DRUG SUPPLY DEVICE

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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103 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. Claims 1-2,11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 8,386,073) in view of Hieb (US 7,032,776). Claim 1, Kim discloses a drug supply device, comprising: a conveyor (hopper 10) that guides travel of a drug (30); a drug accelerator (12) that oscillates by a solenoid valve (15), blocks the drug on the conveyor (hopper 10) in a first attitude (fig.2), and pivots toward a second attitude (fig.4) to accelerate and deliver the drug; and a stopper portion (13) that makes contact with the drug accelerator (12) in the first attitude (fig.2) of the drug accelerator (12) to position the drug accelerator, wherein the drug accelerator (12) receives a biasing force (14; fig.4) in a direction toward the stopper portion (13) together with a driving force of the solenoid valve (15) during a final phase of a stroke when the drug accelerator (12) pivots from the second attitude (fig.4) to the first attitude (fig.2). Kim does not disclose a drug accelerator that oscillates by a motor; with a driving force of the motor. Hieb discloses a dispensing bucket (236) that oscillates by a motor (see abstract); with a driving force of the motor (see abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide the device of Kim with a drug accelerator (12) that oscillates by a motor; with a driving force of the motor because the use of a motor to rotate a mechanical component is widely employed in the art and serves the same purpose as the solenoid valve disclosed by Kim and merely provides another rotational means. Thus, such configuration does not impart any novelty on the claim limitation. Claim 2, Kim discloses wherein: the drug accelerator (12) includes a stopped portion (fig.4; lowermost flat portion of 12 that contacts 13; fig.2) that makes contact with the stopper portion (13) in the first attitude (fig.2), and the stopped portion is pressed against the stopper portion by the biasing force (14) in the first attitude (fig.2). Claim 11, Kim discloses wherein a direction and magnitude of the biasing force (14) vary according to an attitude of the drug accelerator (12) in the stroke (as the drug accelerator 12 pivots back and forth, the direction and magnitude of the biasing force from spring 14 changes dynamically and isn’t static). Allowable Subject Matter Claims 3-10 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AYODEJI H OJOFEITIMI whose telephone number is (571)272-6557. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, GENE CRAWFORD can be reached at (571) 272-6911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /AYODEJI H OJOFEITIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3651 /GENE O CRAWFORD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3651