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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of restriction/election in the reply filed on April 15, 2026 is acknowledged.
Applicant has elected Group I: Claims 1-9, drawn to a system for bending a spinal rod.
Claims 10-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on April 15, 2026.
Claims 1-20 are presently pending in this application.
Examiner’s Note
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8, and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Rout et al. (US 2020/0230812), herein referred to as Rout.
Regarding claim 1, Rout discloses a system (10) (figure 1) for bending a spinal rod (106) (¶59) comprising a rod bending assembly (100) (figures 1-3) including a bender box (122) and a bender assembly (121) coupled to the bender box (122) (figure 3), the bender box (122) includes a top plate (5404) (figure 54) having a fixed coupling member (108) (¶62) and an actuated coupling member (104) (¶62), the bender assembly (121) includes a rod cutter (¶68) attachable to the fixed coupling member (108) (figure 3) and a bending mandrel (110, 150, 154) attachable to the actuated coupling member (104) (figure 3), and an automatic or navigated feeding system (¶59) configured to (i.e. capable of) feed a spinal rod (106) into the rod bending assembly (¶64), and wherein the bender assembly (121) is configured to (i.e. capable of) bend and contour the spinal rod (106) into a complex three-dimensional shape (¶178).
Regarding claim 2, Rout discloses wherein the bending mandrel (110, 150, 154) comprises a roller (154) (¶63) and a coupled lever arm (2503) (¶120).
Regarding claim 3, Rout discloses wherein the roller (154) (¶63) is a vertically oriented cylinder (figure 3) with a radial groove (figure 3) configured to (i.e. capable of) receive the spinal rod (106).
Regarding claim 4, Rout discloses wherein the rod cutter (¶68) includes a block (142) attachable to the fixed coupling member (108) (¶62), a fixed plate (140) attached to the block (142), and a moveable plate (124) pivotally coupled to the fixed plate (140).
Regarding claim 5, Rout discloses wherein the moveable plate (124) is pivotally coupled to the fixed plate (140) via a pivot pin (134).
Regarding claim 6, Rout discloses wherein the fixed plate (140) and the moveable plate (124) define through openings (figure 3), and when aligned, the fixed and moveable plates (124, 140) are configured to (i.e. capable of) receive the spinal rod (106) therethrough (figure 3).
Regarding claim 8, Rout discloses wherein the automatic or navigated feeding system is an automatic robot (100) (¶59) configured to (i.e. capable of) feed and rotate the spinal rod (106).
Regarding claim 9, Rout discloses wherein the automatic or navigated feeding system (100) is a navigated handle (figure 28) having a plurality of tracking markers (2811, 2815) attachable to one end of the spinal rod (106) (figure 28).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SI MING KU whose telephone number is (571)270-5450. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30am-6pm.
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, Kevin Truong can be reached at (571)272-4705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SI MING KU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
Prosecution Insights