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 .
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Maurer (EP 0645988 B1).
In re. claim 1, with reference to Figures 4a, 4b, and 11, Maurer discloses a force-controlled clamping mechanism (see fig. 4a, 4b, 11) for an oral care device (see col. 1, I. 3), comprising: a first projection (brush 19) having a first set of cleaning elements (21) attached to a sidewall (see fig. 4a-4c, 11) of the first projection (19); a second projection (further brush 19) having a second set of cleaning elements (21) attached to a sidewall ((see fig. 4a-4c, 11)) of the second projection (19), wherein the sidewall of the first projection opposes the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 4a-4c, 11) such that the first set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the first projection towards the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 4a-4c) and the second set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the second projection towards the sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 4a-4c, 11); and a spring system (35, 39) connected to the first projection and the second projection (see fig. 4a-4c, 11), the spring system being configured to enable the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection to move towards and/or away from one another (see fig. 4b, 4c, 11).
In re. claim 2, with reference to Figures 4a-4c and 10c, Maurer discloses the force-controlled clamping mechanism is configured to receive a foreign object between the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection such that the first and second sets of cleaning elements contact the foreign object.
In re. claim 3, with reference to Figures 4a-4c and 10c, Maurer discloses receiving the foreign object between the first and second projections causes a displacement of the first and second set of cleaning elements.
In re. claim 4, with reference to [0050], Maurer discloses the displacement of the first and second set of cleaning elements creates a force on the spring system such that the first and second projections move towards and/or away from one another.
In re. claim 5, with reference to Figure 4b, Maurer discloses the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection are substantially parallel.
In re. claim 6, with reference to Figure 4b, Maurer discloses the spring system is configured to enable the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection to move towards and/or away from one another while the sidewall of the first projection remains substantially parallel with the sidewall of the second projection.
In re. claim 11, with reference to Figure 11, Maurer discloses a force-controlled toothbrushing block (see fig. 11), comprising: a block backing structure (18) and a force-controlled clamping mechanism operatively connected to the backing structure; wherein the force-controlled clamping mechanism includes: a first projection (see fig. 11) having a first set of cleaning elements attached to a sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 11); a second projection (see fig. 11) having a second set of cleaning elements attached to a sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 11), wherein the sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 11) opposes the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 11) such that the first set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 11) towards the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 11) and the second set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 11) towards the sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 11); a spring system (39) connecting the first projection (see fig. 11) and the second projection (see fig. 11) to the block backing structure, the spring system (39) being configured to enable the sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 11) and the sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 11) to move towards and/or away from one another.
In re. claim 12, with reference to Figure 11, Maurer discloses the force-controlled toothbrushing block is configured to receive one or more teeth between the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection such that the first and second sets of cleaning elements contact the one or more teeth, wherein receiving the one or more teeth causes a displacement of the first and second sets of cleaning elements such that a force is applied to the spring system causing the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection to move towards and/or away from one another, and wherein the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection remain substantially parallel.
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Brewer et al. (WO 2022/109345 A1).
In re. claim 13, with reference to Figure 4B, Brewer et al. disclose an oral care device (see fig 4B), comprising: at least one force-controlled toothbrushing block (pair of opposing flexible fingers 401, 402 including a backing structure that connects the two opposing flexible fingers 401 and 402) secured to a flexible mouthpiece body (further pairs of flexible fingers 402), the flexible mouthpiece body being configured to receive at least a region of a subject's set of teeth when the flexible mouthpiece body is inserted into the subject's mouth (see fig., 4A, 4B); wherein each force-controlled toothbrushing block includes: a first projection (flexible finger 401) having a first set of cleaning elements attached to a sidewall of the first projection (see fig. 4B); a second projection (opposing flexible finger 402) having a second set of cleaning elements attached to a sidewall of the second projection (see fig. 4B), wherein the sidewall of the first projection (401) opposes the sidewall of the second projection (402) such that the first set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the first projection (401) towards the sidewall of the second projection (402) and the second set of cleaning elements extend from the sidewall of the second projection (402) towards the sidewall of the first projection (401); a block backing structure (that connects the two opposing flexible fingers 401 and 402); and a spring system connecting the first projection (401) and the second projection (402) to the block backing structure, the spring system being configured to enable the sidewall of the first projection (401) and the sidewall of the second projection (402) to move towards and/or away from one another (see par. [98], The flexible fingers provide a predictable spring force).
In re. claim 14, with reference to Figure 4B, Brewer et al. disclose the oral care device
In re. claim 15, with reference to Figure 4B and [96], Brewer et al. disclose each force-controlled toothbrushing block is configured to receive one or more teeth between the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection such that the first and second sets of cleaning elements contact the one or more teeth, the one or more teeth being from the region of a subject's set of teeth received by the flexible mouthpiece body, and for each force-controlled toothbrushing block: receiving the one or more teeth from the region of a subject's set of teeth causes a displacement of the first and second sets of cleaning elements such that a force is applied to the spring system causing the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection to move towards and/or away from one another, and the sidewall of the first projection and the sidewall of the second projection remain substantially parallel.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maurer (EP 0645988 B1).
In re. claim 7, Maurer discloses the claimed invention as described above. Not specifically disclosed is the claimed clamping value. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the clamping value of the clamping mechanism to be within any workable and suitable range needed to be effective depending on the intended use and the results of the modification would have been predictable, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-10 are 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: the prior art of record fails to disclose the force controlled clamping mechanism for an oral care device including the elastic constant-force mechanisms and constant-force coil springs as claimed.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure. Examiner lists referenced documents on PTO-892 because the references present other/alternative or conceptual designs similar in scope that illustrate relevant features, which may demonstrate the level of novelty in comparison to Applicant’s inventive submission. The record relates to Applicant’s identified material and Examiner’s discovered references concerning Applicant’s subject matter relevant for a patentability determination.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA L PERRY whose telephone number is (571)270-3113. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10am-6pm.
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/MONICA L PERRY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3644
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