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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/11/2025 has been entered.
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 1-2, 4, 7, 10-11, 13-14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph.
Claim 1 is 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.
Claim 1 recites “a first button configured to control rotation of the mirror head through a stepper motor operably connected to the straight shaft at the end of the straight handle and a worm drive by which the stepper motor is connected to the straight shaft; wherein the first button includes a slot and a slider disposed in the slot, and the slider is mechanically connected to the double-sided mirror via the straight shaft to rotate the double-sided mirror about the central axis, as the slider moves in the slot that extends along a portion of a circumference of the straight handle” in lines 14-20. It is found that applicant fails to describe a dental mirror comprising a first button that would rotate the mirror through a stepper motor AND through a slider/slot mechanism. It is found that applicant has support for manually moving the mirror through the slider/slot in an embodiment as shown in Fig. 5a-5b and disclosed on Pg. 19. Further, applicant has support in a different embodiment which shows the mirror being rotated through a stepper motor by pressing the first button as shown in Fig. 1-2 and disclosed on Pgs. 13-14. Applicant does not have support of the dental mirror having a combination of both mirror rotating means.
Claims 2, 4, 7, 10-11, 13-14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph for being dependent off of claim 1.
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 1-2, 4, 7, 10-11, 13-14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph.
Claim 1 is 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 1 recites “a first button configured to control rotation of the mirror head through a stepper motor operably connected to the straight shaft at the end of the straight handle and a worm drive by which the stepper motor is connected to the straight shaft; wherein the first button includes a slot and a slider disposed in the slot, and the slider is mechanically connected to the double-sided mirror via the straight shaft to rotate the double-sided mirror about the central axis, as the slider moves in the slot that extends along a portion of a circumference of the straight handle” in lines 14-20.
It is unclear as to how the first button is configured to control rotation of the mirror through a stepper motor operably connected to the straight shaft while also having the slider part of the first button being mechanically connected to the mirror through the straight shaft.
Claims 2, 4, 7, 10-11, 13-14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph for being dependent off of claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Xiang (CN 111407219 A) is found to be the closest prior art which discloses a dental mirror comprising a handle, a mirror head, a shaft, a stepper motor, a rotational joint between the mirror head and shaft, and a first button to rotate the shaft/mirror head. However, Xiang is silent to:
“a first button configured to control rotation of the mirror head through a stepper motor operably connected to the straight shaft at the end of the straight handle and a worm drive by which the stepper motor is connected to the straight shaft;
wherein the first button includes a slot and a slider disposed in the slot, and the slider is mechanically connected to the double-sided mirror via the straight shaft to rotate the double-sided mirror about the central axis, as the slider moves in the slot that extends along a portion of a circumference of the straight handle” and
“wherein the masses of the mirror head and the base are balanced so that the dental mirror has a center of gravity which is closer to the base than the mirror head” in combination with the rest of the claim limitations.
It should be noted that Wang (CN 117100206 A) discloses a mirror that can rotate the mirror head by rotating a slider (9, denoted as a ring) found to be fitted into a slot (10, denoted as a groove) found to extend the circumference of the handle as shown in Fig. 2. Wang however does not disclose a first button configured to control rotation of the mirror head through a stepper motor operably connected to the straight shaft at the end of the straight handle AND the slider is mechanically connected to the double-sided mirror via the straight shaft.
Conclusion
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/HOLLY T. TO/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/HEIDI M EIDE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
1/2/2026