CTNF 18/631,236 CTNF 83621 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by US Pre-Grant Publication 2017/0112528 to Crisman et al. (Crisman hereinafter) . Regarding claim 1, Crisman teaches a puncture needle (2) comprising: a shaft part (4); a needle tip part (8) disposed at a tip of the shaft part; and a plurality of grooves (12a) of three or more that are arranged on an outer peripheral part of the shaft part along a length direction of the shaft part at uniform intervals (16a, 16b). Certain of these, such as the second from the left, third from the left and fifth from the left groove are arranged so as to form a geometric progression with a geometric ratio of 2 in which arrangement intervals decrease toward the needle tip part (which is considered herein to extend to the edge of the leftmost groove), wherein the plurality of grooves include a first (leftmost) groove that is closest to the needle tip part and a second groove (second from the left) that is second closest to the needle tip part, and a distance (i.e. the distance to the tip part is the width of the leftmost groove: 1.0 * groove width) between the needle tip part and the first groove is equal to a distance between the first groove (second from the left) and the second groove (third from the left). The examiner notes that the claim is open ended and does not preclude the presence of other grooves. See below for illustration of the examiner’s interpretation. The 1 line illustrates the equivalence between the “distance between the first groove and the needle tip” and the “distance between the first groove and the second groove”. The 2 and 3 lines indicate the geometric progression. PNG media_image1.png 202 300 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 2, Crisman teaches that the grooves extend entirely around the outer peripheral part of the shaft part. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP E STIMPERT whose telephone number is (571)270-1890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8a-4p. 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. /PHILIP E STIMPERT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783 1 June 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/631,236 Page 2 Art Unit: 3783 Application/Control Number: 18/631,236 Page 3 Art Unit: 3783 Application/Control Number: 18/631,236 Page 4 Art Unit: 3783
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