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
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 14, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1/a2 as being anticipated by Kubokawa (US 4,593,680).
Regarding Claim 1, Kubokawa discloses:
An elevator (22) for a medical device, the elevator comprising:
an axle (26 receives 25); and
a body (body of 22, see Figs. 3, 6, and 7 for different variations) having:
a guide surface (surface including 28);
a back surface on an opposite side of the body from the guide surface (back of the elevator);
a first side surface (right side of 22 in the Fig. 4, for example);
a second side surface (left side of 22 in Fig. 4, for example), wherein each of the first side surface and the second side surface extends between the guide surface and the back surface (see Figs. 3-8 showing the surfaces extending between the front and back of 22); and
a connector (32) extending outward from the first side surface (shown in Fig. 4, for example), wherein the connector includes a channel that is configured to receive a control member for pivoting the elevator about the axle (see Fig. 4 showing wire 31 extending through 32).
Regarding Claim 14, Kubokawa further discloses wherein the connector extends upwardly beyond the guide surface (without providing more language, “upward” does little to limit the claim; because the device can be turned and manipulated, almost any direction is “upward”; Kubokawa’s connector extends in a direction beyond the guide surface and that direction can be considered “upward”).
Regarding Claim 19, Kubokawa discloses:
A medical device comprising:
a shaft (12);
a control member (31) extending through the shaft; and
a distal tip (15), including an elevator (22) having:
a guide surface (surface including 28);
a back surface on an opposite side of the elevator from the guide surface (back of the elevator);
a first side surface extending between the guide surface and the back surface (right side of 22 in the Fig. 4, for example); and
a connector (27) continuous with the first side surface (see Figs. 3-4 showing the connector 27 being continuous with the side of 22), wherein the connector includes a channel that receives the control member (see Fig. 4 showing 31 extending through the channel of 27).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Utsugi (US 4,452,236) in view of Kubokawa (US 4,593,680).
Regarding Claim 16, Utsugi discloses:
An elevator for a medical device, the elevator comprising:
a body (32) having:
a guide surface (see Figs. 6-7 showing guide surface including 61);
a back surface on an opposite side of the body from the guide surface (back of 32 opposite the guide surface);
a first side surface (right side of 32 as shown in Figs. 6-9); and
a connector (see Figs. 6-9 showing elements 34-37 acting as a connector) configured to couple a control member (38) for pivoting the elevator about the axle to the body, wherein the connector includes (a) a first portion extending along the first side surface (shown in Figs. 8-9 in particular, but arguably in each embodiment shown in Figs. 6-9) and (b) a second portion extending along the back surface (see Figs. 6 and 7 in particular showing the connector extending along the back of the guide).
Utsugi does not explicitly disclose an axle. Axles or pivots are well-known for these elevators. Kubokawa teaches one such example (26) for facilitating rotation of the elevator. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Utsugi’s elevator to have Kubokawa’s axle. Such a modification incorporates a well-known feature for facilitating rotation of the elevator.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-13, 15, 17-18, and 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 2 requires both the channel from claim 1 and that the connector includes a second portion that extends outwardly from the back surface. Kubokawa’s connector does not extend outwardly from the back surface, and the prior art provides no rationale for modifying the reference to do so.
Claim 9 requires the channel have an opening and an open side. Kubokawa’s connector includes an opening for receiving the wire, but there is no open side. In this context, “side” is not the same as “end”. The “side” of Kubokawa’s connector is closed, and the prior art fails to provide a reason for modifying the reference to include this feature.
Claim 15 requires a second end of the connector to be adjacent to the second side. Kubokawa’s connector does not extend to the second side surface of the body. 32 is relatively short, and there is no reason on the record to extend it beyond its current length.
Claim 17 requires the connector to be configured so that the control member extends through the first portion and the second portion. Utsugi’s connector connects to the control member at one end. 38 does not extend through the pin 35. There being no teaching to have a channel through 35, the claim overcomes the closest prior art.
Claim 20 is similar to claim 2 in that the connector has a channel and extends along the back surface. As stated above, the prior art does not read on this limitation.
Conclusion
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/TIMOTHY J NEAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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