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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claims 21-29, 31-33, and 35-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 4,759,686 (Kirst).
Regarding claim 21, Kirst discloses a coupler (see Figures 1A-3) for coupling a robotic arm to a surgical table (see column 2, lines 15-68), the coupler comprising:
a first portion (5) configured to couple to an adjustable surgical table (see column 2, lines 15-68);
a second portion (5a) configured to couple to a proximal end of a robotic arm that is coupled at a distal end to a surgical instrument (see column 2, lines 15-68); and
a locking mechanism configured to transition a coupling between the first portion and the second portion between a locked position and an unlocked position (see column 5, lines 38-52), wherein in the locked position the robotic arm coupled to the surgical instrument is locked to the adjustable surgical table (see column 2, lines 15-68).
Regarding claim 22, Kirst discloses the first portion (5) comprises a cone (26) operable to be received within a conical receiving cavity (18) of the second portion (5a) to couple the first portion to the second portion (see Figure 1A).
Regarding claim 23, Kirst discloses the cone (26) has a taper angle configured to achieve low release forces while maintaining high rigidity of coupling between the first portion (5) and the second portion (5a; see Figure 1A).
Regarding claim 24, Kirst discloses a catch (28) disposed along a side of the cone (26; see Figure 2), wherein the catch is biased to protrude from the side of the cone in a first configuration, and recede into the side of the cone in a second configuration (see column 5, lines 38-52); and
a catch groove (30) formed along an interior surface of the conical receiving cavity (18) of the second portion (5a) for receiving the catch of the first portion (5) in the first configuration to couple the second portion to the first portion (see Figure 1A).
Regarding claim 25, Kirst discloses a switch operable to cause the catch (28) to recede into the side of the cone (26) to decouple the second portion (5a) from the first portion (5; see column 2, lines 49-68, and column 5, lines 38-52; wherein the control system provides for such a switch to cause the catch to recede into the side of the cone).
Regarding claim 26, Kirst discloses the first portion (5) further comprises an alignment protrusion (37) configured to be received by an alignment hole in the second portion (5a) to align the first portion to the second portion (see Figure 2 and column 5, lines 58-66).
Regarding claim 27, Kirst discloses the alignment protrusion (37) is asymmetrical (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 28, Kirst discloses the alignment protrusion (37) comprises a spring loaded pin (via 38; see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 29, Kirst discloses a misalignment of the alignment protrusion (37) relative to the alignment hole prevents locking of the first portion (5) to the second portion (5a; see Figure 2 and column 5, lines 58-66).
Regarding claim 31, Kirst discloses a coupler (see Figures 1A-3) for coupling a robotic arm to a surgical table (see column 2, lines 15-68), the coupler comprising:
a first portion (5) configured to couple to an adjustable surgical table (see column 2, lines 15-68);
a second portion (5a) configured to couple to a robotic arm that is coupled to a surgical instrument (see column 2, lines 15-68); and
a locking mechanism configured to transition a coupling between the first portion and the second portion between a locked position in which the robotic arm is locked to the adjustable surgical table and an unlocked position (see column 5, lines 38-52), and wherein in the locked position the robotic arm and the surgical instrument adjust with the adjustable table (see column 2, lines 15-68).
Regarding claim 32, Kirst discloses the first portion (5) comprises a cone (26) that translates relative to a conical receiving cavity (18) of the second portion (5a) to couple the first portion to the second portion (see Figure 1A).
Regarding claim 33, Kirst the cone (26) comprises a surface roughness configured to increase a friction between the cone and the conical receiving cavity (18; an inherent feature in that any given surface has a surface roughness value providing a certain amount of friction).
Regarding claim 35, Kirst discloses a catch (28) disposed along a side of the cone (26), wherein the catch is biased to protrude from the side of the cone in a first configuration, and recede into the side of the cone in a second configuration (see column 5, lines 38-52); and
a catch groove (30) formed along an interior surface of the conical receiving cavity (18) of the second portion (5a) for receiving the catch of the first portion (5) in the first configuration to couple the second portion to the first portion (see Figure 1A).
Regarding claim 36, Kirst discloses a switch operable to cause the catch (28) to recede into the side of the cone (26) to decouple the second portion (5a) from the first portion (5; see column 2, lines 49-68, and column 5, lines 38-52; wherein the control system provides for such a switch to cause the catch to recede into the side of the cone).
Regarding claim 37, Kirst discloses the first portion (5) further comprises an alignment protrusion (37) configured to be received by an alignment hole in the second portion to align the first portion to the second portion (5a; see Figure 2 and column 5, lines 58-66).
Regarding claim 38, Kirst discloses the alignment protrusion (37) is asymmetrical (see Figure 2).
Regarding claim 39, Kirst discloses the alignment protrusion (37) comprises a spring loaded pin (via 38; see Figure 2).
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.
Claims 30 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirst in view of US 2009/0322041 (Norton).
Kirst discloses the coupler of claims 21 and 31, respectively, but does not expressly disclose the locking mechanism comprises a handle that drives a rotation of a cam within the first portion (5) to apply contact forces to a shuttle to lock the first portion to the second portion (5a). Instead, Kirst discloses the use of a pneumatic pressure medium in order to apply forces to a shuttle to lock the first portion to the second portion.
Norton teaches it is a design choice known in the art of couplers to choose between a locking mechanism which uses pneumatics or a locking mechanism which comprises a handle (60) that drives a rotation of a cam (44) within a first portion (12) to apply contact forces to a shuttle to lock the first portion to a second portion (14; see paragraph [0040]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupler of Kirst such that the locking mechanism comprises a handle that drives a rotation of a cam within the first portion to apply contact forces to a shuttle to lock the first portion to the second portion, as Norton teaches it is a design choice known in the art of couplers to choose between a locking mechanism which uses pneumatics or a locking mechanism which comprises a handle that drives a rotation of a ca within a first portion to apply contact forces to a shuttle to lock the first portion to a second portion.
In the interest of compact prosecution, the following alternative rejection of claim 33 is made:
Claim 33 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirst in view of US 4,152,086 (Achenbach).
Kirst discloses the coupler of claim 32, but does not explicitly disclose the cone comprises a surface roughness configured to increase a friction between the cone (26) and the conical receiving cavity (18).
Achenbach teaches providing a cone (5) with a surface roughness configured to increase a friction between the cone and the conical receiving cavity (6; see column 3, lines 23-25). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupler of Kirst such that the cone comprises a surface roughness, as taught in Achenbach, in order to increase a friction between the cone and the conical receiving cavity.
Claim 34 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kirst in view of US 5,090,837 (Mower).
Kirst discloses the coupler of claim 32, wherein the cone (26) has a taper angle, but does not expressly disclose the taper angle being approximately fourteen degrees.
Mower teaches providing a cone (10B) of a conical connection (see Figure 2) with a taper angle of approximately fourteen degrees, as it is known in the art of couplers to choose a taper angle depending upon the desired tightness and ease of assembly/disassembly required by the coupler (see column 4, line 61, through column 5, line 4, and column 9, lines 40-57). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the coupler of Kirst such that the taper angle being approximately fourteen degrees, as Mower teaches it is known in the art of couplers to choose a taper angle depending upon the desired tightness and ease of assembly/disassembly required by the coupler.
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure in the field of couplers having conical shaped connections.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
September 22, 2026
Prosecution Insights