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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species A in the reply filed on 07/13/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the Election Requirements failed to identify any claims are generic and that the requirement does not adequately establish the required serious search and/or examination burden. Although the examiner agrees that claims 1 and 11 are generic, the traversal is not persuasive because each species requires a completely different configuration of the operation portion. In addition, the search queries would be different for each species and would not overlap, and the prior art applicable to one species would not likely be applicable to another species.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 16-17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 09/22/2022.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending, claims 16-17 are withdrawn, and claims 1-15 and 18-20 and currently under consideration for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104.
Foreign Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copies have been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/15/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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) 1-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Publication No. 2016/0341241.
Regarding claim 1, Hosaka discloses an operation section for use with an endoscope, comprising:
a shaft (8a, Fig. 3, [0027]);
a wire fixing surface connected to the shaft (31, Fig. 3, [0031]);
a first wire (33), a second wire (33), and a third wire (33), each of the first through third wires having a fixing part attached to the wire fixing surface (36, Fig. 3, [0039]), note that 36 is attached to 31 through 35); and
a first wire guide configured to guide the first wire (34Ba), a second wire guide configured to guide the second wire (34Ba), and a third wire guide configured to guide the third wire (34Ba),
wherein the first wire includes a first portion between the fixing part of the first wire and the first wire guide (34Ad),
wherein the second wire includes a second portion between the fixing part of the second wire and the second wire guide 34Ad), and
wherein in a view from a neutral axis of the shaft, the first and second portions cross (see examiner’s annotated Fig. 2 and 3, when viewed from a neutral axis, 34Ad of the first wire will cross 34Ad of the second wire).
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Regarding claim 2, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 1, wherein the third wire includes a third portion between the fixing part of the third wire and the third wire guide (34Ad), in the view from the neutral axis of the shaft, the third portion crosses the first portion and second portion (see examiner’s annotated Fig. 2 and Fig. 2 above for similar wire).
Regarding claim 3, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 1, wherein the first wire includes a first contact point contacting with the first wire guide, wherein the second wire includes a second contact point contacting with the second wire guide, wherein the third wire includes a third contact point contacting with the third wire guide, and wherein in the view from the neutral axis of the shaft, the first to the third contact points do not overlap each other (see circled portions in examiner’s annotated Fig. 4 for each of the three different wires respectively).
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Regarding claim 4, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 3, wherein in a view from a direction perpendicular to the neutral axis of the shaft, the first to the third contact points do not overlap each other (see circled portions in examiner’s annotated Fig. 4 for each of the three different wires respectively.
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Regarding claim 5, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 4, wherein the first to the third wire guides extend along the direction perpendicular to the neutral axis of the shaft.
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Regarding claim 6, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 1, further comprising: a fourth wire guide configured to guide the first to the third wires, the fourth wire guide extending along a direction perpendicular to the neutral axis of the shaft (42, Fig. 3, [0044]).
Regarding claim 7, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 1, wherein when the shaft is tilted relative to the neutral axis, one of the first to the third wires is not loosened (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 2, wherein in the view from the neutral axis of the shaft, the fixing part of the first wire is located between the second portion of the second wire and the third portion of the third wire (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 9, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 8, wherein in the view from the neutral axis of the shaft, the first portion of the first wire is located between the fixing part of the second wire and the fixing part of the third wire (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 10, Hosaka discloses the operation section according to claim 1, wherein the first to the third wire guides are provided on an opposite side of the shaft with respect to the wire fixing surface (34Ba).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claim(s) 11-15 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2016/0341241.
Regarding claim 11, Hosaka discloses an insertion device, comprising: an operation section (6, Fig. 1, [0012]); an insertion section having a proximal end connected to the operation section (5, Fig. 1, [0021]), the insertion section including a bending portion (12, Fig. 1, [0022]) at a distal end section of the insertion section (11, Fig. 1, [0022]); a lever included in the operation section (8, Fig. 1, [0022]), the lever including a shaft member that extends from inside of the operation section to outside of the operation section and the lever tiltable under an operation force applied to an outside end of the shaft member (8a, Fig. 2, [0027]); a wire fixing member connected to an inside end of the shaft member (36, Fig. 3, [0039]); a plurality of wires including a first wire (33), a second wire (33), and a third wire (33), each of the plurality of wires having a distal end attached to the bending portion and a proximal end attached to the wire fixing member ([0022]); and a plurality of wire guides included in the operation section (34Ba), the plurality of wire guides including a first wire guide configured to guide the first wire and apply a tension to the first wire to bend the bending portion in a first bending direction (34Ba), a second wire guide configured to guide the second wire and apply a tension to the second wire to bend the bending portion in a second bending direction (34Ba), and a third wire guide configured to guide the third wire and apply a tension to the third wire to bend the bending portion in a third bending direction (34Ba), wherein an X-Y plane is defined by an X-axis orthogonal to the shaft member and a Y-axis orthogonal to the X-axis (Fig. 3), the X-Y plane having a point of origin at an intersection point of the X-axis, the Y-axis and the shaft member, wherein the proximal end of the first wire, the proximal end of the second wire, and the proximal end of the third wire are attached to the wire fixing member such that each of the proximal end of first wire, the proximal end of the second wire, and the proximal end of the third wire are located in mutually different quadrants on the X-Y plane (33, Fig. 3), wherein the proximal end of the first wire is attached to the wire fixing member at a first position in the X-Y plane (33, Fig. 3) and, when the first wire is in tension, the first wire guide is at a position, in a view along a normal to the X-Y plane, across the X-axis from the proximal end of the first wire (33, Fig. 3), wherein the proximal end of the second wire is attached to the wire fixing member at a second position in the X-Y plane (33, Fig. 3) and, when the second wire is in tension, the second wire guide is at a position, in the view along the normal to the X-Y plane, across the X-axis from the proximal end of the second wire and across the Y-axis from the proximal end of the second wire (33, Fig. 3), and wherein the proximal end of the third wire is attached to the wire fixing member at a third position in the X-Y plane and (33, Fig. 3), when the third wire is in tension, the third wire guide is at a position, in the view along the normal to the X-Y plane (33, Fig. 3), across the X-axis from the proximal end of the third wire and across the Y-axis from the proximal end of the third wire (33, Fig. 3).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to make/set the wires, wire guide, and wire fixing member, of Hosaka to be on the X-Y plane as recited in claim 1, since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). In the instant case, the wires, wire guide, and wire fixing member would not operate differently with the claimed X-Y plane. Further, Applicant places no criticality on the range claimed, indicating that the components are located on the X-Y plane.
Regarding claim 12, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein the operation section includes a housing (6b, Fig. 1, [0022]), and wherein at least one of the plurality of wire guides protrudes from an inner wall of the housing (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein the operation section includes a housing (6b, Fig. 1, [0022]), and wherein at least one of the plurality of wire guides is integrally formed with the housing of the operation section (Fig 2; the examiner notes that making the components integral is well known in the art (see 2144.04 V(B))).
Regarding claim 14, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein at least one of the plurality of wire guides includes a wire reception portion (34), and wherein the wire reception portion is configured to receive a respective one of the plurality of wires (34).
Regarding claim 15, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 14, and Hosaka further teaches wherein the wire reception portion is one of a groove, a low friction member, or a pulley (34Ac – concave portion).
Regarding claim 18, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein, when the lever is tilted about a fulcrum under an operation force (8, Fig. 1, [0022]), the wire fixing member moves along an arc on a surface of an imaginary sphere (8), wherein a distance from the fulcrum to the arc defines a radius of the imaginary sphere, and wherein the plurality of wire guides is located outside the imaginary sphere (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 19, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein, when the lever is tilted in a direction of the X-axis (8, Fig. 1, [0022]), the bending portion bends in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the bending portion, and wherein, when the lever is tilted in a direction of the Y-axis (12, Fig. 1, [0022]), the bending portion bends in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bending portion (12, Fig. 1, [0022]).
Regarding claim 20, Hosaka teaches the insertion device according to claim 11, and Hosaka further teaches wherein the insertion device is an endoscope (1, Fig. 1, [0020]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTEN A. SHARPLESS whose telephone number is (571)272-2387. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Tuesday 6:00 AM - 2:00 PM, and Friday 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mike Carey can be reached at (571) 270-7235. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.A.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3795
/MICHAEL J CAREY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3795
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