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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: On page 2, the first two lines and the twelfth line lack proper grammatical syntax. In paragraph 0013, first line, “be” lacks proper syntax. In paragraphs 0014 and 0015, second line of each, “comprising” should apparently be replaced by --comprise--. In paragraph 0021, first line, “be” lacks proper syntax. In paragraph 0053, second line, “elgiloy” is misspelled. On page 12, first line, “than” should evidently read --then--. In paragraph 0061, third line, Applicant may have intended --silicone--rather than “silicon”. On page 15, the fifth line lacks proper grammatical syntax. In paragraph 0082, the last lines involve a run-on sentence. 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 1-15 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 regards as the invention. In independent claims 1, 8, and 13, the language “expands into a flange structure when in the elongated tubular configuration” (e.g., claim 1 at line 4; emphasis added) seems to be at odds with corresponding descriptions in the specification: paragraphs 0051 (“downstream and upstream ends of the body expand radially (as the body is foreshortened)”; emphasis added), 0053 (“the stent will assume the foreshortened configuration with the flanges at each end”; emphasis added), and 0054 (“axial compression will foreshorten and radially expand the flanges”; emphasis added). The claims are thus confusing as to the scope when read in light of Applicant’s specification. In claim 2, “the longitudinal length” lacks a proper antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Evard et al., US 6,616,675 B1, which discloses bodies having elongated tubular and foreshortened configurations with upstream and downstream ends expanding and flaring into flange structures so as to define a central cylindrical saddle region (Figures 1-5; abstract; column 2, lines 19-47; column 7, lines 35-37; column 8, lines 36-39 and 57-64). Regarding claim 1 and others, embodiments depicted in Figures 1, 2, and 2′′-2′′′′ possess a helical channel along a body exterior and reflected on a body interior by virtue of the “tightly wound” (column 8, line 66) helical wiring (column 4, lines 28-30; column 8, line 31, to column 10, line 9) “of substantially continuous construction” (column 9, lines 2-3), which may additionally be welded 18 (Figure 2′′′; column 9, lines 30-42) and/or covered (column 15, lines 46-48; column 16, lines 62-64; column 17, lines 62-67; column 23, lines 8-11).
Regarding claims 2-6, the helical channel pitch is consistent in a deployable radially compact state (column 2, lines 19-22) and along a diameter D2 midportion (Figures 2 and 2′′′) and increases along the flared, flanged ends because of the three-dimensional spiraling (and hence increasingly spaced peaks for defining helical pitch and channel width: Figure 1) toward diameter D1 (Figures 2 and 2′′′); “end” involves a region of the body rather than an edge or terminal point, as seen from Applicant’s claim 1, and “upstream” and “downstream” ends are somewhat arbitrary in the sense that the Edvard et al. device is structurally capable (MPEP § 2114) of being implanted in either orientation.; moreover, bodies may form ovoid or arcuate passageways (column 7, lines 51-53; column 15, lines 22-26; column 19, lines 53-67).
Regarding claim 8 (which does not necessitate helical channels), bodies may be coated along their entirety (column 15, lines 46-48 and 62-65; column 16, lines 62-64; column 17, lines 62-67; column 23, lines 8-11) and may include anti-migration wire fins on outer surfaces of both upstream and downstream ends (Figures 3′, 3′′, 4′, 4′′, 5-5′′′′; column 2, lines 48-54; column 10, lines 48-58; column 12, lines 5-22 and 61-67). Regarding claims 10-11, attachment points of upstream fins 20 face toward the downstream and upstream body ends because upstream fins 20 are located beyond regions of the body ends, particularly when in the aforementioned deployable radially compact (i.e., elongated tubular) state. The further limitations of claims 9 and 12 are adequately addressed above (MPEP § 707).
Regarding claim 13-15, longitudinal or axial curves are formed by the helical or mesh wires themselves and also by the generally arcuate variants (column 7, lines 51-53; column 19, lines 53-67).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure:
US 2004/0111143 A1: abstract; drawings.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David H. Willse, whose telephone number is 571-272-4762. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Thomas Barrett can be reached at telephone number 571-272-4746. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID H WILLSE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774
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