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 of Group I, claims 1-20, in the reply filed on 07/30/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 21-27 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method for controlling an orthopedic device, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the hydraulic damper, locking member, brake, hydraulic drive, and drive must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In Paragraphs [0057 and 0058], the hydraulic actuator and the hydraulic damper are both labeled as feature number 1, this is assumed to be a typo as it appears the hydraulic actuator 1 is correct, and not the hydraulic damper 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 3-5, 7, and 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Auberger et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0098864 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Auberger discloses an actuator (Fig. 1, actuator-damper unit 100, Fig. 2, actuator-damper unit 100-a), comprising: a main body (Fig. 2, housing 10); and at least one fastening device (Figs. 1-2, second end 352) configured for fastening the actuator (100, 100-a) to components of an orthopedic device (Figs. 1-2, Paragraphs [0043 and 0047], lower part 2), wherein the at least one fastening device (352) is mounted movably and elastically on the main body (Paragraphs [0047-0048], piston 30 can be moved upward and downward and the energy accumulator 50 may be an elastic element).
Regarding claim 3, Auberger discloses wherein the actuator (Fig. 2, actuator-damper unit 100-a) is designed as an active linear actuator (Paragraph [0048], pump 70 provides additional energy) selected from the group consisting of a hydraulic drive (Fig. 2, pump 70), and a drive (Paragraph [0013], battery).
Regarding claim 4, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one fastening device (Figs. 1-2, second end 352) is mounted in a receiving device (Figs. 1-2, cylinder 12), wherein the at least one fastening device (352), in at least one direction of movement (Paragraph [0047], piston 30 can be moved upward and downward), is supported on the receiving device (12) by at least one spring element (Paragraphs [0046 and 0048], Fig. 2, energy accumulator 50).
Regarding claim 5, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one spring element (50) is assigned at least one sensor (Figs 1-2, sensor 85) for measuring deformation (Paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 7, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one spring element (50) is mounted exchangeably (Paragraph [0048], 50 is not limited to spring or elastic element) in the receiving device (12).
Regarding claim 10, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one fastening device (352) is mounted in a damped manner (Fig. 2, 352 mounted with spring 50).
Regarding claim 11, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one fastening device (352) is assigned at least one position sensor (Paragraph [0047], Fig. 2, sensor 85-a).
Regarding claim 12, Auberger discloses wherein the actuator (Fig. 1, actuator-damper unit 100, Fig. 2, actuator-damper unit 100-a) is designed as a linear, hydraulic actuator (Paragraphs [0015 and 0048]), wherein a cylinder (Figs. 1-2, cylinder 12) is arranged or formed in which a piston (Figs. 1-2, piston 30) is guided on a piston rod (Figs. 1-2, piston rod 35) protruding (see figs. 1-2) from the main body (Figs. 1-2, housing 10), wherein the piston divides the cylinder into two chambers (Figs. 1-2, fluid chambers 41 and 43) which are connected to each other via at least one overflow channel (Paragraphs [0010-0011], Figs. 1-2, fluid line 20), and wherein at least one adjustable throttle device (Figs. 1-2, control valve 21 and 23) is arranged in the at least one overflow channel (20) and is configured for adjusting a flow resistance in the at least one overflow channel (Paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 13, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one fastening device (352) is mounted movably and elastically on the piston rod (Paragraph [0047], piston 30 and piston rod 35 can be moved upward and downward).
Regarding claim 14, Auberger discloses wherein the at least one fastening device (352) is mounted movably in at least one displacement direction of the piston (Paragraph [0047], piston 30 and piston rod 35 can be moved upward and downward).
Regarding claim 15, Auberger discloses wherein the piston (30) is assigned at least one position sensor (Paragraph [0047], Fig. 2, sensor 85-a).
Regarding claim 16, Auberger discloses further comprising an auxiliary piston (Fig. 2, piston 32) mounted elastically (energy accumulator 50) on the piston (30), wherein the piston (30) and the auxiliary piston (32) are assigned at least one position sensor for detecting positions of the piston (30) and the auxiliary piston (32) or for detecting positions of the piston (30) and the auxiliary piston (32) relative to each other (Paragraph [0047], Fig. 2, sensor 85-a).
Regarding claim 17, Auberger discloses further comprising a control device (Paragraph [0016], Figs. 1-2, control device 80) coupled to at least one sensor (Paragraph [0016]), wherein the control device (80) is configured to control the actuator (100, 100-a) based on sensor data from the at least one sensor (Paragraph [0016]).
Regarding claim 18, Auberger discloses an orthopedic joint device (Fig. 2, joint device 300), comprising: an upper part (Fig. 2, upper part 1); a lower part (Fig. 2, lower part 2) mounted pivotably (Paragraph [0047]) on the upper part (1) about a pivot axis (Fig. 2, pivot axis 3); an actuator (100-a) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the actuator (100-a) is fastened to the upper part and to the lower part (Paragraph [0047, Fig. 2) and provides resistance to a pivoting movement (Paragraph [0047], when piston 30 moves upward, the angle between the upper and lower parts decrease and the opposite when piston 30 moves downward); and an angle detection device (Paragraph [0047], Fig. 2, sensor 85-a) assigned to the joint device (300).
Regarding claim 19, Auberger discloses wherein the angle detection device (85-a) is designed as an angle sensor (Paragraph [0047], Fig. 2, sensor 85-a), or the angle detection device has at least two spatial position sensors, one of which is arranged on the upper part and another of which is arranged on the lower part.
Regarding claim 20, Auberger discloses wherein the angle detection device (85-a) has a position sensor (Paragraph [0047], sensor 85-a) for detecting the actuator position and/or a position of the at least one fastening device (Paragraph [0047]).
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 Auberger et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0098864 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pusch (WO2020126697 A1), herein referred to as Pusch 2020.
Regarding claim 2, Auberger discloses wherein the actuator (Fig. 1, 100) is designed as a passive linear actuator (Paragraphs [0044 and 0046]) selected from the group consisting of a hydraulic damper (Paragraph [0046]), and a brake (Fig. 1, valve 23), but fails to disclose a locking mechanism. Pusch 2020 also discloses an actuator (Fig. 1, actuator 60), a fastening device (Fig. 2, rod 61), and an orthopedic device (Fig. 2). Pusch 2020 teaches a passive linear actuator (Figs. 1-2, holding device 40) selected from the group consisting of a hydraulic damper (attached translation Paragraph [0011]), a brake (attached translation Paragraph [0011]), and a locking mechanism (attached translation Paragraph [0011]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Auberger’s device a passive linear actuator selected from the group consisting of a hydraulic damper, a brake, and a locking mechanism, as taught by Pusch 2020, in order to avoid a sudden release of force and movement of the device (attached translation Paragraph [0011]).
Claims 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Auberger et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0098864 A1), as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Kaitan et al. (US PG Pub No. 2020/0315817 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Auberger fails to disclose wherein, the receiving device is fastened releasably to the main body. Kaitan also discloses also discloses an actuator (Fig. 1, actuator 25), a main body (Fig. 1, below knee part 20), and a receiving device (Fig. 1,receving element 50). Kaitan teaches wherein, the receiving device (50) is fastened releasably (Paragraph [0030], form-fit engagement) to the main body (20). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Auberger’s receiving device wherein, the receiving device is fastened releasably to the main body, as taught by Kaitan, in order to allow for an adjustable orientation (Paragraph [0011]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Auberger et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0098864 A1), as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Mosler et al. (US PG Pub No. 2016/0374834 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Auberger fails to disclose wherein the at least one spring element is assigned an adjustable pretensioning device. Mosler also discloses an actuator (Fig. 4, actuator 10), a fastening device (Fig. 4, thrust rod 11), a receiving device (Fig. 4, lower part 3), and a spring (Fig. 4, spring 5). Mosler teaches wherein the at least one spring element (5) is assigned an adjustable pretensioning device (Fig. 4, motor 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Auberger’s actuator wherein the at least one spring element is assigned an adjustable pretensioning device, as taught by Mosler, in order to better control the release of energy (Paragraph [0040]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Auberger et al. (US PG Pub No. 2018/0098864 A1), as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Pusch (DE 102018133103 A1), herein referred to as Pusch 2018.
Regarding claim 9, Auberger fails to disclose wherein the at least one spring element has a non-linear, progressive spring characteristic curve. Pusch 2018 also discloses an actuator (Fig. 7, transmission device 40), a fastening device (Fig. 7, hydraulic line 44), a receiving device (Fig. 7, piston 43), and a spring (Fig. 7, spring element 49). Pusch 2018 teaches wherein the at least one spring element (49) has a non-linear, progressive spring characteristic curve (attached translation Paragraph [0042], Fig. 10). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Auberger’s actuator wherein the at least one spring element has a non-linear, progressive spring characteristic curve, as taught by Pusch 2018, in order to for greater compliance of the device with knee movement (attached translation Paragraph [0014]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pusch (US Patent No. 10,632,002 B2) also discloses an actuator (Fig. 7, control device 6), comprising: a main body (Fig. 2, housing 10); and at least one fastening device (Fig. 7, fastening point 37) configured for fastening the actuator to components of an orthopedic device (Fig. 7, prosthesis 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARI L COCHRAN whose telephone number is (571)272-9637. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:00-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Melanie Tyson can be reached at 5712729062. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.L.C./ Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774
/MELANIE R TYSON/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3774
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