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 .
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 longitudinal axis (32) 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karcher et al. (US20220167833A1, hereinafter Karcher).
Regarding Claim 1, Karcher discloses
A bridge (endoscope head 2, FIG. 1) for a handheld surgical instrument (endoscope 1, FIG. 1),
with a channel-like guide bore (endoscope head 2, FIG. 1) for an optical unit (eyepiece 9, FIG. 1; par. 37 discloses optical components are accommodated inside the endoscope) and at least one working channel (light attachment piece 10, FIG.1) for receiving at least one working instrument (FIG. 1, par. 9 discloses illumination light guides can extend inside the shaft tube, i.e. via working channel of light attachment piece),
wherein a distal end (housing 6, FIG. 1) of the bridge can be coupled to a shaft (shaft tube 4, FIG. 1) for the optical unit and the at least one working instrument (par. 37 discloses frustoconical surface of housing serves for connected to the shaft of an endoscopic instrument, i.e. optical unit, FIG. 1 depicts housing connection to working instrument) and a proximal end can be coupled to a telescope (eyepiece 9, depicted in FIG. 1),
wherein the guide bore is segmented from the proximal end to the distal end (depicted in FIG. 2), and
the segments have longitudinal axes offset with respect to one another (depicted in FIG. 2, 4).
Regarding Claim 2, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one segment (inner surface segment 14, FIG. 2) has a different diameter than at least one further segment (groove segment 15, FIG. 2; FIG. 4 discloses groove has larger diameter than inner surface).
Regarding Claim 3, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide bore has at least two segments (groove segment 15 & inner surface segment 14, FIG. 2).
Regarding Claim 4, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide bore has three segments (depicted in FIG. 2), namely a distal first segment (cavity segment 24, FIG. 6), a middle second segment (groove segment 15, FIG. 2) and a proximal third segment (inner surface segment 14, FIG. 2).
Regarding Claim 5, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second segment has a larger diameter than the first and the third segment (depicted in FIG. 4, 7).
Regarding Claim 6, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 4,
wherein the diameter of the second segment is 4.0 mm to 5.0 mm (par. 39 discloses internal diameter of cone is greater than the external diameter of the shaft tube, which can be 5mm, and is preferably slightly smaller than it, i.e. the largest part of the segments is the groove segment so it would be between 4 and 5 mm),
the diameter of the first segment is 3.8 mm to 4.4 mm (par. 40 discloses the bottom part of the groove has a width of 0.31 mm, subtracting that from the width of the groove (between 4 and 5 mm) would result in a diameter between 3.8 and 4.4 mm),
and the diameter of the third segment is 3.8 mm to 4.2 mm (FIG. 2, 6 depict diameters of the first and third segment being substantially the same, i.e. a diameter between 3.8 and 4.4 mm).
Regarding Claim 7, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 4, wherein the longitudinal axis of the first segment is offset with respect to the longitudinal axis of an optical guide (shaft tube 4, FIG. 1) in an optical plate (groove 15, FIG. 7; par. 37 discloses optical components are accommodated inside the endoscope, i.e. via shaft tube; FIG. 7 depicts folds 23 in groove which will make the longitudinal axis of the optical components extending through the shaft tube be offset to the longitudinal axis of the cavity segment).
Regarding Claim 8, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 4, wherein the longitudinal axis of the first segment is offset with respect to the longitudinal axes of the third and/or second segment, by 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm (FIG. 4 discloses non-uniform depth in groove segment which is approximately 0.2 mm offset from the axis of the interior 13, i.e. axes of the groove segment and the inner surface segment are offset from each other by 0.2 mm).
Regarding Claim 9, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second segment and the third segment are oriented coaxially (depicted in FIG. 2).
Regarding Claim 10, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 7, wherein the longitudinal axis of the first segment is offset away from the working channel with respect to the longitudinal axes of the third and/or second segment (FIG. 1, 2 depict cavity segment is offset away from the light attachment piece, their orientations being perpendicular).
Regarding Claim 11, Karcher discloses
The bridge for a handheld surgical instrument as claimed in claim 1,
wherein a section of an inner wall (inner surface 14, FIG. 2) of a distal section of the guide bore serves as a support for the rod-like optical unit (FIG. 5, par. 37 disclose housing connects to proximal region of shaft tube and the frustoconical surface of the housing allows for connection to the shaft of an endoscopic instrument, i.e. rod-like optical unit), and
an inner wall (longitudinal groove 16, FIG. 5) of a proximal section of the guide bore encloses the rod-like optical unit with a form fit (depicted in FIG. 5).
Regarding Claim 12, Karcher discloses
A handheld surgical instrument (endoscope 1, FIG. 1) with a bridge (endoscope head 2, FIG. 1) as claimed in claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDUL HADI ABBASI whose telephone number is (571)272-4076. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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, Anhtuan Nguyen can be reached at (571) 272-4963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABDUL HADI ABBASI/Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/RYAN N HENDERSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3795