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Claims 16-25, and 27 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 6/17/2026
Applicant's election with traverse of group I, claims 1-9, 11-15, and 26 in the reply filed on 6/17/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there would be no search burden. This is not found persuasive because the search and/or examination burden is not limited exclusively to a prior art search but also includes that effort required to apply the art by making and discussing all appropriate grounds of rejection. Multiple inventions, such as those in the present application, normally require additional reference material and further discussion for each additional invention examined. Concurrent examination of multiple inventions would thus typically involve a significant burden even if all searches were coextensive. However, in the present application, the prior art search is not coextensive.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9, 11-15 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-5, and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a(1)) as being anticipated by Bajaj (US 6056765).
Regarding claim 1-5 and 26, Bajaj discloses:
1. A compression device for extracting blood from a finger (abstract), the compression device comprising: a slider assembly comprising a plunger (110, 112 and 114) slidably retained within a handle (104) (col. 3 goes into extreme detail), and a flexible strap (100) with a first end attached to a distal end of the plunger (110, 112, and 114) and a second end attached to a distal end of the handle (104) (see col. 2 for structural details), the flexible strap forming a loop (116) with a perimeter sufficient to encircle the finger when positioned inside thereof, whereby manually sliding the handle towards the plunger causes tangential pulling of the second end of the flexible strap thereby decreasing the perimeter of the loop (col. 4, lines 33-67, col. 5, lines 1-28).
2. The compression device of claim 1, wherein the slider assembly is sized and configured to be manually activated (col. 4, lines 33-67, col. 5, lines 1-28).
3. The compression device of claim 2 configured for manual activation by one hand (col. 4, lines 33-67, col. 5, lines 1-28).
4. The compression device of claim1,wherein the handle further comprises two prongs extending therefrom and sized to be retained between two fingers of a hand other than a thumb, the plunger is configured to be retained by the thumb of the same hand, whereby sliding of the handle towards the plunger causing tightening of the flexible strap and a decrease of the perimeter of the loop, thereby being capable of imparting circumferential compression of the finger positioned therein (col. 4, lines 33-67, col. 5, lines 1-28).
5. The compression device of claim 1, wherein cessation of sliding of the handle towards the plunder releases tangential tension and reduces circumferential compression of the finger encircled by the flexible strap (col. 4, lines 33-67, col. 5, lines 1-28).
26. A kit for extracting blood from a finger via self-administration, the kit comprising: a piercing implement (108), the compression device of claim 1 (see claim 1 for rejection), and a vial configured for collecting and storing of extracted blood (col. 5, 27-29).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YASMEEN S WARSI whose telephone number is (571)272-9942. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm.
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/YASMEEN S WARSI/Examiner, Art Unit 3791
/MAY A ABOUELELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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