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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/09/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 02/09/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-3 and 5-15 remain pending in the application, claim 4 is cancelled, and claims 11-15 are withdrawn. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the claim objections and the interpretation of the prior art rejection previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed 09/23/2025, however a new prior art rejection is applied as outlined below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the previous interpretation of the reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Arguments directed to the claims as amended are addressed in the body of the rejection below.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sugalski et al. (US PGPub 2012/0022583), hereinafter known as “Sugalski.”
With regards to claim 1, Sugalski discloses (Figures 1-11) a surgical instrument 20 (paragraph 29), comprising:
a body 22 having a drive shaft 24/80 extending along a longitudinal axis and coupled to a pair of jaws 28/30 that are moveable between an open and a closed position (paragraphs 29-30);
a lever bearing 86 secured around the drive shaft 24/80 for movement therewith and having a stop 106 extending therefrom (figures 9-10; paragraphs 43-46);
a first lever 32 having a first upper end pivotally mounted within the body 22 and a first lower end that extends out of the body 22 (figures 1-7);
a second lever 72 having a second upper end interconnected to the first upper end of the first lever 32 (interconnected via link 70) and extending to a second lower end, wherein the second lower end of the second lever 72 engages the stop 106 of the lever bearing 86 (see figures 7-10 where second lever 72 is engaged to a stop 106 of the lever bearing 86 via 104; see annotated figure 7 below for relative upper and lower ends); and
a spring 88 extending between an intermediation portion of the first lever 32 and the second lower end of the second lever 72 (figures 6-9; paragraphs 43-44 and 46).
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With regards to claim 2, Sugalski discloses wherein the second lever 72 includes a pair of bearing surfaces in contact with the stop 106 of the lever bearing 86 (see figures 9-10 where the groove 106 is within the two inner surfaces of the lever bearing 86, therefore 104 contacts both inner surfaces of 86 as 104 sits in the groove 106 as also seen in figures 6-8).
With regards to claim 3, Sugalski discloses further comprising a link 70 pivotally interconnected at one end to the first upper end of the first lever 32 and at an opposing end to the second upper end of the second lever 72 (paragraphs 40 and 59; figures 6-8 – link 70 is pivotally interconnected at one end (lower end) to the first upper end of the first lever 32 and at an opposing end (lower end) to the second upper end of the second lever 72).
With regards to claim 5, Sugalski discloses wherein the spring 88 is configured to provide a force biasing the first lever 32 and the second lever 72 together (paragraph 46; figure 9 – “the force by which the force limiting spring 88 presses against the rocker adapter 86 in the precompressed state is referred to herein as the precompressed force, and is shown in FIG. 9. When the jaws 28 and 30 are in the closed position or when tissue 40 is compressed between the jaws 28 and 30, the jaws 28 and 30 will resist closing further. This resistance to further closing results in the sleeve housing 38 and the spool 84 resisting further forward movement relative to the stationary rod 80. So long as the force transferred from the rocker arm 72 to the rocker adapter 86 is less than the precompressed force, the rocker adapter 86 stays pressed against the C-clip 90 as shown in FIG. 9”).
With regards to claim 8, Sugalski discloses wherein the upper end of first lever 32 and the upper end of the second lever 72 are pivotally mounted within the body 22 about a common pivot point 70 (paragraphs 40 and 59; figures 6-8 – upper ends of each lever 32/72 are pivotally mounted within the body via 70, as the pivot point 70 is not required by the claims to be positioned at the respective upper ends).
With regards to claim 9, Sugalski discloses wherein the spring 88 is configured to provide a force biasing the first lever 32 and the second lever 72 apart (figure 6 – before the user presses the trigger 32).
With regards to claim 10, Sugalski discloses wherein the first lever 32 is moveable between a first position (figure 6) where the first lever 32 causes the second lever 72 to position the lever bearing 86 so that the drive shaft 24/80 puts the jaws 28/30 in the open position (figure 6), a second position (figures 7 and 9) where the first lever 32 causes the second lever 72 to position the lever bearing 86 so that the drive shaft 24/80 puts the jaws 28/30 in the closed position (figures 7 and 9), and a third position (figure 10) where the first lever 32 is moved closer to the second lever 72 against the bias of the spring 88 so that the second lever 72 and the lever bearing 86 do not move the drive shaft 24/80 and the jaws 28/30 remain in the closed position (figure 10; paragraph 46 – “When the force transferred from the rocker arm 72 to the rocker adapter 86 exceeds the precompressed force, the rocker adapter 86 slides forward relative to the spool 84 and further compresses the force limiting spring 88 as shown in FIG. 10. The force limiting spring 88 therefore absorbs the additional force without transferring it through the sleeve housing 38 to the jaw movement mechanism 26. The force limiting mechanism 78 thus prevents a potentially damaging level of mechanical force from reaching the jaw movement mechanism 26”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 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:
With regards to claim 6, the allowable subject matter is in the context of the claims. Specifically, the prior art of records fails to disclose or make obvious the claimed surgical instrument, comprising, inter alia,
“wherein the first lever is moveable between a first position where the first lever causes the second lever to position the lever bearing so that the drive shaft puts the jaws in the open position, a second position where the first lever causes the second lever to position the lever bearing so that the drive shaft puts the jaws in the closed position, and a third position where the first lever has separated from the second lever against the bias of the spring so that the second lever and the lever bearing do not move the drive shaft and the jaws remain in the closed position.”
The closest prior art of Sugalski does not disclose the respective positions of the first lever and second lever with respect to the lever bearing and spring, and most specifically the third position where the first lever has separated from the second lever against the bias of the spring so that the second lever and the lever bearing do not move the drive shaft and the jaws remain in the closed position. Most prior arts disclose reopening of the jaws against the bias of the spring instead of keeping the jaws closed against the bias of the spring. The prior art fails to disclose or make obvious the claimed subject matter of the third position. Therefore, the claim 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 MOHAMMED S ADAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8981. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jackie Ho can be reached at 571-272-4696. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMED S ADAM/Examiner, Art Unit 3771 04/22/2026
/KATHERINE M SHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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