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 .
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Currently, no claim limitation is being interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KR20190074390 (KR’390). This document was cited on an IDS and a copy thereof filed with the application. Therefore, a copy has not been included with this office action. A machine translation of this document has been included and recitations of specific portions of the text refer to the machine translation.
Regarding claim 1, KR’390 discloses a suction dispensing device (title/abstract) having a removal tip (disposable tips 131), comprising: a driving base module (feeder frames 121 and 121a) configured to raise and lower a movable plate (122, 123); and a syringe operation module having at least one syringe (syringes 126) installed therein so that when the movable plate rises from a reference position to a suction position, liquid is aspirated therein, and when the movable plate returns to the reference position from the suction position, the liquid is dispensed ([0036], [0042], [0044]), wherein the syringe operation module includes a tip removal plate (170, 171) configured to allow a dispensing tip, forcefully engaged with a front end of the syringe, to be removed when the movable plate moves downward from the reference position to a tip removal position (the position shown in Fig. 6 where the movable plate is lowered to engage with the tip remover).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR’390 in view of US Patent Application Publication 2014/0302611 to Orning et al. (Orning).
Regarding claim 10, KR’390 discloses the suction dispensing device of claim 1 (see above), but does not disclose the tip removal plate has a punching pin portion formed on a lower surface thereof to punch sealing paper of a cartridge. Orning teaches an assay cartridge which includes one or more cartridges having a sealing film and a punching pin (cutter 102) to punch the sealing film of the cartridge. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a punching pin as taught by Orning on the lower surface of the tip removal plate of KR’390 such that if cartridges having a sealing paper/film are used in the system, the seal can be punched to allow liquid to be dispensed to or withdrawn from the cartridge without the need for a user to puncture the paper/film.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 11-13 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited documents do not disclose “the driving base module comprises: a driving base frame; the movable plate configured to be movable up and down along a guide member formed on the driving base frame; a first threaded rod screwed through a first nut member formed on the movable plate to allow the movable plate to move up and down through screw motion; a first motor formed on the driving base frame and configured to rotate the first threaded rod; and a first power transmission device which is formed on the driving base frame, is installed between the first threaded rod and the first motor, and is configured to transmit rotational power generated by the first motor to the first threaded rod.” The examiner finds no evidence that one of ordinary skill in the art would modify the cited documents to include the claimed structure, absent the teachings of Applicant’s disclosure. Therefore, the cited documents do not disclose or render obvious the claimed invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and claimed invention.
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/NICOLAS A ARNETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753 January 22, 2026