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
The species restriction is withdrawn.
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, 8-10, 14, 15, 19, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Manicka (US 2021/0146122).
PNG
media_image1.png
292
347
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 1, Manicka discloses the same invention as claimed, including a subcutaneously implantable device (abstract) comprising: a housing (Figure 1); a first anchoring arm attached to the housing that is configured to anchor the device to a muscle, a bone, and/or a first tissue (Figure 1: 104); a first prong with a proximal end attached to the housing and a distal end extending away from the housing that is configured to contact an organ, a nerve, or a second tissue (Figure 1: 106); a first electrode on the distal end of the first prong that is configured to contact the organ, the nerve, and/or the second tissue (Figure 1: see electrodes on 106); and circuitry in the housing in electrical communication with the first electrode that is configured to sense an electrical signal from the organ, the nerve, and/or the second tissue through the first electrode, and/or deliver electrical stimulation to the organ, the nerve, and/or the second tissue through the first electrode (Paragraphs 244-245).
Regarding claim 2, Manicka discloses at least one tine (Paragraph 250).
Regarding claims 8-9, Manicka discloses the anchoring arm includes an opening as recited (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 10, Manicka discloses a stiff prong as recited (Paragraph 268).
Regarding claim 14, Manicka discloses various same materials as recited (Paragraph 268).
Regarding claim 15, Manicka discloses a flexibility of the prong as recited (Paragraph 269).
Regarding claim 19, Manicka discloses a base portion, V-arm portion, and therapeutic portion as recited (Figure 1).
Regarding claim 20, Manicka discloses the electrode is configured to contact a heart as recited (Paragraph 275).
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.
Claim(s) 3-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manicka (US 2021/0146122).
Regarding claim 3, Manicka does not disclose a second anchoring arm as recited. However, mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. See In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960) and MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). A second anchoring arm would yield an expected result of additional anchoring security. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Manicka to include a second anchoring arm as recited, in order to increase anchoring security.
Regarding claim 4, a duplicate anchoring arm (e.g. adjacent the first anchoring arm) would read on the claim since it would be considered on a left or right side of the first arm, and both would be extending outward from the housing to form a clip shape.
Regarding claim 5, Manicka discloses tines (Paragraph 250), which would also apply to the additional anchoring arm.
Regarding claim 6, Manicka discloses clips may be integral with the housing as recited (Paragrpah 504).
Regarding claim 7, the clips of Manicka would be considered to be capable of anchoring to first and second ribs either directly or indirectly (e.g. sutures).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-13, 16-18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Manicka (US 2022/0339433) shows two anchoring arms with a prong (Figure 16).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eugene T Wu whose telephone number is (571)270-5053. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carl Layno can be reached at 571-272-4949. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Eugene T Wu/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796