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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No 2011/0093042 granted to Torgenson et al (hereinafter “Torgenson”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No 2004/0049235 granted to Deno et al (hereinafter “Deno”). Torgenson discloses A neuromodulation device configured to operate in a plurality of waveform generation modes [e.g. 0088-0090], comprising: a power source [e.g. power source 54]; a control unit [e.g. control unit 62] in communication with the power source; a bipolar current generator [e.g. stimulation generator 60A] in communication with the control unit and an input of a switching unit [e.g. switching unit 66]; a plurality of electrodes [e.g. electrodes 48A-48Q] each in communication with a unique output of the switching unit, wherein the switching unit is configured to provide electrical communication between the bipolar current generator and a selected one of the plurality of electrodes in response to a control signal from the control unit; wherein the bipolar current generator is configured to deliver alternating current to the at least one working electrode of the plurality of electrodes during a first waveform generation mode [e.g. 0071, 0089, 0145], and wherein the bipolar current generator is further configured to deliver a direct current to the at least one working electrode during a second waveform generation mode; and an indifferent electrode configured to provide a return path for the alternating current, the direct current, or both [e.g. 0038, 0175, 0186]. Torgenson, however fails to disclose where the control unit is configured to detect at least one failure event to prevent or stop operation of the current generator or monitor the current flowing to a power supply and deactivate the generator if it violates a threshold condition. Deno discloses wherein the control unit is configured to detect at least one failure event and prevent, alter, or stop operation of the bipolar current generator in response to the at least one detected failure event [e.g. 0200] and wherein the control unit is configured to monitor a current flowing to a power supply of the switching unit and to deactivate the bipolar current generator when the monitored current violates a threshold condition by exceeding or falling below a threshold level [e.g. 0071, 0072, and 0197]. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Torgenson to include the shut off feature as taught by Deno, since such a modification would provide the predictable results of having safety measures in place in case such an event were to occur.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-20 are allowed.
Claims 2-9, 14-15, and 21-49 are 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NADIA AHMAD MAHMOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-3975. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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, David Hamaoui can be reached at 571-270-5625. 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.
/NADIA A MAHMOOD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
Prosecution Insights