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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitations use a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitations are:
“grip portion” in claims 1, 2, 4, and 7-12;
“energizing portion” in claims 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, and 13;
“operation portion” in claims 3-6;
“deformation maintaining portion” in claims 4-6 and 9;
“maintaining state change portion” in claims 4-6 and 9;
“operation fixing portion” in claim 6;
“grip operation portion” in claims 7-9;
“release portion” in claims 8 and 9;
“hitting portion” in claim 10;
“first clamping portion” in claim 11;
“second clamping portion” in claim 11;
“cam portion” in claim 11;
“placement portion” in claim 12;
“energizing operation portion” in claim 13;
“handle portion” in claim 13.
Because these claim limitations are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, they are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have these limitations interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitations recite sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claims 8, 9, 11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Avneri et al. (JP 2015-510830 A – Cited by Applicant), hereinafter Avneri.
Regarding claim 8, Avneri discloses a wire feeding device [vascular cannulation device 10, see in Fig. 1A] for feeding a wire [guidewire 12, see in Fig. 3A] in a distal end direction, the wire feeding device comprising: a grip portion [gripper 204, see in Fig. 3A] configured to grip and release the wire and to move in the distal end direction and a proximal end direction [see in ¶ 0145]; an elastic body [spring 201, see in Fig. 3A] configured to bias the grip portion toward the distal end direction; an energizing portion [slider 202 and trigger 216, see in Fig. 3A] configured to deform the elastic body and increase a biasing force of the elastic body toward the distal end direction [see in ¶ 0143]; and a release portion [lever 214 and diaphragm 210, see in Figs. 3B-C] that releases a deformation state of the elastic body with the biasing force increased by the energizing portion, wherein the wire gripped by the grip portion is fed toward the distal end direction by moving the grip portion in the distal end direction by the biasing force of the elastic body whose deformation state is released by the release portion [see in ¶ 0143], and the wire feeding device further comprises a grip operation portion [handle 250, see in Figs. 3A-C] configured to operate a state of gripping of the wire by the grip portion.
Regarding claim 9, Avneri discloses the wire feeding device according to claim 8, wherein the release portion includes a deformation maintaining portion configured to maintain the deformation state of the elastic body that is in a predetermined state due to an increase in the biasing force by the energizing portion [see in ¶ 0119 – ¶ 0120, and ¶ 0145], and a maintaining state change portion configured to change a state to a state in which maintaining of the deformation state of the elastic body by the deformation maintaining portion is disabled, and the grip operation portion is configured to operate the grip portion gripping the wire to a state of grip release when the deformation state of the elastic body is maintained by the deformation maintaining portion [see in ¶ 0143].
Regarding claim 11, Avneri discloses the wire feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion includes a first clamping portion and a second clamping portion [two halves 234, see in Fig. 4] that clamp the wire, and a cam portion [slider 202, see in Figs. 3A-C] configured to adjust a distance between the first clamping portion and the second clamping portion [see in Figs. 4, 5A, 5B, and ¶ 0141].
Regarding claim 13, Avneri discloses the wire feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an energizing operation portion [slider 202 and trigger 216, see in Fig. 3A] configured to be manually operated to increase the biasing force of the elastic body by the energizing portion [see in ¶ 0143], wherein the energizing operation portion includes a handle portion [handle 250, see in ¶ 0145] configured to be manually operated to a position offset from a placement position of the wire.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art of record are the following:
Avneri et al. (JP 2015-510830 A – Cited by Applicant);
Yamagiwa et al. (US 20220211398 A1 – Cited by Applicant), hereinafter Yamagiwa.
Avneri discloses a wire feeding device [vascular cannulation device 10, see in Fig. 1A] for feeding a wire [guidewire 12, see in Fig. 3A] in a distal end direction, the wire feeding device comprising: a grip portion [gripper 204, see in Fig. 3A] configured to grip and release the wire and to move in the distal end direction and a proximal end direction [see in ¶ 0145]; an elastic body [spring 201, see in Fig. 3A] configured to bias the grip portion toward the distal end direction; and an energizing portion [slider 202 and trigger 216, see in Fig. 3A] configured to deform the elastic body and increase a biasing force of the elastic body toward the distal end direction, wherein when deformation of the elastic body by the energizing portion is released, the wire gripped by the grip portion is fed in the distal end direction by the biasing force of the elastic body [see in ¶ 0143]. Avneri fails to disclose that the wire feeding device is configured to be operated in (i) a first mode in which the wire is continuously fed in the distal end direction according to a first predetermined operation and (ii) a second mode in which the wire is fed once in the distal end direction according to a second predetermined operation.
Yamagiwa discloses an embodiment where the wire is fed once in the distal end direction [the wire feeding device 51 according to the present embodiment, the guide wire GW may be fed by only an appropriate amount by applying impact force due to the energizing force accumulated in the push spring 62 on the guide wire GW. In this manner, an impact force on the guide wire GW, which allows the guide wire GW to penetrate an occluding object, may be more effectively applied, see in ¶ 0145]. However, Yamagiwa fails to disclose the wire feeding device comprising two operating modes, in which the other mode feeds the wire is continuously fed in the distal end direction according to a first predetermined operation.
The closest prior arts of record, alone or in combination, fail to teach or suggest the details of the wire feeding device being configured to be operated in (i) a first mode in which the wire is continuously fed in the distal end direction according to a first predetermined operation and (ii) a second mode in which the wire is fed once in the distal end direction according to a second predetermined operation.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claims 1-7, 10, and 12 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HY KHANH DOAN whose telephone number is (703)756-5434. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m..
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Robert Chen can be reached at (571) 272-3672. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ERIC F WINAKUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
/HY KHANH DOAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3791
Prosecution Insights