DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
2. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 30, 33, 37, 42, 46, 54, and 56-60 in the reply filed on 03/28/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-2, 4-8, 11, 15-16, and 27, are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Abstract
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words. It is important that the abstract not exceed 150 words in length since the space provided for the abstract on the computer tape used by the printer is limited. The form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as "means" and "said," should be avoided. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, "The disclosure concerns," "The disclosure defined by this invention," "The disclosure describes," etc.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it currently contains phrases which can be implied, e.g. "Apparatuses, components, devices, methods, and systems… are provided." (line 1). Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 30, 33, 37, 42, 46, 54, and 56-60, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hultgren et al. (2019/0167381).
Regarding claim 30, Hultgren et al. discloses a method comprising:
acquiring an impression of a patient's dentition based on at least one of (i) capturing three-dimensional scan data with an intraoral scanner and (ii) capturing motion data with a motion capture system (paragraph [0007] “capture an impression of the dentition of the patient, the portion of the dentition including the restoration site; a motion capture apparatus configured to capture a plurality of location data points”);
acquiring motion data for the patient that includes at least one of (i) excursive motion data, (ii) protrusive motion data, and (iii) extreme lateral motion data (paragraph [0080] “the bite record of the patient P is captured. In some embodiments, the bite record comprises information about contact between the upper dentition and lower dentition of the patient. In some embodiments, the bite record is captured in one or more of following positions: centric occlusion, centric relation, and various excursive bite positions”;
generating a thin-shell appliance 128 for the patient based on the impression; generating a contact surface based on the motion data; andjoining the contact surface with the thin-shell appliance (Fig. 14).
As to claim 33, Hultgen discloses the capturing motion data with a motion capture system includes: coupling a first clutch 340 to a first dental arch of a patient's dentition;
coupling a second clutch to a second dental arch of a patient's dentition;
capturing motion data using a first position indicator system of the first clutch;
capturing motion data using a second position indicator system of the second clutch; and determining motion of the first dental arch relative to the second dental arch based on the captured motion data from the first position indicator and the second position indicator (Figs. 6-8; paragraph [0096] “the securing layer 342 is secured to the upper arch U and the motion capture layer 346 is configured to capture indentations made by the lower arch L. In this manner, if the patient P moves between different bite positions, the motion capture layer 346 will include indentations that represent the location of the lower arch L relative to the upper arch U in the various bite positions and on the bite paths between those positions”).
.As to claim 37, wherein the generating a thin-shell appliance for the patient based on the impression includes: identifying a portion of a surface of a dental arch in the impression based at least in part on identifying heights of contour of the dental arch and extending the portion beyond the heights of contour; generating an interior offset surface based on offsetting three-dimensional data representing the identified portion by a first offset amount; generating an exterior offset surface based on at least one of (i) offsetting three- dimensional data representing a dental arch from the impression by a second amount and (ii) offsetting the interior offset surface by a second amount (Fig. 29; paragraph [0189]-[0192]).
As to claim 42, the generating a contact surface based on the motion data includes:
generating a contact surface disposed in an anterior region of a dental arch; and
generating a contact surface that has a concave shape in a cross-arch dimension based on sweeping a point from an opposing dental arch through a motion path relative to the dental arch, the motion path being based on the motion data (Figs. 29-31; paragraphs [0200-0202]).
As to claims 46, 54, and 56-60, generating a contact surface that has a concave shape in the cross-arch dimension includes: moving the opposing dental arch through a hinge motion path in the motion data to position the opposing dental arch in an open position based at least in part on a centric relation bite of the patient; and sweeping a point of the opposing dental arch in the open position arch through a motion path relative to the dental arch paragraph [0202] “guide data 906 is generated by sweeping the lower arch model data through all of the bite positions recorded in the functional bite map data 121 or the motion data 112. Additionally, in some embodiments, the incisal guide data 906 is generated from a pre-preparation impression of the lingual surface of the upper arch of the patient P. In some embodiments, the incisal guide data 906 is formed by inverting the lingual surface of the upper arch of the patient P. Similarly, in some embodiments, the incisal guide data 906 is formed by inverting the surface formed by sweeping the lower arch model through all of the bite positions and paths. In this manner, the incisal guide model”).
Conclusion
6. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAO D MAI whose telephone number is (571)270-3002. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-4:30. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached on (571) 270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HAO D MAI/
Examiner, Art Unit 3772