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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I corresponding to claims 1-15 in the reply filed on 1/15/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Dethier et al. (hereafter Dethier)(US PgPub 2010/0145333).
Regarding claim 1, Dethier discloses an energy instrument for surgery (Figure 3), comprising a built-in battery, a control unit, a first power-consumption circuit and a second power-consumption circuit, wherein the first power-consumption circuit is electrically connected to the control unit, and power consumption of the second power-consumption circuit in a working state is greater than power consumption of the first power-consumption circuit in a working state (Figure 3, Elements 35, 36 and Paragraphs 0018 and 0029 where the batteries 35 provide power to the electrosurgical scalpel in a first power-consumption circuit and the recharging port provides power to the electrosurgical scalpel in a second power-consumption circuit. The recharging port draws power from a conventional wall outlet or the like which allows for greater power consumption); wherein, when the energy instrument for surgery is not connected to an external power supply, the control unit and the first power-consumption circuit is configured to be triggered to respectively connect a loop with the built-in battery, and the first power-consumption circuit is configured to output information of a condition parameter of the energy instrument for surgery in response to an instruction of the control unit (Figure 3, Element 35 and Paragraphs 0018 and 0029 where the electrosurgical scalpel is powered only via batteries in a first operation mode when the electrosurgical scalpel is not connected to an external power supply. The control unit of the electrosurgical scalpel monitors a charge of the internal batteries and provides control instructions. The electrosurgical scalpel is operational in the first operation mode when sufficient power is provided from the batteries); and wherein the second power-consumption circuit stays in stop working state when the energy instrument for surgery is not connected to the external power supply (Figure 3, Element 36 and Paragraphs 0018 and 0029 where the recharging port forming the second power-consumption circuit remains in an inactive state when not connected to the external power supply).
Regarding claim 15, Dethier discloses wherein the energy instrument for surgery is an ultrasonic scalpel, an electric scalpel, or a laser scalpel (Figure 3 and Paragraphs 0018, 0019 and 0029).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-14 are 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS D ALUNKAL whose telephone number is (571)270-1127. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BRIAN ZIMMERMAN can be reached at 571-272-3059. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THOMAS D ALUNKAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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