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 § 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 of this title, 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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US 2022/0118176 A1) in view of Whitney et al. (US 4,269,185), hereafter “Whitney”, and further in view of Bell (US 2016/0076635 A1).
As to claim 1, Yang discloses a drug delivery device drive mechanism (see Figs. 1-8), comprising:
a first ratchet wheel having a first ratchet gear (first sub-wheel of driving wheel 130);
a second ratchet wheel having a second ratchet gear (second sub-wheel of driving wheel 130); and
a linear actuation mechanism including a pusher interface (driving unit 100) coupled to an actuator (180) (see para 0050, 0051), the pusher interface having at least one pusher tab (110a or 110b) operable to physically contact the first ratchet gear (see Fig. 7, para 0057).
Yang is silent to the first ratchet gear coupled to a first spur gear, the second ratchet wheel coupled to a second spur gear, wherein the first ratchet wheel and the second ratchet wheel are coplanar and gear teeth of the first spur gear mesh with gear teeth the second spur gear.
Whitney discloses a ratchet wheel having a first ratchet gear (52) coupled to a spur gear (51) (Figs. 1-3, para beginning line 16 col. 4).
Bell discloses a first spur gear (110) that is coplanar with and has gear teeth meshed with gear teeth of a second spur gear (106) (see Fig. 2, para 0026).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the current design of Yang in view of Whitney and Bell such that the first ratchet gear is coupled to a first spur gear, the second ratchet gear is coupled to a second spur gear, wherein the first ratchet wheel and the second ratchet wheel are coplanar and gear teeth of the first spur gear mesh with gear teeth the second spur gear. One would have been motivated to do so as an alternate design for a gearing mechanism for delivering fluid. In other words, the drive mechanism of claim 1 amounts to a combination known components (i.e. ratchet gears, spur gears, linear actuation mechanisms, etc…) albeit in a non-expressly disclosed combination. However, one having ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to arrive at the invention of claim 1 as there is no change in the respective functions of any of the individual components, and each are used as part of a means for delivering a fluid (see abstract & paragraph beginning line 23 col. 1 of Whitney, also see abstract & para 0043-0045 of Bell).
As to claims 2, Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above. Yang further discloses wherein the pusher interface (100) is substantially perpendicular to a gear face of the first ratchet wheel (see Fig. 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 3, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to wherein the pusher interface is substantially parallel to a gear face of the first ratchet wheel in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
As to claim 4, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to wherein the at least one pusher tab of the pusher interface further comprises: a first pusher tab operable to contact a respective gear tooth of a plurality of gear teeth of the first spur gear; and a second pusher tab operable to contact a respective gear tooth of a plurality of gear teeth of the second spur gear, wherein the actuator alternates between causing the first pusher tab to contact the respective gear tooth of the plurality of gear teeth of the first spur gear and causing the second pusher tab to contact the respective gear tooth of the plurality of gear teeth of the second spur gear in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
Claims 5-11 depend from claim 4.
As to claim 12, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to a pawl having an edge that rests between gear teeth of either the first spur gear or the second spur gear, wherein the pawl is operable to prevent free rotation of either the first ratchet wheel or the second ratchet wheel in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
As to claim 13, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to wherein the linear actuation mechanism further comprises: an actuator arm coupled to the pusher interface, the actuator arm including a first end coupled to a pivot point and a second end coupled to the pusher interface, wherein the first and second ends are opposite ends of the actuator arm in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
Claims 14 depends from claim 1.
As to claim 15, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to wherein the linear actuation mechanism further comprises: a linear actuator arm, wherein the pusher interface is coupled to the linear actuator arm and the at least one pusher tab extends substantially perpendicularly from a horizontal surface of the pusher interface toward the first ratchet gear, and the linear actuator arm is operable to reciprocate to enable the at least one pusher tab to contact the first ratchet gear, and an actuator connection point at which the actuator is coupled to an end of the linear actuator arm in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
Claims 16-19 depend from claim 15.
As to claim 20, while Yang in view of Whitney and Bell teaches the drug delivery device drive mechanism of claim 1 as described above, each are silent to a pump mechanism coupling operable to connect either the first ratchet wheel or the second ratchet wheel to a drive element in combination with the limitations of claim 1.
Conclusion
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/James D Ponton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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