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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/23/26 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Klintenstedt et al. (US 2013/0226082 A1).
With regard to claim 38, Klintenstedt discloses A cartridge assembly (fig. 6) for a drug delivery device, the cartridge assembly comprising: a cartridge (20) containing a drug ([0037]), a cartridge holder (10’), the cartridge holder defining an interior cartridge holding section (cartridge 20 is within the interior of the cartridge holder 10’), wherein the cartridge is arranged within the cartridge holding section (see Fig. 6), wherein the cartridge holder comprises a distal region (generally from element 190’ to the end 24) with a needle connector (at 12 there are threads for connecting to a needle [0035]) arranged at a distal end of the distal region and a main body region (at 10),a fixing feature (195) arranged at the distal region, and a region with a reduced mechanical stiffness compared to a stiffness of the main body region (195 is described as a cutout and flexible tongue which can be considered a region with reduced mechanical stiffness since it is able to flex), wherein the region with the reduced mechanical stiffness is integrated into the distal region and arranged between the needle connector (see Fig. 6) and the fixing feature (195), such that, when the cartridge is moved in a proximal direction, an emerging load is transferred from the cartridge to the fixing feature and further to the main body region in the proximal direction (the fixing feature is a ledge that if the cartridge were to be moved proximally it resists the proximal movement and thus would impose a force on the fixing feature. Because the fixing feature is attached the main body it would then transfer that force to the main body), wherein the fixing feature comprises a continuous mechanical connection to the distal region of the cartridge holder in a circumferential direction (see Fig. 6), and wherein the fixing feature is configured to prevent removal of the cartridge from the cartridge holder without an external force applied to the fixing feature the fixing feature 195 flexes outwards when the cartridge is being inserted but then are designed to flex back inwards in order to prevent movement of the cartridge ([0056]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-36 are allowed. The amendments to the claims where the proximal movement of the cartridge causes the fixing feature to flex radially inward overcomes the closest prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAUREN P FARRAR whose telephone number is (571)270-1496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.
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/Lauren P Farrar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783