DETAILED ACTION
Applicant's preliminary amendments and remarks, filed 10/3/24, are fully acknowledged by the Examiner. Currently, claims 2-21 are pending with claim 1 canceled, claims 2-21 new. The following is a complete response to the 10/3/24 communication.
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 .
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 21 is objected to because of the following informalities: "comprises position" should be "comprises positioning". Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cooper (US 2013/0012928) in view of Manzo (US 2012/0215220).
Regarding claim 19, Cooper teaches a method of assembling a surgical instrument, comprising:
positioning an insert guide member (guide member 70) relative to a surgical instrument comprising a shaft (14), end effector (12), and wrist coupling the end effector to the shaft (10 couples 14 to 12), the wrist having a first axis of articulation (axis of articulation for pitch bending as in par. [0095]-[0097]) and a second axis of articulation spaced from and transverse to the first axis of articulation (axis of articulation for yaw bending par. [0095]-[0097]), wherein a portion of the insert guide member extends through the wrist (70 through wrist 10).Cooper is not explicit regarding routing a flux conduit operably coupled to the end effector through a passage of the insert guide member so as to follow a path through the wrist that is nonhelical and intersects or nearly intersects each of the first axis of articulation and the second axis of articulation.
However, Manzo teaches conductors 11a-b in side passages through a guide as in par [0087] to couple to an end effector and intersects through axes of articulation.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Cooper such that conductors are
used in the side passages, as in Manzo, as lumens that may be used to deliver conductors to the end
effectors.
Regarding claim 20, Cooper teaches further comprising installing a sleeve over the insert guide member (sleeve 74 as in at least Fig. 7). One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that this would cover the flux conduit given the flux conduit is within the insert guide which is being covered by the sleeve.
Regarding claim 21, Cooper teaches wherein fitting the insert guide member relative to the surgical instrument further comprises positioning a second portion of the insert guide member at least partially in the shaft of the instrument (second portion 54 of guide member 70 partially in the shaft), and wherein routing the flux conduit through the passage further comprises routing the flux conduit through the passage so as to follow a path through the second portion of the insert guide member that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of a central bore of the guide member (second portion of 54 at a distal end parallel to the longitudinal axis of the guide member as in Fig. 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-18 are allowed.
The closest prior art of record are Cooper, Manzo, and Nelson (US 6,249,708). However, the prior art does not teach each of the one or more passages along the second portion is nonhelical and intersects or nearly intersects each of the first axis and the second axis. Rather, the passages of Cooper and Nelson are either straight (Cooper) or helical (Nelson as in Fig. 9). Examiner has not found any piece of art that discloses, fairly suggests, or makes obvious the arrangement. See also related application 16/872,538, now patent number 12,042,209.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BO OUYANG whose telephone number is (571)272-8831. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST.
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/BO OUYANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3794
/MICHAEL F PEFFLEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3794