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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the Lips and Walls of claim 11 must be shown or the features canceled from the claims. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as "amended." If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either "Replacement Sheet" or "New Sheet" pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 6, 8, 15, 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 5, 6 and 8, the use of the term “a first universal scan body” is indefinite. It is not understood if said “first universal scan body” is the same as the “first universal scan body” in line 12 of claim 1, or if it refers to another different “first universal scan body”. For examination purposes, the term will be interpreted as both terms refer to the same limitation.
Regarding claims 15, 16 and 18, the use of the term “a first universal scan body” is indefinite. It is not understood if said “first universal scan body” is the same as the “first universal scan body” in line 13 of claim 11, or if it refers to another different “first universal scan body”. For examination purposes, the term will be interpreted as both terms refer to the same limitation.
Regarding claim 8, the use of the term “a scan bullet” in line 1 is indefinite. It is not understood if said “scan bullet” is the same as the “scan bullet” in line 14 of claim 1, or if it refers to another different structure. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as both terms refer to the same limitation.
Regarding claims 5 and 15, the use of the terms “a scan nug”, “a multi-unit abutment”, “an orientation scan marker”, and “a scan bullet” is indefinite. It is not understood if the same are the same as the structures described in lines 13-14 in claim 1 and in lines 14-15 of claim 11, or if they refer to another different structures. For examination purposes, it will be interpreted as both set of terms refer to the same limitations.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: In line 12 uses the term “a first universal scan body”. The Office understands that said “first universal scan body” refers to the first of the “one or more universal scan bodies” of line 8 of the claim 1 and 11. It is suggested to create the relationship between both terms in order to avoid potential confusion, e.g. (1) the “one or more universal scan bodies” includes “a first universal scan body”, where this language allows to use the term “first universal scan body” independently across the claims, and (2) “a first universal scan body of the one or more universal scan bodies” as a single term. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim is not further defining the STV tray or its intended use from the description found in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 5, after the term “located” should include the comma punctuation mark ( , ), in which it was present in the previous set of claims. Therefore, it is understood that it is an unintended typographical error. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: The claim is not further defining the step or the intended use of said step from the description found in claim 11. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 5 uses the term “presurgery”. Even when the Office understands the intended definition, because in claim 3 uses the term “pre-surgery”, it is suggested to maintain the same nomenclature across the same set of claims. Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5-13 and 15-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the claim objections and rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1, the amendment in the claim includes the allowable subject matter of claim 4 indicated in the last Office action of 10 February 2026.
Therefore, the art of record does not teach or render obvious, either alone or in combination, an apparatus including a Scan, Tissue, Verification tray including a first universal scan body configured to mate to multiple other components in a set of parts used in a full arch 3D digital facial scanning workflow consisting of a scan nug, a multi-unit abutment, an orientation scan marker, and a scan bullet, depending on a procedure being performed in a surgery stage for the dental implants or a restoration stage for the dental implants in a full arch 3D digital facial scanning workflow in combination with the elements set forth in the claim.
Regarding claim 11, the amendment in the claim includes the allowable subject matter of claim 14 indicated in the last Office action of 10 February 2026.
Therefore, the art of record does not teach or render obvious, either alone or in combination, a method for performing a full arch 3D digital facial scanning workflow including the step of providing a first universal scan body to mate to multiple other components in a set of parts used in the full arch 3D digital facial scanning workflow consisting of 1) a scan nug, 2) a multi-unit abutment, 3) an orientation scan marker, and 4) a scan bullet, depending on a procedure being performed in a surgery stage for the dental implants or a restoration stage for the dental implants in the full arch 3D digital facial scanning workflow in combination with the elements set forth in the claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1 and 11 have added the allowable subject matter indicated in the last Office action of 10 February. However, the amendments have created other issues that require attention as indicated in the rejections and objections above. Therefore, the present set of claims is not in condition of allowance.
Conclusion
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 MIRAYDA ARLENE APONTE whose telephone number is (571)270-1933. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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, Eric Rosen can be reached at 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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/MIRAYDA A APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3772 /ERIC J ROSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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