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 § 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 1-6 and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuo et al. (US 20080233529 A1).
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[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Teeth)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: ][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (Plurality of posterior teeth)][AltContent: textbox (Plurality of anterior teeth)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (Second plurality of tooth receiving cavities)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (First plurality of tooth receiving cavities)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Dental appliance)]
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Regarding claims 1, 4 and 5, Kuo et al. discloses a dental appliance (200 and 420) (see annotated Fig. 2B, 4A and 4E-4F) including:
a first plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive a plurality of anterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 2B and 4A above and [0003], [0066]);
a first plurality of attachment receiving cavities at the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities (see annotated Fig. 4A, 4E and 4F above), the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities shaped and configured to receive a corresponding plurality of attachments present on the plurality of anterior teeth (see Fig. 2A, 4A, 4E and 4F above, and [0038] – due to Fig. 2A is an example of the movement that can be done using Kuo’s invention, it is understood that the same applies to any tooth that needs treatment including the posterior teeth) and to impart a first plurality of forces (455) and a first counter moment to the plurality of anterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 2A, 4A and 7 above – [0025], [0032] – where the invention is to apply forces to teeth through the use of the appliance; [0038-0039] – Fig. 2A shows the movements provided by the appliance to the tooth with respect the x, y and z axis, in which it is included rotation and translation of the tooth, indicated by the axis and arrows 210 and 212; [0083] – polymeric shell dental appliance 420 generates a first force, and an attachment device 300B generates the second force, the sum of both forces is the orthodontic force 455 to move the tooth 415; [0101] – the attachment/active attachment device 700 of Fig. 7, is capable of providing rotational moment forces 770 on the tooth when it is coupled to the attachment/active attachment device 700, this happens when the opposing forces 750 and 760 are applied; therefore, due to the attachment receiving cavities in combination with the attachments can be placed in any tooth that is part of the dental treatment in any of the anterior or posterior region of the mouth, it is understood that the dental appliance of Kuo’s is capable of providing a fist plurality of attachment receiving cavities with their respective first attachments in the anterior teeth);
a second plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive a plurality of posterior teeth, wherein the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are spaced apart from the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities (see annotated Fig. 2B and 4A above and [0003], [0066]);
a second plurality of attachment receiving cavities at the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities, the second plurality of attachment receiving cavities shaped and configured to receive a corresponding plurality of second attachments present on the plurality of posterior teeth (see Fig. 2A, 4A, 4E and 4F above, and [0038] – due to Fig. 2A is an example of the movement that can be done using Kuo’s invention, it is understood that the same applies to any tooth that needs treatment including the posterior teeth) and to impart a second plurality of forces (455) and a second counter moment to the plurality of posterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 2A, 4A and 7 above – [0025], [0032] – where the invention is to apply forces to teeth through the use of the attachment; [0038-0039] – Fig. 2A shows the movements provided by the appliance to the tooth with respect the x, y and z axis, in which it is included rotation and translation of the tooth, indicated by the axis and arrows 210 and 212; [0083] – polymeric shell dental appliance 420 generates a first force, and an attachment device 300B generates the second force, the sum of both forces is the orthodontic force 455 to move the tooth 415; [0101] – the attachment/active attachment device 700 of Fig. 7, is capable of providing rotational moment forces 770 on the tooth when it is coupled to the attachment/active attachment device 700, this happens when the opposing forces 750 and 760 are applied; therefore, due to the attachment receiving cavities in combination with the attachments can be placed in any tooth that is part of the dental treatment in any of the anterior or posterior region of the mouth, it is understood that the dental appliance of Kuo’s is capable of providing a second plurality of attachment receiving cavities with their respective second attachments in the posterior teeth).
However, Kuo et al. does not disclose that the second counter moment being in a direction opposing the first counter moment, wherein at least a portion of the second plurality of forces is configured to oppose the first plurality of forces, wherein the first counter moment and the second counter moment are configured to be coupled to form a differential moment across the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities (for claim 1); that the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities are configured such that at least a first of the first plurality of forces is directed away from the posterior teeth (for claim 4); that the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities are configured such that at least a second of the first plurality of forces is directed towards from the posterior teeth (for claim 5).
With respect to claims 1, 4 and 5;
On the other hand, Kuo et al. also discloses that the device is capable of combining forces that can be oriented in any direction. Where the forces that are generated can be related into translational force, in which relates into moving the tooth 415 in Fig. 4A in a direction towards the posterior of the mouth, a direction towards the anterior of the mouth, a lingual direction towards the tongue, a facial direction towards the side of the mouth, a direction extending the tooth, a direction intruding the tooth, etc., or any combination of these directions, in this way capable of creating counter-tipping force for translating a tooth in a upright position. At the same time the same kind of forces produced with the attachments can be used to counteract side effect movement product of certain kind of movements that the aligner alone can generate (see [0069]).
Therefore, if the attachments in combination with the dental appliance of Kuo are capable of creating counter-tipping forces producing counter moments (the same as described in [0007] of the present application), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the same effect with the first counter moment and the second counter moment from a portion of the anterior teeth and a portion of the posterior teeth actuating in opposing directions, in order to counteract any side effect movement that might be a product of any kind of unwanted movements during the dental treatment.
Regarding claim 2, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1, and where Kuo discloses that the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities form a continuous dental appliance (200) (see annotated Fig. 2B above).
Regarding claim 3, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1, and where Kuo discloses that the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are configured to anchor the posterior teeth (see [0045] – (“In complex cases, however, many or most of the teeth will be repositioned at some point during the treatment. In such cases, the teeth which are moved can also serve as a base or anchor region for holding the repositioning appliance “).
Regarding claim 6, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1, and where Kuo discloses that the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are separated by a space left (see Fig. 4A above, see [0066] “active attachment device may be used to shorten the gap 419 between tooth 413 and tooth 417“).
However, Kuo does not disclose that the space left is from an extracted bicuspid.
On the other hand, the dental appliance includes in some embodiments a space/gap (419) (see Fig. 4A above), in which the dental treatment will use to move closer the two adjacent teeth toward each other. Therefore, a person skill in the art would see obvious that if the dental appliance of Kuo is operable with a space in between, it is also capable of providing a dental appliance having a space product of the removal of a bicuspid.
Regarding claim 10, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
However, Kuo does not disclose that the first counter moment is less than the second counter moment.
On the other hand, Kuo et al. also discloses that the device is capable of combining forces that can be oriented in any direction. Where the forces that are generated can be related into translational force, in which relates into moving the tooth 415 in Fig. 4A in a direction towards the posterior of the mouth, a direction towards the anterior of the mouth, a lingual direction towards the tongue, a facial direction towards the side of the mouth, a direction extending the tooth, a direction intruding the tooth, etc., or any combination of these directions, in this way capable of creating counter-tipping force for translating a tooth in a upright position (see [0069]).
Therefore, if the attachments in combination with the dental appliance of Kuo are capable of creating counter-tipping forces producing counter moments (the same as described in [0007] of the present application), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the same effect with the first counter moment and the second counter moment from a portion of the anterior teeth and a portion of the posterior teeth, actuating in opposing directions and one of them providing less counter moment than the other, in order to generate a controlled translational for to move the tooth in any given direction where counter moment is less than the counter moment moving the tooth.
Regarding claims 12, 15 and 16, Kuo discloses a dental system including:
a plurality of orthodontic appliances configured to incrementally move a patient's dentition from a first arrangement towards a second arrangement (see [0032] – “repositioning of teeth may be accomplished with the use of a series of removable elastic positioning appliances”), each of the plurality of orthodontic appliances (200) including:
a first plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive a plurality of anterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 4A, 4E and 4F above);
a first plurality of attachment receiving cavities at the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities (see annotated Fig. 4A, 4E and 4F above), the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities shaped and configured to receive a corresponding plurality of attachments present on the plurality of anterior teeth (see Fig. 2A, 4A, 4E and 4F above, and [0038] – due to the Fig. 2A is an example of the movement that can be done using the invention, it is understood that the same applies to any anterior tooth that needs movement) and to impart a first plurality of forces (455) and a first counter moment to the plurality of anterior teeth, the first plurality of forces being configured to direct at least one tooth of the plurality of anterior teeth in a posterior direction (see annotated Fig. 2A, 4A and 7 above – [0025], [0032] – where the invention is to apply forces to teeth through the use of the appliance; [0038-0039] – Fig. 2A shows the movements provided by the appliance to the tooth with respect the x, y and z axis, in which it is included rotation and translation of the tooth, indicated by the axis and arrows 210 and 212; [0083] – polymeric shell dental appliance 420 generates a first force, and an attachment device 300B generates the second force, the sum of both forces is the orthodontic force 455 to move the tooth 415; [0101] – the attachment/active attachment device 700 of Fig. 7, is capable of providing rotational moment forces 770 on the tooth when it is coupled to the attachment/active attachment device 700, this happens when the opposing forces 750 and 760 are applied; therefore, due to the attachment receiving cavities in combination with the attachments can be placed in any tooth that is part of the dental treatment in any of the anterior or posterior region of the mouth, it is understood that the dental appliance of Kuo’s is capable of providing a fist plurality of attachment receiving cavities with their respective first attachments in the anterior teeth”);
a second plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive a plurality of posterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 4A, 4E and 4F above), wherein the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are spaced apart from the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities (see annotated Fig. 2B and 4A above and [0003], [0066]);
a second plurality of attachment receiving cavities at the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities, the second plurality of attachment receiving cavities shaped and configured to receive a corresponding plurality of second attachments present on the plurality of posterior teeth (see Fig. 2A, 4A, 4E and 4F above, and [0038] – due to the Fig. 2A is an example of the movement that can be done using the invention, it is understood that the same applies to any posterior tooth that needs movement) and to impart a second plurality of forces (455) and a second counter moment to the plurality of posterior teeth (see annotated Fig. 2A, 4A and 7 above – [0025], [0032] – where the invention is to apply forces to teeth through the use of the appliance; [0038-0039] – Fig. 2A shows the movements provided by the appliance to the tooth with respect the x, y and z axis, in which it is included rotation and translation of the tooth, indicated by the axis and arrows 210 and 212; [0083] – polymeric shell dental appliance 420 generates a first force, and an attachment device 300B generates the second force, the sum of both forces is the orthodontic force 455 to move the tooth 415; [0101] – the attachment/active attachment device 700 of Fig. 7, is capable of providing rotational moment forces 770 on the tooth when it is coupled to the attachment/active attachment device 700, this happens when the opposing forces 750 and 760 are applied; therefore, due to the attachment receiving cavities in combination with the attachments can be placed in any tooth that is part of the dental treatment in any of the anterior or posterior region of the mouth, it is understood that the dental appliance of Kuo’s is capable of providing a fist plurality of attachment receiving cavities with their respective first attachments in the posterior teeth”).
However, Kuo does not disclose that the second counter moment being in a direction opposing the first counter moment, wherein at least a portion of the second plurality of forces are configured to oppose the first plurality of forces, wherein the first counter moment and the second counter moment are configured to be coupled to form a differential moment across the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities (for claim 12); that the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities are configured such that at least a first of the first plurality of forces is directed away from the posterior teeth (for claim 15); and that the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities are configured such that at least a second of the first plurality of forces is directed towards from the posterior teeth (for claim 16).
With respect to claims 12, 15 and 16;
On the other hand, Kuo et al. also discloses that the device is capable of combining forces that can be oriented in any direction. Where the forces that are generated can be related into translational force, in which relates into moving the tooth 415 in Fig. 4A in a direction towards the posterior of the mouth, a direction towards the anterior of the mouth, a lingual direction towards the tongue, a facial direction towards the side of the mouth, a direction extending the tooth, a direction intruding the tooth, etc., or any combination of these directions, in this way capable of creating counter-tipping force for translating a tooth in a upright position. At the same time the same kind of forces produced with the attachments can be used to counteract side effect movement product of certain kind of movements that the aligner alone can generate (see [0069]).
Therefore, if the attachments in combination with the dental appliance of Kuo are capable of creating counter-tipping forces producing counter moments (the same as described in [0007] of the present application), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the same effect with the first counter moment and the second counter moment from a portion of the anterior teeth and a portion of the posterior teeth actuating in opposing directions, in order to counteract any side effect movement that might be a product of any kind of unwanted movements during the dental treatment.
Regarding claim 11, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
However, Kuo does not disclose that the second plurality of attachment receiving cavities shaped to distribute the second counter moment across the plurality of posterior teeth.
On the other hand, Kuo also discloses that some of the attachments disclosed are configured to provide rotational forces through counter moments (see Fig. 7 above and [0025]). Also, depending on the deformation of the appliance when in contact with its respective attachment receiving cavity, that deformation is directly connected to the applied force from the attachment to the tooth, in which with less deformation leads to less applied force, that at the same time leads to lesser counter moment (see [0092]). With the same token, the opposite applies, the more deformation, the more force is applied, leading to bigger courter moment generated. Finally, Kuo’s invention is directed to the movement of the teeth of a patient, in this way indicating that a plurality of attachment can be used across the buccal arc at any given time, to move the teeth according to the treatment plan (see Fig. 2A above and [0038]).
Therefore, if the applied force from each attachment can be modulated, that at the same time produces the equivalent counter moment, and that a plurality of attachments can be used at the same time. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that Kuo’s invention is capable of distributing the counter moment, e.g., second counter moment, across any combination of teeth, e.g. posterior teeth, through the use of a plurality of attachments, e.g. second attachments, engaging their respective attachment receiving cavities of the dental appliance, e.g., second plurality of attachment receiving cavities, if the treatment plan of the patient requires it.
Regarding claim 13, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 12, and where Kuo discloses that the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities form a continuous dental appliance (200) (see annotated Fig. 2B above).
Regarding claim 14, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 12, and where Kuo discloses that the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are configured to anchor the posterior teeth (see [0045] – (“In complex cases, however, many or most of the teeth will be repositioned at some point during the treatment. In such cases, the teeth which are moved can also serve as a base or anchor region for holding the repositioning appliance).
Regarding claim 17, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 12, and where Kuo discloses that the first plurality of tooth receiving cavities and the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities are separated by a space left (see Fig. 4A above, see [0066] “active attachment device may be used to shorten the gap 419 between tooth 413 and tooth 417“).
However, Kuo does not disclose that the space left is from an extracted bicuspid.
On the other hand, the dental appliance includes in some embodiments a space/gap (419) (see Fig. 4A above), in which the dental treatment will use to move closer the two adjacent teeth toward each other. Therefore, a person skill in the art would see obvious that if the dental appliance of Kuo is operable with a space in between, it is also capable of providing a dental appliance having a space product of the removal of a bicuspid.
Claims 7-9, 18 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuo et al. (US 20080233529 A1) as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Solomon (US 20060223022 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 18, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1 and 12 respectively.
However, Kuo does not disclose a first and a second of the first plurality of attachments receiving cavities located at a first and a second position, respectively, the first position located at a first distance from a gingiva and the second position located at a second distance from the gingiva, the second distance being greater than the first distance.
[AltContent: textbox (First distance)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second of the first plurality of attachments receiving cavities)][AltContent: textbox (First of the first plurality of attachments receiving cavities)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Second distance)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow]
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Solomon teaches a first (16) and a second (17) of the first plurality of attachments receiving cavities located at a first and a second position, respectively, the first position located at a first distance from a gingiva and the second position located at a second distance from the gingiva, the second distance being greater than the first distance (see annotated Fig. 9A-9B above and [0048] and [0073]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the dental appliance of Kuo, with the first and second of first plurality of attachments receiving cavities of Solomon, in order to provide an alternative of positions for two of the first plurality of attachments in order to provide counter forces so that it can translate the tooth with a controlled rotation form a point 1 in Fig. 9A to point 2 in Fig. 9B shone above.
Regarding claim 8, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1, and where Kuo discloses that the second plurality of forces are configured to anchor the posterior teeth to oppose the first plurality of forces (see [0045] – (“In complex cases, however, many or most of the teeth will be repositioned at some point during the treatment. In such cases, the teeth which are moved can also serve as a base or anchor region for holding the repositioning appliance “).
However, Kuo does not disclose a third and a fourth of the first plurality of attachment receiving cavities are located at a third and a fourth attachment position, respectively, the third attachment position located at a third distance from a gingiva and the fourth attachment position located at a fourth distance from the gingiva, the fourth distance being greater than the third distance.
Solomon teaches a third (16) and a fourth (17) of the first plurality of attachments receiving cavities located at a third and a fourth position, respectively, the third position located at a third distance from a gingiva and the fourth position located at a fourth distance from the gingiva, the fourth distance being greater than the third distance (see annotated Fig. 9A-9B above and [0048] and [0073]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the dental appliance of Kuo, with the third and fourth of first plurality of attachments receiving cavities of Solomon, in order to provide an alternative of positions for two of the first plurality of attachments in order to provide counter forces so that it can translate the tooth with a controlled rotation form a point 1 in Fig. 9A to point 2 in Fig. 9B shone above.
Regarding claim 9, Kuo/Solomon discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 8, and where Kuo discloses that the third and fourth attachment receiving cavities are located on a lingual side of the anterior teeth (see [0072] - where “in one embodiment, the side 435 is the lingual side of tooth 415”; therefore, the third and fourth positions can be placed in the lingual side of the tooth as in Kuo).
Regarding claims 21 and 22, Kuo discloses the claimed invention substantially as claimed, as set forth above for claim 1.
However, Kuo does not disclose that for at least one of the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities, a corresponding one of the second plurality of attachment receiving cavities is located at a mesial portion of the at least one of the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities, the corresponding one of the second plurality of attachment receiving cavities being configured to receive an attachment present on a mesial portion of a corresponding posterior tooth (for claim 21); and that the mesial portion of the corresponding posterior tooth comprises a mesial cusp of the corresponding posterior tooth (for claim 22).
[AltContent: textbox (mesial cusp)][AltContent: textbox (Tooth)][AltContent: textbox (One of the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities)]
[AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (Cavity)][AltContent: ][AltContent: textbox (Cavity)][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (Dental appliance)]
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Solomon teaches a dental appliance, where at least one of the second plurality of tooth receiving cavities includes a second plurality of inward cavities (16 and 17) located and engaging diametrically opposing locations of the cusp of the tooth (see annotated Fig. 10A above and [0074]), where one of said inward cavities is located at the mesial cusp. Said second plurality of inward cavities are configured to generate opposing forces to only rotate the tooth. Due to the locations of each inward cavity, the translational movement produced by each force leading to lateral movement, cancel each other, where the leading force remaining is towards the rotational aspect of the tooth about its axis (11).
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 the location of at least one of the second plurality of attachment receiving cavity and the corresponding attachment of the dental appliance Kuo, with the location at the cusp of the tooth, specifically one of the locations been at the mesial cusp of the tooth of Solomon, in order to create pure rotation of the tooth about its axis.
Response to Arguments
Regarding objection to the specification, the objection described in par. 4 of the last Office action of 27 August 2025 is withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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/MIRAYDA A APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3772 /ERIC J ROSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3772