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 responsive to the amendment filed 02 May 2025. As directed by the amendment, claims 1-3 are presently pending in this application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-6, filed 09 January 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Hjertman et al. (US 6,599,272).
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(s) 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jennings et al. (US 2016/0129201) in view of Hjertman et al. (US 6,599,272).
Regarding claim 1, Jennings teaches a syringe auxiliary tool (Fig. 1-6) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 3, 112) comprising a contact surface (Fig. 3, ¶[0042], where there is a contact surface 119b) that is configured to contact with a living body (¶[0042], where the contact surface is designed to contact tissue) and to house a syringe (Fig. 3, 114) with an injection needle directed forward (Fig. 3, 118);
a moving part (Fig. 3, 134) that is configured to couple with the syringe housed in the housing and attached to the housing slidably in a front-rear direction and move the syringe with the injection needle together in the front-rear direction (¶[0048], where the drive element 134 moves the syringe body 116 and needle 118 in a forward direction), the moving part being capable of changing its position (¶[0048]), in association with the sliding, between an advanced position at which the injection needle of the syringe is located forward of the contact surface (Fig. 4, where the needle is in an advanced position) and a retracted position at which the injection needle is located rearward of the contact surface (Fig. 3, where the needle is in a retracted position);
a spring member (Fig. 3, 126) that is configured to bias the moving part in a retracting direction from the advanced position toward the retracted position by pressing or pulling the moving part (¶[0043], [0048], where the return spring is designed to move the moving part 134, which is connected to the syringe 114, to a retracted position from an extended position by pushing the syringe body 116 and moving part back); and
Jennings does not specifically teach an operation member that is configured to slide the moving part in a forward direction from the retracted position toward the advanced position or wherein the operation member is configured to be pivotally attached to the housing, and to press the moving part in the forward direction in association with the operation members pivotal movement relative to the housing.
Hjertman teaches an injection device that includes a lever movement system. Specifically, Hjertman teaches an operation member (Fig. 2D, 230) that is configured to slide the moving part in a forward direction from the retracted position toward the advanced position and wherein the operation member is configured to be pivotally attached to the housing, and to press the moving part in the forward direction in association with the operation members pivotal movement relative to the housing (Col. 20, line 39-Col. 22, line 2, where 230 moves an interior part in a forward direction using a pivoting motion).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Jennings to include an operation member (230 from Hjertman) that slides a part in a forward direction to an advanced position and presses a moving part in a forward direction using pivotal movement (Col. 21, line 39-Col. 2, line 2 from Hjertman).
Regarding claim 2, Jennings and Hjertman teach the syringe auxiliary tool according to claim 1, further comprising:
a connecting part (Fig. 3, 131) that is configured to connect the moving part with the operation member and to slide the moving part in association with a movement of the operation member (¶[0055], where the moving part 134 will move when modified 230 from Hjertman is moved on is depressed and allow the driving spring 130 to move the sleeve 131, part 230 of Hjertman is modified on to allow for the part to move in a forward direction when the pivoting motion occurs replacing the ); and
a restriction structure (Fig. 3, 137 & 139) that is configured to restrict the moving part from sliding from the advanced position toward the retracted position in a state where the moving part is located at the advanced position (¶[0049], where the arms 135 and the constriction 137 separate the element 132 from the moving part 134 at the end of the advanced position such that the part 132 no longer moves the moving part forward, the structure 139 then will move inward to disconnect the connecting part 131 from the first drive element 132 and then allows the return spring 126 to move the syringe 114 to is retracted state), wherein
the operation member is configured to be separated from the connecting part in a state where the moving part is located at the advanced position (¶[0055], where the connecting part 131 is disconnected from the locking member 306 which is attached in the operating member 300 and disconnects the part 131 from the member 300 and allows the moving part 134 to be in an advanced state & Hjertman teaches where the part 239 can be in a disconnected state from the interior moving parts Col. 21 from Hjertman, replacing the button 302 and operation member 300 with 239 from Hjertman satisfies this requirement).
Regarding claim 3, Jennings and Hjertman teach the syringe auxiliary tool according to claim 2, and further teach wherein
the operation member is capable of switching between a first position before it slides the moving part to the advanced position and a second position after it has slid the moving part to the advanced position (Col. 20 line 39-Col. 22, line 2 from Hjertman),
the operation member (239 from Hjertman integrated into Jennings) comprises a pressing part (230 from Hjertman) that is configured to press the connecting part (Fig. 3, 131) to slide the moving part (Fig. 3, 134) to the advanced position and a blocking part (Fig. 6, 306) that is configured to block the movement of the connecting part toward a direction in which the connecting part is pressed by the pressing part (¶[0055]),
the connecting part (Fig. 3, 131) comprises a pressing operation engaging part that is configured to engage with the pressing part and a block engaging part that is configured to engage with the blocking part (¶[0055], where 131 has a part that is connected to the locking member that is then disengaged and a part that is engaged to modified 230 from Hjertman), and
the syringe auxiliary tool is configured such that:
the pressing part and the pressing operation engaging part are in engagement with each other while the blocking part and the block engaging part are out of engagement with each other when the operation member is located at the first position (Col. 20, line 39-Col. 22, line 2 from Hjertman); and
when the operation member is located at the second position (advanced position), the pressing part and the pressing operation engaging part are out of engagement with each other (Col. 20, line 39-Col. 22, line 2 from Hjertman), the operation member is separated from the connecting part (¶[0055], where the operation member 300 is not connected to the connecting part 131 when the device is in an advanced position), the restriction by the restriction structure is released (Fig. 3, 137 & 139, where the restriction parts are lifted in response to the syringe being returned), and the blocking part and the block engaging part engage with each other when the moving part and the connecting part return from the advanced position to the retracted position by a biasing force of the spring member (¶[0055], where the block engaging part is connected to the sleeve 131 when the device is moved from the advanced state to the retracted state as the locking member is configured to stop movement of the device).
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 HADEN M RITCHIE whose telephone number is (703)756-1699. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5:30pm.
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/HADEN MATTHEW RITCHIE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3783
/BHISMA MEHTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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