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 06 January 2026. As directed by the amendment: claims 2 and 7-20 are cancelled, claims 5 and 6 are withdrawn. Claims 1 and 3-6 are presently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-6, filed 06 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 Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn.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 Ishida (US 2018/0207406) in view of Ishida (hereinafter “Ishida ’63”, US 2018/0280663).
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 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishida (US 2018/0207406) in view of Ishida (hereinafter “Ishida ’63”, US 2018/0280663).
Regarding claim 1, Ishida discloses a catheter assembly (Fig. 1, 10A) comprising:
a catheter (Fig. 1, 12);
a catheter hub (Fig. 1, 18) fixed to the catheter (12);
an inner needle (Fig. 1, 20) inserted through the catheter (12);
a grip (Fig. 1, 41 & 42) that fixes and holds the inner needle (¶[0102]);
a catheter operation member (Fig. 2, 24) comprising an upper support portion (Fig. 2, 54) that supports the catheter from an upper side (¶[0112]); and
a lower support member (Fig. 2, 22) that is attached to grip and supports the catheter from a lower side (¶[0100], [0106]-[0109]); wherein:
the upper support portion comprises:
a base portion in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the catheter (Fig. 2, where the portion 54 has a bottom surface that contacts at least a part of the rest of the catheter 12), and
Ishida does not specifically teach a pair of distal projection portions protruding from the base portion between which the catheter is located, wherein: the distal projection portions are distal of the lower support member, and in a direction in which the distal projection portions protrude from the base portion, a length by which each distal projection portion protrudes past the catheter is greater than a maximum dimension of the catheter
Ishida ’63 teaches a catheter which includes a hub, supports and a needle. Ishida ’63 teaches at least a projection (Fig. 2, 24) that also has two smaller wings that connect to a catheter member (Fig. 2, 25). This projecting portion projects at least a length and attaching this to Ishida would be a simple addition to the device. Additionally, a second projection can be added without issue or changing the function of the device. The length of said projections is not clear from the limitation in claim so a projection that extend away from the device would satisfy at least some dimension requirement. The projection 24 from the device in Ishida ’63 would improve Ishida by helping for operating the device and would allow for the device to have detachable operation functions (¶[0068] & [0105] from Ishida ‘63).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Ishida to have projections that extend at least a length from the catheter in a direction (Fig. 2, 24, ¶[0068] & [0105] from Ishida ’63).
Regarding claim 3, Ishida and Ishida ’63 teach the catheter assembly according to claim 1, Ishida further teaches wherein:
at least one of the upper support portion or the lower support member is deformed in a direction in which the upper support portion and the lower support member are aligned with each other (¶[0101], where the housing space has sidewalls 34a and 34b that extend upwards with 43 to contact and align with 24).
Regarding claim 4, Ishida and Ishida ‘63 the catheter assembly according to claim 1, Ishida further teaches wherein:
the upper support portion of the lower support member includes an elastic portion that is elastically deformed in a contact state with the catheter (¶[0100], holding portion 36).
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bhisma Mehta can be reached at 571-272-3383. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HADEN MATTHEW RITCHIE/ Examiner, Art Unit 3783 /BHISMA MEHTA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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