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 .
Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application for Figures 7-10 because the current drawings are illegible and make it difficult to understand how the various components are laid out. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 6 and 7 are objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3 of both claims, the word “tuber” appears to be a misspelling and should be changed to “tube”. Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant is advised that should claim 9 be found allowable, claim 13 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
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 6-7 and 9-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, 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.
Regarding claims 6 and 7, the phrase “the groove is arranged in inner walls at the bottom of the ear-hook tubes and communicates with the channel of the stethoscope-head tube” renders the claim indefinite. Because the groove is claimed as being singular (i.e. a/the groove), it is unclear how it can be “arranged in inner walls at the bottom of the ear-hook tubes,” as the inner walls at the bottom walls of the ear hook tubes are separated by the opening into the stethoscope head portion of the rubber tube. It appears that instead of a singular groove, there are separate grooves arranged in inner walls at the bottom of each of the ear-hook tubes as seen in Figures 3 and 6 for example. As noted above, Figures 7-10 are illegible and it is difficult to understand how groove #12 is arranged in those Figures.
Claim 9 recites the limitation "the connector" in 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the annular inner wall" in 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the connector" in 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It appears that claim 13 should depend from claim 7, not claim 6. Further, it appears that “the connector” is intended to refer to “the T-shaped connector” of Figure 7.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the annular inner wall" in 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Potential Allowable Subject Matter
It is noted that there is no art rejection for the claims, and if the drawing, 112b and other issues noted above are properly overcome, the claims would likely be allowable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Pertinent arts of record relating to Applicant’s disclosure are disclosed in the PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMY AUSTIN LUKS whose telephone number is (571)272-2707. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9:00-5:00).
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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571) 270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JEREMY A LUKS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837