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 .
This Office Action is responsive to the Amendment filed 16 March 2026. Claims 14-17, 19, 21, and 22 are currently under consideration. The Office acknowledges the amendments to claims 14-17 and 19, as well as the cancellation of claims 1-13, 18, and 20, and the addition of new claims 21 and 22.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 4, “transform” should apparently read --transforms--.
Lines 4-5 recite “wherein the crank and connection rod transform the spinning motion from the motor into the reciprocating motion.” However, this is already recited in lines 9-10 of claim 14 and could apparently be deleted.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 14-17, 19, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The claims now recite that the air cylinder includes a piston configured to reciprocate with respect to the stationary sleeve by the crank and connection rod, as well as an impermeable partition spanning a width of an interior of the exterior housing and separating the crank and connection rod from the motor and the power source within the exterior housing. This is not taught by the specification as-filed. A piston is only taught by the embodiment shown in Figure 10. However, in this embodiment, no crank and connection rod is used to reciprocate the piston; instead, a reciprocating screw, a magnetic mechanism, or “some other arrangement” is used to push a bottom wall of the impermeable structure into the piston. Furthermore, an impermeable partition spanning a width of an interior of the exterior housing is only taught by the embodiment shown in Figure 11. However, in this embodiment, the impermeable partition does not separate the crank and connection rod from the motor and the power source. Instead, the crank and connection rod penetrates the impermeable partition, with a portion on the same side of the impermeable partition as the motor and the power source. Indeed, the crank is literally connected to the output shaft of the motor in this embodiment, all on the same side of the impermeable partition.
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 19, 21, and 22 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.
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a motor” in line 2. It is not clear if this is intended to be the same motor recited by claim 14 or to be a separate motor.
Claim 21 recites the limitation “wherein the impermeable partition has a second opening formed therethrough.” However, no first opening has been previously recited (except as part of the exterior housing, not the impermeable partition). It is not clear if this is intending to implicitly recite that the impermeable partition has two openings.
Claim 21 also recites the limitation "the connection rod" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The previous claims only recite “a crank and connection rod” as a single entity. If these are intended to be two separate components, the previous recitations should read --a crank and a connection rod-- and --the crank and the connection rod--.
Claim 22 is rejected by virtue of its dependence upon claim 21.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-17, 19, 21, and 22 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: none of the prior art of record teaches or reasonably suggests such a stimulation device with an air cylinder comprising a stationary sleeve and a piston, a crank and connection rod that transforms spinning motion from a motor into a reciprocating motion that it transmits to the piston so that the piston reciprocates with respect to the stationary sleeve to deliver positive and negative pressure to a first opening, and an impermeable partition spanning a width of an interior of the housing and that separates the crank and connection rod from the motor and a power source.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the objections to the specification and the claims, as well as the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), 112(b), and 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive in light of the amendments. The objections and rejections have been withdrawn. However, as detailed supra, the amendments have introduced new rejections.
Applicant's arguments regarding the double patenting rejections have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that a Terminal Disclaimer has been filed to obviate these rejections. However, no such TD is found in the file wrapper. Nevertheless, in light of the amendments, these rejections have also been withdrawn.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THADDEUS B COX whose telephone number is (571)270-5132. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-6pm.
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/THADDEUS B COX/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791