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 Group I (Claims 21-31) in the reply filed on 12/01/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 32-40 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 12/01/2025.
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 21-31are 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. Independent claim 1 recites a memory configured to store “a set of device life management characteristics” in lines 7-8. The applicant’s specification merely teaches in paragraph [0007] “While a variety of systems have been made and used for surgical device lifecycle management, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used the technology as described herein.” However, the scope of the claimed set of device life management characteristics cannot be determined from the claim language or the specification. Therefore, this limitation renders indefinite Claim 1 and dependent claims 2-31. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 22 further recites a processor configured to reduce functionality of the surgical feature when the usage ratio exceeds an “upper abnormal use threshold’ or when the use ration is below a lower abnormal use threshold.” However the upper abnormal use threshold” or the lower abnormal use threshold cannot be determined from the claims or the specification. This limitation further renders indefinite claim 22 and dependent claims 23-25.
Appropriate correction is required.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 26-31 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Griffiths et al. Pub. No. US 2014/0052154disclose a surgical instrument comprising: an end effector, wherein the end effector comprises a surgical feature, a generator connection, a user input, wherein the user input is operable to activate the surgical feature of the end effector, a processor, and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a set of device life management characteristics, and wherein the processor is configured to enable or disable the surgical feature based upon the set of device life management characteristics as claimed (see Fig. 1, and Pars. 11, 12, 15-21).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AHMED M FARAH whose telephone number is (571)272-4765. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri. 9:30AM -10:30 PM.
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/AHMED M FARAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792
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