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 .
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.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains more than 150 words.
A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “of analyte” (line 1) “of an analyte.”
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the shell connects with the parallel slider module releasably” (line 9) appears that it should be “the shell releasably connects with the parallel slider module.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a parallel slider module … slidable relative to the housing,” in claim 1, which corresponds to “two T-shaped structures, the T-shaped structure includes the horizontal part and the vertical part, and the horizontal part is fixed on the parallel slider module through the vertical part” (see second full paragraph on page 2 of Applicant’s specification as originally filed); “a triggering module, wherein when the triggering module moves towards a far end relative to the housing, an installation action is implemented,” in claim 1, which corresponds to “at least two fixed buckle 1061 … at least two lugs 1062 … an outer ring 1063, which connects the fixed buckle 1061 and the lug 1062 into an integral whole” (see fourth through sixth full paragraphs on page 10 of Applicant’s specification as originally filed); “an elastic module used to provide an elastic force required to implement the installation action,” in claim 1, which corresponds to a “first elastic component 1071 … second elastic component 1072 … the first elastic component 1071 or the second elastic component 1072 is a metal spring” (see seventh full paragraph on page 10 and first full paragraph on page 11 of Applicant’s specification as originally filed).
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/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.
For claim 1, the claim terms “analyte detection device” (line 1) and “an analyte detection device” (line 6) are ambiguous. It is unclear whether the same or different analyte detection devices are being referred to. The claim is examined under the former interpretation.
For claim 1, the claim language “an auxiliary-needle module used to pierce the sensor under a skin” is ambiguous. The claim reads as if the needle pierces the sensor itself, but Applicant’s written description describes that the sensor is inside the needle when the needle pierces the skin and the claim will be interpreted as such.
Dependent claim(s) 2-12 fail to cure the ambiguity of independent claim 1, thus claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0397357 to Yee et al. (hereinafter “Yee”) discloses an installation unit of analyte detection device (Abstract), which comprises: a housing (102) (Fig. 10) (para [0110]); a parallel slider module (134) (Fig. 10) (para [0114]) arranged inside the housing (as can be seen in Fig. 10) and slidable relative to the housing (para [0121]) (also see Figs. 10 and 26); an analyte detection device arranged at a front end of the parallel slider module, wherein the analyte detection device comprises a shell (122) (Fig. 7) (para [0098]), a transmitter, a sensor (14) (Fig. 7) (para [0098]) and an internal circuit (80) (Fig. 7) (para [0098]) arranged in the shell (as can be seen in Fig. 7) and electrically coupled with the sensor (para [0098]), and the shell connects with the parallel slider module releasably (as can be seen in Fig. 28); an auxiliary-needle module (124) (Fig. 10) (para [0111]) used to pierce the sensor under a skin (para [0127]); a triggering module (128/130) (Fig. 10 and 30) (para [0113] and [0119]), wherein when the triggering module moves towards a far end relative to the housing, an installation action is implemented (para [0126]-[0127]); and an elastic module (146) (Fig. 10) (para [0113]) used to provide an elastic force required to implement the installation action (para [0123]); wherein when the installation action is implemented, the parallel slider module and the analyte detection device slide to a near end relative to the shell, and at a predetermined position, a connection between the shell and the parallel slider module is relieved (as can be seen in Fig. 30), and the analyte detection device is separated from the parallel slider module (as can be seen in Fig. 30).
Even though Yee discloses the claim language above, the prior art of record does not disclose and would not have rendered obvious the structures that are implicated by the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) invocations, namely that “a parallel slider module … slidable relative to the housing,” in claim 1 corresponds to “two T-shaped structures, the T-shaped structure includes the horizontal part and the vertical part, and the horizontal part is fixed on the parallel slider module through the vertical part” and that “a triggering module, wherein when the triggering module moves towards a far end relative to the housing, an installation action is implemented,” in claim 1 corresponds to “at least two fixed buckle 1061 … at least two lugs 1062 … an outer ring 1063, which connects the fixed buckle 1061 and the lug 1062 into an integral whole.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL LEE CERIONI whose telephone number is (313) 446-4818. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM PT.
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/DANIEL L CERIONI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791