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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 7/21/2026 has been entered.
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 1, 3-5 8, 20, 25, and 27 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 1 recites “for engaging the dental component” in lines 9-10 wherein it is unclear as to which dental component the threaded portion is engaging with as it is claimed earlier that there are two dental components. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as any of the two dental components can be engaged with the threaded portion. Further claim 1 recites “the dental component comprising a screw seat” in lines 21-22 wherein it is unclear which dental components it is referring to. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as any of the two dental components can be engaged with the threaded portion.
Claims 3-5, 8, 20 and 25 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.
Claim 27 recites “the second maximum torque of the second torque limiting portion of the dental fastening tool is 35 Ncm or less” in lines 1-3 where the second maximum torque and second torque limiting portion is found to not be claimed. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as a second maximum torque of a second torque limiting portion of the dental fastening tool.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 26-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claims 26-28 are found to be dependent off of claim 15 which is now canceled, and it is unclear as to the dependency of the particular claims. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as being dependent off of claim 15.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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(s) 1, 3, 5, 8 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagemann (DE 10124183, see machine translated ver) in view of Herrmann (DE 19850097 A1, see machine translated ver), Haus (GB 2495513 A, see provided foreign document for paragraph numbering), and Dahlstrom (US 20120270180 A1).
Re. Claim 1, Hagemann discloses a dental restoration support set (Fig. 1) comprising:
dental screw for fixing a dental component to another dental component (Par. 1), the dental screw having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal end (see modified Figure 1 below), the dental screw comprising:
a screw head (Figs 1, 3-5; head part 4) including a tool engaging interface (Figs 1, 3-5; slot 11) for engaging a fastening tool at the proximal end (Par. 21) and a support surface at a distal end of the screw head (Fig. 1 which is found to be at the end that the threads would extend from. The support surface is the lower surface of the distal end);
a screw shank (see Annotated Figure 1), the screw shank disposed distal to the screw head (see modified Figure 1; screw shank is clearly distal to heard part 4);
a torque limiting portion (Figs 3-5; predetermined breaking point 5); and
a threaded portion (Figs 1-5; threaded part 3) disposed distal to the torque limiting portion (Figs 1-5; threaded part 3 is clearly distal to breaking point 5) for engaging the dental component (Figs 1-2; Par. 1),
wherein the threaded portion is disposed distal to the torque limiting portion (Figs 1-5; threaded part 3 is clearly distal to breaking point 5),
wherein the torque limiting portion comprises (i) a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental screw (Fig. 3-4); and
a dental component (2) comprising a screw seat (Fig. 1 where the screw sits into place) for engaging the support surface of the screw head (Fig. 1).
However, Hagemann is silent to the dental screw is configured to transfer a minimum torque of 26 Ncm and the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 38 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the threaded portion. Further, Hagemann is silent to the tool engaging interface comprises a recess comprising a length that extends between an open proximal end and a closed distal end, wherein the recess tapers in a direction from the open proximal end to the closed distal end for an entire length of the recess. Further, Hagemann is silent to the support surface and the screw seat each have a conical shape, wherein a cone angle of the support surface relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental screw is larger than a cone angle of the screw seat relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental component.
Herrmann discloses a screw in the same field of endeavor for fixing dental components to each other (Abstract) wherein the screw is configured to transfer a minimum torque 26 Ncm and the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 38 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the threaded portion (Par. 13). Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in modifying the screw of Herrmann to have a minimum torque value of 26Ncm and the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 38 Ncm, as it involves only adjusting a dimension of a component that is known to require adjusting.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the screw of Hagemann to transfer a minimum torque of 26 Ncm and the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 38 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the threaded portion as taught by Herrmann in order to provide the desired amount of torque since it has been held that “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Haus discloses a screw (Fig. 3A-3B) in the same field of endeavor and further discloses a screw head (310) including a tool engaging interface (300) comprising a recess (where 320 points to in Fig. 3A) comprising a length (Annotated Figure A.2 of Fig. 3A) that extends between an open proximal end (Annotated Figure A.2 of Fig. 3A) and a closed distal end (Annotated Figure A.2 of Fig. 3A), wherein the recess tapers in a direction from the open proximal end to the closed distal end for an entire length of the recess (Annotated Figure A.2 of Fig. 3A; Par. 13 and Fig. 3A) to provide securement of the tool to the screw.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the screw of Hagemann and Hermann to have the tool engaging interface comprises a recess comprising a length that extends between an open proximal end and a closed distal end, wherein the recess tapers in a direction from the open proximal end to the closed distal end for an entire length of the recess as taught by Haus to provide securement of the tool to the screw.
Dahlstrom discloses a dental restoration set and further discloses a dental component (24; see Fig. 1b) having a conical shaped screw seat (48a) for engaging a conical shaped support surface (42a; see Fig. 1a) of a screw (2a; Par. 85). Further Dahlstrom discloses various conical angle arrangement between the screw seat relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental component and the support surface relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental screw (Fig. 1-3; Abstract). In one embodiment, the cone angle of the support surface relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental screw is larger than the cone angle of the screw seat relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental component (Fig. 1b; Par. 85-86) to aid in applying the ideal amount of torque (Par. 11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the dental component and screw of Hagemann, Herrmann, and Haus to have the support surface and the screw seat each have a conical shape, wherein a cone angle of the support surface relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental screw is larger than a cone angle of the screw seat relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental component as taught by Dahlstrom to avoid significant stress to the to the screw.
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Re. Claim 3, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set of claim 1, wherein Herrmann discloses the maximum torque transferable at the torque limiting portion is 32 Ncm or less (Par. 32).
Re. Claim 5, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set of claim 1 and Haus discloses the tool engaging interface includes a torque transfer zone (where label 330 points to in Fig. 3A) having a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis comprising a profile with at least one of four or five first sections alternating with at least one of four or five second sections, respectively, wherein the first sections are convex or planar, wherein the second sections are concave (see Modified Figure 3C below where the section is concave viewed inwardly).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the tool engaging interface of agemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom to include a torque transfer zone having a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis comprising a profile with at least one of four or five first sections alternating with at least one of four or five second sections, respectively, wherein the first sections are convex or planar, wherein the second sections are concave as taught by Haus to provide secure engagement of the screw to the tool being used (Par. 23).
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Re. Claim 8, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set of claim 5 and Haus further discloses the tool engaging interface further includes a verification zone (360) for verifying a type of the dental screw (Par. 29), the verification zone being located at the distal end of the tool engaging interface (Fig. 3A).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the tool engaging interface of Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom to have a verification zone for verifying a type of the dental screw, the verification zone being located at the distal end of the tool engaging interface as taught by Haus provide secure engagement of the screw to the tool being used (Par. 23).
Re. Claim 20, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set according to claim 1, wherein the dental component is at least one of a dental implant, an abutment, and an artificial tooth (Fig. 3-5 and Abstract of Hagemann).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hagemann (DE 10124183, see machine translated ver) in view of Herrmann (DE 19850097 A1, see machine translated ver), Haus (GB 2495513 A, see provided foreign document for paragraph numbering), Dahlstrom (US 20120270180 A1), and Kumar (US 6447295).
Re. Claim 4, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set according to claim 1 but are silent to the torque limiting portion is configured to withstand a maximum tensile force in a range of 300 N to 500 N, but does explicitly teach that “By means of suitable dimensioning and design, comparable or identical strength values can be achieved as with an anchoring element known from the state of the art” (Par. 14).
Kumar in the same field of endeavor discloses a dental screw when tightened, a tensile force is built up in the screw (Col 5 lines 60-67), and wherein “it is desirable that an abutment screw be tightened to a load just below the yield point to provide maximum or optimum tensile strength and preload” (Col 7 lines 3-5), but also teaches wherein “The load levels at which yield occurs is different for each material or alloys of the same material” (Col 7 lines 5-7) and “The fastening member (abutment screw) should preferably be tightened to a load that exceeds the peak carrying load of the assembly, otherwise the fastening parts (implant and abutment) might either fail during the installation or subsequently during use in the patient's mouth…When an abutment screw is tightened, the resulting load exerted by the abutment screw should exceed the expected implant-abutment assembly load, so that the preload of the abutment screw can sustain the assembly load.” (Col 7 lines 15-26). The maximum tensile force a screw can withstand is a result effective variable in that altering the maximum tensile force a screw can withstand, whether through changing the material of the screw or changing its tightening torque, affects the strength and stability of the dental assembly, which affects the longevity and work efficiency of the dental screw. Adjustment of the maximum tensile force directly correlates to the function of the screw; one of ordinary skill in the art would have had reasonable expectation of success in modifying the maximum tensile strength of the screw such that the screw functions at a desired level, as it involves only adjusting a dimension that is known to be able to be adjusted, depending on the material of the screw, the initial tightening torque, etc.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the maximum tensile strength of the dental screw of Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom to be in the range of 300-500N as taught by Kumar in order to provide the desired amount of strength since it has been held that “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” Further, it should be noted that the screw of Kumar functions the same as applicant’s screw where the tensile strength is limited to prevent the screw to be damaged (Pg. 4 of Applicant’s specification).
Claim(s) 6 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hornbeck (US 20190274793 A1) in view of Hagemann (DE 10124183) and Herrmann (DE 19850097 A1, see machine translated ver), Haus (GB 2495513 A, see provided foreign document for paragraph numbering), Dahlstrom (US 20120270180 A1), and Jorneus (US 6419489 B1).
Re. Claim 6, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental restoration support set screw of claim 5, Haus further discloses the concave sections form longitudinal engagement protrusions (Figs 3A-3C; engagement protrusions 350; see Modified Figure 3) radially extending from a circle with a maximum inner diameter towards the longitudinal axis (Figs 3A-3C). Haus further discloses the engagement surfaces have chamfers at their proximal ends (Fig 3A; chamfered edges 340).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Hornbeck, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus ‘513, and Dahlstrom to have the concave sections form longitudinal engagement protrusions radially extending from a circle with a maximum inner diameter towards the longitudinal axis and the engagement surfaces chamfers at the proximal end of the engagement protrusions, as the chamfered (or rounded) edges 340 of the mouth of the screw interface guide the tip of the driver head into the bore of the screw as taught by Haus allowing the process of loading the driver head into the screw more simple and require less precise spatial co-ordination from the person manipulating the driver/screw.
However they are silent to the first section being convex.
Jorneus discloses a dental screw in the same field of endeavor and further discloses the screw comprising a tool engaging interface (Fig. 1a, 5a-5b, 7-9, and 11a) comprising engagement interface sections where they can be concave, convex, and/or planar (see Modified Figure 3 of Fig. 11a, Modified Figure 4 of Fig. 7, and Modified Figure 5 of Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the first section of Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom being convex as taught by Jorneus as it is a design choice as to the engagement interface arrangement/structure as it is dependent on the particular tool it is being engaged with.
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Re. Claim 25, Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom discloses the dental screw restoration support set of Claim 5, but are silent to the first sections are convex.
Jorneus discloses a dental screw in the same field of endeavor and further discloses the screw comprising a tool engaging interface (Fig. 1a, 5a-5b, 7-9, and 11a) comprising engagement interface sections where they can be concave, convex, and/or planar (see Modified Figure 3 of Fig. 11a, Modified Figure 4 of Fig. 7, and Modified Figure 5 of Fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the first section of Hagemann, Herrmann, Haus, and Dahlstrom being convex as taught by Jorneus as it is a design choice as to the engagement interface arrangement/structure as it is dependent on the particular tool it is being engaged with.
Claim(s) 9, 11-14, 21, and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Streff (US 20130164708 A1) in view of Rohlfing (US 20200060743 A1) and Padros (US 20190151051 A1).
Re. Claim 9, Streff discloses a dental fastening tool (Fig. 3a; 24) comprising:
A proximal end (Fig. 3a; 38);
A distal end (Fig. 3a; 42);
A longitudinal axis (Fig. 3a; D), and
A screw engaging interface (42) at the distal end for engaging a dental screw (Fig. 3a; Par. 78);
Wherein the screw engaging interface comprises a torque transfer zone (Figs 3a-3b; tip 42; Par. 74) with a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis comprising less than six first sections and less than six second sections, wherein at least one of the first sections alternates with at least one second sections, wherein the first sections and the second sections are connected at points of transition that are discontinuous such that each of the points of transition comprises a corner in the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (Modified Figure 4 of Fig. 3b where it shows 2 first sections and 2 second sections alternating and connected by discontinuous points of transition cause by the curves in between. The corners are the points of element 54; Par. 78 discloses the number of sections that can be present where there are 6 and will be divided to be 3 protrusions for each section).
It is noted that the limitations regarding the screw is functional language as what is being claimed- denoted by the preamble- is the dental fastening tool where the rotary tool 24 is capable of engaging with a dental screw that has the limitation described below:
Wherein the dental screw comprises a screw head including a tool engaging interface for engaging the fastening tool at a proximal end of the dental screw,
Wherein the dental screw comprises a screw shank disposed distal to the screw head.
However, Streff is silent to a torque limiting portion, wherein the torque limiting portion comprises a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool such that the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 35 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the dental screw engaging interface, and wherein the torque limiting portion is disposed proximal to the screw engaging interface. Further, Streff is silent to the rounded tip comprising a rounded distal surface.
Streff does disclose that a desired torque to be delivered is between 15 to 35 Nm or less for preventing damage to the screw engaging interface (Par. 25). Further, Streff does disclose a rounded tip (Fig. 3b; Par. 78)
Rohlfing, in the analogous art of surgical screws and surgical fastening tools, teaches a fastening tool (Figs 1-13; driver 20) which comprises a screw engaging interface (Par. 37) and a torque limiting portion (Fig 1; frangible region 34) found proximal to the screw engaging surface (Fig. 1), having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool (Fig. 2) and wherein the torque limiting portion of the screw is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque for preventing damage to the dental screw engaging interface (Par. 53).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the tool of Streff to have a torque limiting portion having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool as taught by Rohlfing to having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool. As such, the combination of Streff and Rohling would provide teaching of a torque transferable to a maximum torque of 35 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the screw engaging interface. This is because Streff provides the teaching of a maximum torque of 35 Nm or less is applied to the dental screw and because Rohling teaches a torque limiting portion, it would further ensure the maximum torque does not exceed 35 Nm. Further, it would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date have the limit as claimed. Though Streff does not specifically teach limiting the torque, it should be noted that torques of 15-35 Nm are typically transferred and Streff provides teaching of a range of desired torque that would not damage or impair the screw. Thus a torque of up to 35Ncm can be transferred without difficulty, without the connecting screw becoming damage or otherwise impaired.
Padros discloses a fastening tool in the same field of endeavor and further discloses a rounded tip and comprising a rounded distal surface (Fig. 2; Abstract) to aid in screwing the screw to the abutment.
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the rounded tip of Streff and Rohlfing to have the rounded tip to have a rounded distal surface as taught by Padros to aid in screwing the screw to the abutment.
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Re. Claim 11, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 9 and Streff further discloses torque transfer zone comprises four or five first sections and four or five second sections (Par. 40 discloses that there can be between 3-8 protrusions where if 8 protrusions are present, the device can be sectioned off to have four of each sections), respectively, and
At least one of the first sections and the second sections form an engagement structure (Fig 3b; protrusions 54) about the longitudinal axis along the dental fastening tool (Fig 3b; protrusions 54 clearly extend longitudinally), the engagement structure having a curved profile in a cross-section along the longitudinal axis (Fig 3b; protrusion 54 is clearly curved), and
Wherein the first sections are convex or planar (see Modified Figure B; Fig. 3B) and wherein the second sections are concave (see Modified Figure 3; Fig. 3B),
Streff is silent to four or five convex and planar sections alternating with four or five concave sections, respectively, but does teach wherein “The engagement means of the connecting screw according to the invention preferably has between 3 and 8 of each of the engagement protrusions and the engagement depressions” (Par. 40), and wherein the engagement means of the screw correspond to the engagement means on the fastening tool (Par. 78).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fastening tool of Streff, Rohling, and Padros to comprise four or five convex and planar sections alternating with four or five concave sections, respectively, as that configuration is a listed known equivalent and would produce the same expected result as any other number of sections within the range of 3-8.
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Re. Claim 12, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 11 and Streff further discloses each of the point of transition comprises an angle between a tangent to a profile of the respective first section and a tangent to the second section is in a range of 90° to 180° (see modified Figure 4 below; the angle between the tangents is clearly obtuse, i.e., within a range of 90 – 180 degrees).
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Re. Claim 13, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 11, wherein Streff further discloses the screw engaging interface includes a pick-up zone (Figs 3a-3b; protrusions 54 and depressions 56 on tip 42) for holding a dental screw (Par. 78, and 88; the protrusions/depressions of the rotary tool 24 engage in the corresponding protrusions/depressions in a dental screw, allowing the rotary tool to hold a screw and thus constituting a pick-up zone), the pick-up zone being located adjacent, proximally to, or at least partially along the torque transfer zone (Fig 3b; protrusions 54 and depressions 56 are along tip 42).
Re. Claim 14, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 9 and Streff further discloses the screw engaging interface further includes a verification zone (Fig. 3B; protrusions 54 and depressions 56) for verifying a type of a dental screw when engaging said dental screw (Par. 41, 78), the verification zone being located at a distal end of the screw engaging interface (Fig. 3b).
Re. Claim 21, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 9 and Streff further discloses the dental screw is configured to transfer a minimum torque of 26Ncm and the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque for preventing damage to the threaded portion (It is noted that the limitations regarding the screw is functional language and the dental fastening tool where the rotary tool 24 is capable of engaging with a dental screw that has the limitation described).
Re. Claim 24, Streff, Rohling, and Padros discloses the dental fastening tool of claim 9, wherein Streff further discloses wherein the screw engaging interface includes a torque transfer zone (tip 42), the cross-section of the torque transfer zone (Figs 3a-3b; tip 42; Par. 74) comprises convex sections alternating with concave sections (see Modified Figure 3).
Claim(s) 16, 18-19, 26-27 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Streff (US 20130164708 A1) in view of Rohlfing (US 20200060743 A1).
Re. Claim 31, Streff discloses a dental fastening set (Figs 2-3; screw 22 and rotary tool 24) comprising:
a dental screw (Fig. 2; screw 22) comprising:
a screw head (Fig. 2; head portion 34) including a tool engaging interface (Fig. 2; engagement means 50) for engaging a fastening tool at a proximal end (abstract) and a (Fig 2; shaft portion 32) disposed distal to the screw head (Fig 2; shaft portion 32 is clearly distal to head portion 34);
a threaded portion (Fig 2; thread 48) for engaging a dental component (Par. 76); and
a dental fastening tool (Figs 3a-3b; rotary tool 24), having a proximal end (Fig 3a; grip part 38), a distal end (Fig 3a; tip 42), and a longitudinal axis (Fig 3a; longitudinal axis D),
wherein the dental fastening tool comprises a screw engaging interface at the distal end (Fig 3a; tip 42) for engaging the dental screw (Par. 78), the screw engaging interface comprising a torque transfer zone (Figs 3a-3b; tip 42; Par. 74) with a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis comprising at least one of four or five first sections alternating with at least one of four or five second sections, respectively, the first sections and the second sections are connecting at points of transition that are discontinuous such that each of the points of transition comprises a corner in the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (Modified Figure 4 of Fig. 3b where it shows 2 first sections and 2 second sections alternating and connected by discontinuous points of transition cause by the curves in between. The corners are the points of element 54; Par. 78 discloses the number of sections that can be present where there are 6 and will be divided to be 3 protrusions for each section; Par. 40 discloses that there can be between 3-8 protrusions where if 8 protrusions are present, the device can be sectioned off to have four of each sections).
Streff is silent to the dental screw is configured to a torque limiting portion and the threaded portion is disposed distal to the torque limiting portion.
Rohlfing, in the analogous art of surgical screws and surgical fastening tools, teaches of a screw (Fig 10; bone fastener 22) comprising a tool engaging interface (Fig 10; head 50 of bone fastener 22 clearly engages a fastening tool), a torque limiting portion (Fig 10; first frangible region 54) and a thread (Fig 10; shaft 52 clearly has threads), wherein the threaded portion is distal to the torque limiting portion (Fig 10), and wherein the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque for preventing damage to the threaded portion (Par. 57; if the first frangible region 54 experiences a torque that is above its limit, it will break at the head region, preventing damage to the shaft and threaded region); and a fastening tool (Figs 1-13; driver 20) which comprises a screw engaging interface (Par. 37) and a torque limiting portion (Fig 1; frangible region 34) and wherein the torque limiting portion of the screw is configured to bear a maximum torque that is higher than the maximum torque that is transferable by the torque limiting portion of the fastening tool (Par. 53).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Streff with the teachings of Rohlfing, such that the dental screw is configured to a torque limiting portion and the threaded portion is disposed distal to the torque limiting portion, in order to provide a safety mechanism that allows a broken part of a instrument to be removed from a surgical site easily and without it drifting, and to prevent damage to the screw (Rohlfing, Par. 3-4).
Re. Claim 16, Streff, and Rohlfing discloses the dental fastening set of claim 31 and Streff further discloses wherein the cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the torque transfer zone comprises at least one of convex and planar sections (Fig 7; see modified Figure 5 below) alternating with concave sections (Fig 7; see modified Figure 5 below); and wherein the screw engaging interface includes a torque transfer zone (Figs 3a-3b; tip 42; Par. 74) with a cross-section comprising at least one of convex and planar sections (Fig 3b; see modified Figure 3) alternating with concave sections (Fig 3b; see modified Figure 3), wherein in an engaged state of the dental screw and the dental fastening tool for transferring torque, at least an intermediate section of each of at least one of the convex and planar sections of the dental screw faces a profile of a concave section of the tool engaging interface at a distance (see modified Figure 6 below; an intermediate, curved section of a convex section of the screw faces a profile of a concave section of the tool engaging interface of the dental screw at a distance).
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Modified Figure 5 Modified Figure 6
Re. Claim 18, Streff, and Rohlfing discloses the dental fastening set of claim 31 and Haus further discloses the dental screw and the dental fastening tool each comprise a pick-up zone (for dental screw: Fig 3A; recesses 350, surfaces 320; for fastening tool: edges 450) configured to engage each other by friction (Par. 47).
Re. Claim 19, Streff, and Rohlfing discloses the dental fastening set of claim 16 and Streff further discloses the dental screw and the dental fastening tool each comprise a verification zone (engagement protrusions/depressions 60,64 of the screw 22; protrusions/depressions 54,56 of the rotary tool 24; Par. 41, 78; the protrusions and depressions of the screw/rotary tool constitute a verification zone of the engaging interfaces, such that the protrusions/depressions of the rotary tool have to match the protrusions/depressions of a dental screw in a corresponding manner such that they can engage and the rotary tool can properly be used to screw in a dental screw) configured to allow engagement of the torque transfer zone of the dental fastening tool and the torque transfer zone of the dental screw when the dental fastening set is fully engaged (Par. 88).
Re. Claim 26, Streff, and Rohling discloses the dental fastening set of Claim 15, Streff further discloses the screw engaging interface of the dental fastening tool includes a torque transfer zone (Fig 2; engagement means 50; Par. 98), wherein the cross-section of the torque transfer zone comprises convex sections alternating with concave sections (Fig. 7; See modified Fig. 5).
Re. Claim 27, Streff, and Rohling discloses the dental fastening set of Claim 15, Rohling discloses the second maximum torque of the second torque limiting portion (Fig 1; frangible region 34; Par. 53). Hermann provides teaching of a torque limiting portion of the dental fastening tool to be 35 Ncm or less (Par. 13).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the second maximum torque of Streff, and Rohling to have the second maximum torque of the second torque limiting portion is 35 Ncm or less as taught by the combination of Rohfling and Herrmann to provide enough torque that would not damage the screw.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Streff (US 20130164708 A1) in view of Rohlfing (US 20200060743 A1) and Haus (US 20140186797 A1).
Re. Claim 17, Streff, and Rohlfing discloses the dental fastening set of claim 16 but are silent to the torque transfer zone of the dental screw and the torque transfer zone of the dental fastening tool have a rotational play when being engaged with each other, in particular a play in a range of 1 to 3.5°, but does explicitly teach wherein “the engagement means on the screw and the counter means on the rotary tool have to be matched to one another as precisely as possible so that the tool does not have too much play and the engagement means are not damaged” (Par. 11).
Haus discloses a dental screw in the same field of endeavor and further discloses a tool engagement interface (Fig 3A; screw interface 300); and a screw driver (Figs 4-5) comprising screw engagement interface (Figs 4-5; screw driver head 400), and wherein in an engaged state of the dental screw and screw driver (Figs 5A-C), the contact between the corresponding engagement surfaces can be optimized such that “an optimal play between the screw and the driver is achieved to allow angulated rotation of screw” (Par. 45). The rotational play is a result effective variable in that changing the rotational play between the engaged parts affects the guidance of the screw driver into the screw and the overall efficiency of the screw driver and the screw. Adjustment of the rotational play directly correlates to the function of the dental set; one of ordinary skill in the art would have had reasonable expectation of success in modifying the rotational play of the dental set, as it involves only adjusting a dimension of a component disclosed to require adjustment.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rotational play of the dental set of Streff, and Rohlfing to be in the range of 1 to 3.5° as taught by Haus in order to optimize efficiency between the components of the dental set since it has been held that “where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Claim(s) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Streff (US 20130164708 A1) in view of Rohlfing (US 20200060743 A1) and Dahlstrom (US 20120270180 A1).
Re. Claim 28, Streff, and Rohlfing discloses the dental fastening set of Claim 15, and but are silent to the dental screw comprises a support surface at a distal end of the screw head, the dental fastening set further comprising a dental component, wherein the dental component comprises a screw seat for engaging the support surface of the screw head, wherein the support surface and the screw seat have a conical shape, and wherein cone angles of the support surface and the screw seat differ from each other.
Dahlstrom discloses a dental restoration set and further discloses a dental component (24; see Fig. 1b) having a conical shaped screw seat (48a) for engaging a conical shaped support surface (42a; see Fig. 1a) of a screw (2a; Par. 85). Further Dahlstrom discloses various conical angle arrangement between the screw seat relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental component and the support surface relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental screw (Fig. 1-3; Abstract). In one embodiment, the cone angle of the support surface relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental screw is larger than the cone angle of the screw seat relative to the longitudinal angle of the dental component (Fig. 1b; Par. 85-86) to aid in applying the ideal amount of torque (Par. 11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the dental component and screw of Streff, and Rohlfing to have the support surface and the screw seat each have a conical shape, wherein a cone angle of the support surface relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental screw is larger than a cone angle of the screw seat relative to a longitudinal axis of the dental component as taught by Dahlstrom to avoid significant stress to the to the screw.
Claim(s) 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Streff (US 20130164708 A1) in view of Rohlfing (US 20200060743 A1) and Haus (US 20140186797 A1).
Re. Claim 29, Streff discloses a dental fastening tool (Fig. 3a; 24) comprising:
a proximal end (Fig. 3a; 38);
a distal end (Fig. 3a; 42);
a longitudinal axis (Fig. 3a; D);
a screw engaging interface (42) at the distal end for engaging a dental screw (Fig. 3a; Par. 78) with concave sections (Par. 78; 56); and
a torque limiting portion; wherein the torque limiting portion comprises a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool such that the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 35 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the screw engaging interface,
wherein the torque limiting portion is disposed proximal to the screw engaging interface,
It is noted that the limitations regarding the screw is functional language as what is being claimed- denoted by the preamble- is the dental fastening tool where the rotary tool 24 is capable of engaging with a dental screw that has the limitation described below:
Wherein the dental screw comprises a screw head including a tool engaging interface for engaging the fastening tool at a proximal end of the dental screw,
Wherein the dental screw comprises a screw shank disposed distal to the screw head.
However, Streff is silent to a torque limiting portion, wherein the torque limiting portion comprises a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool such that the torque limiting portion is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque of 35 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the dental screw engaging interface, and wherein the torque limiting portion is disposed proximal to the screw engaging interface. Further, Streff is silent to the rounded tip comprising a rounded distal surface. Further, Streff is silent to the screw engaging interface comprising a conical shape interrupted by concave sections.
Streff does disclose that a desired torque to be delivered is between 15 to 35 Nm or less for preventing damage to the screw engaging interface (Par. 25).
Rohlfing, in the analogous art of surgical screws and surgical fastening tools, teaches a fastening tool (Figs 1-13; driver 20) which comprises a screw engaging interface (Par. 37) and a torque limiting portion (Fig 1; frangible region 34) found proximal to the screw engaging surface (Fig. 1), having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool (Fig. 2) and wherein the torque limiting portion of the screw is configured to limit the torque transferable to a maximum torque for preventing damage to the dental screw engaging interface (Par. 53).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the tool of Streff to have a torque limiting portion having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool as taught by Rohlfing to having a cross-section smaller than a remainder of the dental fastening tool. As such, the combination of Streff and Rohling would provide teaching of a torque transferable to a maximum torque of 35 Ncm or less for preventing damage to the screw engaging interface. This is because Streff provides the teaching of a maximum torque of 35 Nm or less is applied to the dental screw and because Rohling teaches a torque limiting portion, it would further ensure the maximum torque does not exceed 35 Nm. Further, it would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date have the limit as claimed. Though Streff does not specifically teach limiting the torque, it should be noted that torques of 15-35 Nm are typically transferred and Streff provides teaching of a range of desired torque that would not damage or impair the screw. Thus a torque of up to 35Ncm can be transferred without difficulty, without the connecting screw becoming damage or otherwise impaired.
Haus discloses a dental fastening tool and further discloses the screw engaging interface (400) comprising a conical shape (Par. 44; Fig. 4b) interrupted by concave sections (see Fig. 4b; Par. 43) to rest more comfortably with the screw head (Par. 44).
It would have been obvious to someone skilled in the art before the effective filing date to have the tool of Streff and Rohling to have the screw engaging interface comprising a conical shape interrupted by concave sections as taught by Haus to rest more comfortably with the screw head.
Re. Claim 30, Streff, Rohling, and Haus dental fastening tool of Claim 29, wherein Streff further discloses each of the concave sections and corresponding adjacent conical shape are connected at points of transitions that are discontinuous such that each of the points of transition comprises a corner in a cross-section perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (Modified Figure 4 of Fig. 3b where it shows 2 first sections and 2 second sections alternating and connected by discontinuous points of transition cause by the curves in between. The corners are the points of element 54; Par. 78 discloses the number of sections that can be present where there are 6 and will be divided to be 3 protrusions for each section; Modified 3 and Fig. 3b shows concavities).
Response to Arguments
Argument #1: Applicants argues the amendment to claim 1 would overcome the current references used and that Thomke further does not disclose a conical shape for the support surface and screw seat.
Response #1: Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Argument #2: Applicant argues that Streff does not disclose a “discontinuous transition” and further does not read upon the amendments made to claim 9.
Response #2: Applicant’s argument is found to not be persuasive. It is found that Streff does disclose the amendments as Par. 40 discloses that the number of protrusions- which can be broken into a first section and a second section- can be 3-8 protrusions. One can as such divide the sections up equally to have at least four sections each would read upon the particular limitation. With regards to the point of transition it is found that they are discontinuous as the slopes changes when transitioning to each section. This can be further exemplified below. The light grey portions highlighted would have a different slope from the black portions highlighted indicative of the discontinuous points of transition.
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402
386
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Argument #3: Applicant argues that Haus does not disclose a screw engaging interface comprising a conical shape interrupted by concave sections.
Response #3: Applicant’s argument is found to not be persuasive. Haus does disclose a conical shape as made by the curves and straight lines as disclosed in the abstract and shown in Fig. 4B-4C as it tapers to a point in a cone like manner. It is also found to be interrupted by concave sections as in between the walls which makes the conical shape are recesses which would make up the concave sections (see Abstract).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure. See Form PTO-892.
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/HOLLY T. TO/Examiner, Art Unit 3772
/EDELMIRA BOSQUES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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