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 § 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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 25, 31, 37, 39 and 41 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over USPAP 2020/0078241 (Chang et al. hereinafter).
With regard to claim 1, Chang et al. discloses a mattress for a surgical table, the mattress comprising:
a plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30), each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) comprising a respective cavity (11, 12, 22, 23, 34, 35, 36), wherein each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) is inflatable by injection of inflation fluid into the cavity (11, 12, 22, 23, 34, 35, 36) of the respective inflatable member (10, 20, 30); and
a control circuitry (2), the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) separately responsive to an output of the control circuitry (2),
wherein at least a sub-set of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) are arranged in a 2- dimensional array (Fig.’s 10-12), and
wherein the 2-dimensional array exhibits a plurality of rows of the inflatable members (10, 20, 30) and a plurality of columns of the inflatable members (10, 20, 30), a length of each row being greater than a length of each column (Fig. 8 shows the row length greater than the column length).
Chang et al. does not disclose that the inflation of the respective inflatable member is to a predetermined volume of 0.1 - 5 liters.
Since Applicant has not disclosed that having inflation of the respective inflatable member is to a predetermined volume of 0.1 - 5 liters solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that this allows the filling of the inflatable members to various degrees which is already being done by Chang et al. to provide the tilt of the patient (Fig. 5B) and it appears that the apparatus of Chang et al. would perform equally well with having inflation of the respective inflatable member to a predetermined volume of 0.1 - 5 liters as claimed by Applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to modify the apparatus of Chang et al. by utilizing the specific volumes as claimed for the purpose of defining how much or how little to inflate the members when tilting the patient.
With regard to claim 25, the Chang et al. modification with respect to claim 1 discloses the mattress of claim 1, wherein the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) in the 2-dimensional array is separately responsive to the output of the control circuitry but does not disclose such that a height of the respective inflatable member is up to about 10 centimeters.
Since Applicant has not disclosed that having a height of the respective inflatable member is up to about 10 centimeters solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that this defines the height of the inflatable member and it appears that the apparatus of Chang et al. would perform equally well with having a height of the respective inflatable member is up to about 10 centimeters as claimed by Applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the apparatus of Chang et al. by utilizing the specific height as claimed for the purpose of defining the height of the inflatable member.
With regard to claim 31, the Chang et al. modification with respect to claim 1 discloses the mattress of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) in the 2-dimensional array exhibits a length of 10 - 50 centimeters and a width of 10 - 40 centimeters.
Since Applicant has not disclosed that having each of the plurality of inflatable members in the 2-dimensional array exhibit a length of 10 - 50 centimeters and a width of 10 - 40 centimeters solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that this defines approximate length and width of the inflatable member and it appears that the apparatus of Chang et al. would perform equally well with having each of the plurality of inflatable members in the 2-dimensional array exhibit a length of 10 - 50 centimeters and a width of 10 - 40 centimeters as claimed by Applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the apparatus of Chang et al. by utilizing the approximate length and width as claimed for the purpose of defining the approximate length and width of the inflatable member.
With regard to claim 37, the Chang et al. modification with respect to claim 1 discloses the mattress of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rows of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) consists of two or three rows (Fig.’s 4, 8, 10-12).
With regard to claim 39, the Chang et al. modification with respect to claim 1 discloses the mattress of claim 1, wherein the plurality of columns of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) consists of 2 - 4 columns (Fig.’s 4, 8, 10-12).
With regard to claim 41, the Chang et al. modification with respect to claim 1 discloses the mattress of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry controls the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) in the 2- dimensional array such that a respective area of a patient supported by the respective inflatable member is tilted at a respective tilt angle, but does not disclose that the respective tilt angle being 5 - 22 degrees.
Since Applicant has not disclosed that having the respective tilt angle being 5 - 22 degrees solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that this defines the respective tilt angle and it appears that the apparatus of Chang et al. would perform equally well with having the respective tilt angle being 5 - 22 degrees as claimed by Applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the apparatus of Chang et al. by utilizing the tilt angle as claimed for the purpose of defining the respective tilt angle.
Claim(s) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. in view of USPAP 2009/0000614 (Carrano hereinafter).
With regard to claim 2, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 1 discloses all of the limitations except for further comprising a user input terminal, the control circuitry configured to control the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members responsive to an output of the user input terminal.
Carrano teaches an inflatable pad for a medical bed with a user input terminal (Fig. 8) that controls the inflation of inflatable members responsive to an input (paragraphs [0055], [0062], [0063] and [0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to further modify the apparatus disclosed by the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 1 by further comprising a user input terminal, the control circuitry configured to control the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members responsive to an output of the user input terminal as taught by Carrano for the purposes of monitoring and/or initiating patient positioning and enabling the user-selectable functions (paragraphs [0062] and [0063]).
With regard to claim 3, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 discloses the mattress of claim 2, wherein, responsive to a respective user input at the user input terminal, the control circuitry is configured to prevent the inflation of a respective at least one of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) (paragraph [0075] of Chang et al. and paragraphs [0062] and [0063] of Carrano).
With regard to claim 4, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 discloses the mattress of claim 3, wherein the respective user input comprises an indication of an area of a patient being operated on (paragraphs [0062] and [0063] and 662, 664 of Carrano).
With regard to claim 5, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 discloses the mattress of claim 3, wherein, responsive to a respective user input at the user input terminal, the control circuitry is configured to limit an inflation volume of a respective at least one of the plurality of inflation members to a respective upper threshold value greater than zero (664 of Carrano).
Claim(s) 6, 16, 17 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. and Carrano and in further view of USPAP 2022/0133563 (Audic et al. hereinafter).
With regard to claim 6, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 discloses all of the limitations except for wherein, responsive to a respective user input at the user input terminal, the control circuitry is configured to prevent the inflation of one or more of the plurality of inflatable members during a predetermined time period.
Audic et al. teaches a patient bed with inflatable components wherein, responsive to a respective user input at the user input terminal, the control circuitry is configured to prevent the inflation of one or more of the plurality of inflatable members during a predetermined time period. Paragraph [0034] of Audic et al. discloses that inflation and deflation can be scheduled, and pressure sensors that are able to control inflation and deflation (paragraph [0040]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to further modify the apparatus disclosed by the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 by providing that responsive to a respective user input at the user input terminal, the control circuitry is configured to prevent the inflation of one or more of the plurality of inflatable members during a predetermined time period and to add pressure sensors to the inflatable members as taught by Audic et al. for the purposes of automatically rotating the patient (paragraph [0034] of Audic et al.) and to add pressure sensors to the inflatable members to assist in the automatic control of the inflatable members (paragraph [0040]).
With regard to claim 16, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 6 discloses the mattress of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensors (22), the number of the plurality of sensors (22) being at least the number of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) (paragraph [0114]),
wherein each of the plurality of sensors (22) is juxtaposed with a respective one of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30), and
wherein control of the inflation of each of the plurality of inflatable members (10, 20, 30) by the control circuitry is responsive to an output of the respective one of the plurality of sensors (22).
With regard to claim 17, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 6 discloses the mattress of claim 16, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a plurality of humidity sensors and/or a plurality of pressure sensors (22).
With regard to claim 23, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 6 discloses the mattress of claim 16, except for wherein the volume of the cavity of each of the plurality of inflatable members when the respective inflatable member is maximally inflated is at least two liters.
Since Applicant has not disclosed that wherein the volume of the cavity of each of the plurality of inflatable members when the respective inflatable member is maximally inflated is at least two liters solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose above the fact that this defines the volume of the cavity of each of the plurality of inflatable members and it appears that the apparatus of the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 6 would perform equally well with having the volume of the cavity of each of the plurality of inflatable members when the respective inflatable member is maximally inflated is at least two liters as claimed by Applicant, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to further modify the apparatus of the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 6 by utilizing the volume as claimed for the purpose of defining the volume of the inflatable members.
Claim(s) 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. and Carrano and in further view of USPAP 2007/0283496 (Skripps hereinafter).
With regard to claim 7, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 discloses all of the limitations except for further comprising one or more temperature adjustment mechanisms, each configured to adjust a temperature of a respective area of a patient positioned over the plurality of inflatable members.
Skripps teaches inflatable patient support with temperature sensors (104) that transmit data to a controller to control the temperature or the incoming or outgoing air or the inflatable patient support (paragraph [0089]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to further modify the apparatus disclosed by the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 2 by providing one or more temperature adjustment mechanisms, each configured to adjust a temperature of a respective area of a patient positioned over the plurality of inflatable members as taught by Skripps for the purposes of controlling a patient’s skin temperature (paragraph [0089]).
With regard to claim 8, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 7 discloses the mattress of claim 7, wherein the one or more temperature adjustment mechanisms are configured to adjust the temperature of the inflation fluid, the temperature adjustment of the respective area of the patient responsive to an adjustment of the temperature of a respective portion of the inflation fluid (paragraph [0089] of Skripps).
With regard to claim 9, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 7 discloses the mattress of claim 7, wherein the number of the plurality of temperature adjustment mechanisms being at least the number of the plurality of inflatable members,
wherein each of the plurality of temperature adjustment mechanisms is juxtaposed with a respective one of the plurality of inflatable members,
wherein each of the plurality of temperature adjustment mechanisms is controlled responsive to a respective output of the control circuitry (paragraph [0089] of Skripps).
With regard to claim 10, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 7 discloses the mattress of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of temperature adjustment mechanisms is configured to provide both cooling and heating (paragraph [0089] of Skripps).
With regard to claim 11, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 7 discloses the mattress of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of sensors, the number of sensors being at least the number of plurality of inflatable members,
wherein each of the plurality of sensors is juxtaposed with a respective one of the plurality of inflatable members, and
wherein control of the one or more plurality of temperature adjustment mechanisms is responsive to an output of a respective one of the plurality of sensors (paragraph [0089] of Skripps).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chang et al. and Carrano and Audic et al. in further view of Skripps.
With regard to claim 19, the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 16 discloses all of the limitations except for wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a plurality of blood perfusion sensors and/or a plurality of temperature sensors.
Skripps teaches inflatable patient support with temperature sensors (104) that transmit data to a controller to control the temperature or the incoming or outgoing air or the inflatable patient support (paragraph [0089]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to further modify the apparatus disclosed by the Chang et al. modification with regard to claim 16 by providing one or more temperature adjustment mechanisms and sensors, each configured to adjust a temperature of a respective area of a patient positioned over the plurality of inflatable members as taught by Skripps for the purposes of controlling a patient’s skin temperature (paragraph [0089]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. USPAP’s 2011/0185508, 2005/0172398, 2025/0381063, 2025/0185820, 2025/0120514, 2023/0181396, 2016/0361217, 2016/0058641, 2016/0037939 and 2021/0259899 as well as USP 6,073,284 all disclose a patient support similar to that claimed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AARON R EASTMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3132. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Justin C. Mikowski can be reached at (571) 272-8525. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AARON R EASTMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3673
Prosecution Insights