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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112b
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 1, dependent claims, and incorporating claims (10, 14, 15, 19, 20, and 21) 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 1 recites “and the deformable element is completely compressed in the direction of the longitudinal sheath”. It is unclear which direction is “in the direction of the longitudinal sheath” since a direction/vector requires a starting point and an end point. This could be interpreted along the axial direction of the longitudinal sheath or the radial direction of the longitudinal sheath. For this office action it will be interpreted as the radial direction of the longitudinal sheath.
Claim 1 recites “so that the first guiding through-hole and the second guiding through-hole are moved away from the internal walls of the cavity and the treatment device, when inserted into the first guiding through-hole and the second guiding through-hole, is moved towards a central region of the cavity and is maintained in said position during the treatment”. The phrase “the treatment device” could be interpreted to apply to the phrase before it, i.e. “so that the first guiding through-hole and the second guiding through-hole are moved away from the internal walls of the cavity and the treatment device”, especially with the trailing comma suggesting a separation of phrases. Applicant is required to rephrase and provide punctuation including providing appropriate indentations to clearly state the invention.
e.g.:
“so that the first guiding through-hole and the second guiding through-hole are moved away from the internal walls of the cavity;
and when the treatment device[[, when]] is inserted into the first guiding through-hole and the second guiding through-hole, the treatment device is moved towards a central region of the cavity and is maintained in said position during the treatment”.
Claim 2 recites “wherein: a. the first guiding through-hole is coaxial with the central channel”. This does not appear to be what is presented in the figures 3A-3D. The first guiding through-hole 12 is not coaxial with the central channel 14 (fig 3A), but rather side-by-side. It appears applicant is interpreting “coaxial” as parallel and “spaced apart” but this is not the definition. Coaxial means sharing the same axis, which adjacent lines cannot do. For this office action, it will be interpreted as parallel.
Claim 2 recites “and the second guiding through-hole is centered on the second end”. The second guiding through-hole 13 as seen in fig 3B is located off center of the second end 10, i.e. the cross section of the second end 10 is an oval where the hole is located off to one side. For this office action it will be interpreted as “off-centered”.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, and 21 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action, based on the interpretations provided therein.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAE K WOO whose telephone number is (571)272-0837. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-2:30p, 6p-9p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anhtuan Nguyen can be reached at (571) 272-4963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jae Woo/Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/ANH TUAN T NGUYEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
12/28/2025