DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group 3, claims 3-6 in the reply filed on 12/10/2025 is acknowledged. Further, new claims 7-22 are drawn to elected group 3.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the funnel tip as recited in claim 3 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). 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.
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)(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) 3-8,11-17,19-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Stivland U.S 2010/0030186.
Claims 3 ,11, 19: Stivland discloses an aspiration system comprising: an elongate tubular member (an aspiration catheter 70, fig. 8) having a distal end, a proximal end, and an aspiration lumen (see abstract) extending therethrough, the distal end of the elongate tubular member configured for placement within a blood vessel of a subject; and a funnel tip (distal tubular portion 62 also may include one or more circular ridges 66 whose outer profile more closely or exactly matches the inner diameter of the catheter aspiration lumen, see paragraph 30) hydraulically (it is noted that , fig. 4 discloses extension catheter tube 36 can include a luer fitting 38 at its proximal end for connection to a vacuum source such as a syringe and a distal aspiration lumen opening 40 at its distal end, see paragraph 26, thus it does have some sore of operating means of water or liquid in motion, for example, hydraulically) coupled to the distal end of the elongate tubular member, wherein the funnel tip has a distal inner diameter that is greater than a diameter of the aspiration lumen (it is noted that Extension catheter 36 is longer than the aspiration lumen of aspiration catheter 34 and can preferably be freely slid within aspiration catheter 34. Extension catheter tube 36 can be stiffer proximally and more flexibly distally. Such a tube may be fashioned by combining different materials such as stiffer and more flexible polymers and by varying the wall thickness. One contemplated tube includes two polymer layers that extend the length of the tube and provide a constant outer diameter and a constant inner diameter to the tube. One layer is stiffer than the other and the stiffness of tube 36 is varied along its length by varying the thicknesses of the layers while keeping the overall tube thickness constant. The tube profile can match that of the aspiration catheter aspiration lumen and tube 36 can be sized to be as large as possible while allowing it to slide freely within the aspiration lumen, see paragraph 26)
Claims 4, 7: Stivland discloses wherein the funnel tip see fig. 8 is configured to couple to and uncouple from the aspiration lumen (see abstract); further comprising an elongate support member (wire 68, fig. 8) coupled to the funnel tip and extending proximally therefrom.
Claims 5-6, 8, 10: Stivland discloses further comprising an elongate support member 68 coupled to the funnel tip see fig. 8 and extending proximally therefrom; wherein the funnel tip has a distal outer diameter configured to engage an inner wall of the blood vessel (see paragraph 30); further comprising: a tapered flow control element 64 and a first elongate support member 68 coupled to the flow control element and configured to extend proximally through the aspiration lumen.
Claims 12-13, 22: Stivland discloses wherein the funnel tip (fig. 8) is configured to be coupled to and uncoupled from the aspiration lumen; further comprising an elongate support member 68 coupled to the funnel tip and extending proximally therefrom.
Claims 14-15: Stivland discloses further comprising an elongate support 68 coupled to the funnel tip and extending proximally therefrom; wherein the elongate support is configured to couple the funnel tip (fig. 8) to and uncouple the funnel tip from the aspiration lumen.
Claims 16-17,20,21: Stivland discloses wherein the funnel tip (fig. 8) has a distal outer diameter configured to engage an inner wall of the blood vessel; further comprising: a flow control catheter 60 comprising a flow control taper 64 and a first elongate support 68 coupled to the flow control taper and configured to extend proximally through the aspiration lumen.
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) 9, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stivland.
Claims 9, 18: Stivland discloses the aspiration system as best seen in fig. 8 but is silent regarding a delivery catheter comprising a distal tubular member and a second elongate support member coupled to a proximal portion of the distal tubular member, the distal tubular member having a lumen configured for placement of the elongate tubular member. However, Stivland in another embodiment , fig. 3 that teaches a delivery catheter 30 comprising a distal tubular member and a second elongate support member (the area where the filter wire 32 extending through the hollow elongate support member that locates inferior of area 36, fig. 3) coupled to a proximal portion of the distal tubular member, the distal tubular member having a lumen configured for placement of the elongate tubular member. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify Stivland, fig. 8 with the delivery catheter comprising a distal tubular member and a second elongate support member coupled to a proximal portion of the distal tubular member, the distal tubular member having a lumen configured for placement of the elongate tubular member in fig. 3 in order to be delivered together and to be better guiding catheter at the target site.
Conclusion
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/VI X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771