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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of two invention groups II and IV, directed to claims 9 and 13, in the reply filed on January 13, 2026, is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the remaining invention groups overlap. This is not found persuasive because the additional processing steps and additional structures require different search strategies outside of the overlapping subject matter.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 1-8 and 10-12 are withdrawn as non-elected claims.
While the election of two groups is considered non-responsive, both claim 9 and 13 have been considered for the purposes of the examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 9 and 13 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 particular, both Claim 9 and 13 include the language: “the hand” and “the other hand” which lack antecedent basis. Correction is required. Further, as the claim is referring to measurement of a patient, is this language in reference to the actual hands of the patient? Correction/clarification 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 9 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2015/0273172 (“Pessala”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2008/0176330 (“Asano”).
Claim 9
Pessala discloses a ventilation process for artificially ventilating a patient while the patient is connected to a patient-side coupling unit and while a fluid connection is established between the patient-side coupling unit and a medical device by means of a patient fluid guide unit, the ventilation process comprising the steps of: providing a measurement system comprising a sensor arrangement and a sensor fluid guide unit (sampling line 110 and gas monitor 102); conveying a gas mixture from the medical device through the patient fluid guide unit to the patient-side coupling unit (sampling line 110); branching off a gas sample from the patient fluid guide unit and guiding the branched off gas sample through the sensor fluid guide unit to the sensor arrangement (paragraph [0027], Y-piece 116); and determining whether an indication of a leak has occurred between the patient fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement (para. 0012), the determination is made by a monitoring process comprising the steps of: at least temporarily producing a negative pressure relative to an environment of the measurement system in at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement for branching off the gas sample from the patient fluid guide unit and the guiding the branched off gas sample through the sensor fluid guide unit to the sensor arrangement (paragraph [0033], negative pressure).
Pessala also discloses measuring pressure change by pressure sensor (paragraph [0028]) but does not appear to explicitly disclose by using measured values of the sensor arrangement, determining a thermal conductivity time course as a time course of thermal conductivity of the gas sample which reaches the sensor arrangement; and as a function of a temporal change of the determined thermal conductivity, determining whether the indication of a leak has occurred between the patient fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement, wherein the leak establishes a fluid connection between at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement on the one hand and an environment of the measurement system on the other hand.
Asano discloses a leak detecting channel including determining leakage by measuring pressure change or thermal conductivity (paragraph [0062]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated determining thermal conductivity, as disclosed by Asano, such that by using measured values of the sensor arrangement, determining a thermal conductivity time course as a time course of thermal conductivity of the gas sample which reaches the sensor arrangement; and as a function of a temporal change of the determined thermal conductivity, determining whether the indication of a leak has occurred between the patient fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement, wherein the leak establishes a fluid connection between at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement on the one hand and an environment of the measurement system on the other hand, as the measurement methods have been recognized in the art as equivalents for the purpose of leak detection (Asano, paragraph [0062]). MPEP 2144.
Claim 13
Pessala discloses a ventilation arrangement for artificial ventilation of a patient, the ventilation arrangement comprising: a patient fluid guide unit (paragraph [0026], patient circuit 108); a patient-side coupling unit configured to be connected to a patient (Fig. 1, paragraph [0043], connected at patient 128); a medical device configured to deliver a gas mixture from the medical device through the patient fluid guide unit to the patient-side coupling unit (breathing apparatus 100); and a measurement system for monitoring artificial ventilation of the patient (paragraph [0025], gas analyzers), the measurement system comprising: a sensor fluid guide unit (sampling line 110); and a sensor arrangement (gas monitor 102), the sensor arrangement comprising: and a signal processing unit (paragraph [0044-0046], signal processing), wherein a fluid connection between the patient-side coupling unit and the medical device via the patient fluid guide unit can be established or is established at least temporarily (paragraph [0026]), wherein the measurement system is configured to create at least temporarily a negative pressure relative to an environment of the measurement system in at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement (paragraph [0033], negative pressure), wherein the measurement system is configured to branch off a gas sample from the patient fluid guide unit and to guide the branched off gas sample through the sensor fluid guide unit to the sensor arrangement (paragraph [0027], Y-piece 116),
Pessala discloses measuring pressure change by pressure sensor (paragraph [0028]) but does not appear to explicitly disclose a thermal conductivity sensor and by using measured values of the sensor arrangement, determining a thermal conductivity time course as a time course of thermal conductivity of the gas sample which reaches the sensor arrangement; and as a function of a temporal change of the determined thermal conductivity, determining whether the indication of a leak has occurred between the patient fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement, wherein the leak establishes a fluid connection between at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement on the one hand and an environment of the measurement system on the other hand.
Asano discloses a leak detecting channel including determining leakage by measuring pressure change or thermal conductivity (paragraph [0062]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated determining thermal conductivity, as disclosed by Asano, such that wherein the thermal conductivity sensor is configured to determine a thermal conductivity time course as a time course of the thermal conductivity of the gas sample reaching the sensor arrangement, and wherein the signal processing unit is configured to determine, as a function of a temporal change of the determined thermal conductivity, whether an indication of a leak has occurred between the patient fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement, wherein the leak establishes a fluid connection between at least one of the sensor fluid guide unit and the sensor arrangement on the one hand and the environment on the other hand, as the measurement methods have been recognized in the art as equivalents for the purpose of leak detection (Asano, paragraph [0062]). MPEP 2144.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICA S Y LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7911. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4, TW M,W.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERICA S LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853