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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The filing date of parent application no. 17/269,627 is incorrect, and the corresponding patent number should be added in paragraph 0001 of the substitute specification, which has been entered. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 3-4 and 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and (b) as failing to comply with the written description requirement and as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The claims contain subject matter not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The combination of “the transmission mechanism [being] movable about and between the first configuration and the second configuration in response to a torque applied to the artificial joint” (claim 1, lines 12-14) and the limitations of dependent claims 3-4 and 6-7 is not disclosed, explained, or illustrated in the original disclosure of parent application 17/269,627 and appears to be a hybridization of two or more different embodiments with distinct and mutually exclusive characteristics. The further limitations of dependent claims 3-4 and 6-7 are drawn to actively variable transmission systems (paragraphs 0048+ of the parent specification) with independent operation (paragraph 0048), fixed position of pivot shaft 120 (paragraph 0052), and so on, whereas the aforementioned claim 1 limitations as to movement in response to applied torque are at odds with the fixed position and relate to passively variable transmission systems (paragraphs 0063+). Claims 3-4 and 6-7 are thus unsupported and are indefinite and confusing as to the scope when read in light of the original specification and drawings.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 5, and 8-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Features involving the actuation mechanism, the crank variable configurations and their responsiveness to torque applied to the joint, and the potential energy of the passively variable element in the assistive device as claimed is neither taught nor fairly suggested in the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by Applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to David H. Willse, whose telephone number is 571-272-4762. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Thursday. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor Thomas Barrett can be reached at telephone number 571-272-4746. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID H WILLSE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774
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