DETAILED ACTION
The following Office Action is in response to the Amendment filed on April 22, 2026. Claims 1-15 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 .
Response to Arguments
Concerning the “Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 102” section on pages 6-7 of the Applicant’s Response filed on April 22, 2026, the applicant’s arguments have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive. The applicant argues that the Sandhaus reference fails to disclose or suggest the added limitation of “the first and second jaw members biased to the open configuration”, arguing that the Sandhaus reference teaches that an actuating means includes a spring means for normally biasing the jaw members toward a closed position. However, the examiner asserts that the applicant has only referenced the embodiment of Figure 1 when referencing the bias of the jaws to the closed position. The embodiment of Figure 9 has an opposite bias of the jaws as shown by the leaf spring between the handle members in Figure 9. Therefore, the rejections of the claims stand.
Claim Objections
Claims 10 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Concerning claim 10, line 2 of the claim recites the limitation of “distal portion”, wherein the limitation is not preceded by an article. This appears to be a typographical error and does not rise to the level of a rejection.
Concerning claim 14, lines 1-2 of the claim recite the phrase “wherein stabilizing the surgical clip comprising stabilizing”, wherein the word “comprising” appears to be a misspelling of the word “comprises”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 7-12 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: a first jaw member and a second jaw member pivotably coupled at a hinge mechanism having a pivot pin (Figure 9; 78), the first and second jaw members configured to engage the surgical clip (Figure 10; 70); an actuator configured to actuate the first and second jaw members between an open configuration and a closed configuration (Figure 9; 76); 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), wherein the first and second jaw members are biased to the open configuration (Figure 9; leaf spring between handle members of actuator 76 biases jaws in open configuration).
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), the first and second jaw members being biased to an open configuration (Figure 9; leaf spring between handle members of actuator 76 biases jaws in open configuration); 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).
Concerning claim 7, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 1, further comprising a spring positioned proximal of the stabilizing member (Figure 11; 84), the spring being configured to bias the stabilizing member to the first position (Figure 10), the first position being distal of the second position (Figure 11).
Concerning claim 8, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 7, further comprising a shaft secured to respective proximal ends of the first and second jaws (Figure 9; proximal portions of jaws 70 proximal to tapered portion 80 may define shafts), the shaft comprising at least one elongated slot (Figure 9; slot defined space between jaw members that accept stabilizer 82 and spring 84), and the spring being visible through the at least one elongated slot (Figure 11).
Concerning claim 9, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 8, further comprising a tubular member abutting a proximal end of the spring (Figure 11; 86), wherein a distal end of the spring abuts a proximal end of the stabilizing member.
Concerning claim 10, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 1, wherein the stabilizing member includes a distal portion (Figure 10; 82) capable of stabilizing the surgical clip in a vertical direction and/or a lateral direction.
Concerning claim 11, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 1, wherein the first jaw member is configured to engage a distal portion of a first leg member of the surgical clip member (Figure 10; 70, 72, upper jaw), the second jaw member is configured to engage a distal portion of the second leg member of the surgical clip (Figure 10; 70, 72, lower jaw), and the stabilizing member is configured to engage a proximal portion of the surgical clip (Figure 10; 82, 72).
Concerning claim 12, the Sandhaus reference teaches the clip applier of claim 2, wherein longitudinal movement of the stabilizing member is constrained to longitudinal movement between the first position and the second position (Figure 10-11).
Claim(s) 1-4 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakao (US 7,648,514).
Concerning claim 1, the Nakao prior art reference teaches a clip applier configured to apply a surgical clip to tissue (Figure 1; 8) the clip applier comprising: a first jaw member (Figure 1; 16a) and a second jaw member (Figure 1; 16b) pivotably coupled at a hinge mechanism having a pivot pin (Figure 18; 132), the first and second jaw members configured to engage the surgical clip (Figure 1; 10); an actuator configured to actuate the first and second jaw members between an open configuration and a closed configuration (Figure 1; 26); and a stabilizing member configured to engage the surgical clip (Figure 1; 12), 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 1) to a second position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Figure 2), wherein the longitudinal movement of the stabilizing member is constrained to longitudinal movement between the first and second positions (Figures 1-2; longitudinal movement of stabilizing member constrained my full closure and opening of jaws), wherein the first and second jaw members are biased to the open configuration (Column 9, Lines 14-21).
Concerning claim 2, the Nakao prior art reference teaches a method of loading a clip applier with a surgical clip (Figure 11), the method comprising: receiving a proximal portion of the surgical clip (Figure 1; 10) between first and second jaw members of the clip applier (Figure 1; 16ab), the first and second jaw members being biased to an open configuration (Column 9, Lines 14-21); 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; backbone 60 is engaged with proximal portion of the surgical clip when jaws are engaged with backbone | Column 8, Lines 45-61); retracting the stabilizing member longitudinally to a second position at least partially between the first and second jaw members (Column 8, Lines 45-61, push bar is retracted when engaged with backbone); and stabilizing the surgical clip between the stabilizing member and the first and second jaw members (Figure 1; backbone 10 stabilizes clip within jaws 16ab).
Concerning claim 3, the Nakao reference teaches the clip applier of claim 1, wherein a distal portion of the stabilizing member has first and second walls configured to stabilize the surgical clip (Figure 1; 12ab).
Concerning claim 4, the Nakao reference teaches the clip applier of claim 1, wherein the stabilizing member includes a shaft portion having a substantially rectangular cross-section (Figure 1; 12d).
Concerning claim 13, the Nakao reference teaches the clip applier of claim 2, wherein stabilizing the surgical clip includes stabilizing the surgical clip in a lateral direction with first and second walls on a distal portion of the stabilizing member (Figure 1; 12ab).
Concerning claim 14, the Nakao reference teaches the clip applier of claim 2, wherein stabilizing the surgical clip comprises stabilizing the surgical clip in a vertical direction with a plurality of protrusions on a distal portion of the stabilizing member (Figure 3; 15ab).
Concerning claim 15, the Nakao reference teaches the clip applier of claim 2, further comprising picking the surgical clip up from a cartridge (Figure 11; 18).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 6 are 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARTIN TRUYEN TON whose telephone number is (571)270-5122. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday; EST 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM.
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/MARTIN T TON/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 7/13/2026
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