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 .
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 power supply module, the intelligent control module (claim 1); the first central hole, the injection needle, the second central hole (claim 2); the third central hole, the outer ring, the limiting block of the primary fixing rod (claim 3); the output shaft, the lower side face, the trapezoidal thread, the cylinder body, the lower port, the lower end surface of the driving cylinder, the second signal wire, the camera must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). 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.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-11 are objected to because of the following informalities: There are a few grammatical issues that can be fixed as shown below. Please edit the claims listed below as follows:
Claim 1. --connected to [[an]] a telescopic end of the secondary telescopic screw mechanism--.Claim 3. -- a first external thread in threaded fit with the first internal thread is axially formed in an outer ring of the primary tubular screw--.--a second external thread in threaded fit with the second internal thread is axially formed in an outer ring of the secondary tubular screw--.--a first limiting slot which is open on lower and outer sides is formed on [[an]] a limiting block of the primary fixing rod in an axial direction--.--a second limiting slot which is open on lower and outer sides is formed on an outer wall of the secondary fixing sleeve (27) in an axial direction,--. Appropriate correction is required.Claims 2 and 4-11 are also objected to as they depend on an objected claim. NOTE: The grammatical issues listed above are also repeated in the specification and so similar changes should be made to the specification.
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 1-11 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.
All the claims include a preamble that has the limitation: a refill-type screw insulin injection pump. As stated in MPEP 2173.05(b) III. E. “The addition of the word "type" to an otherwise definite expression (e.g., Friedel-Crafts catalyst) extends the scope of the expression so as to render it indefinite. Ex parte Copenhaver, 109 USPQ 118 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1955). Likewise, the phrase "ZSM-5-type aluminosilicate zeolites" was held to be indefinite because it was unclear what "type" was intended to convey. The interpretation was made more difficult by the fact that the zeolites defined in the dependent claims were not within the genus of the type of zeolites defined in the independent claim. Ex parte Attig, 7 USPQ2d 1092 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1986).” Therefore, it is recommended that the replace this limitation with: refillable screw insulin injection pump.
Claims 2-11 all include the following limitation in the preamble: “The intelligent control method for a refill-type screw insulin injection pump according to--.” It is unclear if this refill-type screw insulin injection pump is the same as the one mentioned in the preamble of a parent claim or if it is different. In order to establish antecedent basis and to fix the other issue mentioned above, it is recommended that all preambles of claims 2-11 be amended as follows: “The intelligent control method for [[a]] the refillable screw insulin injection pump according to claim--.”
Claim 1 recites the limitation " the power device is disposed inside the upper right portion of the housing ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this underlined limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation: “a third wedge-shaped clip (25) protruding downwards is disposed on an upper end surface of the limiting ring (22).” It is unclear how this third wedge-shaped clip (25) is protruding downwards since it is shown as protruding upwards from the upper end surface of the limiting ring in Figure 6. For the purposes of examination this limitation will be interpreted as follows: “a third wedge-shaped clip protruding upwards is disposed on an upper end surface of the limiting ring.” NOTE: Support for this limitation in the specification also appears to repeat this issue and should be corrected accordingly.
Claim 3 recites: “the power motor fixedly mounted on an upper right portion of the housing--. It is unclear if this is the same upper right portion of the housing mentioned in parent claim 1 or if it is different. For the purposes of examination this limitation will be interpreted as follows: the power motor fixedly mounted on [[an]] the upper right portion of the housing--.
Claim 4 recites the limitation: a lower side portion of the conductive rolling ball protrudes downwards to form a lower port of the mounting hole. It is unclear if this is the same lower port mentioned earlier in the claim or if it is different. a lower side portion of For the purposes of examination this limitation will be interpreted as follows: the conductive rolling ball protrudes downwards to form [[a]] the lower port of the mounting hole.
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) 1-2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (herein Wang) (CN 111921038, English translation appended). Regarding Claim 1:In the specification and Figures 1-10 Wang discloses an intelligent control method for a refillable screw insulin injection pump (see section labeled as Technical Field in the translation), characterized by comprising a housing (1), a refill injection mechanism (9, 12), a primary telescopic screw mechanism (6, 4, 8 and 5 forming a first level telescopic transmission mechanism, see page 7, last paragraph), a secondary telescopic screw mechanism (10, 7 and 11 forming secondary telescopic transmission mechanism, see page 8, 2nd paragraph), a power device (15, 16), a power supply module and an intelligent control module (intelligent control module 17 receives power from a power source/module that is not shown and then supplies drive current of the motor, see for instance, page 10, last paragraph); the refill injection mechanism, the primary telescopic screw mechanism and the secondary telescopic screw mechanism are all coaxially and vertically disposed on a left side portion inside the housing (as seen in Figure 1), the power device, the power supply module and the intelligent control module are all disposed on a right side portion inside the housing (as seen in Figure 1), the power device (15, 16) is in transmission connection with the primary telescopic screw mechanism (see page 9, 2nd paragraph), the power device drives the primary telescopic screw mechanism to telescope (see page 9, 2nd paragraph), the secondary telescopic screw mechanism is installed inside the primary telescopic screw mechanism and is in transmission connection with the primary telescopic screw mechanism (see Figure 1), the primary telescopic screw mechanism drives the secondary telescopic screw mechanism to telescope (see page 9, 2nd paragraph), the refill injection mechanism (9, 12) is disposed on an upper portion of the secondary telescopic screw mechanism (as seen in Figure 1) and is connected to an telescopic end (11) of the secondary telescopic screw mechanism (10), a key operation module (14) is disposed on the housing (see Figure 1), a sensor assembly (four contact sensors 21) is disposed on the primary telescopic screw mechanism (as seen in Figure 7), the power supply module supplies power to the power device and the intelligent control module (not described but evident that the intelligent control module receives power from a source to supply drive current to the power device), and the intelligent control module is in signal connection with the power device (the intelligent control module supplies drive current to the motor indicating a signal connection with the power device, see for instance page 11, 1st paragraph), the key operation module (see page 9, 2nd paragraph) and the sensor assembly (see page 9, 2nd paragraph), respectively; a bottom of the housing (1) is open and fixedly connected to a bottom cover (3, see Figure 1), an injection cartridge (pen core 9) similar to a pen holder structure is integrally formed on a left side of an interior of the housing in a vertical direction (as seen in Figure 1), an upper end of the injection cartridge penetrates upwards through a top of the housing upwards (as seen in Figure 1), a lower end of the injection cartridge extends downwards to a lower left portion of the housing (as seen in Figure 1), an inner electrical cavity (cavity occupied by 17) is formed inside a lower right portion of the housing (see Figure 1), the power supply module and the intelligent control module are disposed inside the inner electrical cavity, and the power device is disposed inside an [[the]] upper right portion of the housing (as seen in Figure 1); characterized in that the intelligent control method comprises the following steps: step (I). starting the refill-type screw insulin injection pump, operating the key operation module to enable the intelligent control module to control the power device to work, and to enable the power device to drive the primary telescopic screw mechanism and the secondary telescopic screw mechanism to telescope (see page 9 2nd paragraph wherein an operator operates the key operation module to initiate operation), and allowing prefabricated liquid insulin medicine to be filled into the refill injection mechanism (the refilling steps for prefabricated liquid insulin medicine are listed in the last 2 paragraphs of page 4 and includes the steps listed above); step (II). controlling the power device to work through the intelligent control module, and driving the primary telescopic screw mechanism to extend first through the power device; when the primary telescopic screw mechanism extends to a limit, the sensor assembly transmits a signal to the intelligent control module, and the intelligent control module controls a rotational speed of the power device to be slowed down to reduce impact force of the primary telescopic screw mechanism, the secondary telescopic screw mechanism then starts to extend until it extends to a maximum limit position, and the intelligent control module controls the power device to stop; and in the extension process of the primary telescopic screw mechanism and the secondary telescopic screw mechanism, the refill injection mechanism performs the injection of liquid insulin medicine (all these operations of step II are listed on page 4, 1st paragraph); and step (III). repeating the step (I) upon completion of the injection of liquid insulin medicine, and refilling liquid insulin medicine to prepare for a next injection (as detailed on page 4, 3rd and 4th paragraphs).Regarding Claim 2:In the specification and Figures 1-10 Wang discloses the intelligent control method for the refillable screw insulin injection pump according to claim 1, characterized in that the refill injection mechanism (9, 12) comprises a refill (9) and a refill piston (12), the refill is coaxially and fixedly embedded inside the injection cartridge (cartridge shown to surround 9 as seen in Figure 1), an outer circle of the refill is in close contact with an inner circle of the injection cartridge (see Figure 1), a lower end of the refill is open (see Figure 8), the lower end of the refill is located inside the injection cartridge and is close to the lower end of the injection cartridge (as seen in Figure 8), a T-shaped hollow cylindrical head (in Figure 3 the portion of 9 located above 12 forms a T-shaped hollow cylindrical head) with a large top but a small bottom is integrally formed on an upper top of the refill (see Figure 3), a maximum circumferential diameter of the T-shaped hollow cylindrical head is smaller than a diameter of the refill (as seen in Figure 3, the maximum diameter of the T-shaped hollow cylindrical head is slightly smaller than a diameter of the refill), a lower end of the T-shaped hollow cylindrical head is connected to the upper top of the refill through a truncated cone tube with a narrow top but a wide bottom (truncated cone transition can be seen in 9 immediately above 12 in Figure 3); and the upper end of the injection cartridge (4) is coaxially and threadedly connected with a needle cap (cap surrounding 13 and the top of 9), the T-shaped hollow cylindrical is embedded inside the needle cap (see Figure 3, a cylindrical protrusion (protrusion surrounding 13) is coaxially and integrally formed in a center of a top of the needle cap (see Figure 3), a first central hole (hole for 13) is vertically formed in a center of the cylindrical protrusion (see Figure 3), an injection hose (13) is coaxially and fixedly embedded inside the first central hole (see Figure 3), an upper end of the injection hose extends out from an upper end of the cylindrical protrusion and is connected to an injection needle (injection needle not described but required to inject insulin into a patient and would have to be connected to 13 for insulin delivery), a second central hole (hole connected to 9) coaxial with the first central hole is formed in a center of the needle cap (as seen in Figure 3), an inner diameter of the second central hole is smaller than an inner diameter of the first central hole (as seen in Figure 3, 13 increases in diameter such that the inner diameter of the lower second central hole is smaller than the inner diameter of the upper first central hole), an upper end of the second central hole is connected to a lower end of the first central hole (as seen in Figure 3), a barrel (lower end of 13 connected to 9 forms a barrel) is coaxially and fixedly embedded inside the second central hole (as seen in Figure 3), the barrel coaxially penetrates through the T-shaped hollow cylindrical head and extends into the T-shaped hollow cylindrical head (as seen in Figure 3), a lower end of the barrel (13) is communicated with an interior of the refill (as seen in Figure 3), and the refill piston (12) is coaxially sealed and slidably disposed inside the refill (see page 8, 3rd paragraph).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 3 recites several limitations that are not anticipated or rendered obvious by Wang or any other prior art reference or combination of prior art references. These limitations include: “a limiting ring (22) located above the upper end of the driving cylinder is fixedly sleeved on an outer circle of the upper end portion of the primary tubular screw, a first wedge-shaped clip (24) protruding upwards is disposed on an upper end surface of the driving cylinder (17), and a second wedge-shaped clip (24) protruding downwards is disposed on a lower end surface of the limiting ring (22); and when the primary tubular screw is retracted downwards inside the driving cylinder and moves downwards to a lower limit position, the first wedge-shaped clip is engaged with the second wedge-shaped clip, a third wedge-shaped clip (25) protruding downwards is disposed on an upper end surface of the limiting ring (24), and a driving gear (26) is fixedly sleeved on an outer circumference of the upper end of the driving cylinder; the secondary telescopic screw mechanism comprises a secondary fixing sleeve (27) and a secondary tubular screw (28), the secondary fixing sleeve is coaxially and slidably sleeved on the primary fixing rod, the secondary tubular screw is coaxially and slidably sleeved on the secondary fixing sleeve and is located inside the primary tubular screw….. and a fourth wedge-shaped clip (31) protruding downwards is disposed on an outer edge of a bottom of the limiting screw plunger; and when the secondary tubular screw is retracted downwards inside the primary tubular screw and moves downwards to a lower limit position, the fourth wedge-shaped clip is engaged with the third wedge-shaped clip (25).
Claims 4-11 are also allowable as they depend on an allowable claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20220088307 – Auto injection apparatus.US 20210369952 – Insulin delivery apparatus with telescoping parts. US 20070066938 – Method for control of injection device.US 20050020980 – Injection pump with microprocessor controller. US 20030009133 – Drive system for an infusion pump.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7571. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 12 pm -8 pm ET.
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/DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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