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 .
Status of Claims and Application
This final action on the merits is in response to the remarks and amendment received by the office on 19 May 2026. Claims 1, 3, 6-8 are pending. Claims 1, 3, 6-8 are amended. Claims 2, 4 and 5 are cancelled. No claims are added.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement received by the office 06 December 2023 has been fully considered.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 19 May 2026. These drawings are ACCEPTED.
Response to Amendment
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0277793 to Marczyk et al (‘793 hereafter) in view of KR 102530397 B (‘397 hereafter) to Kim Jung-min and of record per applicant disclosure.
Regarding claim 1, ‘793 teaches a manufacturing device for forming barbs on a suture, the manufacturing device comprising: a first mold part positioned between the suture supply and the distal end mover and having a first barb formation groove for forming a barb, a suture accommodation groove for accommodating the suture, presser passage hole configured to press the suture and an avoidance groove configured to prevent the suture from coming in contact with another portion of the first mold part while, after a portion of the suture on which a barb is already formed is moved, another barb is being formed thereon, which are each formed in a symmetric shape in first molds at both sides (Fig 11 items 110, 120, 156, 111, 113); a presser coupled to the presser passage hole of the first mold part to press the suture toward the first barb formation groove (Fig 11, item 156). Other than teaching that the described apparatus is suitable to use with twisted filaments (paragraph 0043), ‘793 is silent with respect to particular twisting, cutting to length and transporting mechanisms.
In the same field of endeavor, barbed suture manufacture, ‘397 teaches a suture supply configured to supply a suture (Fig 1, item 10); a distal end mover configured to grip a distal end of the supplied suture and move the suture (Fig 1 item 70); a cutter configured to cut a tip of the suture on which formation of the barb is completed (paragraph 0036); a rotator positioned between the suture supply and the first mold part and configured to cause the suture to be twisted (Fig 1 items 20, 22 and 23); and a suture collector configured to collect the cut suture (Fig 1 item 200) for the benefit of automatically preparing lengths of barbed sutures. It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘793 with those of ‘397 for the benefit of automatically preparing lengths of sutures with molded barbs.
Regarding claim 3, ‘793 teaches a manufacturing device for forming barbs on a suture, the manufacturing device comprising: a first mold part positioned between the suture supply and the distal end mover and having a first barb formation groove for forming a barb, a suture accommodation groove for accommodating the suture, presser passage hole configured to press the suture and an avoidance groove configured to prevent the suture from coming in contact with another portion of the first mold part while, after a portion of the suture on which a barb is already formed is moved, another barb is being formed thereon, which are each formed in a symmetric shape in first molds at both sides (Fig 11 items 110, 120, 156, 111, 113); a presser coupled to the presser passage hole of the first mold part to press the suture toward the first barb formation groove (Fig 11, item 156). Other than teaching that the described apparatus is suitable to use with twisted filaments (paragraph 0043), ‘793 is silent with respect to particular twisting, cutting to length and transporting mechanisms.
In the same field of endeavor, barbed suture manufacture, ‘397 teaches a suture supply configured to supply a suture (Fig 1, item 10); a distal end mover configured to grip a distal end of the supplied suture and move the suture (Fig 1 item 70); a cutter configured to cut a tip of the suture on which formation of the barb is completed (paragraph 0036); a rotator positioned between the suture supply and the first mold part and configured to cause the suture to be twisted (Fig 1 items 20, 22 and 23); and a suture collector configured to collect the cut suture (Fig 1 item 200) for the benefit of automatically preparing lengths of barbed sutures and . It would have been obvious to one possessed of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing to combine the teachings of ‘793 with those of ‘397 for the benefit of automatically preparing lengths of sutures with molded barbs. ‘793 in view of ‘397 does not teach second mold parts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to duplicate the mold parts, since it have been held that a mere duplication of working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. One would have been motivated to duplicate mold parts for the purpose of increasing the capacity or production speed of the apparatus. (See In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960))
Regarding claim 6, ‘793 teaches the manufacturing device wherein a device configured to heat first mold part is further provided in the first mold part (paragraph 0053).
Regarding claim 7, ‘793 teaches the manufacturing device wherein the first mold part or the second mold part, and the presser coupled thereto are provided as a plurality of first mold parts or a plurality of second mold parts, and a plurality of pressers (paragraph 0013). ‘793 in view of ‘397 does not teach second mold parts.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to duplicate the mold parts, since it have been held that a mere duplication of working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. One would have been motivated to duplicate mold parts for the purpose of increasing the capacity or production speed of the apparatus. (See In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960))
Regarding claim 8, ‘793 teaches the manufacturing device wherein a device configured to heat the first or second mold part is further provided in the first mold part or the second mold part (paragraph 0013).
Response to Arguments
In support of the patentability of the instant claims, applicant has argued that the previously applied prior art does not teach the claims as amended. Examiner does not agree. Accordingly, the above prior art rejection has been modified to better show how the applied prior art teaches the claimed limitations.
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 John P Robitaille whose telephone number is (571)270-7006. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-6:00PM.
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, Galen Hauth can be reached at (571) 270-5516. 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.
/JPR/Examiner, Art Unit 1743
/GALEN H HAUTH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1743
