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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a skin surface” in lines 12-13 and 19 and should be “the skin surface”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 pre-AIA 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) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for a patent.
Claim 1 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ignon et al. (US 20070156124 A1), hereinafter referred to as “Ignon”.
Ignon teaches a microdermabrasion device for treating a skin surface (see Abstract; Figure 2A), comprising: a handpiece assembly (18) having a distal end (36) and a proximal end (40), said handpiece assembly comprising at least one delivery conduit (92) and at least one waste conduit (90);
a tip (34) configured to be positioned along the distal end of the handpiece assembly (along distal end 36, see Figure 2A), said tip being configured to contact the skin surface (see Paragraph [0034]);
a flow control device or feature (60) included within the handpiece assembly (18) to regulate the flow of fluids through the at least one delivery conduit (regulating through conduit 92, see Paragraph [0088]);
wherein the tip (34) comprises a lip (120, see Paragraph [0093]), a first opening (122) in fluid communication with the at least one fluid delivery conduit (92) and a second opening (114) in fluid communication with the at least one waste conduit (90, see Paragraph [0085]; Figure 3);
at least one abrasive element (128) positioned along a distal end of the tip (34), said abrasive element (128) being configured to selectively remove skin as the tip (34) is moved relative to a skin surface (see Paragraphs [0109-0111]; Figures 10A-E);
wherein the first opening (122), the second opening (114) and the at least one abrasive element (128) of the tip (34) are positioned within an interior of an outer periphery formed by the lip (see Figure 8A);
wherein the at least one waste conduit (90) is in fluid communication with a vacuum source to selectively remove debris away from the tip (see Paragraph [0100]);
wherein the at least one delivery conduit (92) is in fluid communication with the at least one waste conduit (90) and the vacuum source when the lip (34) contacts a skin surface (see Paragraph [0082]); and
wherein the at least one delivery conduit (92) is configured to selectively deliver at least one time-release material to the skin surface being treated (see Paragraphs [0082]-[0087]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Anderson et al. (US 20060189964 A1) teaches a microdermabrasion device for treating a skin surface (see Abstract), comprising: a handpiece assembly (1100; 1400) having a distal end and a proximal end (see Figure 14), said handpiece assembly comprising at least one delivery conduit (1103) and at least one waste conduit (1106);
a tip (1102; 1402) configured to be positioned along the distal end of the handpiece assembly (1100; 1400), said tip (1102; 1402) being configured to contact the skin surface (see Paragraph [0055]);
a flow control device or feature (see Paragraph [0055]) included within the handpiece assembly to regulate the flow of fluids through the at least one delivery conduit (1103);
wherein the tip comprises a lip, a first opening in fluid communication with the at least one fluid delivery conduit and a second opening in fluid communication with the at least one waste conduit (see Figures 11 and 13-14);
at least one abrasive element (applied to edges 511 of the tip, see Paragraph [0041]) positioned along a distal end of the tip (see Figure 5A), said abrasive element being configured to selectively remove skin as the tip is moved relative to a skin surface (see Paragraph [0041]; Figure 5B);
wherein the first opening, the second opening and the at least one abrasive element of the tip are positioned within an interior of an outer periphery formed by the lip (see Figure 5B);
wherein the at least one waste conduit (1106) is in fluid communication with a vacuum source to selectively remove debris away from the tip (see Paragraph [0041]);
wherein the at least one delivery conduit (1103) is in fluid communication with the at least one waste conduit and the vacuum source when the lip contacts a skin surface; and
wherein the at least one delivery conduit is configured to selectively deliver at least one time-release material to the skin surface being treated (see Paragraph [0055]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC RASSAVONG whose telephone number is (408)918-7549. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00am-5:30pm PT.
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/ERIC RASSAVONG/ (9/23/2026)Examiner, Art Unit 3781
/SARAH AL HASHIMI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3781
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