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 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: the specification lacks antecedent basis for the claimed “connecting bulge”.
Claim Objections
Claims 8, 9, 21, and 22 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 8, 9, 21, and 22, the claims recite “a bump device” in the preamble of claims 8, 9, and 21 and throughout claim 22. It appears that this should be “pump device” to align with claim meaning/terminology.
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 applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12-14, 19, and 20 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.
Claims 12-14, and 19 recites the limitation "the connecting pipe". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear if these claims should be dependent on claim 11 or 17, as appropriate, or if this limitation should be interpreted to mean “a connecting bulge”. For examination purposes, the second interpretation was used.
Claim 20 is also rejected by virtue of being dependent on claim 19.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 7-17, 21, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hwang (US 20220265907).
Regarding claim 1, Hwang discloses a breast pump, configured as an at least in part in-bra wearable device (fig. 9), comprising:
a milk bowl (storage housing 120 in fig. 9);
a breast shield configured to receive a breast (contact housing 110 in fig. 4), wherein the breast shield is detachably connected to and enclosed with the milk bowl to form a milk storage cavity configured to store milk (paragraph 40; fig. 9); and
a main body (pump module 440 in fig. 9) comprising a housing (second case 441 in fig. 9) and an air pump provided in the housing (“second milking pump 443” in paragraph 57), wherein the air pump is configured to generate a negative pressure (paragraph 66);
wherein:
one of the housing and the milk bowl is provided with a connecting bulge (see below), the other of the housing and the milk bowl is provided with a connecting groove (see below), the connecting bulge and the connecting groove are detachably plugged (paragraph 65), and the connecting bulge has an air channel (see below; air can pass through bulge below);
the housing is provided with a first surface, the milk bowl is provided with a second surface (see below), when the housing and the milk bowl are assembled, the connecting bulge is plugged into the connecting groove to communicate the breast shield and the air pump (fig. 9); and
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the first surface is at least partially in contact with the second surface when the housing and the milk bowl are assembled (see below, fig. 9).
Regarding claim 7, Hwang discloses a sealing member is provided on a wall of the connecting groove configured to seal a connection between the connecting bulge and the connecting groove (O-ring below is positioned on a wall of the groove when the housing and the milk bowl are attached).
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Regarding claim 8, Hwang discloses the connecting bulge is a connecting pipe (fig. 8 shows the bulge designated above is short cylinder extending downwardly from housing 441).
Regarding claim 9, Hwang discloses the connecting bulge is tightly fit with the connecting groove (fig. 9 shows a tight seal formed between the bulge and groove via the O-ring).
Regarding claim 10, Hwang discloses the first surface and the second surface are both planar (see annotated figure above).
Regarding claim 11, Hwang discloses the second surface is oblique to a flange of the breast shield (see below), wherein the flange is configured to contact the breast (paragraph 40).
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Regarding claim 12, Hwang discloses the connecting pipe and the connecting groove extend in a vertical direction when in a using state (the “using state” is considered to be the orientation shown in fig. 9 which shows the bulge/groove designated above as extending in a vertical direction.
Regarding claim 13, Hwang discloses the connecting pipe is provided close to a front side of the milk bowl (fig. 9; the examiner notes that the “front side” is not defined, the side that the bulge is located is considered the “front side” of the storage housing 120).
Regarding claim 14, Hwang discloses the connecting pipe is provided in a center of the milk bowl in left and right directions (a portion of the bulge defined above is in a center of the storage housing 120 in fig. 9).
Regarding claim 15, Hwang discloses a breast pump, configured as an at least in part in-bra wearable device (fig. 9), comprising:
a milk bowl (storage housing 120 in fig. 9);
a breast shield configured to receive a breast (contact housing 110 in fig. 4), wherein the breast shield is detachably connected to and enclosed with the milk bowl to form a milk storage cavity configured to store milk (paragraph 40; fig. 9); and
a main body (pump module 440 in fig. 9) comprising a housing (second case 441 in fig. 9) and an air pump provided in the housing (“second milking pump 443” in paragraph 57), wherein the air pump is configured to generate a negative pressure (paragraph 66);
a membrane provided to the milk bowl and configured to apply a second negative pressure to the breast shield in response to the first negative pressure (flow separation membrane 150 in fig. 9; paragraph 50);
a membrane cover coupled with the milk bowl or the membrane to cover the membrane (see below; surfaces of solid black line designated below covers a portion of membrane 150 and is monolithically coupled to the storage housing 120 in fig. 9);
wherein one of the housing and the membrane cover is provided with a connecting bulge (fig. 9 shows the housing comprising an annular coupler 441a, equated to the claimed “bulge”), the other of the housing and the membrane cover is provided with a connecting groove (see below), the connecting bulge and the connecting groove are detachably plugged (fig. 9; paragraph 65);
the housing is provided with a first surface, and the membrane cover is provided with a second surface (see below), when the housing and the milk bowl assembled, the connecting bulge is plugged into the connecting groove to communicate the breast shield and the air pump (fig. 9); and the first surface is at least partially in contact with the second surface (fig. 9).
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Regarding claim 16, Hwang discloses the second surface is oblique to a flange of the breast shield (see below), and the flange is configured to contact the breast (paragraph 40).
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Regarding claim 17, Hwang discloses the connecting bulge is a connecting pipe (fig. 8 shows the bulge designated above is short cylinder extending downwardly from housing 441).
Regarding claim 21, Hwang discloses a bump device, comprising:
a main body (pump module 440 in fig. 8) comprising a housing (case 441 in fig. 8) and an air pump provided in the housing (“second milking pump 443” in paragraph 57),
wherein:
the air pump is configured to generate a negative pressure (paragraph 58);
the housing is provided with a connecting bulge or a connecting groove (annular coupler 441a in fig. 8 is a bulge), the connecting bulge or the connecting groove is configured to be detachably plugged to a milk bowl that is provided with a counterpart connecting structure to the connecting bulge or the connecting groove, and the counterpart connecting structure fits the connecting bulge or the connecting groove (the examiner notes that the counterpart connecting structure is functional; see also discussion above);
the housing is provided with a first surface (see below), the milk bowl is provided with a second surface, when the housing and the milk bowl are assembled, the connecting bulge or the connecting groove is plugged into the counterpart connecting structure to communicate a breast shield and the air pump, wherein the breast shield is configured to receive a breast (the examiner notes that the “milk bowl” is functional and not positively recited, the pump device of Hwang is fully capable of performing the claimed function, see discussion above); and
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the first surface is at least partially in contact with the second surface when the housing and the milk bowl are assembled (the surface below is fully capable of being in contact with the claimed second surface).
Regarding claim 22, A milk bowl (storage housing 120 in fig. 9), comprising:
a breast shield configured to receive a breast (contact housing 110 in fig. 3),
wherein:
the breast shield is detachably connected to and enclosed with the milk bowl to form a milk storage cavity configured to store milk (paragraph 40);
the milk bowl is provided with a connecting bulge or a connecting groove (see below, the structure below is a connecting groove), the connecting bulge or the connecting groove is configured to be detachably plugged to a bump device that is provided with a counterpart connecting structure to the connecting bulge or the connecting groove, and the counterpart connecting structure fits the connecting bulge or the connecting groove (the counterpart connecting structure is functional and the connecting groove of Hwang is capable of performing the function, see discussion above with respect to claim 1 as an example);
the bump device is provided with a first surface (the pump device is functional, the milk bowl of Hwang is capable of connecting with a pump device having a first surface, see discussion above with respect to claim 1), the milk bowl is provided with a second surface (see below), when the bump device and the milk bowl are assembled, the connecting bulge or the connecting groove is plugged into the counterpart connecting structure to communicate the breast shield and the air pump, wherein the breast shield is configured to receive a breast (as noted above, the pump device is functional and the milk bowl of Hwang is capable of connecting to the claimed pump device, see discussion above with respect to claim 1);
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the first surface is at least partially in contact with the second surface when the bump device and the milk bowl are assembled (the surface designated above is capable of being in contact with the claimed first surface, see discussion above with respect to claim 1); and
the bump device is configured to generate a negative pressure (the pump device is functional and the milk bowl of Hwang is capable of connecting to the claimed pump device, see discussion above for claim 1).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang.
Regarding claim 2, Hwang discloses all of the claimed limitations set forth in claim 1, as discussed above, and further discloses the connecting groove is provided on the milk bowl (fig. 9), the connecting groove is communicated with the breast shield (fig. 9) and the connecting bulge is provided on the housing (fig. 9), and the connecting bulge is connected to the air pump (fig. 9).
However, Hwang does not teach or disclose the connecting bulge is provided on the milk bowl and the connecting groove is provided on the housing.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have placed the connecting bulge on the milk bowl and the connecting groove on the housing so that the milk bowl is partially inserted into the housing, since it has been held that a mere reversal of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). The examiner notes that this modification would not modify operation of the device of Hwang since the resulting structure would involve two components which are sealingly attached and which can generate and transmit negative air pressure to a breast for milk expression.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Felber (US 20120070323).
Regarding claim 3, Hwang discloses all of the claimed limitations set forth in claim 1, as discussed above. While it is assumed that the components of the pump housing would be rigid, Hwang does not explicitly teach or disclose the connecting bulge is made of a rigid material.
Felber teaches a pump housing which is comprised of a rigid material (paragraph 47). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the entire pump housing which includes the bulge of Hwang to be made from a rigid material, as taught by Felber as Felber teaches this is an art-recognized material for forming pump housing and would enable the bulge to retain its shape as its inserted into the connecting groove.
Regarding claim 4, modified Hwang teaches all of the claimed limitations set forth in claims 1 and 3, as discussed above. Hwang further discloses the connecting groove and the milk bowl are integrally formed (fig. 9). However, modified Hwang does not teach or disclose the connecting bulge and the milk bowl are integrally formed.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the milk bowl comprise the connecting bulge and to have the housing comprise the connecting groove so that the milk bowl is partially inserted into the housing and the milk bowl is integrally formed with the bulge, since it has been held that a mere reversal of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. In re Gazda, 219 F.2d 449, 104 USPQ 400 (CCPA 1955). The examiner notes that this modification would not modify operation of the device of Hwang since the resulting structure would involve two components which are sealingly attached and which can generate and transmit negative air pressure to a breast for milk expression.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6, and 18 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.
Claims 19 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the closest prior art is Hwang which does not teach or disclose the width/diameter of the bulge is less than half of the width of the second surface. Based on the figure, it seems that the width of the bulge designated above is approximately equal to or greater than the width of the first surface designated above. Additionally, the diameter of the budge designed below (see in fig. 8) is significantly larger than the width of the second surface designated above.
Regarding claim 18, the closest prior art is Hwang which teaches a milk outlet communicated with the storage cavity (milk outflow cavity 121 in fig. 3). However, Hwang does not teach or disclose the housing is provided with a hole plug, and when the housing and the milk bowl are assembled, the plug can be plugged into the milk outlet to at least partially seal the milk outlet.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hwang (US 20210093761) discloses a similar breast pump (fig. 1) comprising a milk bowl (700 in fig. 2), breast shield (100 in fig. 2), and pump housing (811 in fig. 2).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COURTNEY FREDRICKSON whose telephone number is (571)270-7481. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (9 AM - 5 PM EST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BHISMA MEHTA can be reached at 571-272-3383. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/COURTNEY FREDRICKSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
