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 § 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 1-10 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.
Claims 1 and 5 recite first that the trench extends between a side wall and a bar of the base portion, but then goes on to recite that the bar divides the trench into a first section and a second section. Both cannot be true, since in the first instance the trench extends between and therefore ends at the bar; while the second recitation would rather have the bar in the middle of the trench. For purposes of examination, claims will be read as fulfilling the first recitation where the trench extends between.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sabilla et al (US 2016/0038258).
Sabilla shows an orthodontic appliance comprising a body portion for effecting an orthodontic treatment (upper portion in Fig. 5A); a base portion (lower portion in Fig. 5A) affixed to the body portion, the base portion including a surface defining a plurality of trenches (as seen in cross section in Fig. 5A and also Fig. 23 showing the trenches going between projections 120), at least one trench formed at an acute angle to a gingival surface of the base portion (since angle changes along the bottom surface of the base portion as seen in Fig. 5A-5E, at least some of the trenches will be formed at an acute angle to a gingival surface of the base portion, such as at the bottom right or left of the above figures depending on which side is oriented toward the gingiva), wherein the at least one trench comprises substantially parallel side walls (best seen in cross-section of Fig. 27B) that extend along an axis of the base portion (into and out of the page of Fig. 27B) and extend between a side wall of the base portion and a bar of the base portion (sidewall at 133 in Fig. 27C and bar at 132 in Fig. 27C), wherein the bar of the base portion divides the at least one trench into a first section and a second section (see 112 above; claim will be read according to the previous limitation). With respect to claim 2, wherein each trench is formed substantially parallel to a mesial-distal axis (into and out of the page in Fig. 5A-E for instance) of the base portion, the trench having parallel side walls (up and down walls in Fig. 5A-E). With respect to claims 3 and 4, wherein the base portion includes a perimeter wall (best seen at 126 in Fig. 23) defining a cavity (space within that perimeter housing the projections 120) so that at least one of the plurality of trenches has an opening that is arranged below a plane defined by a surface of the perimeter wall adapted to contact the tooth surface (taking for instance the plane extending normal to the bracket from the mesial side to the distal side and gingival to occlusal side, the projections toward the center form trenches that are opened below this plane).
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.
Claims 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sabilla in view of Dickenson et al. (US 2019/0142551).
Sabilla discloses the device as previously described above and the surface contour of the bonding base being matched to the shape of a tooth of the patient ([0069]), but fails to show that the method of manufacturing brackets is by additive manufacturing including based on dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, generating a three-dimensional model of the patient's teeth; generating a virtual 3D bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure based upon said 3D model of the patient's teeth, wherein generating the 3D bracket structure model comprises generating a first 3D bracket model; importing data related to the 3D bracket structure model into an additive manufacturing machine; directly producing the bracket as modeled with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.
Dickenson similarly teaches a method of manufacturing a dental bracket; wherein the method is by additive manufacturing ([0032]) including based on dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient ([0045]), generating a three-dimensional model of the patient's teeth ([0045]); generating a virtual 3D bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure based upon said 3D model of the patient's teeth ([0046] for instance), wherein generating the 3D bracket structure model comprises generating a first 3D bracket model (“on the digital model”, [0048] part of the apparatus); importing data related to the 3D bracket structure model into an additive manufacturing machine ([0048]); directly producing the bracket as modeled with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal ([0053] additive layer process; [0107] discusses ceramic or metal for the apparatus and [0134] for instance discusses the use of a single material for all components). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sabilla’s manufacturing method by utilizing the additive layer manufacturing process as taught by Dickenson in order to utilize known manufacturing methods in the art for producing accurate dental brackets.
With respect to claim 7, wherein one or more of the trenches is formed as a chevron, pointing to either an occlusal surface or a gingival surface, along a mesial-distal axis of the base portion (trenches angled to one another form multiple chevron shapes that point in this direction in Sabilla). With respect to claims 9 and 10, wherein the virtual 3D bracket structure model includes data representing a) the base portion, b) the plurality of trenches, c) material forming the appliance, and d) a profile of the tooth (the combination of the bracket of Sabilla with the manufacturing method as taught by Dickenson results in the data including a-d above).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues with respect to the newly amended language, however this language raises 112 issues and due to the bar lacking sufficient structure is still read on by the prior art as detailed above.
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 MATTHEW NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5898. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm EDT.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen, 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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/MATTHEW M NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772
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