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 .
According to the Amendment filed on 2/3/26, Claims 62-66, 79-93 are pending.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 64-66, 81, 85-87, 91-92 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.
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)(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) 62-63, 79-80, 82-84, 88-90, 93 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Williamson (US 20020133164 A1).
Williamson discloses a gap tensioner fig. 43 for a balancing jig for a joint arthroplasty procedure, the gap tensioner comprising: a first engagement element 509 configured to operatively couple to a first paddle 502 of a balancing assembly, the first paddle sized to extend under only a first condyle of a dual condyle bone figs 37-42 ;a second engagement element 505 configured to operatively couple to a second paddle 504 of the balancing assembly, the second paddle sized to extend under only the first condyle figs 37-42; an actuator 524 configured to change a spacing between the first engagement element 509 and the second engagement element 505 and correspondingly change a spacing between the first paddle 502 and the second paddle 504, fig. 46, para. 122; and a bone pin guide 550 operatively coupled to an engagement guide (gap or void as shown in modified fig. 44 below) and being repositionable with respect to the engagement guide fig. 46; wherein the first paddle and the second paddle are configured to be placed between bones of a joint figs 37-42; and wherein the balancing assembly is configured so that the first engagement element 509 is movable along the engagement guide (or motion guide as for claim 82) to allow the first paddle and the second paddle to span a gap between the bones of the joint, wherein the gap tensioner comprises a housing (rectangular shape, see modified fig. 44 below); wherein the first engagement element 509 is linearly slidable relative to the housing; and wherein the second engagement element 505 is rigidly disposed relative to the housing, wherein the bone pin guide 550 is independently repositionable with respect to the first paddle and the second paddle fig. 44, 46, wherein the bone pin guide includes a first bone pin guide and a second bone pin guide (see modified fig. 44 below), wherein: the first bone pin guide includes a first plurality of through holes fig. 42, each of the first plurality of through holes sized to accept a first bone pin; and, the second bone pin guide includes a second plurality of through holes, each of the second plurality of through holes sized to accept a second bone pin (see modified fig. 44 below).
the actuator 524 including a handsfree lock (threads of the screw 524 and threads of the hole 522) to fix the spacing between the first paddle and the second paddle among a plurality of spacings, each of first and second paddle includes a dish shape.
PNG
media_image1.png
611
637
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to claims have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new interpretation of rejection is made in view of Williamson.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMEH RAAFAT BOLES whose telephone number is (571)270-5537. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5 pm.
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, Kevin Truong can be reached at 571-272-4705. 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.
/SAMEH R BOLES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
Prosecution Insights