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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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. The examiner reinterpreted the prior art in view of applicant’s amendments. It is noted that the claim only requires the third bone screw to be able to incline in a second plane that is orthogonal to the first plane and does not claim where exactly the third bone screw is located/positioned on the clamp. Applicant is welcome to contact the examiner if they have any questions.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Murner US 2011/0066151 in view of Riccione US 2016/0278812.
Regarding Claim 1, Murner discloses a clamp (Figs 9) of an external fixation device for the treatment of bone fractures, comprising:
a first locking unit (#120) configured to lock first and second bone screws (see Fig below) in a first plane (Fig below, paragraph 44, where axes X and Z are located in the first plane), said first locking unit comprising a central body and a first jaw (see Fig below) which is movable relative to said central body for locking said first and second bone screws in contact with said central body (Fig 9, paragraph 44, the first jaw moveable to allow bone screws to be placed in grooves #121 and then locked via fixation screws #122, #40),
a second and a third locking unit (see Fig below) each configured to lock a respective connecting bar (paragraph 44 where the second and third locking units can be re-oriented and each has a groove that can lock a respective connecting bar), each of said second locking unit and third locking unit comprising a second jaw and a third jaw configured to act in conjunction with each other to clamp in contact a respective connecting bar (note, the second and third locking units have a similar configuration to the locking units seen in Fig 1-2, see paragraph 27), said second and third locking units being supported by said central body (Figs 9) and rotatably connected to said central body (paragraph 44, via rotation system #30, see also paragraph 26, 30),
wherein said central body includes a seat configured to house a third bone screw (see Fig below), and a clamp (#122 and/or #40) configured to stably fix said third bone screw (paragraph 44).
PNG
media_image1.png
723
1006
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
769
944
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Murner discloses the claimed invention as discussed above but does not disclose said first locking unit comprises first and second housings respectively for engaging and orienting said first and second bone screws, said first and second housing being movable with respect to one another to allow, within the first plane, a first inclination between the first and second bone screws to be varied,
said seat being configured to allow a second inclination of said third bone screw in a second plane orthogonal to said first plane, and the clamp configured to stably fix said third bone screw according to the second inclination.
Riccione discloses a locking unit (#15, Fig 1) having a seat (where housing #18 is located, Fig 1) to receive a bone pin (#20), a housing (#18) being configured to allow the inclination of said bone pin in a plane in first plane (paragraph 34-35, Fig 1, below where the housing is ball shaped and allows for inclination in multiple planes, where the housing can incline the bone pin in a first plane containing axes X and Z and/or in a second plane containing axes Y and X), where the bone pin can be locked in place via tightening screw #44) and allows the bone pin to be placed in different angles or orientations (paragraph 35).
PNG
media_image3.png
482
980
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at a time before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the first locking unit of Murner to include housings for the for the first, second and third bone screws in view of Riccione above because this allows the bone screws to be inclined and orient the bone screws in a desired angle and/or orientation.
The examiner notes that with the modification, the seat is modified to accept the housing for the third bone screws, where the housings will allow the first and second bone screws to incline relative to each other within the first plane in a first inclination and allow the third bone screw to be able to incline in a second plane in a second inclination, where the clamp can fix the orientation of the third bone screws according to the second inclination. It is noted that the first, second and third bone screws can incline in other directions and the claim does not preclude other movements.
Regarding Claim 3, Murner as modified discloses said second and third locking units are pivoted on said central body so as to oscillate about respective axes (see Fig of Murner below, where the first and second units can be oriented such that their respective axes of rotation, dotted lines below run parallel to axis Z) parallel to said first plane (see Fig below, paragraph 30, 42 in Murner where the second and third locking units can pivot on respective axes parallel to the first plane ).
PNG
media_image4.png
618
896
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 4, Murner as modified discloses each of said second and third locking units is coupled to said central body by the mutual engagement of two respective curved splined faces shaped to match (see Fig below, paragraph 33 in Murney where there are mutually curved spline surfaces #86 and #61, best seen in Fig 1).
PNG
media_image5.png
656
960
media_image5.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 5, Murner as modified discloses wherein said curved splined faces formed in said central body are defined by a cylindrical sector (#61 and #62, Fig 9 in Murner) having a respective axis coinciding with said axes of oscillation of said second and third locking units (as seen in the annotated Figure in claim 3 above).
Regarding Claim 6, Murner as modified discloses each of said second and third locking units comprises a rod-shaped element (see Fig below, where the second and third locking unit is similar that shown in Fig 1, paragraph 44 in Murner, for expediency, reference is made to Fig 1 below) at least partly threaded (#49) extending longitudinally through said respective second and third jaws (see Fig below, Fig 4) according to a predetermined central axis (respective longitudinal axis of the rod shaped elements, see Fig below) of said second and third locking units (see Fig below), and a clamping member (nuts #65 in Murner) engaging by threading with said rod-shaped element to clamp the second and third jaws to each other and to said central body (Figs 4, paragraph 32 in Murner) .
PNG
media_image6.png
762
1110
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is allowed.
Claim 7 is 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.
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 JAN CHRISTOPHER L MERENE whose telephone number is (571)270-5032. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 6pm EST.
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, Eduardo Robert can be reached at 571-272-4719. 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.
/JAN CHRISTOPHER L MERENE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3773