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 .
Priority
This application is a CON of 17/826,945 05/27/2022 PAT 12059147, which is a CON of 17/551,588 12/15/2021 PAT 11382611, which has PRO 63/281,411 11/19/2021
and has PRO 63/172,564 04/08/2021 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7-8, 14-16, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2004/0243178 to Haut et al. (Haut).
Haut teaches:
Claim 1: A toggle-type suture anchor comprising:
an elongated toggle body (105, Fig. 7a-7b) having a proximal end and a distal end defining longitudinal surfaces therebetween with at least a first hole (110, Fig. 7a-7b) through the elongated toggle body extending from a first longitudinal surface to a second longitudinal surface (suture extending through body at two surfaces, Fig. 9c), the elongated toggle body having a maximum cross-section dimension (Fig. 7b, circular body); and,
at least one fin (fins 715a, 715b, 715n, Fig. 7a-7b) projecting from a proximal portion (122, Fig. 1) of the elongated toggle body in both a lateral and proximal direction, the at least one fin extending laterally outside a circle defined by the maximum cross-section dimension of the elongated body (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below) and proximally beyond the proximal end of the elongated toggle body (Fig. 1).
Claim 2: A second hole (110, Fig. 7a) through the elongated toggle body extending from the first longitudinal surface to the second longitudinal surface (Fig. 9c, suture extending through body at two surfaces) at a spaced interval along the elongated toggle body relative to the first hole (110, Fig. 7a).
Claim 7: A toggle-type suture anchor comprising:
an elongated body (105, Fig. 7a) having a proximal end and a distal end defining a longitudinal direction therebetween with at least a first bore and a second bore (110, Fig. 7a) extending laterally through the elongated body at a spaced interval; and,
a pair of fins (715a,b,n, Figs. 7a-7b) projecting both radially outward and proximally from a proximal portion of the elongated body, with at least a portion of each fin extending outwardly beyond a maximum cross-section dimension of the elongated body (the circular body, Fig. 7b).
PNG
media_image1.png
311
346
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim 8: The distal end (120, Fig. 7a below) of the elongated body further comprises an angled surface.
PNG
media_image2.png
271
624
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Claim 14: The fins are substantially horizontal (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below)
PNG
media_image3.png
295
309
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Claim 15: The fins project downwardly at an acute angle from a horizontal plane toward a plane defined by a bottom surface of the elongated body (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below).
Claim 16: The acute angle is between about 30 degrees to 60 degrees (Fig. 7b below).
PNG
media_image4.png
289
488
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Claim 18: A toggle-type suture anchor comprising:
an elongated toggle body (105, Fig. 7a) having a proximal end and a distal end defining a top surface and a bottom surface, with at least a first hole (110, Fig. 7a) through the elongated toggle body extending from the top surface to the bottom surface; and
at least one fin (715a,b,n, Fig. 7a) projecting from a proximal portion of the elongated toggle body in both a lateral and proximal direction;
wherein the distal end (120, Fig. 7a) of the elongated toggle body has an angled lower surface extending upward relative to the bottom surface (Fig. 7a, reproduced with annotation below); and
PNG
media_image5.png
255
596
media_image5.png
Greyscale
wherein the at least one fin has an upper surface that is angled downward relative to the top surface (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below).
PNG
media_image6.png
353
484
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Claim 19: The at least one fin includes a left fin and a right fin (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below), wherein the elongated toggle body defines a left side and a right side, and the left fin extends left of the left side of the elongated toggle body, and the right fin extends right of the right side of the elongated toggle body (Fig. 7b reproduced with annotation below).
PNG
media_image7.png
352
450
media_image7.png
Greyscale
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haut.
Haut teaches:
The toggle-type suture anchor of claim 7 (see rejection of claim 7 above).
Haut fails to teach:
Claim 9: the elongated body further comprises a maximum cross-section dimension of less than about 3 mm.
Claim 10: the elongated body further comprises a length of about 6 mm to about 10 mm.
Haut teaches the current invention but fails to teach the dimensions of the maximum cross section dimension and the length of the elongated body. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was filed to modify the dimension of the cross-section to have 3mm for the maximum cross-section and 6mm-10 for the length of the elongated body as a matter of design choice since the applicant stated in the specification that “Alternative sizes could be used in other applications in the body as desired” (para. 0014, PGPUB 2024/0341747). Therefore, it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the anchor of Haut.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6, 11-13, 17 and 20 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding claim 3, the cited prior art fails to disclose a suture passing into first hole out the first hole, along the body, then through the second hole. The prior art also fails to disclose a third hole between the first and second holes. Regards claim 4, the cited prior art fails to disclose the fin having a thinned cross section allow the proximal portion of the fin to flex laterally inward the confined. Claims 5 and 6 also objected for depending objected claim 4. Regards claim 11, the cited prior art fails to disclose a slit in the proximal end of the body between the pair of fins to allow each fin to flex radially inward. Claim 12 also object for depending on objected claim 11. Regards claim 13, the cited prior art fails to disclose the body a proximal end surface having a dimple area for receiving a push member. Regards claim 17, the cited prior art fails to disclose at least two toggle-type suture anchors of claim 7 and a single working suture passing through each of the first and second bores of each of the two anchors. Regards claim 20, the cited prior art fails to disclose the proximal end of the anchor body includes a dimpled area between the fins for receiving a push member.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHONG SON DANG whose telephone number is (571)270-5809. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5.
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, Elizabeth Houston can be reached at 571-272-7134. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PHONG SON H DANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3771