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 .
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 2-6, 8 and 9 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 2 and 8 recites the limitation "the quadrilateral cassette" in lines 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claims 3-6 and 9, their dependence on indefinite claims renders the claims themselves indefinite.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (KR102829516). Kim et al. discloses a cassette gripping apparatus comprising a first plate 210; a first cylinder (cylindrical screw shaft 232) provided on one side of the first plate 210; and grippers 220 coupled to the first cylinder (coupled via 234,236,237) to grip both sides of a cassette 20, wherein the grippers 220 operate to move away from or toward each other with respect to opposite vertices in a diagonal direction of the cassette 20.
Prior Art
Prior art made of record but not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure for showing other cassette gripping apparatus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 8, and 9 would be allowable if rewritten 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 and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. The improvement comprises that (claim 2) the grippers include: a first guide member and a second guide member disposed on two sides adjacent to each other at one of the vertices of the quadrilateral cassette; a first connection member configured to connect the first guide member and the second guide member to one side of the first cylinder; a third guide member and a fourth guide member disposed on two sides adjacent to each other at the other vertex of the cassette; and a second connection member configured to connect the third guide member and the fourth guide member to the other side of the first cylinder.
Claims 7 and 10-14 are allowed.
Claim 15 is allowed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communication from the examiner should be directed to Thomas Lazo whose telephone number is (571) 272-4818. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor Nathaniel Wiehe, can be reached on (571) 272-8648. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/THOMAS E LAZO/Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 3745
September 30, 2026
