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 .
Withdrawn Rejections
Any rejections and or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn due to Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments in the response dated January 20, 2026. However, new rejections may have been made using the same prior art if still applicable to the newly presented amendments and/or arguments.
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 1 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O’Dea et al. (WO 2009/001327 A2) in view of Ettre (USPN 3,655,496).
O’Dea et al. disclose a tape assembly for transferring at least one circuit onto a catheter shaft (Abstract; Figures 9 – 14, 17 and 18), the tape assembly comprising: a removable transfer media layer extending between a first end and a second end (Figure 11, #74; Figure 9, #64; Figure 18, #119); a circuit assembly disposed in overlaying and releasably bonded relationship with said removable transfer media layer between said first and second ends (Figure 18, #114); said circuit assembly including a conductive circuit layer having at least one circuit (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6) as in claim 1. With respect to claim 2, said circuit assembly includes a dielectric layer disposed in overlaying relationship with said conductive circuit layer to dispose said conductive circuit layer in sandwiched relationship between said dielectric layer and said removable transfer media layer (Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). Regarding claim 3, said circuit assembly includes an adhesive layer disposed in overlaying relationship with said dielectric layer for use in securing said circuit assembly to the catheter shaft (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). For claim 4, said circuit assembly includes a seal layer disposed in sandwiched relationship between said transfer media layer and said conductive circuit layer for protecting said conductive circuit layer from an environment of the catheter shaft after removal of said removable transfer media layer (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). In claim 5, said transferable media layer is a tape (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). With regard to claims 6, 7, and 8, said tape is a heat transfer tape, said tape is a heat release tape, and said tape is a low adhesion tape (Claims 114 – 117). As in claim 9, said at least one circuit extends between at least one first contact pad disposed adjacent said first end of said removable transfer media layer and at least one second contact pad disposed adjacent said second end of said removable transfer media layer (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). With respect to claim 10, said conductive circuit layer and said at least one circuit are comprised of conductive material (Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). Regarding claims 11 – 13, said conductive circuit layer is manufactured via conductive inks or chemical etching, and said circuit assembly is transferred to the catheter shaft via a heat transfer process (The recitation that the conductive circuit layer is formed by the “conductive inks or chemical etching”, and the assembly is transferred by “a heat transfer process” are process recitations in a product. Product claims including process recitations are not limited by the manipulation of the recited steps, only the structure implied by the steps. See MPEP2113. In the present instance, the process steps imply tis a circuit assembly on a catheter. The reference discloses such a product. See Page 32, line 24 to Page 37, line 6; Claims 69 – 93 and 106 – 117). However, O’Dea et al. fail to disclose said removable transfer media layer is removable from said circuit assembly after said circuit assembly is secured to the catheter shaft.
Ettre et al. teach a tape assembly for transferring at least one circuit onto a substrate (Abstract; Figure 2), the tape assembly comprising: a removable transfer media layer extending between a first end and a second end (Figure #2, #22); a circuit assembly disposed in overlaying and releasably bonded relationship with said removable transfer media layer between said first and second ends (Figure 2, #14); said circuit assembly including a conductive circuit layer having at least one circuit (Figure 2, #14), said removable transfer media layer is removable from said circuit assembly after said circuit assembly is secured to a substrate fort the purpose of securing the circuit in the appropriate location (Figure 2, #22; Column 5, lines 8 – 27).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have removable transfer media layer for securing the circuit assembly to the catheter shaft in O’Dea in order to secure the circuit in the appropriate location as taught by Ettre et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 – 13 have been considered but are moot 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. Please see the rejection in view of Ettre et al. that teaches it is well known to use transfer media layers in order get the desired placement of circuits on a substrate.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on the PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art is cited to show the state of the art with regard to the placement of circuits on a substrate using transfer media layers in order to get the desired placement on the surface.
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.
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/Patricia L. Nordmeyer/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/pln/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788 February 5, 2026