DETAILED ACTION
The following Office Action is in response to the Non-Provisional Patent Application filed on September 30, 2024. Claims 1 and 2 are currently pending.
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 Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sandhaus (US 4,394,864).
Concerning claim 1, the Sandhaus prior art reference teaches a clip applier configured to apply a surgical clip to tissue (Figures 9-11) the clip applier comprising: first and second jaw members configured to engage the surgical clip (Figure 10; 70); and a stabilizing member configured to engage the surgical clip (Figure 10; 82), the stabilizing member being configured to move longitudinally with respect to the clip applier from a first position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Figure 10) to a second position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Figure 11), wherein the longitudinal movement of the stabilizing member is constrained to longitudinal movement between the first and second positions (Figures 10-11).
Concerning claim 2, the Sandhaus prior art reference teaches a method of loading a clip applier with a surgical clip (Figures 9-11), the method comprising: receiving a proximal portion of the surgical clip between first and second jaw members of the clip applier (Figure 10; 70); engaging the proximal portion of the surgical clip with a stabilizing member in a first position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Figure 11); retracting the stabilizing member longitudinally to a second position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Figure 10); and stabilizing the surgical clip between the stabilizing member and the first and second jaw members (Figure 10; push member 82 helps to stabilize the surgical clip by biasing the clip distally against the end surfaces of the jaws 70).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The Forster et al. reference (US 6,599,298), the Menn et al. reference (US 2001/0049947), the Nakao reference (US 7,648,514), and the Schulz et al. reference (US 2010/0274264) all teach clip appliers including first and second jaws with a stabilizing member.
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/MARTIN T TON/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 12/30/2025