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 1 objected to because of the following informalities: “upward from said body forming a cavity” is believed to be in error for -upward from said bottom forming a cavity-. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 2018/0106589) in view of Kalentics (WO 2025/017218).
Kim teaches with respect to claim 1, a dental retainer that is configured to be mateably coupled to a wear’s teeth and maintain the teeth in fluid communication with saliva production (see pars. 39, 41 of translation, figs. 1-6), wherein the dental retainer comprises a body, said body having a semicircular profile (see fig. 1, such that the body is the appliance), said body having a bottom, a front wall and a rear wall, said bottom, said front wall and said rear wall being contiguously formed (see figs. 1-6, such that the front wall is the surface of the appliance on the buccal side, the bottom is the surface of the appliance on the occlusal surface, and the back wall is the surface of the appliance on the lingual side), said front wall and said rear wall extending upward from said bottom forming a cavity (see figs. 2-6, such that the walls for a cavity extending upwards from the bottom to form a cavity, such that if the appliance were placed on the upper jaw the direction would be upwards as in fig. 6), a plurality of tooth receptacles, said plurality of tooth receptacles being formed in said cavity (see figs. 1-6, pars. 29-30, i.e. tooth pockets are the claimed tooth receptacles), said plurality of tooth receptacles configured to mateably couple with each tooth of the wear’s teeth, said plurality of tooth receptacles each having a reservoir proximate a bottom thereof (see annotated figures below, such that the reservoir is the thickness of the tray and the aperture is the opening in the tray), each reservoir having an interior volume operable to receive and retain saliva therein (see par. 30 of translation, such that the apertures and reservoirs are capable of receiving and retaining saliva), said plurality of tooth receptacles further having a plurality of apertures 120 proximate thereto, at least one aperture of said plurality of apertures being placed in a first position of said body and at least a second one of said plurality of apertures being placed in a second position of said body (see figs. 1-6) , said apertures operable to facilitate transfer of saliva production into reservoirs (see annotated figure below, par. 30 of translation). Kim teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, however, does not specifically teach each of the plurality of apertures being fluidly coupled to one of the reservoirs.
PNG
media_image1.png
164
347
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
316
447
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Kalentics teaches a dental retainer configured to be mateably coupled to a wearer’s teeth and maintain the teeth in fluid communication with saliva production (see abstract, pars. 1-2, 13, 50, 53, claim 1) wherein the dental retainer comprises a body 1, said body having a semicircular profile (abstract, par. 14, such that the body is u-shaped and covers at least part of the dentition, see fig. 3 showing the u-shaped cross section and fig. 15 which shows the u-shaped, i.e. semicircular profile of the retainer that covers the dentition) said body having a bottom, a front wall and a rear wall, said bottom, said front wall and said rear wall being contiguously formed (see claim 1), said front wall and said rear wall extending upward from said bottom forming a cavity, a plurality of tooth receptacles (such that if the body fits an entire dentition as illustrated in fig. 15, the body has a plurality of tooth receptacles), said plurality of tooth receptacles being formed in said cavity (see figs. 6 , 10, 28-29 which show the device on the jaw, such that the cavity has tooth receptables as claimed) said plurality of tooth receptacles configured to mateably couple with each tooth of the wearer’s teeth (see figs. 6, 10, 28-29, claims 1-2), said plurality of teeth receptacles each having a reservoir 7 proximate a bottom thereof (see figs. 28-29), each said reservoir having an interior volume operable to receive and retain saliva therein (pars. 122-123, such that they are operable to receive and retain a fluid), said plurality of tooth receptacles further having a plurality of apertures 4 (par. 68, such that there are a plurality of openings on the external surface of the body to communicate with the internal surface to deliver saliva to the teeth when the device is in use), each of the plurality of apertures being fluidly coupled to one of the reservoirs, said apertures operable to facilitate transfer of saliva production into the reservoirs (see figs. 24, 28-29 which show the aperture 4 being connected to reservoirs 7/44). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify Kim with the single reservoir connected to the apertures as taught by Kalentics in order to allow for better and more even distribution of the liquid/saliva over the surface of the teeth (see pars. 116-118 of Kalentics). It is noted that the modification would result in a reservoir 44 as taught by Kalentics located between the different apertures 120 and connecting the apertures of Kim.
Kim/Kalentics teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kalentics further teaches with respect to claim 2, further including a plurality of inter-receptacle passages 46 (such that each section of element 46 is one inter-receptacle passage, see annotated figure), the inter-receptacle passages being hollow, said inter-receptacle being configured to fluidly couple adjacent tooth receptacles, said inter-receptacle passages operable to distribute saliva between adjacent tooth receptables and reservoirs. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to modify Kim with the inter-receptacle passages as taught by Kalentics in order to allow for communication between the teeth cavities.
PNG
media_image3.png
344
960
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Kim/Kalentics teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kim further teaches with respect to claim 3, wherein the first position of said at least one aperture is in said front wall of said body (see annotated figures above, further see par. 34 of translation).
Kim/Kalentics teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kim further teaches with respect to claim 4, wherein the second position of said at least one second one aperture is in said rear wall of said body (see annotated figures above, further see par. 34 of translation).
Kim/Kalentics teaches the invention as substantially claimed and discussed above, Kim further teaches with respect to claim 5, wherein said body is manufactured from a biocompatible plastic (see par. 28, 36). It is noted that the device is designed for use in the mouth, therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the invention to ensure that the plastic is a biocompatible plastic to make sure the device is safe for use in the oral environment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 HEIDI MARIE EIDE whose telephone number is (571)270-3081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-4:00.
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.
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.
/HEIDI M EIDE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772 12/5/2025