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 § 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) 1, 3-6, 8-9, 11-12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 6,364,866 to Furr et al. (Furr hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Furr teaches a vial and syringe alignment guide having a base (5) having a vial attachment (20) and a syringe attachment (13), the vial attachment being adapted to secure a vial (50) therein (see Fig. 4) and the syringe attachment being adapted to hold a syringe (60) while aligning a needle (12) with the vial (Fig. 4).
Regarding claims 3 and 11, Furr teaches an elongated arcuate trough (13).
Regarding claims 4 and 8, Furr teaches a syringe adapter (3) adapted to fit within the syringe adapter (at 25) having an elongated arcuate channel (32) for receiving the syringe therein.
Regarding claims 5 and 9, Furr teaches flexible snap attachments (27) rising from the syringe adapter and adapted to securely fix the adapter to the syringe attachment.
Regarding claims 6 and 12, Furr teaches a vial adapter (20, 29) with a backstop (21) having vent holes (i.e. the open sections of 29 directly opposite the backstop 21).
Regarding claim 14, Furr teaches a method for filling a syringe (60) from a vial (50) including affixing the vial with a vial attachment on an alignment guide (1), positioning the syringe in a syringe attachment (13) and moving the syringe toward the vial (i.e. from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4).
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) 2 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furr in view of U.S. Patent 5,873,859 to Muntz (Muntz).
Regarding these claims together, Furr teaches the limitations of the parent claims as discussed above, but does not teach flexible vial clips. Muntz teaches another syringe filling device generally, and particularly teaches that a vial (40) may be held with flexible clips (40). Muntz teaches that vials of differing diameters and lengths may be hold this way (col. 4, ln. 44-61). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to use a pair of clips as taught by Muntz in the alignment guide of Furr in order to allow for vials of differing diameters and lengths to be drawn from.
Claim(s) 7 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furr in view of US Pre-Grant Publication 2017/0232184 to Bihn (Bihn).
Regarding these claims together, Furr teaches the limitations of the parent claims as discussed above, but does not teach a detachable storage compartment. Bihn teaches another medication delivery system (18) generally, and particularly teaches a sharps disposal bin (34) which is detachably attachable (as in Figs. 2 and 3) to the delivery system. Bihn teaches that this arrangement provides sharps disposal at the point of use (paragraph 79). One of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the application to provide the detachably attachable bin taught by Bihn to the guide of Furr in order to provide point of use sharps disposal.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent 6,439,276 to Wood teaches another vial and syringe alignment guide generally.
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/PHILIP E STIMPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
29 September 2025