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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species IV, Fig. 14A to 15D, claims 14-16 and 28 in the reply filed on 10/22/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 17-19, 21-27 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention and Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/22/2025.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 5,730,747 to Ek et al. (Ek).
Ek teaches:
Claim 14: An automatic suture device (Fig. 1) comprising:
a distal end (where the jaws are, Fig. 1) comprising an aperture (Fig. 2 reproduced with annotation below) capable of receiving a needle;
a proximal end comprising a top handle and a bottom handle (Fig. 1 reproduced with annotation below); and
a connector comprising a hinge (Fig. 1 reproduced with annotation below) that is at a position between the distal end and the proximal end, wherein the hinge allows for pivoting movement of the top handle and the bottom handle (functional limitation, the handle in Ek is doing that).
Claim 15: Comprising the needle (50, Fig. 5), wherein the needle is capable of being inserted into the aperture (46, Fig. 5).
Claim 16: The needle (50, Fig. 5) comprises an opening configured to receive a suture (Fig. 3, the suture is inserted into the needle and being crimped or clamped to an attachment area 51 of the needle).
PNG
media_image1.png
384
592
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
441
748
media_image2.png
Greyscale
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) 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ek in view of US 2024/0260958 to Woodward.
Ek teaches:
The automatic suture device of claim 15 ( see rejection of claim 15 above).
Ek fails to teach:
The distal end has a flat section, wherein the needle has a flat section, and wherein the flat section of the distal end is configured to engage the flat section of the needle to prevent retraction of the needle from the aperture.
Woodward teaches:
Suturing tool and grasping tool with a distal end comprising jaws (23a, 23b, Fig. 6), the jaws including flat sections/moveable locking element (271, Fig. 6 reproduced with annotation below) and a needle with flat section (Fig. 6 reproduced with annotation below, the flat section is where 271 inserted into to lock the needle in place in the jaw, Fig. 6).
PNG
media_image3.png
447
493
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Even though, Ek is teaching needle holding region has a greater holding force to hold the needle when the needle is passed from the lower jaw to the upper jaw. However, it is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the flat section of the distal end of the device and flat section of the needle taught by Woodward into Ek in order to enhance holding the needle after passing from the lower jaw to the upper jaw instead of just relying on the holding force from the needle holding section in Ek.
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.
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, Elizabeth Houston can be reached at 571-272-7134. 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.
/PHONG SON H DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771