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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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. In the last paragraph of claim 17, the examiner does not find support for “between 10° and 50° for six tooth profiles”. First, the examiner does not find support for between 10° and 50° only the ranges of “between 10° and 60°” and “between 20° and 50°” (p.[0009]). Second, the examiner does not find support for six tooth profiles being associated with any angle range.
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.
Claims 1-5, 8 and 12-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seidl (US 5,171,117) in view of Dilling (US 2017/0363130). Seidl discloses a screw element (10) comprising: a shaft with a thread capable of threading with a bone; a tool attachment point with a central opening (21); a wall of the central opening has at least five tooth profiles (24) parallel to a screw axis (28) wherein insertion direction walls of the profiles have a greater surface area than a removal direction walls; the attachment is separable into two section wherein the first section includes the insertion and removal direction walls of the tooth profiles and a second section includes sloped guiding walls (27) extending circumferentially from the removal wall of the first section in a proximal direction between 10° and 60°; the height of the first section is greater than the second section; the tool attachment point opening includes a conical end; the tool attachment point is formed in a head (16) of the fastener with an adjacent neck; and the tool attachment point receives a screw driver (column 2, paragraph beginning line 42).
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Seidl additionally discloses the insertion wall parallel to the axis over its entire length and the slotted opening angle within the claimed range as pointed to below.
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Seidl does not disclose the opening end with a concentric frusto-conically shaped ring. Dilling discloses a screw element with an opening similar to Seidl but where the opening end has a frusto-conical shaped ring (34). Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the opening end of Seidl with a frusto-conical shaped ring as disclosed in Dilling in order to better guide the driver into the opening.
Conclusion
Applicant’s remarks in support of the amendments have been considered and were addressed in the above rejection.
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 FLEMMING SAETHER whose telephone number is (571)272-7071. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 7:00 eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine Mills can be reached at 571-272-8322. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FLEMMING SAETHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3675