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 Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10, line 1: “sleeve” should be changed to --identification feature--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-11 and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McGinley et al., U.S. PG-Pub 2015/0066038 in view of Garbus et al., U.S. PG-Pub 2017/0105811.
Regarding claims 1, 7, and 15, McGinley et al. discloses a surgical drill bit for use on a surgical drill, the surgical drill bit comprising: a shank (16) extending between a proximal end and a distal end along an axis (120); a cutting tip portion (16a) adjacent to the distal end of the shank; a sleeve (466) disposed about at least a portion of the shank (Figs. 12-14), the sleeve having a material with a glass transition temperature at or below 120 degree Celsius (paragraph [0119] lines 22-24)
McGinley et al. does not disclose the sleeve comprising a non-magnetic material and an identification feature disposed about the shank for identifying a configuration of the cutting tip portion, the identification feature comprising a magnetic material dispersed in the non-magnetic material and configured for generating a magnetic field, the magnetic material configured to become at least partially demagnetized when heated to a temperature at or above 80 degrees Celsius.
Garbus et al. discloses a device having a sleeve (1610) (Fig. 16) with a non-magnetic material (612) (paragraph [0050] discloses the embodiments are not limited to exposed identification devices and may instead include an identification device that is not exposed as show in Fig. 6) and an identification feature comprising a magnetic material (array of magnets 1614) (Fig. 16) dispersed in the sleeve/non-magnetic material and configured for generating a magnetic field (paragraph [0051]), the magnetic material configured to become at least partially demagnetized when heated to a temperature at or above 80 degrees Celsius (paragraph [0031] line 15 discloses the magnet may be samarium cobalt which is the same material disclosed in paragraph [0060] of applicant’s specification) as such provides identification information for the device, the identification information may comprise at least one of a length, a diameter, and/or a material of the device (paragraph [0031] lines 22-24).
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 sleeve of McGinley to comprise a non-magnetic material and an identification feature disposed about the shank for identifying a configuration of the cutting tip portion, the identification feature comprising a magnetic material dispersed in the non-magnetic material and configured for generating a magnetic field, the magnetic material configured to become at least partially demagnetized when heated to a temperature at or above 80 degrees Celsius in view of Garbus et al. to permit identification information for the drill bit that includes a length, a diameter, and/or a material of the drill bit.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 16 and 17, the magnetic material (array of magnets 1614) of Garbus et al. are uniformly dispersed and are solid particles (Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 10, the magnetic material of Garbus et al. become at least partially demagnetized when heated to a temperature at or above 80 degrees Celsius (paragraph [0031] line 15 discloses the magnet may be samarium cobalt which is the same material disclosed in paragraph [0060] of applicant’s specification).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-6, 12-14 and 18-20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Eric Gibson whose telephone number is (571)270-5274. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday ~6:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (CST).
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/ERIC S GIBSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775