there is text and a period missing from the end of the claim as follows- insert “the threshold level.” after “to below” to recite “to below the threshold level.” Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 8, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) 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 8 recites “the operating parameter measurement assembly is configured to be located within the surgical hood” and the claim also recites “the operating parameter assembly is located within the surgical hood”. It’s not clear if the claim intends to recite the operating parameter measurement assembly in a functional manner relative to the surgical hood as in the preamble or if the claim intends to recite the operating parameter assembly as part of a surgical hood, as the surgical hood is recited functionally in the preamble of the claim. Please clarify. The operating parameter assembly is interpreted as configured to be located within the surgical hood. It is also noted that claim 8 recites “a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood”. However, the surgical hood is not positively recited as part of the system. Claim 14 is also rejected due to its dependency from claim 8.
For claim 20, there is no antecedent basis for “the tachometer sensor” and therefore the scope of the claim is unclear.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 and 8, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McBride ‘712 in view of Herbert ‘857 and McBride ‘584 and Czajka ‘624 and Rosati ‘568. McBride discloses the invention substantially as claimed. For claim 1, McBride teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns, comprising: a surgical gown 4; a surgical hood 14 operatively connected to the surgical gown 4, wherein the hood 14 is configured to be located over a head and neck area of a wearer such that the head and neck area of the wearer are substantially enclosed within the hood; a ventilation system 100 located within the surgical gown 4 and the surgical hood 14 for providing ventilation air within the surgical gown and the surgical hood, wherein the ventilation system 100 is configured to be retained by shoulders of the wearer of the ventilation system in order to provide ventilation air within the surgical gown 4 and surgical hood 14. However, McBride doesn’t teach the helmetless support and ventilation system comprises an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system, wherein the operating parameter measurement assembly is located within the surgical hood and the operating condition parameter measurement assembly is further comprised of an operating condition parameter sensor, wherein the operating condition parameter sensor is further comprised of a CO2 sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an oxygen sensor, a volatile organic compounds sensor, and an air pressure sensor and a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood. Herbert teaches a surgical gown and hood assembly with an operating parameter measurement assembly comprising an operating condition parameter sensor 210 operatively connected to the ventilation system 208. The sensor 210 is configured to measure an internal characteristic such as air pressure, air velocity, or air temperature (par.42 of prov app.). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to include an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system and located within the hood, as Herbert teaches the assembly can provide useful details of characteristics within the hood including air pressure, velocity or temperature such that adjustments to the support and ventilation system can be made to provide improved support and ventilation system performance. McBride, as modified by Herbert, teaches the helmetless support and ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns wherein the ventilation system 100 is further comprised of: a power module 250 and an air flow generation module 450 located adjacent to the power module 250 (Fig.15). The power module 250 is further comprised of a battery 252 and a fan motor 452 operatively connected to the battery 252 but doesn’t teach a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery, a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery and a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the battery, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer and an airflow generation module located adjacent to the power module, wherein the air flow generation module is further comprised of a fan motor operatively connected to the battery and an impeller operatively connected to the fan motor. McBride ‘584 teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns comprising a battery sensor 255 operatively connected to a battery 252, power module identification system 258 operatively connected to the battery 252 and a motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 operatively connected to the battery 252, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer (paragraphs 35 and 43). McBride teaches the tachometer is conventional in the art and can determine that the battery is not operating correctly or is overheating such that a user can be notified. The power module identification system 258 operatively connected to the battery 252 can interact with battery sensor 255 to determine that a newly installed battery 252 is operating correctly. The motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 includes a tachometer 263 attached to the fan motor 260 to provide information about the motor speed to determine if the ventilation system is operating as expected or necessary. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to provide a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery, a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery and a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the battery, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer, as McBride ‘584 teaches these devices provide useful information about the battery life and operation and function of the fan motor such that the user can be aware of a battery malfunction and the ventilation system operation can be adjusted to optimal settings. Czajka teaches that it’s known in the art to provide a ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns with an operating condition parameter sensor and a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood (paragraphs 118 and 120) as part of a communication module to communicate with a second communication device remote from the wearer/surgeon or to provide a voice command to activate a fan and/or control fan speed without requirement manual adjustment and allowing for hands free operation of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system to provide a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood, as Czajka teaches the microphone assembly can be used to provide voice command activation of a fan and/or control fan speed such that the wearer/surgeon’s activities are not interrupted.
For claim 8, McBride ‘712 discloses the invention substantially as claimed. McBride teaches a system for providing ventilation within surgical hoods and gowns, wherein the system is further comprised of: a a ventilation system 100 configured to be retained by shoulders of the wearer of the ventilation system in order to provide ventilation air within a surgical gown 4 and surgical hood 14 being worn by the wearer. McBride teaches the power module 250 is further comprised of a battery 252 and an airflow generation module 450 including a conventional electric motor 260, conventional impeller 454 and a fan motor 452 operatively connected to the battery 252. The ventilation system 100 also includes a PCB module 500 including a conventional PCB 502 that can be used to control the ventilation system 100 and can be used to control the speed at which the impeller 454 rotates, thereby controlling the velocity of the air being emitted from face and neck vents as in col.10, lines 24-32. However, McBride doesn’t teach a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery, a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery and a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the fan motor, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer and an airflow generation module located adjacent to the power module, wherein the air flow generation module is further comprised of a fan motor operatively connected to the battery and an impeller operatively connected to the fan motor. McBride ‘584 teaches a ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns comprising a battery sensor 255 operatively connected to a battery 252, power module identification system 258 operatively connected to the battery 252 and a motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 operatively connected to the battery 252, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer (paragraphs 35 and 43). McBride teaches a tachometer is conventional in the art and can determine that the battery is not operating correctly or is overheating such that a user can be notified. The power module identification system 258 operatively connected to the battery 252 can interact with battery sensor 255 to determine that a newly installed battery 252 is operating correctly. The motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 includes a tachometer 263 attached to the fan motor 260 to provide information about the motor speed to determine if the ventilation system is operating as expected or necessary. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to provide a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery, a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery and a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the battery, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer, as McBride ‘584 teaches these devices provide useful information about the battery life and operation and function of the fan motor such that the user can be aware of a battery malfunction and the ventilation system operation can be adjusted to optimal settings. McBride also doesn’t teach the ventilation system comprises an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system, wherein the operating parameter measurement assembly is located within the surgical hood and the operating condition parameter measurement assembly is further comprised of an operating condition parameter sensor, wherein the operating condition parameter sensor is further comprised of a CO2 sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an oxygen sensor, a volatile organic compounds sensor, and an air pressure sensor. Herbert teaches a surgical gown and hood assembly with an operating parameter measurement assembly comprising an operating condition parameter sensor 210 operatively connected to the ventilation system 208. The sensor 210 is configured to measure an internal characteristic such as air pressure, air velocity, or air temperature (par.42 of prov app.). Rosati teaches a hood 704 with operating condition parameter sensors 1902 positioned interior to the hood, the sensors including humidity and CO2 sensors as in claim 2 of Rosati. Based on Herbert’s aforementioned sensors measuring temperature and air pressure within the hood as the helmetless support and ventilation system is worn, and Rosati’s teachings of providing the humidity and CO2 sensors within a hood, one of ordinary skill could program or provide sensors to measure oxygen and VOC characteristics of an interior air chamber of the hood such that optimum operating conditions can be achieved for the user when the ventilation system is worn. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to include an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system and located within the hood and to provide the operating condition parameter sensor comprised of a CO2 sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an oxygen sensor, a VOC sensor and an air pressure sensor, as Herbert teaches the assembly can provide useful details of characteristics within the hood including air pressure, velocity or temperature such that adjustments to the support and ventilation system can be made to provide improved support and ventilation system performance and Rosati teaches the humidity sensors and CO2 sensors are known in the art and provide useful data to the wearer. McBride doesn’t teach a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood. Czajka teaches that it’s known in the art to provide a ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns with an operating condition parameter sensor and a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood (paragraphs 118 and 120) as part of a communication module to communicate with a second communication device remote from the wearer/surgeon or to provide a voice command to activate a fan and/or control fan speed without requirement manual adjustment and allowing for hands free operation of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system to provide a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood, as Czajka teaches the microphone assembly can be used to provide voice command activation of a fan and/or control fan speed such that the wearer/surgeon’s activities are not interrupted.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McBride ‘712 in view of Herbert ‘857 and McBride ‘584 and Czajka ‘624 and Rosati ‘568, and further in view of Hall ‘787. McBride, as modified above, discloses the invention substantially as claimed. McBride ‘584 teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system 2,100 including a gown 3 and hood 14 and PCB module 500 as part of the system. The PCB module 500 includes a conventional PCB 502 that can be used to control the ventilation system 100 and can be used to control the speed at which the impeller 454 rotates, thereby controlling the velocity of the air being emitted from face and neck vents as in par. 35. The PCB is operatively connected to processor 1502 and is operatively connected to the tachometer as in par.36 “assume that a fan motor 260 (Fig.4) is equipped with a motor sensor/wireless ID system 262 such as a tachometer and RFID tag that can be conventionally attached to the motor 260. It is to be understood that the processor can compare the speed at which the motor should be rotating to what the processor measures using the tachometer line to determine…the motor is damaged, or the system 4 is otherwise malfunctioning to alert the user.” However, McBride doesn’t teach the helmetless support and ventilation system is further comprised of a processor and a printed circuit board (PCB) module operatively connected to the processor, wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor to determine if a level of an operating condition within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level and wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the tachometer such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the tachometer to determine a speed at which the fan motor is currently operating and compare the current speed to a desired speed at which the fan motor should be operating in order to reduce the operating condition level within the surgical hood to below the threshold level. Hall teaches an analagous head cooling device (HCD) 602 with a fan (air mover) and a processor (no ref. number provided, see col.17, lines 9-24) operatively connected to an operating condition (air flow) parameter sensor 610 such that “A sensor detects the air flow. When the air flow falls below a pre-determined threshold of air flow, the sensor relays the information to a controller that adjusts the rate of air flow from an air mover. The air mover increases the air flow until the threshold is reached. In some instances, the air flow may rise above a pre-determined threshold such that the controller decreases the air flow.” As McBride ‘524 teaches providing a PCB module connected to the tachometer and the processor to determine fan motor speed and whether the speed is within ideal operating condition levels and Hall teaches the processor operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that information regarding air flow within the HCD is relayed to the user, one of ordinary skill could arrive at a modification such that the PCB module is also operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor resulting in the tachometer sensor and operating condition parameter sensor both operatively connected to the PCB module and processor to provide a unitary arrangement of the components of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system to include or provide: the processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor, a PCB module operatively connected to the tachometer sensor as taught by or considered obvious in view of Hall and McBride ‘584, such that the processor and PCB module function to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor and tachometer sensor to determine if a level of an operation condition or fan motor speed within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level such that optimal operating condition levels within the hood can be achieved.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McBride ‘712 in view of Herbert ‘857 and McBride ‘584 and Czajka ‘624 and Rosati ‘568 as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Hall ‘787. McBride discloses the invention substantially as claimed. McBride teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system 2,100 including a gown 3 and hood 14 and PCB module 500 as part of the system. The PCB module 500 includes a conventional PCB 502 that can be used to control the ventilation system 100 and can be used to control the speed at which the impeller 454 rotates, thereby controlling the velocity of the air being emitted from face and neck vents as in par. 35. The PCB is operatively connected to processor 1502 and is operatively connected to the tachometer as in par.36 “assume that a fan motor 260 (Fig.4) is equipped with a motor sensor/wireless ID system 262 such as a tachometer and RFID tag that can be conventionally attached to the motor 260. It is to be understood that the processor can compare the speed at which the motor should be rotating to what the processor measures using the tachometer line to determine…the motor is damaged, or the system 4 is otherwise malfunctioning to alert the user.” However, McBride doesn’t teach the system is further comprised of a processor and a printed circuit board (PCB) module operatively connected to the processor, wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor to determine if a level of an operating condition within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level and wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the tachometer such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the tachometer to determine a speed at which the fan motor is currently operating and compare the current speed to a desired speed at which the fan motor should be operating in order to reduce the operating condition level within the surgical hood to below the threshold level. Hall teaches an analagous head cooling device (HCD) 602 with a fan (air mover) and a processor (no ref. number provided, see col.17, lines 9-24) operatively connected to an operating condition (air flow) parameter sensor 610 such that “A sensor detects the air flow. When the air flow falls below a pre-determined threshold of air flow, the sensor relays the information to a controller that adjusts the rate of air flow from an air mover. The air mover increases the air flow until the threshold is reached. In some instances, the air flow may rise above a pre-determined threshold such that the controller decreases the air flow.” As McBride ‘524 teaches providing a PCB module connected to the tachometer and the processor to determine fan motor speed and whether the speed is within ideal operating condition levels and Hall teaches the processor operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that information regarding air flow within the HCD is relayed to the user, one of ordinary skill could arrive at a modification such that the PCB module is also operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor resulting in the tachometer sensor and operating condition parameter sensor both operatively connected to the PCB module and processor to provide a unitary arrangement of the components of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system to include or provide: the processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor, a PCB module operatively connected to the tachometer sensor as taught by or considered obvious in view of Hall and McBride ‘584, such that the processor and PCB module function to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor and tachometer sensor to determine if a level of an operation condition or fan motor speed within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level such that optimal operating condition and comfort levels within the hood can be achieved.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McBride ‘712 in view of Herbert ‘857 and McBride ‘584 and Czajka ‘624 and Rosati ‘568. McBride discloses the invention substantially as claimed. McBride teaches a method of using a helmetless support and ventilation system with surgical hoods and gowns, comprising: providing a surgical gown 4; providing a surgical hood 14 operatively connected to the surgical gown via band 52, wherein the hood 14 is located over a head and neck area of a wearer such that the head and neck area of the wearer are substantially enclosed within the hood (Figure 5); providing a ventilation system 100 located within the surgical gown 4 and the surgical hood 14 for providing ventilation air within the surgical gown 4 and the surgical hood 14, wherein the ventilation system 100 is retained by shoulders of the wearer of the ventilation system in order to provide ventilation air within the surgical gown and surgical hood (Fig.5). McBride teaches the method, according to claim 15 wherein the step of providing a power module 250 is further comprised of the steps: providing a battery 252 and providing a fan motor 452 operatively connected to the battery 252. However, McBride doesn’t teach providing a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery; providing a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery; and providing a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the fan motor, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer. McBride ‘584 teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns comprising providing a battery sensor 255 operatively connected to a battery 252, providing a power module identification system 258 operatively connected to the battery 252 and providing a motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 operatively connected to the battery 252, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer (paragraphs 35 and 43). McBride teaches the battery sensor is conventional in the art and can determine that the battery is not operating correctly or is overheating such that a user can be notified. The power module identification system operatively connected to the battery can interact with the battery sensor to determine that a newly installed battery 252 is operating correctly. The motor sensor/wireless identification system 262 includes a tachometer 263 attached to the fan motor 260 to provide information about the motor speed to determine if the ventilation system is operating as expected or necessary. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to provide a battery sensor operatively connected to the battery, to provide a power module identification system operatively connected to the battery and to provide a motor sensor/wireless identification system operatively connected to the battery, wherein the motor sensor/wireless identification system includes a tachometer as McBride ‘584 teaches these devices provide useful information about the battery life and operation and function of the fan motor such that the a user can be notified that the battery needs replacement and the fan operation can be adjusted to optimal settings. However, McBride doesn’t teach providing an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system, wherein the operating parameter measurement assembly is located within the surgical hood, and wherein the ventilation system and the operating parameter measurement assembly are utilized to control an operating condition within the surgical hood. Herbert teaches a surgical gown and hood assembly with an operating parameter measurement assembly comprising an operating condition parameter sensor 210 operatively connected to the ventilation system 208. The sensor 210 is configured to measure an internal characteristic such as air pressure, air velocity, or air temperature (par.42 of prov app.) such that the characteristic can be adjusted to a more desirable value or state. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s helmetless support and ventilation system to provide an operating parameter measurement assembly operatively connected to the ventilation system, as Herbert teaches the assembly can provide details of the air pressure, velocity or temperature within the hood for the wearer to adjust to a more desirable value to improve the performance of the support and ventilation system. McBride doesn’t teach a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood. Czajka teaches that it’s known in the art to provide a ventilation system for use with surgical hoods and gowns with an operating condition parameter sensor and a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood (paragraphs 118 and 120) as part of a communication module to communicate with a second communication device remote from the wearer/surgeon or to provide a voice command to activate a fan and/or control fan speed without requirement manual adjustment and allowing for hands free operation of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system to provide a microphone assembly located within the surgical hood, as Czajka teaches the microphone assembly can be used to provide voice command activation of a fan and/or control fan speed such that the wearer/surgeon’s manual functions are not interrupted.
Claim 20, as best understood, is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McBride ‘712 in view of Herbert ‘857 and McBride ‘584 and Czajka ‘624 and Rosati ‘568 as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Hall ‘787. McBride, as modified above, discloses the invention substantially as claimed. McBride ‘584 teaches a helmetless support and ventilation system 2,100 including a gown 3 and hood 14 and PCB module 500 as part of the system. The PCB module 500 includes a conventional PCB 502 that can be used to control the ventilation system 100 and can be used to control the speed at which the impeller 454 rotates, thereby controlling the velocity of the air being emitted from face and neck vents as in par. 35. The PCB is operatively connected to processor 1502 and is operatively connected to the tachometer as in par.36 “assume that a fan motor 260 (Fig.4) is equipped with a motor sensor/wireless ID system 262 such as a tachometer and RFID tag that can be conventionally attached to the motor 260. It is to be understood that the processor can compare the speed at which the motor should be rotating to what the processor measures using the tachometer line to determine…the motor is damaged, or the system 4 is otherwise malfunctioning to alert the user.” However, McBride doesn’t teach the method of using a helmetless support and ventilation system is further comprised of a step of providing a processor and a printed circuit board (PCB) module operatively connected to the processor, wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor to determine if a level of an operating condition within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level and wherein the PCB module is operatively connected to the tachometer sensor such that the processor and the PCB module are configured to utilize information from the tachometer to determine a speed at which the fan motor is currently operating and compare the current speed to a desired speed at which the fan motor should be operating in order to reduce the operating condition level within the surgical hood to below (the threshold level). Hall teaches an analagous head cooling device (HCD) 602 with a fan (air mover) and a processor (no ref. number provided, see col.17, lines 9-24) operatively connected to an operating condition (air flow) parameter sensor 610 such that “A sensor detects the air flow. When the air flow falls below a pre-determined threshold of air flow, the sensor relays the information to a controller that adjusts the rate of air flow from an air mover. The air mover increases the air flow until the threshold is reached. In some instances, the air flow may rise above a pre-determined threshold such that the controller decreases the air flow.” As McBride ‘524 teaches providing a PCB module connected to the tachometer and the processor to determine fan motor speed and whether the speed is within ideal operating condition levels and Hall teaches the processor operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor such that information regarding air flow within the HCD is relayed to the user, one of ordinary skill could arrive at a modification such that the PCB module is also operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor resulting in the tachometer sensor and operating condition parameter sensor both operatively connected to the PCB module and processor to provide a unitary arrangement of the components of the ventilation system. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify McBride’s ventilation system comprising the steps of providing a processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the processor, a PCB module operatively connected to the operating condition parameter sensor, a PCB module operatively connected to the tachometer sensor as taught by or considered obvious in view of Hall and McBride ‘584, such that the processor and PCB module function to utilize information from the operating condition parameter sensor and tachometer sensor to determine if a level of an operation condition or fan motor speed within the surgical hood has exceeded a threshold level such that optimal operating condition levels within the hood can be achieved.
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks are considered. Applicant has not submitted any specific arguments with regard to the rejections citing the prior art references in the Office Action of 4/30/25.
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.
/KATHERINE M MORAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3732