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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-9 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/19/26.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 19 contains two sentences. The applicant is reminded that the present Office practice that each claim begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. Periods may not be used elsewhere in the claims except for abbreviations (see MPEP 608.01(m)).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 18-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 18 recites the limitation "the proximal direction" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The examiner notes that each of claims 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, and 26 refer to “the proximal direction” which also lack a proper antecedent basis.
As to claim 18, recitation of “the injector” in line 6 is unclear as both line 1 (the preamble) and line 2 of the claim introduce “an injector”.
Claim 18 is directed to “A method of producing an audible or tactile or feedback in an injector…”. However, the only step actually required in the claim is “providing an injector…”. While the injector might be capable of producing an audible or tactile or feedback, providing the injector alone does not appear to be what produces the audible or tactile feedback. In other words, there appears to be further steps required, including steps related to activation and/or operation of the autoinjector. The examiner recommends adding steps regarding activation/operation of the injector that actually cause the audible or tactile feedback.
Claim 19 recites the limitation "the distal direction" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 20, 23, 26 and 27 each recite “the vicinity of the interruption”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claims.
Claim 28 introduces “An autoinjector” in line 1, but then also introduces “an injector” in line 3. It is unclear if “an injector” of line 3 is a subcomponent of the autoinjector or refers to the autoinjector of the preamble.
Claim 28 recites the limitation "the proximal direction" in lines 3-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
As to claim 28, the formatting/grammar of the final stanza makes the claim unclear. I.e. the final stanza is such that the claim reads “An autoinjector… comprising: …configured such that, during operation…”
Dependent claims inherit the deficiencies of the claims from which they depend.
Allowable Subject Matter
No Claims are currently allowed.
Claims 18-28 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 18 and 28, the closest prior art appears to be Atterbury et al. (US 2018/0200442 A1), hereafter “Atterbury”, and Moller et al. (US 2009/0012479 A1), hereafter “Moller”.
Atterbury teaches an autoinjector (see Figs. 1-4B) including a drive spring (50), a plunger screw (14), and a nut (42).
Moller teaches an injection device including inner part 10 having a thread 11, 12, wherein the thread comprises an interruption (axial edge 13 constituting an interruption of the rest of the thread 11, 12), wherein a part engaging with the thread 11, 12 will be moved abruptly relatively to the inner part 10 along an axial direction when the engaging part reaches the lower part of the thread 12, i.e. when it reaches the axial edge 13. This abrupt movement, and not the least the following abrupt stop when this movement stops, can be felt by the user (see para 0057, 0059).
However, there does not appear to be a combination of any of the prior art of record that would have made it obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have satisfied the limitations of claim 18 or claim 28.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James D Ponton whose telephone number is (571)272-1001. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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, Chelsea Stinson can be reached at 571-270-1744. 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.
/James D Ponton/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
Prosecution Insights