DETAILED ACTION
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5, 7-18, and 21 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.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/11/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed on 9/11/2026 is acknowledged by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Puetter et al. EP 2446875B1 (“Puetter”)(Applicant submitted prior art in IDS 9/11/2026).
Regarding Claim 1, Puetter discloses a valve unit (10) for an installation for producing a medical preparation, the valve unit (10) comprising: a valve node (11) configured to be operatively mounted on the installation (10), the valve node (11) defining a central channel (16), the valve node (11) comprising; a plurality of hose connections (12, 13, 14) that are each configured to be fluidly connected to the central channel (16); and at least one valve (120, 130, 140) configured to control fluid communication from at least one hose connection of the plurality of hose connections (12, 13, 14) to the central channel (16); and a plurality of hoses (from valve 120 to connection 6; from valve 130 to connection 6; from valve 140 to connector 6), each of the plurality of hoses comprising a first end that is irremovably connected to a respective one of the plurality of hose connections (luer lock between terminal cap 6 with securing ring7 and terminal 12, 13)(“ In order to secure the connection between the terminal cap 6 and the respective associated container 4, 5, as in Fig. 2 shown, a locking ring 7 is provided, which is pushed at the plugged onto the container 4, 5 connection cap 6 via the connection cap 6, so that the locking elements 61 in the radial direction do not dodge outward and thus can get out of farm with the container 4, 5. By means of the securing ring 7, the connection of the connection cap 6 with the associated container 4, 5 is secured, so that the container 4, 5 is positively held on the connection cap 6 and not readily, at least not without removing the securing ring 7, of the connection cap. 6 can be removed”).
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PUETTER – FIGURE 1
Regarding Claim 2, Puetter discloses each of the plurality of hoses (from valve 120 to connection 6; from valve 130 to connection 6; from valve 140 to connector 6) further comprises a second end that comprises a source container connection (luer lock and locking ring 7) that is configured to connect to a source container (4, 5) containing ingredients for the medical preparation.
Regarding Claim 6, Puetter discloses the plurality of hose connections (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) comprises between 4 and 20 hose connections (at 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
Regarding Claim 19, Puetter discloses the valve unit (1) comprises a plurality of valves (121, 131, 141), and the at least one valve is one of the plurality of valves (“The multi-way valves can be designed in particular as three-way valves with three different positions”), and each valve of the plurality of valves is a three-way valve that is configured to control fluid communication from two respective hose connections of the plurality of hose connections.
Regarding Claim 20, Puetter discloses the valve unit (1) is disposable (“The mixing device 1 can be designed as a disposable part and delivered together with attached thereto containers 3, 4, 5 and conveyor 2 and disposed of after use.”).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daphne Barry whose telephone number is (571)272-9966 and fax number is (571) 273-9966. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday 9 AM-6 PM (eastern).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor either Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at (571) 272-4881 or Craig Schneider can be reached at (571) 272-3607. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAPHNE BARRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753
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