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
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because the drawings supplied are photographs that are of an unacceptable level of detail and quality to accurately define the invention. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by KELLER (US 2024/0164869 A1, hereinafter “Keller”).
Regarding Claim 1, Keller discloses a device (Figure 1, 2) for arranging a fabricated dental apparatus (Figure 10,4) with respect to jaw members of a patient during a restorative dental procedure (abstract), the device comprising a main body (Figure 1 as annotated below) configured to support the fabricated dental apparatus (as seen in Figure 10 the device 2 supports the fabricated dental apparatus (4) and including a mandible surface (Figure 1 as annotated below) and a stabilizer portion (12) including a maxillary surface configured to be removably fitted to a maxilla of the patient ([0050]; where the maxillary surface is capable of contacting the maxilla in an edentulous patient when placed in contact with posterior mouth, thus holding the jaws open and contacting both the mandible and the maxilla), such that the main body and the stabilizer portion predictably position the fabricated dental apparatus with respect to the mandible and the maxilla to facilitate installation of the dental apparatus onto the mandible and the maxilla in a proper alignment (as described in [0008]).
Regarding Claim 2, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and is capable of positioning the maxilla in a predefined orientation with the mandible that ensures proper centric alignment.
Regarding Claim 3, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and is capable of positioning the maxilla a distance from the mandible that ensures clinical vertical dimension of occlusion matches laboratory determined vertical dimension of occlusion.
Regarding Claim 4, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and is capable of positioning the maxilla a distance from the mandible that ensures functionality of the dental apparatus over a full range of condylar joint movement.
Regarding Claim 5, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and is capable of arranging the dental apparatus with respect to the maxilla and the mandible so that the dental apparatus is installed into a position on the maxilla or the mandible in a position that matches clinically recorded positions from laboratory examinations (as described in [0048] where device is custom made to accommodate specific measurements and conditions of the patient).
Regarding Claim 6, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and further discloses an arch engagement portion (Figure 1 below) configured to engage a maxillary arch of the patient (as described in [0007]).
Regarding Claim 7, Keller discloses the device of claim 6, and further discloses that the arch engagement portion is coupled to the main body via extensions that extend from opposite sides of the arch engagement portion to opposite ends of the main body (Figure 1 annotated below).
Regarding Claim 8, Keller discloses the device of claim 7, and further discloses that the stabilizer portion includes a first stabilizer and a second stabilizer, and the extensions extend to the opposite ends of the main body via the first stabilizer and the second stabilizer (Figure 1 annotated below where the first and second stabilizers are the vertical portions of element 12).
Regarding Claim 9, Keller discloses the device of claim 1, and further discloses that the stabilizer portion is contiguous with the main body and extends away from a maxillary surface of the main body, the maxillary surface being opposite the mandible surface.
Regarding Claim 10, Keller discloses the device of Claim 1, and further discloses that the mandible surface of the main body comprises an arcuate portion configured to engage arcuate surfaces of the mandible of the patient (as seen in Figure 1, the mandibular surface is arcuate).
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE L NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5368. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 7:30-4:30 PT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen can be reached at 571-270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTINE L NELSON/ Examiner, Art Unit 3772 /EDWARD MORAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772