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 § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 5-8, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamel et al. (U.S. 20080140158) in view of Ekvall et al. (U.S. 10243557).
Independent Claim 1, Hamel teaches the following:
A surgical system comprising (abstract, ¶’s[1, 32, 57] discloses endoscopic surgical system):
a console (Fig. 1 – receiver unit 6; ¶[22]);
a foot controller wirelessly coupled to the console and adapted to control one or more operations of the console (Fig. 2 – foot-operated console 9; abstract, ¶’s[1, 22] with ¶[22] explicitly disclosing a single wireless foot controlled console … comprising multiple controls designed for operation which transmits signals wirelessly to a receiver unit, and causes the receiver unit to select a device to be controlled);
and a charging apparatus (Fig. 3 – docking station 10) adapted to wirelessly charge the foot controller (¶[22] discloses that the receiver unit and the docking station can be integrated within a single housing (being interpreted as coupling. The docking station can charge the rechargeable battery, sealed within the console's housing, inductively).
Hemal is silent to teaching a surgical console coupled to the foot controller wirelessly.
Ekvall teaches of a surgical console coupled to the foot controller wirelessly (Fig. 3 – 28; ¶[11] discloses that the surgical footswitch is wirelessly coupled to the surgical console to relay a low-battery signal via the wireless interface.).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Hamel in view of Ekvall to incorporate a surgical console. The reason for performing the modification would have been to provide connection to a console so that a surgical console is used to receive mechanical inputs, originating from the movement of the foot of an operator to govern the operation of a subsystem within the patient treatment apparatus ¶[2].
Dependent Claim 2, Hamel teaches of a surgical system where the charging apparatus is coupled to the console via a cable (abstract, ¶’s[23, 24] discloses that the receiver unit communicates over a wired communication medium and ¶[22] already discloses that the receiver unit and the docking station can be integrated within a single housing.)
Dependent Claim 5, Hamel teaches of a surgical system wherein,
the charging apparatus comprises a first coil (Fig. 5 – induction coil 56; ¶[39] discloses an induction coil 56 in the docking station (interpreted as the charging apparatus in claim 1))
and the foot controller comprises a second coil (Fig. 5 – induction coil 55; ¶[39] discloses an induction coil 55 in the foot-operated console)
Dependent Claim 6, Hamel teaches of a surgical system wherein,
the charging apparatus is adapted to wirelessly transmit power to the foot controller via an inductive coupling between the first coil and the second coil (¶[22] discloses that the foot control console may be … charged inductively when the console is placed in a docking station. ¶[39] mentions that the battery is charged using power induced in the secondary induction coil (within in the console) by a corresponding primary induction coil within the docking station. The induction coil in the console and the induction coil in the docking station are positioned in close proximity to each other (to wirelessly transmit power via induction)).
Dependent Claim 7, Hamel teaches of a surgical system wherein,
the inductive coupling is established when the foot controller is overlaid on a top surface of the charging apparatus (Fig. 3 shows that the console is overlaid on a top surface of the docking station; ¶[22,39] discloses that the console may be … charged inductively when it is placed in a docking station (being interpreted as the foot controller being overlaid on a top surface of the charging apparatus.)
Dependent Claim 8, Hamel teaches of a surgical system wherein,
the foot controller is adapted to transmit data to the charging apparatus via an inductive coupling between the first coil and the second coil (abstract, ¶[22] discloses that the foot operated console transmits signals to a remote receiver unit over a wireless medium (such as data transmission via an inductive coupling). The receiver unit and the docking/charging station can be integrated within a single housing (where the first coil from the console and the second coil from the charging station are inductively coupled));
and the charging apparatus (or the receiver unit since it can be integrated in the same housing as the docking station mentioned in ¶[22]) is configured to forward the data to the surgical console via a cable coupling the charging apparatus to the surgical console (¶[24] discloses that the receiver unit is connected to a selection of supporting devices 5 (the surgical console can be interpreted as one of these supporting devices) through a wired communication medium 6 or direct communication 78, (establishing coupling between the supporting devices and the charging apparatus)).
With regards to claim 8, Hamel as modified by Ekval teaches a cable coupling the charging apparatus to the surgical console.
Dependent Claim 11, Hamel teaches of a surgical system wherein, the console comprises multiple controls designed … to control multiple medical devices, including a selection switch to allow selection of the device to be controlled ¶[21, 22]. ¶[23] discloses that the surgical system is primarily a medical endoscopy system (being interpreted as one of the state of surgical procedure).
Hamel doesn’t explicitly teach of a surgical console operating in one or more states of surgical procedure.
Ekvall teaches of one or more operations where the surgical console is put in one or more states of surgical procedure (¶[2] discloses that operation of different subsystems, pneumatic and electronically driven subsystems (being interpreted as one or more states of surgical procedure), is controlled by a microprocessor-driven console. The microprocessor controls within a surgical console receive mechanical inputs from the operator of the surgical system). Ekval teaches in ¶[2], different subsystems help to carry out different complex patient treatment procedures, increasing the versatility of usage of the system.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Hamel in view of Ekvall, so as to provide one or more operations where the surgical console is put in one or more states of surgical procedure, so as to expand the functional versatility of the system.
Claims 3, 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamel et al. (U.S. 20080140158) in view of Ekvall et al. (U.S. 10243557) and Riedel et al. (U.S. 20210044068).
Dependent Claim 3, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1.
Hamel is silent to having a flat ribbon cable.
Riedel teaches of a flat ribbon cable (¶[2,3] discloses a multicore ribbon or foil cables, in which the cores are not arranged in a circularly bundled manner in a round sheath, but rather are guided in parallel next to one another (being interpreted as flat)). Riedel teaches in ¶[3] that the ribbon cables can be for enhanced flexibility in mechanical connection.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Hamel with Riedel to incorporate a flat ribbon cable for enhanced connectivity.
Dependent Claim 4, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1 with a charging apparatus.
Hamel is silent to the charging apparatus being coupled to the cable via an overmolding.
Riedel teaches of coupling the ribbon cable via an overmolding. (¶[30] discloses a folded conductor structure with an electrically insulating material forming a overmolded plug body and ¶[35] discloses that the overmolding produces a movable clamping bracket by which the ribbon or foil cable is connected to and fixed in the plug.) Riedel teaches that such overmolding is done to achieve better insulation and stability of the electrical connections (¶’s[30, 44]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate overmolding coupled to a ribbon cable as suggested by Riedel, so as to modify the teaching of Hamel with Riedel to provide enhanced electrical insulation.
Claims 9, 10, 12, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamel et al. (U.S. 20080140158) in view of Ekvall et al. (U.S. 10243557) and Waffenschmidt (U.S. 20100328044).
Dependent Claim 9, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1.
Hamel is silent to the charging apparatus being a floor mat.
Waffenschmidt teaches of a floor mat charging apparatus (Fig. 1A, 3A, 3B, 3E – inductive power pad 100; ¶[112] discloses that the inductive power pad 100 may be constructed within a floor mat or embedded within a portion of the floor (collectively "transmitter area") over which the foot switch controller 900 is placed to operate and/or for periodic charging.) Waffenschmidt teaches that the floor mat charging apparatus is used to provide inductive energy to a power receiver circuit located within the portable appliance ¶[3].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Hamel with Waffenschmidt to incorporate a floor mat which can provide inductive energy to the surgical system.
Dependent Claim 10, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1.
Hamel is silent to the floor mat being made of rubber material.
Waffenschmidt teaches of an inductive floor mat made of rubber material (¶[112] discloses that the mat may be covered with a thin rubber layer). Waffenschmidt teaches that the rubber layer can prevent the charging apparatus from slipping due to being sealed hermetically with the floor which would allow easy cleaning ¶[112].
With regards to claim 10, the combination as modified by Waffenschmidt teaches a floor mat made of rubber material to provide better sealing and easy cleaning.
Dependent Claim 12, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1.
Hamel is silent to the charging apparatus accommodating a plurality of foot controllers.
Waffenschmidt teaches of an inductive floor charging mat with multiple inductors accommodated to power multiple controllers (¶[5, 7] with ¶[7] disclosing that an inductive power pad includes at least one, and in a particular embodiment, a plurality of transmitting inductors … with a respective plurality of detector circuits, each detector circuit having one corresponding transmitting inductor. Each transmitting inductor is operable to provide inductive energy to a power receiver circuit, and each detector circuit is operable to electromagnetically sense a power receiver circuit. Furthermore, each detector circuit, upon electromagnetically sensing a power receiver circuit, is operable to control switching of its corresponding transmitting inductor to a power supply, thereby applying a supply voltage to its corresponding transmitting inductor. Fig. 3 A,B, D, E all explicitly show multiple transmitting inductors 120 with multiple detector circuits 140, fitted to send power to multiple power receiving circuits 150 (not shown explicitly in the figures). (Such arrangement is being interpreted by the examiner as the charging apparatus accommodating multiple controllers). Fig. 9 illustrates a foot switch controller incorporating an inductive power system including a power receiving circuit 150 ¶[110] coupled to its corresponding transmitting inductor and detector circuit. Other inductor and detecting circuits slots are shown empty (hereby, reasonably indicating of the charging pad being able to accommodate multiple foot switch controllers)). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to extend the size of the charging floor mat to accommodate powering multiple foot controllers with its availability of multiple transmitting inductors, detector circuits and power receiving circuits.
It would have been obvious to try for one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Hamel with Waffenschmidt to accommodate powering multiple foot controllers to include more versatility of usage of the system.
Dependent Claim 13, Hamel teaches of the surgical system from claim 1.
Hamel is silent to the charging apparatus accommodating a plurality of foot controllers that do not overlap.
Waffenschmidt teaches of an inductive floor charging mat with multiple inductors accommodated to power multiple controllers (¶[5, 7] with ¶[7] disclosing that an inductive power pad includes at least one, and in a particular embodiment, a plurality of transmitting inductors … with a respective plurality of detector circuits, each detector circuit having one corresponding transmitting inductor. Each transmitting inductor is operable to provide inductive energy to a power receiver circuit, and each detector circuit is operable to electromagnetically sense a power receiver circuit. Furthermore, each detector circuit, upon electromagnetically sensing a power receiver circuit, is operable to control switching of its corresponding transmitting inductor to a power supply, thereby applying a supply voltage to its corresponding transmitting inductor. Fig. 3 A,B, D, E all explicitly show different embodiments of the system having multiple transmitting inductors 120 with multiple detector circuits 140, fitted to send power to multiple power receiving circuits 150 (not shown explicitly in the figures) which do not overlap with each other. (Such arrangement is being interpreted by the examiner as the charging apparatus accommodating multiple controllers that do not overlap). Moreover, Fig. 8A and 8B illustrates different variation of a power inductive system. ¶[75, 76] discloses that the inductive power pad 100 and the power receiver circuit 150 may each be constructed from a variety of materials, depending upon its required size, and intended operation and one or both of the inductive power pad and the power receiver circuit may be implemented as an integrated circuit. Fig. 9 illustrates a foot switch controller incorporating an inductive power system including a power receiving circuit 150 ¶[110], coupled to its corresponding transmitting inductor and detector circuit. Other inductor and detecting circuits slots are shown empty (hereby, reasonably indicating of the charging pad being able to accommodate multiple foot switch controllers without overlapping)). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to extend the size of the charging floor mat to accommodate powering multiple foot controllers with its availability of multiple transmitting inductors, detector circuits and power receiving circuits without overlapping.
With regards to claim 13, the combination as modified by Waffenschmidt teaches a floor mat charging apparatus accommodated to multiple foot controllers that do not overlap.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Charles (U.S. 20190350757) teaches of a foot pedal device configured to provide force feedback to an operator during ophthalmic surgery which includes a processor to transmit a control signal to a surgical console, with a wireless inductive charging system. Sridharan et al. (U.S. 20180113983) teaches a foot pedal control device with a wired connection and wireless transmission modules. Eastman et al. (U.S. 9439806) teaches of a foot pedal device which includes a console suitable for receiving physical indications of various mode of operations.
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/TAWHID M PRANTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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