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 plurality of assembly members (Claim 6) 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
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) 1-5, 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuang et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9877751).
Tsuang et al. a pedicle screw comprising: a nail body (100); a positioning part (210) having a first side (211) and a second side (213) opposite to the first side, the first side being disposed at an end of the nail body (Figure 2); and a holding part (200) disposed on the second side of the positioning part (Figure 2), the holding part having left and right ends exhibiting a symmetrical arc shape (Indicated by the arrows in the following figure).
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Regarding claim 2, the nail body includes a screw shape (see above).
Regarding claim 3. The pedicle screw of claim 1, wherein the positioning part is rotatable with respect to the nail body (Column 5, Lines 20-24).
Regarding claim 4, the arc shape includes a shape similar to a scimitar sword or a sickle (as seen above, the arc portion has a sickle shape).
Regarding claim 5, the positioning part and the holding part are integrated with each other (via an annular notch 230).
Regarding claim 7, the holding part has a fixed length arrangement (See figure above) or a variable length arrangement.
Regarding claim 8, the positioning part (210) includes an accommodation space (214).
Regarding claim 9, the holding part (200) is formed in both of a front side and a back side thereof with an opening (223) communicating with the accommodation space (Figure 1, 2), and the opening passes through the front side and the back side of the holding part (Figure 1, 2), in which the front side of the holding part is positioned in an inner side of the arc shape and the back side of the holding part is positioned in an outer side of the arc shape (as seen in figures 1 and 2, the front side the side facing out of the page, and the back side is the other side which is on the outer side of the arc shape pointed to in the figure previously provided.
Regarding claim 10, the back side a front side of a holding part of another pedicle screw is stacked on the back side of the holding part of the pedicle screw (Figure 3C, with the interconnected rod 600, the elements are stacked together).
Claim(s) 1 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bankoski et al. (U.S. Patent No. 7758584).
Bankoski et al. discloses a pedicle screw comprising: a nail body (PS); a positioning part (20) having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side (See Figure below),
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the first side being disposed at an end of the nail body (See above); and a holding part (20) disposed on the second side of the positioning part (See above), the holding part having left and right ends exhibiting a symmetrical arc shape (Indicated by the arrows in the following figure).
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Regarding claim 6, the positioning part and the holding part are assembled with each other through a plurality of assembly members (8a, 8b).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW YANG whose telephone number is (571)272-3472. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 9:00 M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Truong can be reached at 571-272-4705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW YANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775