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 § 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)(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.
(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.
Claims 1, 9, 11, and 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Sinay et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0129050, hereinafter “Sinay”). Regarding claim 1, Sinay teaches a medical appliance (figure 1 element 100) comprising:
An insertion portion that includes a bendable portion that is bendable (figure 1 element 310)
an operation portion that is connected to a base end side of the insertion portion and that includes a bending operation member (figure 1 element 210);
a rotary driving body (figure 4a elements 24/16 shown by arrows below) that is disposed in the operation portion and is rotationally driven by the bending operation member (figure 4a elements 24a/16a circled below)
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a bending operation wire that is inserted into the insertion portion and the operation portion and that bends the bendable portion by moving forward and backward in accordance with movement of the rotary driving body (paragraph 42 “steering threads”)
a rotary member that is integrally rotatable with the rotary driving body and of which an outer peripheral surface is provided with an unevenness portion (figure 4d teeth of element 20)
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a locking portion main body that includes a locking portion lockable at the unevenness portion and that is transitionable between a locking position where the locking portion is locked at the unevenness portion and a non-locking position where the locking portion is not locked at the unevenness portion (paragraph 48 “the threaded wheel 20 is secured within the pulley 16 in a locked position upon activation of the operator of a motion controller”)
and a switching operation portion that is provided to be rotatable around a longitudinal axis of the operation portion and that causes the locking portion main body to selectively switch between the locking position and the non-locking position (figure 4a element 22 pointed at below and paragraph 43)
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Regarding claim 9, Sinay teaches a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body is a pulley (figure 4a elements 16 or 24 circled above).
Regarding claim 11, Sinay teaches a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body (figure 4d element 16) and the rotary member (figure 4d element 20) are integrated with each other (paragraph 45 “wheel 20 is inserted into pulley 16”).
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Regarding claim 12, Sinay teaches a medical appliance wherein the unevenness portions are provided at constant pitches at the outer peripheral surface of the rotary member (figure 4D teeth on element 20 as shown above)
Regarding claim 13, Sinay teaches a medical appliance wherein a pair of the rotary driving bodies (figure 4a elements 16a and 24a), a pair of the rotary members (figure 4A elements 16 and 24), and a pair of the locking portion main bodies are provided (figure 4D elements 16 and 20), and the switching operation portion (figure 4a element 22) causes at least one of the pair of locking portion main bodies (figure 4d element 20 fitting into element 16 to create the locking position as shown above) to selectively switch between the locking position and the non-locking position.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay in view of Yoshinaga et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0367723, hereinafter “Yoshinaga”). While Sinay teaches the elements of claim 1, it fails to teach a medical appliance wherein:
the switching operation portion includes a switching plate that rotates around the longitudinal axis,
the switching plate includes a first abutting surface and a second abutting surface that are disposed at different positions in a circumferential direction on a surface of the switching plate that is on a rotary member side,
the first abutting surface is provided at a position where a distance to the rotary member is smaller than a distance between the second abutting surface and the rotary member, and the locking portion main body is disposed at the locking position in a case where the locking portion main body abuts the first abutting surface and is disposed at the non-locking position in a case where the locking portion main body abuts the second abutting surface
Yoshinaga teaches an appliance wherein:
the switching operation portion includes a switching plate (figure 3 element 49k) that rotates around the longitudinal axis,
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the switching plate includes a first abutting surface (figure 3 element 41c shown below by the right arrow) and a second abutting surface (figure 3 element 41a shown below by the left arrow) that are disposed at different positions in a circumferential direction on a surface of the switching plate that is on a rotary member (figure 2 element 22) side,
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the first abutting surface (figure 3 element 41c) is provided at a position where a distance to the rotary member is smaller than a distance between the second abutting surface (figure 3 element 41a) and the rotary member. As seen in the leftmost image above, the abutting surfaces of 49k face the ED direction, which as shown in the rightmost image above is towards the rotary member 22. As 41c is raised in reference to 41a, the distance between it and the rotary member is smaller than the distance between 41a and the rotary member.
and the locking portion main body is disposed at the locking position in a case where the locking portion main body (figure 4 element 54c) abuts the first abutting surface (figure 3 element 41c) and is disposed at the non-locking position in a case where the locking portion main body (figure 4 element 54c) abuts the second abutting surface (figure 3 element 41a) (paragraphs 86-90)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Sinay with the switching plate configuration of Yoshinaga in order to fully lock the motion of the distal end of the endoscope to prevent any unintended movement, as opposed to the screw based locking mechanism of Sinay that still allows for fine position adjustments while in the locking state.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay and Yoshinaga in view of Onuki et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0184528). While Sinay and Yoshinaga combined teach claims 1 and 2, they fail to teach a medical appliance wherein the locking portion main body includes:
the locking portion that is provided on the rotary member side and that has a ball-like shape (figure 38 element 160)
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a first biasing member (figure 38 element 159 pointed at below) that biases the locking portion toward the rotary member side (figure 38 element 130 circled below (paragraph 97 – “swing manipulation section”)
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It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify both Sinay and Yoshinaga with the ball-spring locking configuration of Onuki in order to create an automatic locking system that locks the bending member in its last position without the need for the additional step of moving a lever or turning a screw as needed in Sinay and then Yoshinaga.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay and Onuki in view of Yoshinaga. Sinay and Onuki fail to teach a medical appliance wherein the locking portion main body includes a second biasing member that biases the locking portion main body toward a switching plate side. Yoshinaga teaches a medical appliance wherein the locking portion main body includes a second biasing member that biases the locking portion main body toward a switching plate side. In paragraph 93 elements 91 and 53 of figure 6 are said to move the pressing member 50 by their engagement with the member towards the upper side EU, which corresponds the direction of the switching plate. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the locking configurations of Sinay and Onuki to add a second biasing member in order to more efficiently facilitate the return of the locking portion to its unlocked state.
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay, Yoshinaga, and Onuki in view of Nguyen et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0212556, hereinafter “Nguyen”). Regarding claim 6, Sinay, Yoshinaga, and Onuki fail to teach a medical appliance wherein the locking portion main body includes a roll body that rotates with the roll body being in contact with the surface of the switching plate that is on the rotary member side. Nguyen teaches a medical appliance wherein the locking portion main body (figure 8E element 15i as shown below with the left arrow) includes a roll body (figure 8E element 15i5 as shown below by the right arrow) that rotates with the roll body being in contact with the surface of the switching plate (figure 8E element 15i1 as shown below by the center arrow) that is on the rotary member side. It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Sinay, Yoshinaga, and Onuki with the addition of a roll body within the locking portion main body in order to reduce risk of ergonomic injuries to operators as stated in paragraph 3 of the specification.
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Regarding claim 7, Sinay, Yoshinaga, and Onuki fail to teach a medical appliance wherein the first biasing member has a biasing force that allows the locking portion to climb over the unevenness portion in a case where the rotary member rotates in a state where the locking portion main body is positioned at the locking position. Nguyen teaches a medical appliance wherein the first biasing member has a biasing force (paragraph 104 spring-loading of the roll body) that allows the locking portion (figure 8E element 15i5) to climb over the unevenness portion (figure 8E element 15i4) in a case where the rotary member rotates in a state where the locking portion main body is positioned at the locking position. In paragraph 105 of the specification of Nguyen, it is stated that “In said locked configuration, further rotation of shaft 12a and housing 12b is inhibited, until sufficient rotational forces are applied against shaft handle 12b relative to handle 11”. It would again have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Sinay, Yoshinaga, and Onuki with the addition of a feature to overcome by force the locking configuration in order to reduce risk of ergonomic injuries to operators as stated in paragraph 3 of the specification.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay in view of Tomberg (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2025/000344). Sinay fails to teach a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body is a sprocket. Tomberg teaches a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body is a sprocket (fig 3 element 69/59). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to replace the pulley driving body of Sinay with a sprocket, as both are common within the art as driving mechanisms for wire bending configurations.
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Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sinay in view of Carruthers et al (U.S. Patent Application 2023/0355082, hereinafter “Carruthers”). Sinay fails to teach a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body is a pinion. Carruthers teaches a medical appliance wherein the rotary driving body is a pinion (figure 2, element 124). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to replace the pulley driving body of Sinay with a pinion, as both are common within the art as driving mechanisms for wire bending configurations.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 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.
Reasons for Allowance
The allowable subject matter found in claim 3 that has not been found to have been anticipated or taught in the prior art, in combination with the other claim limitations is as follows: “a medical appliance wherein the switching plate includes a third abutting surface that is disposed at a position different from positions of the first abutting surface and the second abutting surface in the circumferential direction on the surface of the switching plate that is on the rotary member side, and the third abutting surface is provided at a position where a distance to the rotary member is smaller than a distance between the first abutting surface and the rotary member, and the rotary member enters a state of being not rotatable in a case where the locking portion main body abuts the third abutting surface.” The closest prior art of reference is Yoshinaga. Yoshinaga meets the elements of claim 2 of the claimed invention, but fails to teach a third abutting surface on the switching plate that also corresponds to a locking position.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAYTON BARKER whose telephone number is (571)272-0912. The examiner can normally be reached between 6:30 AM and 2:30 PM Monday through Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Carey can be reached at 5712707235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAYTON HYUN JIN BARKER/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/MICHAEL J CAREY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795