DETAILED ACTION
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 1-17 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.
Claims 1, 11 and 12 recite the limitation "the drive" in lines 4, 4 and 3, respectively. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It should be recited as --linearly acting drive--.
Regarding Claim 13, “a cartridge” and “a displacement element” are recited in lines 1 and 3, however these structures are already introduced in parent Claim 1. If they are indeed the same structures, proper antecedent basis should be used or if different structures, unique terms should be selected.
Claims 2-10 and 14-17 are rejected by dependency.
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) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Reichmuth et al. (EP 3399214).
Regarding Claim 11, Reichmuth et al. discloses
a housing (53) in which a linearly acting drive is arranged,
wherein the drive comprises a drive motor (42) and a transmission,
wherein the transmission comprises a drive spindle (28) and a spindle nut (29),
wherein the drive motor is directly or indirectly engaged with the spindle nut for transmitting rotational movement (“By energizing the drive motor 42, the motor shaft 43 and thus the spindle nut 29 is rotated and the threaded spindle 28 axially displaced.”),
wherein the drive spindle defines a drive axis (i.e. its longitudinal axis) about which the spindle nut is rotatably arranged and along which the drive spindle is arranged to reciprocate over a stroke upon rotation of the spindle nut relative to the housing (“By energizing the drive motor 42, the motor shaft 43 and thus the spindle nut 29 is rotated and the threaded spindle 28 axially displaced.”),
wherein the housing comprises a wall through which the drive spindle can be passed with a first axial end (i.e. via housing opening 77),
wherein the drive spindle can be brought into direct or indirect engagement with a displacement element (56) of the cartridge at the first axial end,
wherein the drive spindle comprises a first rotation-preventing element (50.1) along a section (i.e. along the location shown in Fig. 3) in the housing,
wherein a second rotation-preventing element (50.2) associated with the housing is provided, and wherein the first rotation-preventing element and the second rotation- preventing element interact in such a way that the drive spindle is supported in a non- rotatable manner against the housing over at least part of the stroke (“The first guide elements 50.1, 50.2 interact with guide tracks between strip-shaped second guide elements 51.1, 51.2 on the inner sides of the housing shells 3, 4. As a result, the threaded spindle 28 is prevented from rotating in the housing 2”),
wherein an elastic element (80) is arranged such that, in an upper end position of the drive spindle in which it is retracted into the housing (i.e. the device of Fig. 9 may be held upside down wherein 80 is at the upper end position of 28 as it extends into the housing), it is indirectly or directly biased between the drive spindle and the housing with respect to the axial direction (i.e. is spatially located between the drive spindle that is within 80 and the housing that is outside of 80 and is biased in the axial direction of 28).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 and 12-17 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lin (US Patent No. 12,152,726) discloses anti-rotation feature 152 but not one that is deformable.
Chien (US Patent No. 5,271,528) discloses anti-rotation feature 813 but not one that is deformable.
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/PRASAD V GOKHALE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3653 July 30, 2026
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