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 .
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment filed on 02/27/2025, Claims 1-35 have been cancelled, and newly added Claims 36-51 are pending.
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 36-52 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.
Regarding Claim 36, the limitation “a cap slidably coupled to and projecting distally from the capsule so that, when engaging features of the clip arms abut against the cap as the clip arms are drawn proximally into the capsule via the cap, the cap is moved proximally along the capsule.” Renders the claim indefinite because its unclear if Applicant is reciting that the cap projects distally from the capsule when the engaging features of the clip arms are abutted against the cap when the clip arms are drawn proximally via the cap by moving the cap proximally against the capsule or if Applicant is attempting to claim another configuration. A review of the specification appears to have support for “the engaging features 144 extend from a portion of the clip arms 104 so that, when the clip arms 104 are drawn proximally relative to the capsule 106, the engaging features 144 abut a portion of a distal face 146 of the cap 114. The engaging features 144 are positioned along the clip arms 104 so that, when the engaging features 144 engage the cap 114, the clip arms 104 are drawn toward the closed configuration.” (Paragraph 0035 of PGPub).
The examiner notes here that the capsule (106) of the disclosure includes both a longitudinal body (112) and a cap (114), but Claim 1 currently recites the cap as a separate structure from the capsule. Its not clear from the images or the disclosure that the clip arms are drawn into the longitudinal body (112; Paragraph 0031) and not in the capsule as claimed, since the capsule as claimed is being interpreted as the longitudinal body.
Claims 37-48 are rejected for incorporating errors from the parent claim by dependency.
Regarding Claim 49, the limitation “the engaging feature abuts against the cap moving the cap proximally along the capsule to reduce a length of the capsule” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear how the capsule, as claimed, can reduce its length. Paragraph 0031 of the instant specification pgpub states that the capsule (106) includes the longitudinal body and the cap, and in this context the capsule can change its length. However, the way Claim 49 is constructed, the cap is a separate structure and its unclear how the capsule (longitudinal body) can reduce its length.
Claims 51-52 are rejected for incorporating errors from their parent claim by dependency.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kimura (US PGPub 2005/0143767)
Sugiyama (US Patent 6,991,634)
Shibata (US Patent 8,062,310)
Adams (US Patent 8,440,660)
Durgin (US PGPub 2016/0262748)
Randhawa (US PGPub 2018/0140300)
Tsueda (US Patent 10,441,292)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED GAMIL GABR whose telephone number is (571)272-0569. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jackie Ho can be reached at (571) 270-5953. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMED G GABR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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