DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Branam (US 5,814,074).
Regarding claim 1, Branam discloses a mouthpiece (50, FIGs 7-12), comprising: in a state of being fitted in an oral cavity (as shown in FIG 11-12), a base (56) that is formed so as to be curved (See curvature in FIG 7), from a central portion at a front side (Top of the curve as viewed in FIG 7), toward respective end portions at a rear side (Bottom ends as viewed in FIG 7), and that is arrangeable at a position sandwiched between upper and lower gingiva or teeth (at least configured to be positioned as such, FIG 11); and a cheek stimulator (54) that is formed so as to protrude in an up-and-down direction (See vertical dimension in FIG 8, 9, and 11), at a position surrounding an outer side of the base (FIG 7 shows placement of 54 along the outer edge of 56), and in which a protrusion height of a central portion is smaller than a protrusion height of respective end portions (See annotated FIG 8 below).
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Regarding claim 2, Branam discloses a tongue rest (58, col 4 line 66-col 5 line 20), which protrudes downward and rearward (FIG 11 shows 58 extends in the rearward direction and at least some dimension in the downward direction) and has a curved upper surface recessed downward toward the rear side (FIG 8 shows the curvature of the surface of 58, at least some of which curves downward because of the conical shape), is formed behind the base (FIG 7 and 11 show the positioning behind the base).
Regarding claim 4, Branam discloses the base and the cheek stimulator are formed of a flexible material (col 5 lines 16-23).
Regarding claim 5, Branam discloses the base has an elastic force directed outward in a width direction (Due to the resilient nature of the rubber material, there is an elastic force in all directions of the device including in a width direction).
Regarding claim 6, Branam discloses the respective end portions of the base have tapered shapes such that width gradually decreases from the front side toward the rear side (FIG 8 shows the respective end portions 90/92 have a narrows dimension relative to the central portion of base 56, col 4 line 66-col 5 line 9. The two sides taper gradually and linearly as shown in FIG 8.).
Regarding claim 7, Branam discloses a handle (80, 82, FIG 7) protruding outward from the central portion of the base is coupled to the cheek stimulator (FIG 7 and 9, col 4 lines 45-58), and a through hole is formed in the handle (The loop of trin 82 forms a through hole, FIG 7).
Regarding claim 8, Branam discloses a downward protrusion dimension of the cheek stimulator is larger than an upward protrusion dimension of the cheek stimulator (A downward dimension of 54 can be taken at least somewhere along its length that is greater that an upward dimension, see annotated FIG 8 below).
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Claim(s) 1-3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Simmen et al. (US 5,336,086).
Regarding claim 1, Simmen discloses a mouthpiece (13, particularly the embodiment of FIG 11 although some identical features are better shown in FIGs 1-3), comprising: in a state of being fitted in an oral cavity (abstract), a base (18, col 5 line 19-col 6 line 40) that is formed so as to be curved (See curvature in FIG 3), from a central portion at a front side (left side of the curve as viewed in FIG 3), toward respective end portions at a rear side (right ends of the curve as viewed in FIG 3), and that is arrangeable at a position sandwiched between upper and lower gingiva or teeth (at least configured to be positioned as such, “The shape of the base 18 conforms to the shape of the teeth within the mouth” col 5 lines 32-33); and a cheek stimulator (14) that is formed so as to protrude in an up-and-down direction (See vertical dimension in FIG 1, 4, and 11), at a position surrounding an outer side of the base (FIG 11 shows placement of 14 along the outer edge of 18), and in which a protrusion height of a central portion is smaller than a protrusion height of respective end portions (See annotated FIG 11 below).
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Regarding claim 2, Simmen discloses a tongue rest (108, FIG 11, col 4 line 43-46 and col 6 line 60-col 7 line 2), which protrudes downward and rearward (FIG 11 shows 108 extends in the rearward direction and in the downward direction if the device were viewed in an orientation flipped upside down from FIG 11) and has a curved upper surface recessed downward toward the rear side (FIG 11 shows the curvature of the surface of 108, which would be a recessed downward curvature if oriented in such a manner), is formed behind the base (FIG 11 shows the positioning behind the base).
Regarding claim 3, Simmen discloses a groove (68, FIG 11), formed toward a front side from a rear end and penetrating in the up-and-down direction, is provided at a central portion of the tongue rest in a width direction (vertical slits 68 penetrate the up and down thickness of the tongue rest, col 4 line 59-col 5 line 5).
Regarding claim 9, Simmen discloses a handle (12) protruding outward from the central portion of the base is connected to the cheek stimulator (FIG 11), and a groove along an outer peripheral surface of the cheek stimulator (Outer rail 94) is formed in an upper surface of a portion of the handle coupled to the cheek stimulator (As shown in FIG 11, the rail continues across the base of the handle 12 where it connects to cheek stimulator 14, see annotated FIG 11 above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BROOKE N LABRANCHE whose telephone number is (571)272-9775. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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, Elizabeth Houston can be reached at 5712727134. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BROOKE LABRANCHE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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