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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 15 and 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2025/0107793 to Dreyfuss et al. (Dreyfuss).
Dreyfuss teaches:
Claim 15: A locking ferrule (22, Fig. 4) for performing tissue repairs comprising:
a body extending between a first end and a second end (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below) and including an outer diameter wall (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below), an inner diameter wall, and a cannulation that is surrounded by the inner diameter wall (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below);
an eyelet connected to the body (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below); and
a plurality of locking barbs (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below) extending into the cannulation and configured to lock a suture that is received through the cannulation relative to the body,
wherein the plurality of locking barbs each protrude inwardly from the inner diameter wall and are arranged in at least a first row and a second row (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below),
wherein a first portion of the plurality of locking barbs of the first row are staggered (Fig. 6) relative to a second portion of the plurality of locking barbs of the second row.
Claim 27: A locking ferrule (22, Fig. 4) for performing tissue repairs, comprising:
a body (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below) extending between a first end and a second end and including an outer diameter wall, an inner diameter wall, and a cannulation surrounded by the inner diameter wall (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below);
an eyelet integrally formed with the body (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below); and
a plurality of locking barbs (Fig. 4 reproduced with annotation below) extending into the cannulation and configured to lock a suture that is received through the cannulation relative to the body.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4, 6-10, 13-14, 21-26 allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Regarding base claim 1, none of the prior art disclose, in combination with other limitations of the claim, a locking ferrule for performing tissue repairs comprising an eyelet connected to the outer diameter wall of the body.
The closest prior art US 2025/0107793 to Dreyfuss et al. discloses surgical locking buttons comprising a locking button 22 with a disk portion 40, body 44 having a cannulation with inner diameter and plurality of barbs within the cannulation and eyelets formed in the disk portion 40 but fails to disclose the eyelet connected to the outer diameter of the body. US 2017/0265918 to Dooney et al. discloses method and system for proving a suture wrap cerclage having a bone plate 422 having an eyelet preventing slippage and maintaining a position of the suture wrap cerclage. These prior art taken alone or in combination do not anticipate or make obvious applicant claimed invention.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4, 6-10, 13-15, 21-27 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHONG SON DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5809. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5.
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/PHONG SON H DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771
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