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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/18/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claims 30, 51-54 and 56 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.
Claim 30 recites the limitation "said at least two pieces" in the claims. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is assumed the claim should have depended from claim 29 for examination purposes.
Claim 51 recites that the handpiece further comprises “a sleeve, in which the cooling body is housed; wherein the sleeve comprises an inner surface at least partially surrounding the lateral surface of the cooling body; and a circulation chamber of a cooling fluid defined between the inner surface of the sleeve and at least one outer portion of the cooling body.” However, the claim depends from claim 48, and these features are already disclosed as being part of the handpiece. Therefore, it is unclear if the claim is recited a SECOND sleeve and a SECOND circulation chamber in addition to the sleeve and circulation chamber already recited or if this recitation is in error. The metes and bounds of the claim is unclear. Claims 52-54 depend from claim 51 and are rejected based on their association with the claim.
Similarly, claim 56 depends from claim 48, but all of the limitations found in claim 56 are already recited in claim 48. The metes and bounds of the claim is unclear.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(d)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 56 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 56 does not further limit claim 48, as all limitations found in claim 56 were previously recited in claim 48. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 28-32, 34, 35, 37-41, 43-48, 51, 55 and 56 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Koifman et al. (US 2020/0001108, hereinafter Koifman).
Regarding claims 28, 29, 41, 44, 48, 51 and 56, Koifman discloses a handpiece for treating skin, as seen in figures 1-6. The handpiece includes a gripping structure (i.e., handle) as seen in figure 5A and a seat for interchangeable optical assembly 32/50/60. A cooling device for cooling the epidermis (claim 5) comprises a cooling body 52/62/74 in the form of a one piece transparent sapphire to allow a laser light beam to pass through to treat the skin (par. 0024, 0030-0032, figures 6-7). As seen in figure 7, the cooling body 74 has a rear surface for entry of light from diodes 78, an opposite front surface for contact with the skin and for exit of the light beam, and a lateral surface between the front and rear surfaces. The cooling body 52/62/74 is housed in a sleeve 64 with an inner surface at least partially surrounding the lateral surface of the cooling body (figures 6A-7, par. 0031). A cooling fluid circulation chamber within housing 64 is adapted to cool the cooling body such that the chamber is defined between the inner surface and the outer, lateral surface of the cooling body and surrounds the cooling body (par. 0031-0033). A first supply duct 66 delivers cooling fluid to the chamber and a second delivery duct 68 removes cooling fluid from the chamber, the ducts connecting the handpiece to a cooling fluid circuit (par. 0031, figure 6A), in order to prevent condensation (par. 0032).
Regarding claim 30, since claim 29 requires a single piece OR two pieces, the claim can be rejected using the single piece of Koifman. Claim 30 further specifies an optional feature of claim 29, and thus is not required to be explicitly taught by the prior art.
Regarding claims 31, 32 and 55, as seen in figure 6A, the chamber is positioned between the front surface of the cooling body and a median plane that is equidistant from the front and rear surfaces of the cooling body, and the inlet duct/opening and outlet duct/opening are also between the front surface and the median plane, as shown in the annotated figure below:
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Regarding claim 34, as seen in figures 6A and 7, the cooling body has a greater axial dimension with respect to a transverse dimension that is orthogonal to the axial dimension.
Regarding claim 35, as seen in the annotated figure, a first portion of the inner surface surrounds the chamber while a second portion, longer than the first portion, extends toward the rear surface of the cooling body:
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Regarding claims 37-40, where the chamber with the cooling fluid contacts the cooling body is a heat conduction interface and the ducts 66 and 68 are further, curved, annular chambers, smaller than the circulation chamber, all with cooling fluid therein.
Regarding claims 43 and 47, a controller, power source/cable and cooling circuit is connected to the handpiece to function (par. 0024, 0025, 0034).
Regarding claim 45, the structure is shown in figures 6, 7 and 9.
Regarding claim 46, an electronic reference (RFID) is used to identify each assembly (par. 0025).
Regarding claim 50, the device in Koifman is connected to a Lightsheer device (page 1), which is known to have variable output power in the range of 20-100W.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 33, 36, 42, 49 and 52-54 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, and if any 112 issues associated with these claims were overcome.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eric D Bertram whose telephone number is (571)272-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-6pm Central Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer McDonald can be reached at 571-270-3061. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Eric D. Bertram/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
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