DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in this application.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 recites “The suture placement device of claim 3” and should rather read as --The dual-deployment suture placement and injection device of claim 3--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 7 reads “a top portion of the housing” and should rather read as --the top portion of the housing--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 recites “The suture placement device of Claim 4” and should rather read as --The dual-deployment suture placement and injection device of Claim 4--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 recites “The suture placement device of Claim 4” and should rather read as --The dual-deployment suture placement and injection device of Claim 4--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 1 recites “The suture placement device of Claim 4” and should rather read as --The dual-deployment suture placement and injection device of Claim 4--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 4 recites “a proximal side portions” and should rather read as --proximal side portions--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 6 reads “the suture placement device” and should rather read as --the dual-deployment suture placement and injection device--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 5 recites “a first side of the housing” and should rather read as --the first side of the housing--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: line 7 recites “a second side of the housing” and should rather read as --the second side of the housing--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 3-7 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 3, line 10 recites the limitation "the third stylet guide”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For examination purposes, the limitation will be red as --the third channel guide--. Claims 4-7 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 3.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 8-20 are allowed.
Claims 3-7 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
None of the prior art of record, alone or in combination, teaches or renders obvious a dual-deployment suture placement and injection device including, inter alia, a cannular housing comprising a suture guide mechanism movably coupled to a distal portion of the cannular housing arranged for movement between a deployed position and a non-deployed position, the guide mechanism defining a first receptor port, a second receptor port, and suture passage therebetween, wherein the suture passage extends across a width of the cannular housing in the deployed position, first and second channel guides within the housing each having a guided suture path segment and movable between a retracted position and a deployed position, wherein a portion of the first channel guide extends from the housing to the first receptor port and a portion of the second channel guide extends from the housing to the second receptor port in the deployed position, third and fourth channel guides within the housing each having an injection path segment and movable between a retracted position and a deployed position, wherein a portion of the third channel guide extends from a first side of the housing to a first injection position, and wherein a portion of the fourth channel guide extends from a second side of the housing to a second injection position, and actuation of a channel guide deployment mechanism deploys the first, second, third, and fourth channel guides to each respective deployed positions.
Patel et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2017/0105712) discloses a dual-deployment suture placement and injection device (Figures 43A-53) including a cannular housing 510 comprising a suture guide mechanism 550 movably coupled to a distal portion of the cannular housing arranged for movement between a deployed position (Figure 43B) and a non-deployed position (Figure 43A), the guide mechanism defining a first receptor port 554, a second receptor port 555, and suture passage 551 therebetween, wherein the suture passage extends across a width of the cannular housing in the deployed position (Figure 44C), first and second channel guides 560, 570 within the housing each having a guided suture path segment and movable between a retracted position (Figure 43B) and a deployed position (Figure 43C), wherein a portion of the first channel guide extends from the housing to the first receptor port and a portion of the second channel guide extends from the housing to the second receptor port in the deployed position (Id.), and actuation of a channel guide deployment mechanism 540 deploys the first and second, channel guides to each respective deployed positions ([0371]).
Similarly, Maruyama et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0228405) discloses a suture placement device including a cannular housing 2 comprising a suture guide mechanism 3 movably coupled to a distal portion of the cannular housing arranged for movement between a deployed position (Figure 9) and a non-deployed position (Figure 7), the guide mechanism defining a first receptor port 31, a second receptor port 32, and suture passage 33 therebetween, wherein the suture passage extends across a width of the cannular housing in the deployed position (Figures 11-13), first and second channel guides 4, 5 within the housing each having a guided suture path segment and movable between a retracted position (Figure 9) and a deployed position (Figures 10-13), wherein a portion of the first channel guide extends from the housing to the first receptor port and a portion of the second channel guide extends from the housing to the second receptor port in the deployed position (Id.), and actuation of a channel guide deployment mechanism 6 deploys the first and second, channel guides to each respective deployed positions ([0101]).
However, Patel et al. and Maruyama et al. do not disclose third and fourth channel guides within the housing each having an injection path segment (although in [0384] Patel et al. teaches the first and second channel guides or stylet guides serve as injection tubes) and movable between a retracted position and a deployed position, wherein a portion of the third channel guide extends from a first side of the housing to a first injection position, and wherein a portion of the fourth channel guide extends from a second side of the housing to a second injection position.
Diaz (U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,065) teaches first, second, third, and fourth channel guides 34 (Figure 1) that each have suture path segments and may movably extend within a cannular housing 15 and extend from the housing into recess 56 and portions 38.
However, as mentioned above, in [0384] Patel et al. already teaches the first and second channel guides or stylet guides can serve as both suture paths and injection tubes, and therefore one of ordinary skill in the art would not have found it obvious to provide additional third and fourth channel guides each having injection path segments and movable between a retracted position to a deployed, injection position, and wherein a channel guide deployment mechanism deploys the first, second, third, and fourth channel guides to each respective deployed positions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANE D YABUT whose telephone number is (571)272-6831. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/DIANE D YABUT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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