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 § 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.
Claim 11 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.
Claim 11 recites the limitation " the signaling device”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 1-11,13,16-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eom (US 2020/0037579) in view of Beg et al. (US 2014/0324216).
Claim 1, Eom discloses an automated drug delivery system (the pet smart feeding device of Eom is fully capable of delivering drugs to animals) comprising: a carrier cartridge (110) configured to carry and dispense a plurality of drug doses; a monitoring device (440); and a controller (300) operatively coupled with the carrier cartridge (110) and the monitoring device (440), wherein the controller (300) is configured to operate the carrier cartridge (110) to dispense at least one of the plurality of drug doses to an animal subject at each of a plurality of preselected dispensing intervals (see abstract; para.0100), and wherein the controller (300) is configured to operate the monitoring device (440) to record an animal subject during each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge (para.0124-0125).
Eom does not disclose wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge.
Beg discloses wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device (camera; para.0028-0032) to record whether a subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the medication delivery system (para.0028-0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Eom with wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge in order to effectively monitor and manage the medication delivery.
Claim 2, Eom discloses the controller (300) comprises one or more digital processors (control unit inherently has at least one digital processor) implementing programming to operate the carrier cartridge (110) and to operate the monitoring device (440).
Claim 3, Eom discloses wherein the monitoring device (440) comprises a camera configured to obtain an image of the animal subject when the carrier cartridge (110) dispenses each drug dose.
Claim 4, Eom discloses a signaling device (430) configured to provide a perceptible signal to the animal subject when the carrier cartridge (110) is to dispense each drug dose.
Claim 5, Eom discloses wherein the signaling device (430) emits an audio signal in a frequency range audible by the animal subject (para.0105-0112).
Claim 6, Eom discloses wherein the signaling device (430) comprises an audio speaker (para.0105).
Claim 7, Eom wherein each dispensing interval is the same time period (see abstract; this depends on the dispensing time set for the smart dispensing system).
Claim 8, Eom discloses wherein the at least some of the dispensing intervals are different time periods (see abstract; this depends on the dispensing time set for the smart dispensing system).
Claim 9, Eom discloses wherein the dispensing intervals can be selected and/or set by an operator at the controller (300).
Claim 10, Eom discloses wherein the carrier cartridge (110), monitoring device (440), and controller (300) are configured to dispense the drug doses and monitor the subjects for a period of three days or more (see abstract; this depends on the dispensing time set for the smart dispensing system).
Claim 11, Eom discloses an electrical power source (para.0111) configured to provide electrical power to the carrier cartridge (110), the monitoring device (440), the controller (300), and/or the signaling device.
Claim 13, Eom discloses wherein the animal subject is a rodent (the smart dispensing device of Eom is fully capable of dispensing articles to be ingested to rodents).
Claim 16, Eom discloses wherein the carrier cartridge (110) is configured to dispense only one drug dosing unit at each interval (see figures; this depends on how many articles are placed in each cartridge compartment for each dispensing interval).
Claim 17, Eom discloses wherein the drug dosing unit is in the form of a food pellet. Claim 17 fails to further structurally limit the apparatus claim and only further limit the material handled by the apparatus and therefore does not determine patentability (see at least MPEP 2114,2115).
Claim 18, Eom discloses wherein the automated drug delivery system is provided as a single unit having a form factor that is sized and shaped to fit into a laboratory rodent cage (see fig.3; this depends strictly on the size of the cage).
Claim 19, Eom discloses a method of automatically delivering a drug dose to an animal subject using an automated drug delivery system (the pet smart feeding device of Eom is fully capable of delivering drugs to animals)comprising a carrier cartridge (110) configured to carry and dispense a plurality of drug doses, a monitoring device (440), and a controller (300) operatively coupled with the carrier cartridge (110) and the monitoring device (440), the method comprising: operating the carrier cartridge (110) with the controller (300) to dispense at least one of the plurality of drug doses to the animal subject at each of a plurality of preselected dispensing intervals (see abstract; this depends on the dispensing time set for the smart dispensing system); and operating the monitoring device (440) with the controller (300) to record the animal during each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge (110).
Eom does not disclose to record whether the animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge.
Beg discloses to record whether a subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the medication delivery system (camera; para.0028-0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Eom with to record whether the animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge in order to effectively monitor and manage the medication delivery.
Claim 20, Eom discloses generating a signal with a signaling device (430) of the automated drug delivery system when the carrier cartridge (110) is to dispense each drug dose, wherein the signal is perceptible to the animal subject (para.0105-0112).
Claim 12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eom (US 2020/0037579) in view of Beg et al. (US 2014/0324216) in view of Xu et al. (US 2021/0204512).
Claim 12, Eom discloses the power source (see rejection of claim 11).
Eom in view of Beg do not disclose wherein the power source comprises a battery.
Xu discloses wherein the power source comprises a battery (para.0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Eom in view of Beg with wherein the power source comprises a battery because the use of batteries for dispensing articles to pets and/or animals is very well-known in the art and does not impart any novelty on the claim limitation since it only provides another power source configuration.
Claims 1,14-15 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dewey et al. (US 2017/0354119) in view of Eom (US 2020/0037579) in view of Beg et al. (US 2014/0324216).
Claim 1, Dewey discloses an automated drug delivery system (para.0053; control system controls dispensing of medications) comprising: a carrier cartridge (176) configured to carry and dispense a plurality of drug doses; and a controller (190) operatively coupled with the carrier cartridge (176).
Dewey does not disclose a monitoring device; wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge; wherein the controller is configured to operate the carrier cartridge to dispense at least one of the plurality of drug doses to an animal subject at each of a plurality of preselected dispensing intervals and wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge.
Eom discloses a monitoring device (440); and a controller (300) operatively coupled with the carrier cartridge (110) and the monitoring device (440), wherein the controller (300) is configured to operate the carrier cartridge (110) to dispense at least one of the plurality of drug doses to an animal subject at each of a plurality of preselected dispensing intervals (see abstract; para.0100), and wherein the controller (300) is configured to operate the monitoring device (440) to record an animal subject during each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge (para.0124-0125). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the device of Dewey with a monitoring device; wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge; wherein the controller is configured to operate the carrier cartridge to dispense at least one of the plurality of drug doses to an animal subject at each of a plurality of preselected dispensing intervals in order to have an intelligent/smart device that effectively and accurately dispenses articles to pets and/or animals as needed.
Beg discloses wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device (camera; para.0028-0032) to record whether a subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the medication delivery system (para.0028-0032). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Dewey with wherein the controller is configured to operate the monitoring device to record whether an animal subject ingests each drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge in order to effectively monitor and manage the medication delivery.
Claim 14, Dewey discloses a dispenser (120) from which the animal subject can access a dispensed drug dose, wherein the dispenser (120) is operatively connected with the carrier cartridge (176) such that a drug dose dispensed by the carrier cartridge (176) is accessible to the animal subject at the dispenser (120).
Claim 15, Dewey discloses a passageway (passageway formed by 118) that operatively connects the carrier cartridge (176) with the dispenser (120) to direct the dispensed drug dose to the dispenser (120).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYODEJI H OJOFEITIMI whose telephone number is (571)272-6557. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/AYODEJI H OJOFEITIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3651
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