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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the modification of Williams by Wallace would be redundant because the screw already has threads on the head. The Office respectfully disagrees. The threading on the screw is interior and not an outer surface, therefore the external head threading (ref. 37, Fig. 6) as taught by Wallace would not be redundant because it not a duplication of the function. In addition, Williams discloses in a different embodiment discloses outer threading on the head of the screw (ref. 400, paragraph [100]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 14, 15, 19 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams (US 2019/0133651 A1) in view of Wallace et al. (US 2007/0049938 A1).
Regarding claim 14, Williams a bone fracture fixation system (Abstract) comprising:
an intramedullary nail (ref. 300);
a bone plate (ref. 150) including a plate hole extending therethrough (Figs. 9A-E, ref. 154); and
a bone screw (ref. 200) comprising a shank (ref. 201), a head (ref. 202), and threads disposed on the shank (Figs. 9B, D), the head of the bone screw being adjacent or contacting an inner surface of the plate (Fig. 9E), but is silent that the head of the bone screw has threads disposed on an outer surface.
Wallace teaches an analogous bone fracture system (Abstract) comprising a bone screw (Fig. 1, ref. 18) comprising a shank (ref. 18) and a head (top portion as shown in Fig. 4), the shank and head both having threads (Fig. 6, ref. 37). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bone screw and plate of Williams such that the head has threads and is configured to be threadedly inserted into the receiving portion of the plate, as taught by Wallace, for the purpose of including a removal feature to aid in adjustment or removal of the bone screw (Wallace, paragraph [0091-95]) and to prevent unwanted loosening or disengagement from the plate.
Regarding claim 15, Williams in view of Wallace discloses the system of claim 14, wherein an inner surface of the bone plate at least partially covers the head of the bone screw within a plane perpendicular to a central axis of the bone screw (Williams, Figs. 8A-9E).
Regarding claim 19, Williams in view of Wallace discloses the system of claim 14, wherein a portion of the inner surface of the bone plate adjacent or contacting the head of the bone screw is devoid of any screw holes (see remarked Fig. 9E below).
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Regarding claim 20, Williams in view of Wallace discloses the system of claim 15, wherein the inner surface is substantially smooth (Williams, Fig. 9E).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 13 are allowed.
Claims 16 – 18 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.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 TESSA M MATTHEWS whose telephone number is (571)272-8817. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8am - 1pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eduardo Robert can be reached at (571) 272-4719. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TESSA M MATTHEWS/ Examiner, Art Unit 3773
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