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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicants’ election without traverse of Species 6 directed to claims 15-22 and 26 in the reply filed on 07/08/2026 is acknowledged.
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 source (claim 15) and the electrical power source (claim 19) 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 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 19 is 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 19 refers to “an electrical power source” in line 2. It is unclear if this is the same as the power source mentioned in parent claim 15 or if it is different. For the purposes of examination, this limitation will be interpreted as “the actuator is configured to be electrically connected to the power source which is an electrical power source”.
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) 15, 17-19 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Brenan et al. (herein Brenan) (US 6,059,546). Regarding Claim 15:In Figures 1 or 2, Brenan discloses a sub-assembly of a pump device (bellows pump) comprising: a housing (3) comprising a chamber (chamber within 3 forming sub chambers 9, 10, henceforth referred to as C) extending along a longitudinal axis (axis extending along the direction of the coupling member 4, henceforth referred to as L), wherein the chamber (9) comprises an inlet (13) and an outlet (16), wherein both the inlet (13) and the outlet (16) are open in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis (as seen in Figures 1 or 2), wherein the inlet (13) is configured to be fluidly connected to a fluid container (capable of being connected to a container as is well known), and wherein the housing (3) comprises a wall (wall extending parallel to piston 1 closing chamber C) extending in the direction transverse to the longitudinal axis (as seen in Figures 1 or 2); a first piston (1) and a second piston (2), wherein both the first piston (1) and the second piston (2) are at least partially arranged within the chamber (both 1 and 2 are within C) and fluid-tightly engaged with the chamber (via membranes 7 and 8) between the inlet (13) of the chamber and the outlet (16) of the chamber (as seen in Figure 1), and wherein the first piston (1) is lined up with the second piston (2) along the longitudinal axis (L, as seen in Figures 1 or 2); a control mechanism (power sources 21 or 22 coupled to actuators 5 or 6 via disks 11 or 12, henceforth referred to as CM) configured to cause the first piston (1) and the second piston (2) to be selectively moved together or moved relative to one another (the pistons move together via actuators 5 and 6 as described in column 5, line 29 to column 6, line 4), wherein the control mechanism (CM) comprises an actuation assembly (5, 6) operably connected to at least one of the first piston (1) and the second piston (5 is connected to 1 while 6 is connected to 2), wherein the actuation assembly (5, 6) comprises an actuator (5, 6) made of a shape-memory alloy (see column 6, lines 38-41), wherein the actuator (5, 6) is configured to be intermittently heated by a power source (voltage is applied or removed intermittently via power source 21 or 22 to heat or cool the actuators 5 or 6 to extend or contract the actuators, see column 6 lines 37-53), and wherein the actuator (5, 6) is operably connected to at least one of the first piston (5 is connected to 1) and the second piston (6 is connected to 2).Regarding Claim 17:In Figures 1 or 2, Brenan discloses the sub-assembly, wherein the shape-memory alloy is a Nitinol alloy (see column 1, lines 33-39).Regarding Claim 18:In Figures 1 or 2, Brenan discloses the sub-assembly, wherein the actuator (5, 6) is a wire (as seen in Figure 1, 5 and 6 are wires).Regarding Claim 19:In Figures 1 or 2, Brenan discloses the sub-assembly, wherein the actuator is configured to be electrically connected to the power source which is an electrical power source (21 or 22), and wherein the electrical current from the electrical power source is configured to flow through the actuator when the actuator is powered by the power source (voltage is applied or removed intermittently via power source 21 or 22 to heat or cool the actuators 5 or 6 to extend or contract the actuators, see column 6 lines 37-53).Regarding Claim 26:In Figures 1 or 2, Brenan discloses the sub-assembly, wherein the control mechanism (CM) comprises a connector (4) positioned between the first piston (1) and the second piston (2, as seen in Figures 1 or 2).
Claim(s) 15, 16, 20-21 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kraus et al. (herein Kraus) (US 2015/0028234). Regarding Claim 15: In Figure 1, Kraus discloses a sub-assembly (100) of a pump device (drive system, see paragraph [0003]) comprising: a housing (17) comprising a chamber (21) extending along a longitudinal axis (central axis, see paragraph [0025]), wherein the chamber (21) comprises an inlet (4 or 5, see paragraphs [0027] or [0028]) and an outlet (3), wherein both the inlet (4 or 5) and the outlet (3) are open in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis (as seen in Figure 1), wherein the inlet (4 or 5) is configured to be fluidly connected to a fluid container (capable of being connected to a container as it well known in the art for instance the tank mentioned in paragraph [0024]), and wherein the housing (17) comprises a wall (wall engaged with the right side end of the actuator 6 in Figure 1, henceforth referred to as W) extending in the direction transverse to the longitudinal axis (as seen in Figure 1); a first piston (12a) and a second piston (12a), wherein both the first piston (12a) and the second piston (12b) are at least partially arranged within the chamber (within 21) and fluid-tightly engaged with the chamber (via seals 10, see paragraph [0029]) between the inlet (4 or 5) of the chamber (21) and the outlet (3) of the chamber (as seen in Figure 1), and wherein the first piston (12a) is lined up with the second piston (12b) along the longitudinal axis (see Figure 1); a control mechanism (8, 6) configured to cause the first piston (12a) and the second piston (12b) to be selectively moved together or moved relative to one another (they move together via rod 12c), wherein the control mechanism (8, 6) comprises an actuation assembly (6, 1) operably connected to at least one of the first piston (12a) and the second piston (connected to 12b as seen in Figure 1), wherein the actuation assembly comprises an actuator (6) made of a shape-memory alloy (see paragraph [0030]), wherein the actuator (6) is configured to be intermittently heated by a power source (the heating device 8 is controllable and so can be configured to intermittently heated by the power source 14 by activation/deactivation of power as is well known in the art, see paragraphs [0007]-[0008] and [0033]), and wherein the actuator (6) is operably connected to at least one of the first piston (12a) and the second piston (connected to 12b, see paragraph [0030]).Regarding Claim 16:In Figure 1, Kraus discloses the sub-assembly (100), wherein the actuation assembly (6, 1) comprises a biasing member (spring 1), and wherein at least one of the biasing member (1) and the actuator (6) is configured to extend from the wall (W) of the housing (17) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (the actuator 6 extends from the wall).Regarding Claim 20:In Figure 1, Kraus discloses the sub-assembly (100), wherein the biasing member (1) is a spring (see paragraph [0030]).Regarding Claim 21:In Figure 1, Kraus discloses the sub-assembly (100), wherein the biasing member (1) is a compression spring (as evident from Figure 1 and paragraph [0030] the spring 1 is a compression spring).
Regarding Claim 27:In Figure 1, Kraus discloses the sub-assembly (100), wherein the control mechanism (8, 6) comprises a connector (12c) positioned between the first piston (12a) and the second piston (as seen in Figure 1, 12c extends between 12a and 12b).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 22 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 22 recites the limitations: “wherein the biasing member (51) extends between a first end engaged with the wall (1013) of the housing (101) and a second end operably connected to at least one of the first piston (102) and the second piston (103), wherein the actuator (52) extends between a first end engaged with the wall (1013) of the housing (101) and a second end operably connected to at least one of the first piston (102) and the second piston (103).”
Brenan makes no mention of a biasing member. Brenan’s actuator is also not engaged with a transverse wall of the housing as claimed.
Kraus has a biasing member (1), but that biasing member does not have a first end engaged with the wall. Only Kraus’ actuator has a first end engaged with the transverse wall (W) as seen in Figure 1. Rearranging the biasing member would destroy the intended operation of Kraus’ device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20220205551 – Shape memory actuated piston.US 20220105260 – Linearly driven pump with shape memory wire. US 20150078919 – Double piston pump driven by shape memory actuator. See appended PTO-892 for more shape memory actuators and related devices.
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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Essama Omgba can be reached at 469-295-9278. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DOMINICK L PLAKKOOTTAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
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