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 § 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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kato (US 2008/004546).
Regarding claim 1, Kato discloses:
A guide wire (1; Fig. 1) comprising: a core shaft (2; Fig. 6); a coil (3) comprising a strand that is spirally wound around and covers an outer periphery of the core shaft (¶0070); and a distal end joint part (10) that joins a distal end (27a; Fig. 3) of the core shaft (2) and a distal end (33) of the coil (3), the distal end joint part (10) including a dispersion portion (distalmost tip of part 10) in which a first material that is radiopaque is dispersed (¶0082 – the part of the coil 3 that is embedded in part 10 is radiopaque and is spread over part of it, meaning a radiopaque material is dispersed by the time it reaches the dispersion portion).
Regarding claim 2, Kato discloses:
The guide wire according to claim 1, wherein the distal end joint part (10) further includes a high concentration region (proximalmost end of part 10 in which the coil 3 is embedded) in which a concentration of the first material is higher than a concentration of the first material in the dispersion portion (distalmost tip of part 10).
Regarding claim 3, Kato discloses:
The guide wire according to claim 2, wherein the high concentration region is located on a rear end side (proximalmost end of part 10) of the distal end joint part (10).
Regarding claim 4, Kato discloses:
The guide wire according to claim 1, wherein the core shaft (2) comprises a second material different from the first material (¶0071 – stainless steel), the coil (3) comprises the first material (¶0082 – radiopaque material), and the distal end joint part (10) is formed by melting and joining a distal end portion (27a) of the core shaft (2) and a distal end portion (31) of the coil (3) (¶0083 – the end joint part 10 is a soldering portion and is formed by melting the elements that are joined together).
Regarding claim 5, Kato discloses:
The guide wire according to claim 1, wherein the strand in the distal end joint part (10) includes a convex portion (because the wire is cylindrical, the outer curved surface of the wire is a convex portion).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TASNIM M AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-9536. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm Pacific time.
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, Bhisma Mehta can be reached at (571)272-3383. 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.
/TASNIM MEHJABIN AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
Prosecution Insights