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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3, 4, 8, and 9 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 fails to teach or disclose the structural relationship including but not limited to wherein the femur support comprises two femur attachment members that are medially and laterally arranged with regard to the marking element, and the fixed peg is fixedly connected to a first of the two femur attachment members and a second of the two femur attachment members receives the operating element.
The prior art fails to teach or disclose the structural relationship including but not limited to wherein the femur support comprises at least one guiding groove, the operating element comprises a protrusion arranged in the at least one guiding groove, and the femur support and the operating element are adapted such that the protrusion is adapted to slide in the at least one guiding groove.
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 1, 2, 5-7, and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2009/0125114 to May et al.
As to Claim 1, May discloses a femoral offset system (1360) for use in a knee arthroplasty procedure [0075, 0179]. The femoral offset system (Figs. 127-128) comprises a femur component (1362) connectable to a distal portion of a femur [0178], a femoral offset instrument (1364) connectable to the femur component [0178] and comprising a femur support (1406), and a connection mechanism (including 1416, 1420), the femur support being connectable to the femur component via the connection mechanism [0181]. The connection mechanism comprises a fixed peg (1416) and a movable peg (1420) connected to the femoral offset instrument (Fig. 128), an operating element (1422) that is manually operable [0180-0181] and that allows retraction of the movable peg (1420) by applying a manual force against a tension force [0180-0181], and receiving pockets (1392, 1394) for the fixed peg (1416) and the movable peg (1420) arranged on the femur component.
As to Claim 2, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the fixed peg (1416) and the movable peg (1420) are arranged on the femur support (1406) medially and laterally with regard to a marking element (1452, [0182]) of the femoral offset instrument (Figs. 127 and 128).
As to Claim 5, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the marking element is an offset eyeballing (1452, [0182]).
As to Claim 6, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the movable peg (1420) and the operating element (1422) are fixedly connected [0180-0181].
As to Claim 7, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the movable peg (1420) and the operating element (1422) are integrally formed as a one-piece homogeneous body of unitary construction [0180-0181].
As to Claim 10, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the operating element (1422) is secured to the femur support (1406, Fig. 128, [0180]).
As to Claim 11, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the femur support (1406) comprises at least one femur attachment member (1416) for fixedly connecting the femur support to the femur component (1362), and the femur component (1362) comprises at least one recess (1392) for receiving the at least one femur attachment member [0180-0191].
As to Claim 12, May discloses a femoral offset system wherein the femur component (1362) is a femoral cutting guide (cutting slots 1398, Fig. 127, [0179]).
As to Claim 13, May discloses a set of femoral offset systems according to claim 1, the set of femoral offset systems comprising a first femoral offset system, and a second femoral offset system that differs from the first femoral offset system in size and/or in form (differing system described in [0178], Fig. 127).
As to Claim 14, May discloses a femoral offset system, the femur component (1362) being connectable to the distal portion of the femur (via 1480, [0185]) and comprising the receiving pockets (1392, 1394) for the fixed peg (1416) and the movable peg (1420) of the femoral offset instrument (1364).
As to Claim 15, May discloses a set of femoral offset systems according to claim 14, the set of femur components comprising a first femur component, and a second femur component that differs from the first femur component in size and/or in form (differing femur components described in [0178], Fig. 127).
As to Claim 16, May discloses a femoral offset instrument (Figs. 127-128) for a femoral offset system (1360, [0075, 0179]). The femoral offset instrument (Figs. 127-128) comprises a femur support (1406) adapted to be connected to a femur component of the femoral offset system via a connection mechanism (including 1416, 1420), the connection mechanism comprising a fixed peg (1416) and a movable peg (1420) connected to the femoral offset instrument (Fig. 128), an operating element (1422) that is manually operable [0180-0181] and that allows retraction of the movable peg (1420) by applying a manual force against a tension force [0180-0181].
As to Claim 17, May discloses a set of femoral offset instruments according to claim 16, the set of femoral offset instruments comprising a first femoral offset instrument, and a second femoral offset instrument that differs from the first femoral offset instrument in size and/or in form (differing components described in [0178], Fig. 127).
Conclusion
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/CHRISTOPHER J BECCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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