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.
Claims 1-7, 9-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Webber (US 20220183795).
Webber shows a dental auxiliary positioner for placing a dental auxiliary on a tooth (Fig. 13A for instance), the dental auxiliary positioner comprising: a registration element (Fig. 13A; registration anchors; [0280]) configured to receive a patient’s tooth (Fig. 13A); and an auxiliary support (1320, 1325, 1303-1 for instance) coupled to the registration element (as seen in Fig. 13A) and further coupled to an auxiliary (1302-1), wherein the auxiliary support is configured to position the auxiliary against a surface of the tooth (Fig. 13A; [0280]), and wherein the auxiliary support comprises: a frame extending at least partially around the auxiliary (1320; [0281] “which may at least partially surround a perimeter of the attachment”), one or more struts coupling the auxiliary to the frame (1325), and a flexible bridge coupling the frame to the registration element ([0280] discusses using similar structure from Fig. 12A-N, where Fig. 12L in particular shows the bridge coupling the frame to the registration element is flexible; [0275]), wherein the flexible bridge is configured to bend in one or more directions relative to the tooth to adjust the position of the auxiliary on the surface of the tooth ([0275] “allow for more maneuverability”). With respect to claim 2, wherein the flexible bridge comprises an elongate shaft (1203s in Fig. 12L) having at least a portion that extends laterally away from the registration element (1203-6 for instance shows this most clearly at the bend). With respect to claim 3, wherein the flexible bridge is curved between the registration element and the frame (curves shown in Fig. 12L along 1203-3 for instance). With respect to claim 4, wherein the flexible bridge comprises a first end coupled to the registration element and a second end coupled to the frame (ends coupled to respective parts), the second end being narrower than the first end (Fig. 12D and L in particular show the bridge narrowing toward the frame/attachment, such as at 1203-3). With respect to claim 5, wherein the one or more directions comprise a buccal-lingual direction, a mesial-distal direction, or a combination thereof (flexibility of material of 1203 will allow movement in these directions). With respect to claim 6, further comprising a recess formed in a surface of the registration element proximate to the flexible bridge, wherein the recess is configured to accommodate the bending of the flexible bridge in the one or more directions (recess at 1210 in Fig. 12L for instance allows the bending of the flexible bridge in these directions due to the recess space 1203-4 resides in). With respect to claim 7, wherein the flexible bridge is configured to constrain the position of the auxiliary on the surface of the tooth to a predetermined range (the flexibility of the bridge material will result in a predetermined range). With respect to claim 9, wherein the frame extends only partially around the auxiliary ([0281] discusses “at least partially surround a perimeter of the attachment). With respect to claim 10, wherein the frame comprises a first side coupled to the flexible bridge (bottom side in Fig. 13A) and a second side of the frame opposite the first side (top side in Fig. 13A), and wherein a gap is present in the second side of the frame (between struts 1325 and gap around 1302-1 in Fig. 13A for instance; a gap could also be considered resulting from the frame not extending fully around the auxiliary). With respect to claim 11, wherein the one or more struts comprise a pair of struts positioned adjacent to the gap in the frame (all struts adjacent the gap surrounding 1302-1, each strut of the pair of struts is oriented at an angle relative to the auxiliary (all struts connected thereto and therefore have an angle in relation thereto), and wherein: (a) the angle is configured to concentrate stress at or near an interface between each strut and the auxiliary when the dental auxiliary positioner is removed from the tooth (the small connection points from each angled strut will concentrate the stress at each respective interface), (b) the dental auxiliary positioner is configured to be rotated in a lingual-to-buccal direction to remove the dental auxiliary positioner from the tooth, and the angle is substantially perpendicular to an axis of the rotation (capable of use and similar performance in such manner where the struts substantially perpendicular would be those in the gingival/occlusal direction), or both (a) and (b). With respect to claim 12, wherein the one or more struts comprise a pair of struts positioned adjacent to the gap in the frame (struts all adjacent to the gap surrounding auxiliary where a pair is selected therefrom), wherein each strut of the pair of struts is oriented at an angle relative to the auxiliary, and wherein the angle is a positive angle (a pair of struts from those in Fig. 13A with positive angles as shown where positive angles are those measured counterclockwise from an initial side to be approximately 0 to 360 degrees). With respect to claim 13, wherein the one or more struts comprise a pair of struts positioned adjacent to the gap in the frame (see above), and wherein an interface between each strut and the auxiliary is positioned occlusally of an interface between the strut and the frame (such as those on the gingival side in Fig. 13A). With respect to claim 14, wherein when the tooth is received within the registration element, the auxiliary support positions the auxiliary at a predetermined location on the tooth (as seen on teeth in Fig. 13A). With respect to claim 15, wherein the auxiliary comprises an attachment, button, power arm, splint, distalizer, bracket, or wire ([0285]).
Method claims 16-17 are rejected similarly to the above structurally and additionally comprising, by one or more processors: accessing a 3D model of a patient’s teeth ([0246]); determining a design for a dental auxiliary positioner configured to position an auxiliary on a tooth of the patient’s teeth ([0246]-[0247]); and generating instructions for manufacturing the dental auxiliary positioner with the determined design (“printing” [0248]-[0249]). With respect to claim 17, wherein the instructions are configured to cause an additive manufacturing system to fabricate the dental auxiliary positioner via an additive manufacturing process (“printing” is an additive manufacturing process; [0255]).
Claims 1, 7-8, 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by O’Leary (US 20210259812).
O’Leary shows a dental auxiliary positioner for placing a dental auxiliary on a tooth (Fig. 22 for instance), the dental auxiliary positioner comprising: a registration element (top portion of Fig. 22 registering with the tooth) configured to receive a patient’s tooth (Fig. 22); and an auxiliary support (at 230, 270 in Fig. 21-22) coupled to the registration element (as seen in Fig. 22) and further coupled to an auxiliary (110), wherein the auxiliary support is configured to position the auxiliary against a surface of the tooth (Fig. 22; [0084]), and wherein the auxiliary support comprises: a frame extending at least partially around the auxiliary (at 230 in Fig. 21), one or more struts coupling the auxiliary to the frame (frangible portions between 230 and 110), and a flexible bridge coupling the frame to the registration element (Fig. 23 for instance shows the flexible bridge in detail), wherein the flexible bridge is configured to bend in one or more directions relative to the tooth to adjust the position of the auxiliary on the surface of the tooth (Fig. 23 for instance). With respect to claims 7-8, wherein the predetermined constraining position range comprises a set of locations no more than 0.3 mm away from a predetermined location of the auxiliary on the tooth ([0202] discusses the flexibility as seen in Fig. 23 where the constraining distance is between 0.001 mm and 0.3 mm).
With respect to claim 16, O’Leary shows a computer implemented method, by one or more processors: accessing a 3D model of a patient’s teeth ([0108]); determining a design for a dental auxiliary positioner configured to position an auxiliary on a tooth of the patient’s teeth (“sized and shaped” [0108]); and generating instructions for manufacturing the dental auxiliary positioner with the determined design ([0108]). With respect to claim 17, wherein the instructions are configured to cause an additive manufacturing system to fabricate the dental auxiliary positioner via an additive manufacturing process ([0108] 3D printed). With respect to claim 18, where determining the design comprises: identifying a surface of the tooth where the auxiliary is to be positioned ([0094]), and determining a geometry for the auxiliary support that positions the auxiliary with a negative offset from the surface of tooth (result of negative offset would be a biasing force to the tooth, which is designed into O’Leary’s device as discussed in [0084] and [0133] to bias the device and attachment against the surface of the tooth). With respect to claim 19, where determining the design comprises: identifying a force applied to the auxiliary during removal of the dental auxiliary positioner from the tooth and determining an angle for at least one of the one or more struts based on the identified force ([0234]-[0236] discuss the expected forces on the device during removal [particularly Fig. 38B and the identification of undesired tensile forces] and the design to prevent angle of the extensions 232 resulting in tensile forces [forces along the axis of extensions 232], which may lead to unpredictable fracturing of extensions).
With respect to method claim 20, O’Leary shows a method for placing a dental auxiliary on a tooth, the method comprising: positioning an auxiliary against a tooth of a patient by placing a dental auxiliary positioner on the patient’s teeth (such as in Fig. 22), wherein the dental auxiliary positioner comprises: a registration element configured to receive the tooth (at hashed line in Fig. 22), and an auxiliary support comprising: a frame extending at least partially around the auxiliary (frame at 230 in Fig. 21), one or more struts coupling the auxiliary to the frame (frangible portions 232 between auxiliary and frame), and a flexible bridge coupling the frame to the registration element (Fig. 24; [0203]), bending the flexible bridge to position the auxiliary at a target location on a surface of the tooth (mesial distal flexing of [0203]); bonding the auxiliary to the target location on the surface of the tooth via a curable adhesive (“curable attachment material” [0159]); and separating the auxiliary from the dental auxiliary positioner by rotating the dental auxiliary positioner relative to the patient’s teeth, wherein the rotating causes the one or more struts to release the auxiliary (Fig. 38A-B show the rotation and breaking; [0234]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW NELSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5898. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:00pm EDT.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, please contact the examiner’s supervisor, Eric Rosen, at (571) 270-7855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MATTHEW M NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3772