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
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 204543058U to Chen in view of US 2010/025680 to Faber.
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In the specification and figures, Chen discloses the apparatus substantially as claimed by Applicant. With regard to claim 1, Chen discloses a female catheter 21, a three way control valve 4, a rigid grip comprising a syringe 13 attached to the valve (see FIG 2 and accompanying text). Chen does not disclose a visual aid.
However, Faber discloses a catheter140 with a vaginal insert 120 and a handle 110, wherein either the vaginal insert (arm) or the handle may comprise a mirror, a light, or a camera in order to assist the user with placement of the catheter (see ¶0019). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to add a mirror, light, or cameral as disclosed by Faber to the self-inserted catheter disclosed by Chen in order to assist the user in placing the catheter, as taught by Faber.
Conclusion
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/LESLIE R DEAK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799 5 March 2026