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 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 13 is missing a period at the end. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 10-11, 12-13, 15-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10 recites the limitation "the shape…" in line 2 which should be “a shape…”. Claim 12 recites “the flexibility” in line 2. Claims 15 and 16 recite “the one or more predetermined constraints” in line 1. Claim 17 recites “the first/second repositioning jaw element” in line 13 which may have been intended to be plural “elements”. Claim 18 recites “the engagement” in line 2. Claim 20 recites “the at least one of the repositioning jaw elements”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 17 recites “elements are designed to extend from the removable dental appliance”, which is unclear which of the two removable appliances previously recited this is referring to, and therefore lacks antecedent basis. This likely was meant to state “extend from the first and second removable dental appliances” or to that effect.
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 2-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lotte (US 2003/0207224) in view of Chishti et al. (US 2011/0184762).
Lotte shows a method for use in jaw repositioning treatments comprising identifying, in a treatment plan, a plurality of jaw placements of a jaw of a patient ([0049] discusses the multiple stages which have different consecutive jaw placements), wherein each of the plurality of jaw placements corresponds with at least one stage of a plurality of stages in the treatment plan for repositioning at least one of the patient's teeth ([0049] jaw placements coincide with the stages); providing a virtual model of the patient's teeth at a stage of the plurality of stages of the treatment plan ([0037] discusses use of the virtual model); positioning on the virtual model, for at least one of the plurality of jaw placements, virtual repositioning jaw elements ([0037] discusses the adding of wedges to the virtual model which will reposition the elements of the removable appliance), wherein the virtual repositioning jaw elements are designed to extend from a removable dental appliance (Fig. 3A-B for instance show extension from), and wherein the removable dental appliance is configured to reposition the patient's jaw and at least one of the patient's teeth ([0035] for instance discusses that both tooth movement and jaw movement can be treated simultaneously); and providing, through a user interface (computer allowing access to the digital dental molds), a visual indication of the positioning of the virtual repositioning jaw elements on a digital representation of the patient's teeth ([0034] and [0035] discuss several of the digital steps that will require a display/visual indication in order to perform them digitally); and fabricating the removable dental appliance with repositioning jaw elements configured to reposition the patient's jaw and at least one of the patient's teeth (bottom of Fig. 2A detailing the method ends with a polymeric bite positioning appliance). With respect to claim 3, wherein the digital representation of the patient's teeth corresponds to one of the plurality of jaw placements ([0049]). With respect to claim 4, wherein the digital representation of the patient's teeth is obtained from a scanning device ([0034] discusses a probe/scanning device). With respect to claim 5, wherein providing the visual indication comprises displaying the repositioning jaw elements on a display device (as discussed above in order to perform the steps, particularly positioning the wedges on the digital model). With respect to claim 6, wherein providing the visual indication comprises displaying the digital representation of the patient's teeth on a display device (in order to place the wedge). With respect to claim 7, further comprising: repositioning at least one of the repositioning jaw elements (placement of repositioning jaw elements will require repositioning thereof into the correct location). With respect to claim 8, wherein the repositioning is performed based at least in part on user input ([0036] discusses the placement being generally determined by the practitioner). With respect to claim 9, wherein the user input provides a positional adjustment of the at least one of the repositioning jaw elements relative to the digital representation of the patient's teeth (similar to claim 7, placement of the wedges will require positional adjustment). With respect to claim 10, further comprising: adjusting the shape, size, or orientation of at least one of the repositioning jaw elements (orientation thereof must be established in the placement of the wedge by the practitioner to interface with the opposite wedge). With respect to claim 11, wherein the adjusting is performed based at least in part on user input (see claim 8). With respect to claim 12, wherein at least one of the repositioning jaw elements comprises a feature designed to reduce the flexibility of the at least one of the repositioning jaw elements ([0030] discusses the addition of material for adding structural rigidity). With respect to claim 13, wherein the feature comprises a hollow region designed to be filled with a material ([0030] discusses this; see Fig. 1B for instance). With respect to claim 14, further comprising: adjusting the position of the repositioning jaw elements to comply with one or more constraints (such as proper engagement with the opposite wedge or moving from one stage to another). With respect to claim 15, wherein the one or more predetermined constraints include physical limitations or restrictions of a placement and an orientation of the repositioning jaw elements in relation to a current tooth arrangement, a current jaw position, and a predicted corrected jaw position of the patient (physical limitations/restrictions such as proper engagement with the opposite wedge or moving from one stage to another, or even ensuring the wedge is connected). With respect to claim 16, wherein the one or more predetermined constraints include the repositioning jaw elements crisscrossing when viewed from posteriorly or anteriorly side of the patient's teeth when applied to the patient's teeth ([0029] discusses where both wedges extend past the occlusal plane and therefore will crisscross, particularly when at an angle such as in Fig. 3E).
Method claims 17-21 are rejected similarly to the above and additionally including the opposite appliance (such as discussed above and seen in Fig. 5A for instance). Claim 18 is addressed similarly to claims 14-16 above. Claim 19 similarly to claim 7-12 above. Claim 20 is addressed similarly to the user input claims. With respect to claim 21, wherein the adjusting satisfies a greatest subset of the one or more constraints to optimize placement of the first and second repositioning jaw elements (when the single constraint is proper interfacing between the wedges, this will be satisfied).
However, while Lotte shows a virtual model of the arrangements with bite correcting wedges that a thin sheet of material is formed over (the appliance), it fails to show a virtual model of the appliance itself.
Chishti shows the alternative design and manufacturing of a repositioning appliance wherein the data either corresponds to the dental arrangement or the appliance ([0187]). 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 Lotte's computing device to have utilized the digital model of the appliance itself and bite scan as taught by Chishti in order to take advantage of known alternative design means in the art, to reduce the amount of steps, and provide actual relative positions of the bite for determining treatment.
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
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