DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action on the merits in this application. The claims of September 30, 2024, are under consideration. Claims 1-12 are pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Delgado et al. (US 6,010,509).
Regarding claim 1, Delgado teaches a device capable of use as a patella impaction device (such as by clamping a patella while impact is applied to some portion of the device) comprising:
a first clamp 51/52/53 (best seen at figs. 2, 6, 7A-8B, 11 and 12) configured to be pressed along a pressure axis (axis through 52, 53, 54, and 21 in fig. 12) and onto a dome-shaped surface of a patella implant 200 capable of being connected to a resected patella; and
a clamping element 54 that is shell-shaped and mounted on a holding structure 11/12/13/14 of the first clamp 51/52/53 in a floating manner (demonstrated in two embodiments in figs. 7A-8B),
the clamping element 54 being movable at least along one axis of movement within a plane extending perpendicular to the pressure axis (swivel motion, and vertical motion capable as arranged in figs. 7A-8B).
Regarding claim 2, the clamping element 54 is movable at least along a medio-lateral axis (depending on placement of 10 relative to the patient’s body).
Regarding claim 3, the clamping element 54 is movable at least along a proximal-distal axis (depending on placement of 10 relative to the patient’s body).
Regarding claim 4, the holding structure 11/12/13/14 comprises at least one guiding element 15 for guiding the clamping element (e.g. guiding 54 and s-bar 51 relative to 10).
Regarding claim 5, the at least one guiding element 15 will now be considered to be both 15 and the corresponding bore in 10. The guiding element 15 comprises a first guiding element 15 and a second guiding element (receiving bore) arranged parallel to the first guiding element 15.
Regarding claim 6, the clamping element 54 comprises a guiding slot seen receiving pin 56 in fig. 7A for sliding engagement of the at least one guiding element 53.
Regarding claim 7, the guiding slot receiving pin 56 extends along a length that is shorter than a guiding length of the at least one guiding element 53. Once a first alternative is met, the second alternative need not be shown in the prior art for the claim to have been shown to be anticipated.
Regarding claim 8, the holding structure 11/12/13/14 has a U-shape at the open end (up in fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, the clamping element 54 is made of plastic material (col. 7, lines 10-19; note that “platen” in this section is referring back to element 54).
Regarding claim 10, the impaction device includes a second clamp 12/14 configured to be located on an anterior region of the resected patella (depending on placement of the device relative to the patient’s body); and a pressing device 11/13 for pressing the first clamp 51/52/53 and the second clamp 12/14 towards each other (e.g. by actuation of 11/13).
Regarding claim 11, the holding structure 11/12/13/14 of the first clamp 51/52/53 and the pressing device 11/13 are removably connectable to each other by a connector 15.
Regarding claim 12, Delgado teaches a patella preparation set comprising: a patella impaction device according to claim 1 (above); and at least two patella implants 200 that are alternatively connectable to a resected patella (note teaching of multiple commercially available patella buttons 200 being provided with the device; col. 6, lines 45-50), the at least two patella implants 200 having identical connection elements for connecting to the resected patella 100, and the at least two patella implants 200 having peak point axes that are offset to each other with respect to their medio-lateral axes (depending on placement of different elements 200 within 54, by rotation or translation).
Conclusion
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/DAVID W BATES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3799