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 Objections Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: In line 3, “the inner curve” should read “an inner curve”. Appropriate correction is required. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 1-9 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 claim 1, the phrase "characterized in that" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d). Claims 2-9 are rejected for the same reasons as claim 1 by virtue of dependency on claim 1. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 2021/0113202). The applied reference has a common joint inventor with the instant application. Based upon the earlier effectively filed date of the reference, it constitutes prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2). This rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) might be overcome by: (1) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(a) that the subject matter disclosed in the reference was obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor or a joint inventor of this application and is thus not prior art in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(A); (2) a showing under 37 CFR 1.130(b) of a prior public disclosure under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(B) if the same invention is not being claimed; or (3) a statement pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) establishing that, not later than the effective filing date of the claimed invention, the subject matter disclosed in the reference and the claimed invention were either owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person or subject to a joint research agreement. Regarding claim 1, an invention relating to dilators, Zhang discloses (Fig s . 2 -4 ) a torque-resistant curved balloon device [i.e. balloon pulling device] (Abstract) , comprising a curved balloon (12) and a kink-resistant fixing strip (11 & 15) , wherein the curved balloon bends to one side after being inflated (Par. 0032) , characterized in that the inner curve of the curved balloon (see annotated figure below) is connected to the fixing strip at a plurality of points or along a whole section or length of the curved balloon (Par. 0039) . Regarding claim 2 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses (Fig. 5) wherein the fixing strip is a core tube (11) , and the core tube has an opening (14) used to inflate the balloon with water or air (Par. 0034) . Regarding claim 3 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 2 . Zhang further discloses wherein the core tube is located within the curved balloon, and the two ends of each of the core tube and curved balloon are connected together, and either at several points or at a one-segment connection of the core tube, to connect and fix the core tube to the inner curve of the curved balloon (Par. 0031 & 0039) . Regarding claim 4, Zhang discloses the torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 2. Zhang further discloses (Figs. 4-5) characterized in that the core tube is outside the curved balloon [i.e. a proximal portion of element 11 is outside the curved balloon (see annotated figure below & Par. 0034)], and has an opening (14) that communicates with the curved balloon, and several points or a one-segment connection of the core tube are connected and fixed to the inner curve of the curved balloon (Par. 0039) . Regarding claim 5 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses (Figs. 1 & 4-5) wherein the fixing strip is a reinforcing rib (15) , the reinforcing rib is outside the curved balloon [i.e. the portion of element 15 in the proximal portion of element 11 (see annotated figure below & Par. 0034)] , the inside of the curved balloon is provided with a core tube (11; Par. 0031) , two ends of the core tube are each sealed and connected to two ends of curved balloon, and the core tube has an opening (14) that can inflate the curved balloon with water or air (Par. 0034 & 0039) . Regarding claim 6 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses wherein the fixing strip is fixedly connected to the curved balloon by welding (Par. 0039) . Regarding claim 7 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses wherein the fixing strip is fixedly connected to the curved balloon by glue bonding (Par. 0039) . Regarding claim 8 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses wherein the fixing strip is fixedly connected to the curved balloon by means of a one-segment connection along the length of the curved balloon (Par. 0039) . Regarding claim 9 , Zhang discloses t he torque-resistant curved balloon device according to claim 1 . Zhang further discloses wherein the fixing strip is fixedly connected to the curved balloon at a plurality of points (Par. 0039) . Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang et al. (CN110192901) discloses the invention as substantially claimed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Examiner Chima Igboko whose telephone number is (571)272-8422. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00am-6:00pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Jackie Ho, at (571) 272-4696 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /C.U.I/ Examiner, Art Unit 3771 /ASHLEY L FISHBACK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771 April 2, 2026