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Claims 70-73, 104-106 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on July 7, 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species D in the reply filed on July 7, 2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 63/242,968, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. The prior filed application does not include Figures past 11 and does not disclose a drive arm. As such claims 183-187 are not entitled to the benefit of the prior-filed application.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the linkage must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Additionally see the objection to the specification below. It is not clear which feature is considered as the linkage. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
[00149] “plunger flange 67” should be “plunger flange 66”.
Appropriate correction is required.
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: The specification does not appear to recite a structure which is a linkage. Claim 184 recites the linkage is a substantially inflexible connector wire, however, the specification does not appear to recite the wire is a linkage. The specification appears to recite the loading actuator may act as a linkage but it is not clear what feature of the device is the recited linkage in the claim
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 68 and 103 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 68 recites an energy storing member separately from the previously recited energy storing assembly. It is not clear what the distinction is between the two. For purposes of the rejection the energy storing assembly is considered to comprise the energy storing member. Claim 103 recites a loading actuator. The specification appears to recite 90 may act a linkage, 90 is recited as being a loading actuator. These are recited as two separate structures but it is not clear if the loading actuator is a different feature than the linkage. For purposes of examination, they will be considered as separate.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 67-69, 90, 100-103, 183-187 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pfleger (US 3,279,653).
With regard to claims 67 and 69, Pfleger teaches an infusion pump comprising: a contact surface (Fig. 1 members 162) configured to contact a syringe plunger, the contact surface being moveable between a first position and a second position (Col. 4 lines 64-74 moves to dispense and is reset); an energy storing assembly configured to move the contact surface from the second position to the first position by applying a substantially constant force to the contact surface (Fig. 1 member 116, Col. 4 lines 64-72); and a rate actuator operatively coupled to the energy storing assembly, the rate actuator configured to mechanically adjust a magnitude of the substantially constant force (Fig. 1 includes at least members 128 and 124 which adjust the force, Col. 2 line 70-Col. 3 line 3 and Col. 3 lines 49-60).
With regard to claim 68, the linkage is considered as the escapement components, including at least 170 (Fig. 1), which function to ensure the force provided from the spring is constant (Col. 4 lines 5-63).
With regard to claim 90, Pfleger teaches a method of operating an infusion pump, the method comprising: operating a loading actuator to load an energy storing assembly, the energy storing assembly becoming locked in a loaded state (Col. 5 lines 42-43 the spring is held in place by the teeth 172); unlocking the energy storing assembly from the loaded state, causing the energy storing assembly to unload and to produce a substantially constant force that is transmitted to a contact surface (Col. 5 lines 62-65), causing the contact surface to abut against and move a syringe plunger in a dispensing direction (Col. 3 lines 47-51); and operating a rate actuator to mechanically adjust a magnitude of the substantially constant force (Fig. 1 includes at least members 128 and 124 which adjust the force, Col. 2 line 70-Col. 3 line 3 and Col. 3 lines 49-60).
With regard to claim 100, Pfleger teaches an infusion pump comprising: a contact surface (Fig. 1 members 162) configured to contact a syringe plunger, the contact surface being moveable between a first position and a second position (Col. 4 lines 64-74 moves to dispense and is reset); and an energy storing assembly configured to move the contact surface from the second position to the first position by applying a substantially constant force to the contact surface (see references to the components as follows); the energy storing assembly comprising: a linkage operatively coupled to the contact surface (escapement components including at least 170, Fig. 1); and an energy storing member providing a variable output force, wherein the linkage is configured to convert the variable output force of the energy storing member into the substantially constant force (Fig. 1 member 116, Col. 4 lines 5-72).
With regard to claims 101-102, Fig. 1 includes at least members 128 and 124 which adjust the force, Col. 2 line 70-Col. 3 line 3 and Col. 3 lines 49-60.
With regard to claim 103, the loading actuator includes the knob 190 which winds the spring and components of 150 which controls 136 to move the contact surface (Fig. 1, Col. 5 line 36-Col. 6 line 3).
With regard to claim 183, Pfleger teaches an infusion pump comprising: a holder configured to removably couple to a syringe plunger and to push and pull the syringe plunger (Fig. 1 members 162); and an energy storing assembly configured to apply a substantially constant force to the holder to displace the holder, the energy storing assembly comprising (see references to the components as follows): an energy storing member configured to provide a variable output force (Fig. 1 member 116, Col. 4 lines 5-72), a drive arm configured to apply the substantially constant force to the holder (Fig. 1 member 136), and a linkage that is operatively coupled between the drive arm and the energy storing member, the linkage configured to convert the variable output force of the energy storing member into the substantially constant force (escapement components including at least 170, Fig. 1).
With regard to claim 184, the linkage includes 120 which is taken as a substantially inflexible wire.
With regard to claim 185, Fig. 1 includes at least members 128 and 124 which adjust the force, Col. 2 line 70-Col. 3 line 3 and Col. 3 lines 49-60.
With regard to claims 186 and 187, Col. 5 lines 42-43 the spring is held in place by the teeth 172.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EMILY L SCHMIDT whose telephone number is (571)270-3648. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
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/EMILY L SCHMIDT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
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