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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
Figures 1-5 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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 § 112(b)
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitations "the driving force" in ll. 2, “the front end” in ll. 4, “the acetabulum” in ll. 4-5 and ll. 8, “the acetabular cup” in ll. 5, “the inner wall” in ll. 23. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in this claim.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the circumference" in ll. 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the remaining portion of the connecting bar" in ll. 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 7 recites the limitation "the upper end of the cutter mounting body" in ll. 4, “the upper end of the groove” in ll. 4-5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in this claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the initial state" in ll. 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 3, 4, 6, and 9 are rejected on being dependent to a rejected base claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Claims 2-9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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: After further search and consideration it is determined that the prior art of record (e.g. Joo et al. US 2018/0200073, Motherway et al. US 2016/0100846) neither anticipated nor renders obvious the claimed subject matter of the instant application as a whole either taken alone or in combination, in particular, the prior art of record does not teach, the following limitation(s) in combination with the remaining claimed limitation such as but not limited to “wherein the cutter tilting unit includes: a first through-hole penetrating along the imaginary tilting axis, a connecting bar fixed at both ends to the cutter mounting unit, and a leaf spring fixed at both ends to the connecting bar, with a central portion between the two ends; wherein the main shaft includes: a cylinder member inserted into the first through-hole and having a second through-hole formed along its longitudinal direction; wherein the connecting bar is positioned within the second through-hole, capable of sliding toward or away from the imaginary tilting axis, and wherein the central portion of the leaf spring is supported by the inner wall of the second through-hole.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SI MING KU whose telephone number is (571)270-5450. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30am-6pm.
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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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/SI MING KU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775