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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zierenberg et al (US 2004/0015126).
Regarding claim 1, Zierenberg discloses an injection head of a needleless syringe, which is configured to be used with a vial (intended use, device is capable of such, regardless see vial 44), characterized in that the injection head comprises: a medicine barrel 38/39 provided therein with a chamber which opens at its rear end (fig 2, in which 7 is located), a front end of the medicine barrel being formed with an injection micropore 40 communicating the chamber with the outside (fig 2); and a piston rod comprising: a piston 42 disposed within the chamber (fig 2) and configured to move within the chamber in a front-rear direction (fig 2, ¶76), the piston configured to define, together with a sidewall and a front wall of the medicine barrel, a medicine liquid receiving chamber 43 (¶76), and rod portion 37 fixedly connected at a rear end of the piston (fig 2); wherein, in use, a rear end of the rod portion of the injection head is configured to be inserted and extend into the vial (fi g2), and the piston rod is provided therein with a medicine liquid channel communicating the medicine liquid receiving chamber with the vial (fig 2, interior of 37 which is described as hollow), wherein the injection head and the vial can be mounted together to a body of the needleless syringe (fig 2), and the piston rod is configured to move rearwards relative to the medicine barrel to suck medicine liquid into the medicine liquid receiving chamber via the medicine liquid channel, and move forwards relative to the medicine barrel to eject medicine liquid within the medicine liquid receiving chamber outside via the injection micropore (¶76, abstract).
Regarding claim 2, characterized in that the medicine liquid channel extends along an axis direction of the piston rod, and the piston rod is provided with a check valve 42 at a front end thereof for only allowing the medicine liquid from the vial into the medicine liquid receiving chamber (¶76, ¶84).
Regarding claim 8, characterized in that, the piston rod is configured to be fixed relative to the vial in use; or the piston rod is configured to move rearwards relative to the vial when moving rearwards relative to the medicine barrel, to compress a medicine storage space within the vial (fig 2, especially when compared to initial state as shown in fig 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 3-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zierenberg et al (US 2004/0015126) in view of Zhu (US 5,695,465).
Regarding claims 3-5, while Zierenberg substantially discloses the invention as claimed, it does not disclose that the check valve comprises a valve core embedded within the piston and configured to move relative to the piston in the front-rear within a small range, and the medicine liquid from the vial flows through a gap between the valve core and the piston into the medicine liquid receiving chamber, that the valve core is of a spherical structure, nor that the piston is provided with a piston inner channel extending parallel to the axis direction thereon, an interval is provided between the piston inner channel and the piston rod in a radial direction about the axis, and the medicine fluid from the vial flows through the piston inner channel into the medicine fluid receiving chamber.
Zhu discloses a one-way plunger for a syringe (figs 5 and 6) where the check valve comprises a valve core 15 embedded within the piston and configured to move relative to the piston in the front-rear within a small range (so that fluid can exit 8), and the medicine liquid from the vial flows through a gap between the valve core and the piston into the medicine liquid receiving chamber (fig 5), that the valve core is of a spherical structure (fig 6), and that the piston is provided with a piston inner channel extending parallel to the axis direction thereon (area surrounding valve core 15), an interval 4 is provided between the piston inner channel and the piston rod in a radial direction about the axis (fig 6), and the medicine fluid from the vial flows through the piston inner channel into the medicine fluid receiving chamber (fig 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of filing, to modify Zierenberg such that the check valve comprises a valve core embedded within the piston and configured to move relative to the piston in the front-rear within a small range, and the medicine liquid from the vial flows through a gap between the valve core and the piston into the medicine liquid receiving chamber, that the valve core is of a spherical structure, and that the piston is provided with a piston inner channel extending parallel to the axis direction thereon, an interval is provided between the piston inner channel and the piston rod in a radial direction about the axis, and the medicine fluid from the vial flows through the piston inner channel into the medicine fluid receiving chamber as taught by Zhu as it is unclear what kind of check valve Zierenberg possesses and Zhu teaches a known, workable check valve for a syringe plunger which accomplishes the goals of Zierenberg.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY JAMES OSINSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3640. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 9AM to 5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Tsai can be reached at (571)270-5246. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRADLEY J OSINSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3783
