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 .
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to the amendment filed on 06/01/2026. As directed by the amendment, claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 have been amended. As such, claims 1, 3-4, 6, 9, 11-13 and 16-17 are being examined in the current application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see pages 9-12 of Remarks, filed 06/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues “…none of Tian, He, Chan or Eaves, taken alone or in combination, discloses or suggests the same combination of features as recited in Claim 1” and “Lih fails to cure the deficiencies of Tian, He, Chan, and Eaves with respect to amended Claim 1.” The examiner respectfully disagrees. Tian teaches a handle 21 in which the user needs to press the handle down and pull it up as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 3, last paragraph and a suction cup 22 with a variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed towards the face to create negative pressure within the body as seen Fig. 2 and on page 3, last paragraph. He teaches Fig. 4 which seemingly shows handle 31 with a greater wall thickness than collapsible gasbag 3. As such, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Tian to have the grip portion have a greater wall thickness as a user needs to grip onto handle 21 with enough force/pressure to press the handle down and up and as such the handle needs to be thick enough to be pulled. Not to mention, one or ordinary skill in the art would recognize that suction cup 22 would benefit from a thinner wall to allow the flexibility of the variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed, since a thicker suction cup would need to stronger pressures that need to be used to press the cup downwards. Therefore, Tian in view of He teaches a grip portion with a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body. Similarly, Lih teaches handle 106 (comprising a grip portion) to compress bellow 104 and one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize having a thicker grip portion would be beneficial to allow the user to grip on firmly to compress the bellow and having a thinner bellow would allow for ease of pushing the bellow downwards.
Applicant's arguments, see pages 10-11 of Remarks, filed 06/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant points to Fig. 2 of He and Fig. 3 of Tian which shows exploded assemblies. However, He teaches the connector 2 and collapsible gasbag 3 to be integral and non-detachable as seen in Col. 9, lines 15-21. As such, modified Tian teaches the extendable tubular body and the annular interface are configured to be non-detachable (as taught by He below).
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, lines 32-34, recites “…and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body” but should recite “…and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body” for clarity as seen on page 16, lines 25-26.
Claim 16, lines 31-33, recites “…and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body” but should recite “…and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body” for clarity as seen on page 16, lines 25-26.
Appropriate correction is required.
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) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived 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) 1, 3, 6, 9, 11 and 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian (CN 112932633 A, machine translated on 06/05/2025) in view of He (US 11478575 B1) and Chan (US 20170259043 A1), as evidenced by Eaves (US 20190133582 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tian teaches a respiratory obstruction removal device (“FIG. 1 is a structure schematic diagram of the invention trachea foreign matter absorbing device…” see page 3) comprising:
a face mask (breathing mask 1, see Fig. 1) and a negative pressure generating device (inhaler 2, see Fig. 1) that exerts negative pressure on the face mask (when the handle is pressed down on the cylindrical body of the suction cup 22, negative pressure is formed in the cylindrical body which is used to suck foreign matter in the human trachea out of the trachea as seen on page 3, last paragraph),
wherein the negative pressure generating device includes:
a grip portion (handle 21, see Fig. 1), which includes a portion for handheld use (handle 21 includes a portion for handheld use as a user needs to press the handle down and pull it up as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 3, last paragraph);
an extendable tubular body (suction cup 22, see Fig. 1) having a variable-volume cavity with a hollow structure (suction cup 22 comprises a cylindrical body with a variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed towards the face to create negative pressure within the body by discharging the air through air outlet 224 as seen on page 3, last paragraph, and is hollow as seen in Fig. 2), the extendable tubular body connectable to the grip portion (the suction cup is connected to handle 21 as seen in Figs. 1-2);
an annular interface (chassis 221 and connecting pipe 222, see Figs. 2-3; Fig. 3 shows a schematic of the chassis 221 which includes connecting pipe 222 as seen on page 3, paragraphs 5-6), situated at one end of the extendable tubular body away from the grip portion (the chassis 221 is situated at one end of the suction cup 22 away from handle 21 as seen in Fig. 1), and having a face mask interface (connecting pipe 222, see Fig. 2) to connect to the face mask (connecting pipe 222 is to connect with vent pipe 11 of breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4);
wherein the face mask includes:
an upper part (vent pipe 11, see Fig. 2) configured to fit with the annular interface (vent pipe 11 is to connect with connecting pipe 222 of the chassis 221 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4),
a lower part (lower part, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) fitted with medical silica gel to conform to a face of a patient (“…the outer edge of the breathing mask 1 is made of medical silica gel and the shape fits the face…” see page 4, first paragraph), and
a connecting body (connecting body, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) linking the upper part and the lower part (the connecting body links the lower part with the vent pipe 11 as seen in Fig. 1);
the respiratory obstruction removal device further comprising:
a first one-way valve (air inlet one-way valve 226, see Fig. 3) situated within a channel that runs through the annular interface, the connecting body, and the extendable tubular body (air inlet one-way valve 226 is situated in an air channel which runs through a vertical axis through connecting pipe 222 of chassis 221, the connecting body, and suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, paragraph 6), connecting the extendable tubular body with the face mask (the channel connects suction cup 22 with breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 2-3), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask, while an outlet end of the first one- way valve is in fluid communication with an interior of the extendable tubular body (Fig. 3 shows an arrow representing the air flow direction of air inlet one-way valve 226 (see page 3, paragraph 7), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask and the outlet end of the air inlet one-way valve 226 is in fluid communication with an interior of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2), and the first one-way valve is configured to prevent a flow of air from the extendable tubular body into the face mask when the extendable tubular body is compressed (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed towards the face, air inlet one-way valve 226 is closed to prevent air from the suction cup 22 into breathing mask 1 and page 3, last paragraph), and to allow air from the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air inlet one-way valve 226 is opened to allow airflow from breathing mask 1 to suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph); and
a second one-way valve (air outlet one-way valve 225, see Fig. 3), situated on the extendable tubular body (air outlet one-way valve 225 is situated on the bottom of the suction cup 22), wherein an outlet end is in communication with an external environment (an outlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in communication with an external environment as air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), while an inlet end is in fluid communication with the extendable tubular body (an inlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in fluid communication with suction cup 22 as when the cylindrical body is squeezed, air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), and the second one-way valve allows the air to flow from the extendable tubular body to the external environment when the extendable tubular body is compressed (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed towards the face, air outlet one-way valve 225 is opened to discharge air as seen on page 3, last paragraph); and closes to prevent the air from exiting the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands, and blocks external air from entering, to maintain a negative pressure environment within the extendable tubular body (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air outlet one-way valve 225 is closed to block air from entering to maintain a negative pressure environment to suck a foreign body from the trachea of the human body as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph)
but does not teach a lower part fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient;
the first one-way valve is situated on the upper part of the face mask,
wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion, wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa, and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body.
Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1
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However, He teaches a lower part (flexible annular pad 11, see Fig. 3) fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient (flexible annular pad 11 is on the lower part of face mask 1 and encircles a mouth of the choked patient and is closely attached to a face as seen in Figs. 1-3 and Col. 7, lines 64-67);
the first one-way valve (first check valve 21, see Figs. 3-4) is situated on the upper part of the face mask (face mask 1, see Figs. 1-4) (He teaches face mask 1 to be hermetically connected to a first gas inlet end of first check valve 21 as seen in Col. 7, lines 51-53. Face mask 1 is provided with a connecting cylinder 12 which is inserted into central cylinder 26 from bottom to top when the face mask 1 and the connector 2 are combined as seen in Fig. 4 and Col. 7, lines 53-61. As such, the first check valve 21 is situated on the upper part of the face mask as seen in Fig. 4). He further teaches Fig. 4 which seemingly shows handle 31 with a greater wall thickness than collapsible gasbag 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to replace the lower part with the flexible annular pad as taught by He as a known alternative material/structure on a mask used to conform to the face of a patient that will not affect the functionality of the device. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to have the upper part of the face mask be hermetically connected to the first one-way valve as taught by He as it is a known arrangement within the art that would not affect the functionality of the device as He teaches first check valve 21 to work similarly to the first one-way valve (see Col. 8, lines 6-28). Furthermore, it would be obvious to modify Tian to have the grip portion has a greater wall thickness (see claim objection above), as seemingly shown by He, as a user needs to grip onto handle 21 with enough force/pressure to press the handle down and up and as such the handle needs to be thick enough to withstand the pressure. Not to mention, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize having a thinner wall for suction cup 22 would allow for the flexibility of the variable-volume cavity to be squeezed with more ease, since a thicker suction cup would need stronger pressures to press the cup downwards. Therefore, Tian in view of He teaches a grip portion with a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body.
However, Chan teaches wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure (textured gripping portion (843), see Fig. 22) to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion (Chan teaches a handle assembly (840) (taken as grip portion) comprising a textured gripping portion (843) placed to provide increased friction between the hand of a user and body (842) as seen in Fig. 20 and [0104]), wherein the grip portion is made from polycarbonate (Chan teaches the handle to be formed of polycarbonate as seen in [0075], and as such handle assembly (840) is formed of polycarbonate as it is also a handle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to add an anti-slip structure to the grip portion as taught by Chan to increase friction between the hand of a user and body (see [0104]). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to have the grip portion made out of polycarbonate as taught by Chan as a material used for handles/grip portions for medical devices (see [0075]).
Modified Tian teaches the grip portion to be made from polycarbonate. As evidenced by Eaves, Eaves teaches polycarbonate to have elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa (Eaves teaches tissue bridges can be constructed of polycarbonate having an elastic modulus of about 2.4 GPa as seen in [0231]). Therefore, modified Tian teaches the wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa.
Modified Tian teaches an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body (Modified Tian teaches handle 21 to be made out of polycarbonate (taught by Chan) which has a greater elastic coefficient than suction cup 22 which is made out of a deformable elastic material such as rubber as seen on page 4, paragraph 3 of Tian. Furthermore, modified Tian teaches the grip portion to have a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body).
Regarding claim 3, modified Tian teaches the device of claim 1, and Tian further teaches wherein the second one-way valve is configured to be provided in other locations on the negative pressure generating device, excluding a top of the grip portion that is configured to be hollow (air outlet one-way valve 225 is provided on the bottom of the suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 6, Tian teaches a respiratory obstruction removal device (“FIG. 1 is a structure schematic diagram of the invention trachea foreign matter absorbing device…” see page 3) comprising:
a face mask (breathing mask 1, see Fig. 1) and a negative pressure generating device (inhaler 2, see Fig. 1) that exerts negative pressure on the face mask (when the handle is pressed down on the cylindrical body of the suction cup 22, negative pressure is formed in the cylindrical body which is used to suck foreign matter in the human trachea out of the trachea as seen on page 3, last paragraph),
wherein the negative pressure generating device includes:
an extendable tubular body (suction cup 22, see Fig. 1), consisting of a top (the suction cup 22 has a top as seen in Fig. 1), a bottom (the suction cup 22 has a bottom comprising the chassis 221 as seen in Figs. 1-2), and a variable-volume cavity with a hollow structure in a middle of the extendable tubular body (suction cup 22 comprises a cylindrical body with a variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed towards the face to create negative pressure within the body by discharging the air through air outlet 224 as seen on page 3, last paragraph, and is hollow as seen in Fig. 2);
an annular interface (chassis 221 and connecting pipe 222, see Figs. 2-3; Fig. 3 shows a schematic of the chassis 221 which includes connecting pipe 222 as seen on page 3, paragraphs 5-6) located at the bottom of the extendable tubular body (the chassis 221 is located at the bottom of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2), which has a face mask interface (connecting pipe 222, see Fig. 2) to connect with the face mask (connecting pipe 222 is to connect with vent pipe 11 of breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4);
wherein the face mask includes: an upper part (vent pipe 11, see Fig. 2) configured to fit with the annular interface (vent pipe 11 is to connect with connecting pipe 222 of the chassis 221 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4), a lower part (lower part, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) fitted with medical silica gel to conform to a face of a patient (“…the outer edge of the breathing mask 1 is made of medical silica gel and the shape fits the face…” see page 4, first paragraph), and a connecting body (connecting body, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) linking the upper part and the lower part (the connecting body links the lower part with the vent pipe 11 as seen in Fig. 1);
the respiratory obstruction removal device further comprising: a first one-way valve (air inlet one-way valve 226, see Fig. 3), situated in a channel that runs through the annular interface, the connecting body, and the extendable tubular body (air inlet one-way valve 226 is situated in an air channel which runs through a vertical axis through connecting pipe 222 of chassis 221, the connecting body, and suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, paragraph 6), connecting the extendable tubular body with the face mask (the channel connects suction cup 22 with breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 2-3), wherein an outlet end of the first one-way valve fluidly communicates with an interior of the extendable tubular body, and an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask (Fig. 3 shows an arrow representing the air flow direction of air inlet one-way valve 226 (see page 3, paragraph 7), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask and the outlet end of the air inlet one-way valve 226 is in fluid communication with an interior of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2); and
a second one-way valve (air outlet one-way valve 225, see Fig. 3) situated on the negative pressure generating device (air outlet one-way valve 225 is situated on the bottom of the suction cup 22 of inhaler 2 as seen in Fig. 2), wherein an outlet end of the second one-way valve communicates with an external environment (an outlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in communication with an external environment as air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), and an inlet end of the second one-way valve fluidly communicates with the interior of the extendable tubular body (an inlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in fluid communication with the interior suction cup 22 as when the cylindrical body is squeezed, air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph),
a grip portion (handle 21, see Fig. 1), and the grip portion is configured to be non-removably and non-movably connected to the extendable tubular body (handle 21 is non-removably connected to the suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 2 which shows an exploded schematic of the device and handle 21 is connected to suction cup 22 (see page 3, paragraph 5)),
wherein when the extendable tubular body is compressed, the first one-way valve closes to prevent gas in the extendable tubular body from entering the face mask , while the second one-way valve allows air to flow from the extendable tubular body to an external environment (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed/compressed towards the face, air inlet one-way valve 226 is closed to prevent air from the suction cup 22 to enter the breathing mask 1 and air outlet one-way valve 225 is opened to discharge air as seen on page 3, last paragraph), and when the extendable tubular body expands, the first one-way valve opens, allowing the gas inside the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body, and the second one-way valve closes to prevent the gas from flowing out of the extendable tubular body (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air inlet one-way valve 226 is opened to allow airflow from breathing mask 1 to suction cup 22 and air outlet one-way valve 225 is closed to block air from entering to maintain a negative pressure environment to suck a foreign body from the trachea of the human body as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph).
but does not teach the extendable tubular body and the annular interface are configured to be non-detachable,
a lower part fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient;
the first one-way valve is situated on the upper part of the face mask,
wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion, wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa and an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body.
However, He teaches the extendable tubular body (collapsible gasbag 3, see Fig. 2) and the annular interface (bottom plate 23 and connector 2, see Fig. 2) are configured to be non-detachable (He teaches the connector 2 and collapsible gasbag 3 to be integral and non-detachable as seen in Col. 9, lines 15-21),
a lower part (flexible annular pad 11, see Fig. 3) fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient (flexible annular pad 11 is on the lower part of face mask 1 and encircles a mouth of the choked patient and is closely attached to a face as seen in Figs. 1-3 and Col. 7, lines 64-67);
the first one-way valve (first check valve 21, see Figs. 3-4) is situated on the upper part of the face mask (face mask 1, see Figs. 1-4) (He teaches face mask 1 to be hermetically connected to a first gas inlet end of first check valve 21 as seen in Col. 7, lines 51-53. Face mask 1 is provided with a connecting cylinder 12 which is inserted into central cylinder 26 from bottom to top when the face mask 1 and the connector 2 are combined as seen in Fig. 4 and Col. 7, lines 53-61. As such, the first check valve 21 is situated on the upper part of the face mask as seen in Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to replace the lower part with the flexible annular pad as taught by He as a known alternative material/structure on a mask used to conform to the face of a patient that will not affect the functionality of the device. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to have the upper part of the face mask be hermetically connected to the first one-way valve and for the extendable tubular body and annular interface to be non-detachable as taught by He as it is a known arrangement within the art that would not affect the functionality of the device as He teaches first check valve 21 to work similarly to the first one-way valve (see Col. 8, lines 6-28) and so the device does not need to be assembled before use and facilitates immediate use (Col. 9, lines 15-21).
However, Chan teaches wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure (textured gripping portion (843), see Fig. 22) to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion (Chan teaches a handle assembly (840) (taken as grip portion) comprising a textured gripping portion (843) placed to provide increased friction between the hand of a user and body (842) as seen in Fig. 20 and [0104]), wherein the grip portion is made from polycarbonate (Chan teaches the handle to be formed of polycarbonate as seen in [0075], and as such handle assembly (840) is formed of polycarbonate as it is also a handle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to add an anti-slip structure to the grip portion as taught by Chan to increase friction between the hand of a user and body (see [0104]). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to have the grip portion made out of polycarbonate as taught by Chan as a material used for handles/grip portions for medical devices (see [0075]).
Modified Tian teaches the grip portion to be made from polycarbonate. As evidenced by Eaves, Eaves teaches polycarbonate to have elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa (Eaves teaches tissue bridges can be constructed of polycarbonate having an elastic modulus of about 2.4 GPa as seen in [0231]). Therefore, modified Tian teaches the wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa.
Modified Tian teaches an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body (Modified Tian teaches handle 21 to be made out of polycarbonate (taught by Chan) which has a greater elastic coefficient than suction cup 22 which is made out of a deformable elastic material such as rubber as seen on page 4, paragraph 3 of Tian).
Regarding claim 9, modified Tian teaches the device of claim 6, and Tian further teaches wherein the second one-way valve is provided at a bottom of the annular interface or on the extendable tubular body (air outlet one-way valve 225 is provided on the bottom of the suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 11, Tian teaches a respiratory obstruction removal device (“FIG. 1 is a structure schematic diagram of the invention trachea foreign matter absorbing device…” see page 3) comprising:
a face mask (breathing mask 1, see Fig. 1) and a negative pressure generating device (inhaler 2, see Fig. 1) that exerts negative pressure on the face mask (when the handle is pressed down on the cylindrical body of the suction cup 22, negative pressure is formed in the cylindrical body which is used to suck foreign matter in the human trachea out of the trachea as seen on page 3, last paragraph),
wherein the negative pressure generating device includes:
a grip portion (handle 21, see Fig. 1), which includes a portion for handheld use (handle 21 includes a portion for handheld use as a user needs to press the handle down and pull it up as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 3, last paragraph);
an extendable tubular body (suction cup 22, see Fig. 1) having a variable-volume cavity with a hollow structure (suction cup 22 comprises a cylindrical body with a variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed towards the face to create negative pressure within the body by discharging the air through air outlet 224 as seen on page 3, last paragraph, and is hollow as seen in Fig. 2), the extendable tubular body connectable to the grip portion (the suction cup is connected to handle 21 as seen in Figs. 1-2);
an annular interface (chassis 221 and connecting pipe 222, see Figs. 2-3; Fig. 3 shows a schematic of the chassis 221 which includes connecting pipe 222 as seen on page 3, paragraphs 5-6), situated at one end of the extendable
tubular body away from the grip portion (the chassis 221 is situated at one end of the suction cup 22 away from handle 21 as seen in Fig. 1), and having a face mask interface (connecting pipe 222, see Fig. 2) to connect to the face mask (connecting pipe 222 is to connect with vent pipe 11 of breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4);
wherein the face mask includes:
an upper part (vent pipe 11, see Fig. 2) configured to fit with the annular interface (vent pipe 11 is to connect with connecting pipe 222 of the chassis 221 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 4, paragraph 4),
a lower part (lower part, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) fitted with medical silica gel to conform to a face of a patient (“…the outer edge of the breathing mask 1 is made of medical silica gel and the shape fits the face…” see page 4, first paragraph), and
a connecting body (connecting body, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) linking the upper part and the lower part (the connecting body links the lower part with the vent pipe 11 as seen in Fig. 1);
the respiratory obstruction removal device further comprising:
a first one-way valve (air inlet one-way valve 226, see Fig. 3), situated within a channel that runs through the annular interface, the connecting body, and the extendable tubular body (air inlet one-way valve 226 is situated in an air channel which runs through a vertical axis through connecting pipe 222 of chassis 221, the connecting body, and suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, paragraph 6), connecting the extendable tubular body with the face mask (the channel connects suction cup 22 with breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 2-3), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask, while an outlet end of the first one- way valve is in fluid communication with an interior of the extendable tubular body (Fig. 3 shows an arrow representing the air flow direction of air inlet one-way valve 226 (see page 3, paragraph 7), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask and the outlet end of the air inlet one-way valve 226 is in fluid communication with an interior of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2), and the first one-way valve is configured to prevent a flow of air from the extendable tubular body into the face mask when the extendable tubular body is compressed (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed towards the face, air inlet one-way valve 226 is closed to prevent air from the suction cup 22 into breathing mask 1 and page 3, last paragraph), and to allow air from the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air inlet one-way valve 226 is opened to allow airflow from breathing mask 1 to suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph); and
a second one-way valve (air outlet one-way valve 225, see Fig. 3), situated on the negative pressure generating device (air outlet one-way valve 225 is situated on the bottom of the suction cup 22 of inhaler 2 as seen in Fig. 2), wherein an outlet end is in communication with an external environment (an outlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in communication with an external environment as air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), while an inlet end is in fluid communication with the extendable tubular body (an inlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in fluid communication with suction cup 22 as when the cylindrical body is squeezed, air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), and the second one-way valve allows the air to flow from the extendable tubular body to the external environment when the extendable tubular body is compressed (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed towards the face, air outlet one-way valve 225 is opened to discharge air as seen on page 3, last paragraph); and closes to prevent the air from exiting the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands, and blocks external air from entering, to maintain a negative pressure environment within the extendable tubular body (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air outlet one-way valve 225 is closed to block air from entering to maintain a negative pressure environment to suck a foreign body from the trachea of the human body as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph)
where the grip portion is more rigid than the extendable tubular body (handle 21 is more rigid than suction cup 22 since suction cup 22 comprises of a cylindrical body made of a deformable elastic material (see page 3, paragraph 6 and page 4, paragraph 3) and handle 21 is to be pressed down and pulled by a user (see page 3, last paragraph) which requires stiffness/rigidity)
but does not teach the extendable tubular body and the annular interface are configured to be non-detachable,
a lower part fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient;
the first one-way valve is situated on the upper part of the face mask,
wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion, wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa and an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body.
However, He teaches the extendable tubular body (collapsible gasbag 3, see Fig. 2) and the annular interface (bottom plate 23 and connector 2, see Fig. 2) are configured to be non-detachable (He teaches the connector 2 and collapsible gasbag 3 to be integral and non-detachable as seen in Col. 9, lines 15-21),
a lower part (flexible annular pad 11, see Fig. 3) fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient (flexible annular pad 11 is on the lower part of face mask 1 and encircles a mouth of the choked patient and is closely attached to a face as seen in Figs. 1-3 and Col. 7, lines 64-67);
the first one-way valve (first check valve 21, see Figs. 3-4) is situated on the upper part of the face mask (face mask 1, see Figs. 1-4) (He teaches face mask 1 to be hermetically connected to a first gas inlet end of first check valve 21 as seen in Col. 7, lines 51-53. Face mask 1 is provided with a connecting cylinder 12 which is inserted into central cylinder 26 from bottom to top when the face mask 1 and the connector 2 are combined as seen in Fig. 4 and Col. 7, lines 53-61. As such, the first check valve 21 is situated on the upper part of the face mask as seen in Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to replace the lower part with the flexible annular pad as taught by He as a known alternative material/structure on a mask used to conform to the face of a patient that will not affect the functionality of the device. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to have the upper part of the face mask be hermetically connected to the first one-way valve and for the extendable tubular body and annular interface to be non-detachable as taught by He as it is a known arrangement within the art that would not affect the functionality of the device as He teaches first check valve 21 to work similarly to the first one-way valve (see Col. 8, lines 6-28) and so the device does not need to be assembled before use and facilitates immediate use (Col. 9, lines 15-21).
However, Chan teaches wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure (textured gripping portion (843), see Fig. 22) to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion (Chan teaches a handle assembly (840) (taken as grip portion) comprising a textured gripping portion (843) placed to provide increased friction between the hand of a user and body (842) as seen in Fig. 20 and [0104]), wherein the grip portion is made from polycarbonate (Chan teaches the handle to be formed of polycarbonate as seen in [0075], and as such handle assembly (840) is formed of polycarbonate as it is also a handle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to add an anti-slip structure to the grip portion as taught by Chan to increase friction between the hand of a user and body (see [0104]). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to have the grip portion made out of polycarbonate as taught by Chan as a material used for handles/grip portions for medical devices (see [0075]).
Modified Tian teaches the grip portion to be made from polycarbonate. As evidenced by Eaves, Eaves teaches polycarbonate to have elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa (Eaves teaches tissue bridges can be constructed of polycarbonate having an elastic modulus of about 2.4 GPa as seen in [0231]). Therefore, modified Tian teaches the wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa.
Modified Tian teaches an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body (Modified Tian teaches handle 21 to be made out of polycarbonate (taught by Chan) which has a greater elastic coefficient than suction cup 22 which is made out of a deformable elastic material such as rubber as seen on page 4, paragraph 3 of Tian).
Regarding claim 16, Tian teaches a respiratory obstruction removal device (“FIG. 1 is a structure schematic diagram of the invention trachea foreign matter absorbing device…” see page 3) comprising:
a face mask (breathing mask 1, see Fig. 1) and a negative pressure generating device (inhaler 2, see Fig. 1) that exerts negative pressure on the face mask (when the handle is pressed down on the cylindrical body of the suction cup 22, negative pressure is formed in the cylindrical body which is used to suck foreign matter in the human trachea out of the trachea as seen on page 3, last paragraph),
wherein the negative pressure generating device includes:
an extendable tubular body (suction cup 22, see Fig. 1), consisting of a top (the suction cup 22 has a top as seen in Fig. 1), a bottom (the suction cup 22 has a bottom comprising the chassis 221 as seen in Figs. 1-2), and a variable-volume cavity with a hollow structure in a middle of the extendable tubular body (suction cup 22 comprises a cylindrical body with a variable-volume cavity that can be squeezed towards the face to create negative pressure within the body by discharging the air through air outlet 224 as seen on page 3, last paragraph, and is hollow as seen in Fig. 2);
a grip portion (handle 21, see Fig. 1), which includes a portion for handheld use (handle 21 includes a portion for handheld use as a user needs to press the handle down and pull it up as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and page 3, last paragraph);
wherein the face mask includes: an upper part (vent pipe 11, see Fig. 2), a lower part (lower part, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) fitted with medical silica gel to conform to a face of a patient (“…the outer edge of the breathing mask 1 is made of medical silica gel and the shape fits the face…” see page 4, first paragraph), and a connecting body (connecting body, see Tian’s Annotated Fig. 1) linking the upper part and the lower part (the connecting body links the lower part with the vent pipe 11 as seen in Fig. 1);
the respiratory obstruction removal device further comprising: a first one-way valve (air inlet one-way valve 226, see Fig. 3), situated in a channel that runs through the connecting body, and the extendable tubular body (air inlet one-way valve 226 is situated in an air channel which runs through a vertical axis through connecting pipe 222 of chassis 221, the connecting body, and suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, paragraph 6), connecting the extendable tubular body with the face mask (the channel connects suction cup 22 with breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 2-3), wherein an outlet end of the first one-way valve fluidly communicates with an interior of the extendable tubular body, and an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask (Fig. 3 shows an arrow representing the air flow direction of air inlet one-way valve 226 (see page 3, paragraph 7), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask and the outlet end of the air inlet one-way valve 226 is in fluid communication with an interior of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2); and
a second one-way valve (air outlet one-way valve 225, see Fig. 3) situated on the negative pressure generating device (air outlet one-way valve 225 is situated on the bottom of the suction cup 22 of inhaler 2 as seen in Fig. 2), wherein an outlet end of the second one-way valve communicates with an external environment (an outlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in communication with an external environment as air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph), and an inlet end of the second one-way valve fluidly communicates with the interior of the extendable tubular body (an inlet end of the air outlet one-way valve 225 is in fluid communication with the interior suction cup 22 as when the cylindrical body is squeezed, air is discharged from the valve as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, last paragraph),
wherein when the extendable tubular body is compressed, the first one-way valve closes to prevent gas in the extendable tubular body from entering the face mask , while the second one-way valve allows air to flow from the extendable tubular body to an external environment (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed/compressed towards the face, air inlet one-way valve 226 is closed to prevent air from the suction cup 22 to enter the breathing mask 1 and air outlet one-way valve 225 is opened to discharge air as seen on page 3, last paragraph), and when the extendable tubular body expands, the first one-way valve opens, allowing the gas inside the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body, and the second one-way valve closes to prevent the gas from flowing out of the extendable tubular body (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air inlet one-way valve 226 is opened to allow airflow from breathing mask 1 to suction cup 22 and air outlet one-way valve 225 is closed to block air from entering to maintain a negative pressure environment to suck a foreign body from the trachea of the human body as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph).
but does not teach a lower part fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient;
the first one-way valve is situated on the upper part of the face mask,
wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion, wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa, and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body.
However, He teaches a lower part (flexible annular pad 11, see Fig. 3) fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient (flexible annular pad 11 is on the lower part of face mask 1 and encircles a mouth of the choked patient and is closely attached to a face as seen in Figs. 1-3 and Col. 7, lines 64-67);
the first one-way valve (first check valve 21, see Figs. 3-4) is situated on the upper part of the face mask (face mask 1, see Figs. 1-4) (He teaches face mask 1 to be hermetically connected to a first gas inlet end of first check valve 21 as seen in Col. 7, lines 51-53. Face mask 1 is provided with a connecting cylinder 12 which is inserted into central cylinder 26 from bottom to top when the face mask 1 and the connector 2 are combined as seen in Fig. 4 and Col. 7, lines 53-61. As such, the first check valve 21 is situated on the upper part of the face mask as seen in Fig. 4). He further teaches Fig. 4 which seemingly shows handle 31 with a greater wall thickness than collapsible gasbag 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to replace the lower part with the flexible annular pad as taught by He as a known alternative material/structure on a mask used to conform to the face of a patient that will not affect the functionality of the device. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian to have the upper part of the face mask be hermetically connected to the first one-way valve as taught by He as it is a known arrangement within the art that would not affect the functionality of the device as He teaches first check valve 21 to work similarly to the first one-way valve (see Col. 8, lines 6-28). Furthermore, it would be obvious to modify Tian to have the grip portion has a greater wall thickness (see claim objection above), as seemingly shown by He, as a user needs to grip onto handle 21 with enough force/pressure to press the handle down and up and as such the handle needs to be thick enough to withstand the pressure. Not to mention, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize having a thinner wall for suction cup 22 would allow for the flexibility of the variable-volume cavity to be squeezed with more ease, since a thicker suction cup would need stronger pressures to press the cup downwards. Therefore, Tian in view of He teaches a grip portion with a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body.
However, Chan teaches wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure (textured gripping portion (843), see Fig. 22) to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion (Chan teaches a handle assembly (840) (taken as grip portion) comprising a textured gripping portion (843) placed to provide increased friction between the hand of a user and body (842) as seen in Fig. 20 and [0104]), wherein the grip portion is made from polycarbonate (Chan teaches the handle to be formed of polycarbonate as seen in [0075], and as such handle assembly (840) is formed of polycarbonate as it is also a handle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to add an anti-slip structure to the grip portion as taught by Chan to increase friction between the hand of a user and body (see [0104]). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Tian in view of He to have the grip portion made out of polycarbonate as taught by Chan as a material used for handles/grip portions for medical devices (see [0075]).
Modified Tian teaches the grip portion to be made from polycarbonate. As evidenced by Eaves, Eaves teaches polycarbonate to have elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa (Eaves teaches tissue bridges can be constructed of polycarbonate having an elastic modulus of about 2.4 GPa as seen in [0231]). Therefore, modified Tian teaches the wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa.
Modified Tian teaches an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body (Modified Tian teaches handle 21 to be made out of polycarbonate (taught by Chan) which has a greater elastic coefficient than suction cup 22 which is made out of a deformable elastic material such as rubber as seen on page 4, paragraph 3 of Tian. Furthermore, modified Tian teaches the grip portion to have a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body).
Regarding claim 17, modified Tian teaches the device of claim 16, and Tian further teaches wherein the extendable tubular body is made of elastic material (suction cup 22 comprises of a cylindrical body made of a deformable elastic material (see page 3, paragraph 6 and page 4, paragraph 3).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian (CN 112932633 A, machine translated on 06/05/2025) in view of He (US 11478575 B1) and Chan (US 20170259043 A1), as evidenced by Eaves (US 20190133582 A1), as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Anderson (US 20110174309 A1).
Regarding claim 12, modified Tian teaches the device of claim 11, but does not teach wherein the face mask and the annular interface are connectable through their frictional force.
However, Anderson teaches resuscitator mask 41 having a connection end 91 with a predetermined friction fit configuration for mating with the resuscitator connection end 84 as seen in Figs. 6-7 and 9 and [0047].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Tian to modify the face mask and the annular interface to have a friction fit configuration for mating as taught by Anderson as an alternative connection mechanism known in the art to connect to a mask.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian (CN 112932633 A, machine translated on 06/05/2025) in view of He (US 11478575 B1) and Chan (US 20170259043 A1), as evidenced by Eaves (US 20190133582 A1), as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Worboys (US 20090065729 A1).
Regarding claim 13, modified Tian teaches the device of claim 11, but does not teach wherein the face mask and the annular interface are connectable by adhesive, welding, or snap-fitting.
However, Worboys teaches wherein the face mask and the annular interface are connectable by adhesive, welding, or snap-fitting (mask frame 30 of a mask assembly (taken as face mask) comprises a flanged collar member 35 which is connected to first portion 20 (taken as annular interface) in a snap-fit manner as seen in Fig. 1 and [0104]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Tian to modify the face mask and the annular interface to have connect in a snap-fit manner as taught by Worboys as an alternative connection mechanism known in the art to connect to a mask.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lih (US 20150190158 A1) in view of Tian (CN 112932633 A, machine translated on 06/05/2025), He (US 11478575 B1) and Chan (US 20170259043 A1), as evidenced by Eaves (US 20190133582 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Lih teaches a respiratory obstruction removal device (bellow assembly 102 and face mask 110, see Fig. 1), comprising:
a face mask (face mask 110, see Fig. 1) and a negative pressure generating device that exerts negative pressure on the face mask (bellow assembly 102, see Fig. 1; “A force is exerted on the bellows assembly in an expansion direction by pulling the handle 106 away from the choking victim. The suction generated by the expansion of the bellows 104 is operative to dislodge a foreign object obstructing the choking victim's respiratory tract such as to allow sufficient airflow to the lungs. A pressure differential created within the throat and esophagus causes the lodged object to be dislodged and sucked through the facemask 112.” See [0037]),
wherein the negative pressure generating device includes:
a grip portion, which includes a portion for handheld use (grip portion, see Lih’s Annotated Fig. 3; the grip portion has a handle 106 for handheld use);
an extendable tubular body (bellows assembly 102 and bellow 104, see Fig. 1), having a variable-volume cavity with a hollow structure (bellow 104 is compressed using the handle 106 and then expanded to create a pressure differential, therefore, the bellow 104 is made of elastic material especially as all materials have some degree of elasticity and has a variable-volume cavity since it can be compressed and expanded as seen in [0019]-[0022]), the extendable tubular body connected to the bottom of the grip portion (one end of bellow 104 is connected to the grip portion as seen in Fig. 3);
an annular interface, situated at another end of the extendable tubular body away from the grip portion, and having with a face mask interface to connect to the face mask (“When the facemask 110 joins the bellows assembly 102, connector 118 creates a tight seal around the opening 116 of the base of the bellows 114. To that end, the connector 118 of the facemask 110 is configured and dimensioned to insert into the opening 116 (shown in FIG. 2) formed through the base 114 of the bellows 104.” See [0034]);
wherein the face mask includes:
an upper part configured to fit with the annular interface (connector 118, see Fig. 3; “To that end, the connector 118 of the facemask 110 is configured and dimensioned to insert into the opening 116 (shown in FIG. 2) formed through the base 114 of the bellows 104.” See [0034]),
a lower part fitted with a flexible annular cushion to conform to a face of a patient (seal 112, Fig. 3; “The different sized facemasks 110 are configured to provide a better seal to be formed and maintained between the victim's face and the seal 112 of the facemask 110.” See [0036]), and
a connecting body linking the upper part and the lower part (connecting body, see Lih’s Annotated Fig. 3);
the respiratory obstruction removal device further comprising:
a second one-way valve (relief valve 108, see Fig. 1), situated in the grip portion (see Fig. 1), wherein an outlet end is in communication with an external environment, while an inlet end is in communication with the extendable tubular body, and the second one-way valve allowing the air to flow from the extendable tubular body to the external environment when the extendable tubular body is compressed; and closes to prevent the air from exiting the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands, and blocks external air from entering, to maintain a negative pressure environment within the extendable tubular body (relief valve 108 allows air to escape the bellow assembly into the surroundings and is a unidirectional valve that will allow air to escape from the bellow during compression but prevents air from escaping during suction to aid in maintaining a pressured environment within the bellow (see [0031]) and Lih envisions using more than one valve since the device is envisioned with “at least one valve (see [0016])” but does not teach a first one-way valve is situated on the upper part of the face mask and is situated within a channel that runs through the annular interface and within the hollow structure of the negative pressure device, and connects the extendable tubular body with the face mask, wherein an inlet end is in communication with the face mask, while an outlet end is in communication with an interior of the extendable tubular body, and the first one-way valve is configured to prevent a flow of air from the extendable tubular body into the face mask when the extendable tubular body is compressed, and to allow air from the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands,
wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion, wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa, and the grip portion has a greater wall thickness, such that an elastic coefficient of the grip portion is greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body.
Lih’s Annotated Fig. 3
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However, Tian teaches a first one-way valve (air inlet one-way valve 226, see Fig. 3) is situated within a channel that runs through the annular interface, the connecting body, and the extendable tubular body (air inlet one-way valve 226 is situated in a channel which runs through chassis 221, the connecting body, and suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 2-3 and page 3, paragraph 6), connecting the extendable tubular body with the face mask (the channel connects suction cup 22 with breathing mask 1 as seen in Figs. 2-3), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask, while an outlet end of the first one- way valve is in fluid communication with an interior of the extendable tubular body (Fig. 3 shows an arrow representing the air flow direction of air inlet one-way valve 226 (see page 3, paragraph 7), wherein an inlet end of the first one-way valve is in fluid communication with the face mask and the outlet end of the air inlet one-way valve 226 is in fluid communication with an interior of suction cup 22 as seen in Figs. 1-2), and the first one-way valve is configured to prevent a flow of air from the extendable tubular body into the face mask when the extendable tubular body is compressed (when handle 21 is pushed and suction cup 22 is squeezed towards the face, air inlet one-way valve 226 is closed to prevent air from the suction cup 22 into breathing mask 1 and page 3, last paragraph), and to allow air from the face mask to flow into the extendable tubular body when the extendable tubular body expands (when handle 21 is pulled up to expand suction cup 22, air inlet one-way valve 226 is opened to allow airflow from breathing mask 1 to suction cup 22 as seen in Fig. 3 and page 3, last paragraph).
Both Lih and Tian teach a device used to prevent choking by dislodging/removing a foreign object in the choking victim by using pressure (see [0037] of Lih and page 3, last paragraph of Tian). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Lih to include the first one-way valve as taught by Tian to help form negative pressure within the tubular body to remove foreign matter in the human body (see page 3, last paragraph).
However, He teaches a first one-way valve (first check valve 21, see Figs. 3-4) is situated on the upper part of the face mask (face mask 1, see Figs. 1-4) (He teaches face mask 1 to be hermetically connected to a first gas inlet end of first check valve 21 as seen in Col. 7, lines 51-53. Face mask 1 is provided with a connecting cylinder 12 which is inserted into central cylinder 26 from bottom to top when the face mask 1 and the connector 2 are combined as seen in Fig. 4 and Col. 7, lines 53-61. As such, the first check valve 21 is situated on the upper part of the face mask as seen in Fig. 4). He further teaches Fig. 4 which seemingly shows handle 31 with a greater wall thickness than collapsible gasbag 3.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by Lih in view of Tian to have the upper part of the face mask be hermetically connected to the first one-way valve as taught by He as it is a known arrangement within the art that would not affect the functionality of the device as He teaches the first check valve 21 to work similarly to the first one-way valve (see Col. 8, lines 6-28). Furthermore, it would be obvious to modify Lih in view of Tian to have the grip portion has a greater wall thickness (see claim objection above), as seemingly shown by He, as Lih teaches using handle 106 (comprising a grip portion) to compress bellow 104 and one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize having a thicker grip portion would be beneficial to allow the user to grip on firmly to compress the bellow. Not to mention, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize having a thinner wall for bellow 104 would allow for the flexibility of the variable-volume cavity to be squeezed with more ease, since a thicker bellow would need stronger pressures to press the bellow downwards. Therefore, Tian in view of He teaches a grip portion with a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body.
However, Chan teaches wherein an outer surface of the grip portion has an anti-slip structure (textured gripping portion (843), see Fig. 22) to enhance a frictional force between a hand of the patient and the grip portion (Chan teaches a handle assembly (840) (taken as grip portion) comprising a textured gripping portion (843) placed to provide increased friction between the hand of a user and body (842) as seen in Fig. 20 and [0104]), wherein the grip portion is made from polycarbonate (Chan teaches the handle to be formed of polycarbonate as seen in [0075], and as such handle assembly (840) is formed of polycarbonate as it is also a handle).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Lih to add an anti-slip structure to the grip portion as taught by Chan to increase friction between the hand of a user and body (see [0104]). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Lih to have the grip portion made out of polycarbonate as taught by Chan as a material used for handles/grip portions for medical devices (see [0075]).
Modified Lih teaches the grip portion to be made from polycarbonate. As evidenced by Eaves, Eaves teaches polycarbonate to have elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa (Eaves teaches tissue bridges can be constructed of polycarbonate having an elastic modulus of about 2.4 GPa as seen in [0231]). Therefore, modified Lih teaches the wherein the grip portion has an elastic modulus between 0.13 and 3.5 GPa.
Modified Lih teaches an elastic coefficient of the grip portion greater than an elastic coefficient of the extendable tubular body (Modified Lih teaches the grip portion to be made out of polycarbonate (taught by Chan) which has a greater elastic coefficient than bellow 104, especially as bellows 104 is to be compressed and expanded by pulling handle 106 to generate suction as seen in [0037]-[0038] of Lih. Furthermore, modified Lih teaches the grip portion to have a greater wall thickness than the extendable tubular body).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lih (US 20150190158 A1) in view of Tian (CN 112932633 A, machine translated on 06/05/2025), He (US 11478575 B1) and Chan (US 20170259043 A1), as evidenced by Eaves (US 20190133582 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Carver (US 20200306420 A1).
Regarding claim 4, modified Lih teaches the device of claim 1, and is unclear wherein one end of the negative pressure generating device comprises the grip portion configured to be hollow and does not teach wherein one end of the negative pressure generating device comprises the grip portion configured to include a threaded combination.
However, He further teaches wherein one end of the negative pressure generating device (He teaches a removal device for removing an obstruction in a respiratory tract by forming negative pressure as seen in Figs. 1-4 and Col. 8, lines 13-28) comprises the grip portion configured to be hollow (handle 31 is connected to collapsible gasbag 3 and is used to press or stretch the gasbag 3 as seen in Col. 9, lines 41-47, wherein the handle 31 is hollow as seen in Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Lih to have the grip portion be hollow as taught by He as design choice that will not affect the functionality of the device as handle 31 of He is used to push and pull the collapsible gasbag 3 (see Col. 9, lines 41-47) which is similar to handle 106 of Lih compressing and pulling bellows assembly 102 as seen in [0038] of Lih.
However, Carver wherein one end of the airway assist device (airway assist device 1, see Figs. 1-4; “…using embodiments of the airway assist device (1) to assist in opening an airway (A) or removing fluid or material (O) obstructing the airway (A) of a subject (S).” see [0022]) comprises the grip portion (plunger cap 21 and handle 23, see Fig. 4; the plunger cap 21 and handle 23 is one piece as seen in [0026]) configured to include a threaded combination (plunger cap 21 contains threads to be connected to plunger proximate end 15 as seen in [0024] and Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device taught by modified Lih to have the grip portion included a threaded combination as taught by Carver as an alternative method of connecting to the extendable tubular body as threads are a known way to connect two structures within the art. Furthermore, both Lih and Carver teach a device for removing material obstructing the airway of a user.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Tina Zhang whose telephone number is (571)272-6956. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Brandy Lee can be reached at (571) 270-7410. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TINA ZHANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/BRANDY S LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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