DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
2. Color photographs and color drawings are not accepted in utility applications unless a petition filed under 37 CFR 1.84(a)(2) is granted. Any such petition must be accompanied by the appropriate fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(h), one set of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if submitted via the USPTO patent electronic filing system or three sets of color drawings or color photographs, as appropriate, if not submitted via the via USPTO patent electronic filing system, and, unless already present, an amendment to include the following language as the first paragraph of the brief description of the drawings section of the specification:
The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.
Color photographs will be accepted if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied. See 37 CFR 1.84(b)(2).
3. The drawings are also objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include any of the reference signs mentioned in the description and claims. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-4 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.
The preamble of claims 1 and 4 are narrative in form and indefinite. For example in claim 1, the recitation of “A demonstration tool used for demonstration including filling to cure a dental filling composite resin in each or one of…” is generally vague and confusing. The preamble of claim 4 is similarly indefinite.
The language of claim 2 is similarly narrative and indefinite and fails to apprise the person of ordinary skill in the art what it is that applicant regards as the invention.
Dependent claim 3 inherits the deficiencies of parent claim 1 through its dependency, and is thus rejected for the same reasons.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1, 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baekgard et al. (US 2013/0059278 A1) in view of Shaygan (US Patent No. 6,969,258 B1).
Regarding claims 1 and 4, Hoye discloses a demonstration tool (as per claim 1) and corresponding method (as per claim 4) used for demonstration including filling to cure a dental filling composite resin in each or one of a lost portion and a cavity of an artificial tooth (column 2, line 65 – column 3, line 12), the demonstration tool comprising:
at least one artificial tooth (400, 500) including an artificial tooth having each or one of a lost portion and a cavity (column 5, lines 21-38); and
a structure body (artificial gums 200, 300) supporting the at least one artificial tooth,
wherein the structure body supporting the at least one artificial tooth is coupled to the at least one artificial tooth (see Fig. 1),
the at least one artificial tooth includes two or more teeth selected from a central incisor, a lateral incisor, a canine, a first premolar, a second premolar, a first molar, a second molar, a third molar, a deciduous central incisor, a deciduous lateral incisor, a deciduous canine, a first deciduous molar, and a second deciduous molar (see Fig. 1), and
the structure body supporting the at least one artificial tooth is a gum-like structure (column 2, line 65 – column 3, line 12) (as per claims 1 and 4).
Hoye further discloses the upper and lower jaws are hinged and meet at an angle (column 5, lines 39-52). To the extent that the does not mean an angle of the at least one artificial tooth is variable, as claimed, Shaygan discloses a dental and tooth model which allows for an angle of the teeth to be variable (see column 6, lines 43-51). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the teachings of Hoye to position teeth in the structure body at variable angles, as taught by Shaygan, to obtain predictable results of demonstrating abnormal tooth placement in the gums.
Regarding claim 3, Hoye further discloses each or one of the lost portion and the cavity is prepared in a position that can be observed in directions perpendicular to two or more surfaces selected from an occlusal surface, the buccal surface, and the labial surface of the artificial tooth (see Fig. 1).
9. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baekgard et al. (US 2013/0059278 A1) in view of Shaygan (US Patent No. 6,969,258 B1), and further in view of Satoh et al. (US Patent No. 8,128,404 B2).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Baekgard and Shaygan does not appear to disclose assuming that a single arbitrary artificial tooth has an angle having vertically 0° and laterally 0° when the artificial tooth coupled to the structure body (2) supporting the at least one artificial tooth (1) has a buccal surface or a labial surface disposed perpendicularly to a horizontal plane, the angle of the single arbitrary artificial tooth is variable to two or more angles selected from the angle having vertically 0° and laterally 0° and any other angle, and the any other angle satisfies conditions described below: when the single arbitrary tooth is located adjacent to the labial surface, vertically: equal to or more than −140° and less than 0°, or more than 0° and equal to or less than 140°, and laterally: equal to or more than −140° and equal to or less than 140°; when the single arbitrary tooth is located adjacent to a right buccal surface, vertically: equal to or more than −140° and less than 0°, or more than 0° and equal to or less than 140°, and laterally: equal to or more than −50° and equal to or less than 230°; and when the single arbitrary tooth is located adjacent to a left buccal surface, vertically: equal to or more than −140° and less than 0°, or more than 0° and equal to or less than 140°, and laterally: equal to or more than −230° and equal to or less than 50°.
However, Satoh discloses artificial teeth with buccal and labial surfaces provided in these angle ranges (see e.g. column 6, line 17 – column 8, line 18). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the combination of Hoye and Shaygan by using these angles taught by Satoh, to provide a more realistic dental model.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Languell et al. (US 2024/0169860 A1) discloses a dental model for practicing filling cavities (Par’s. 71, 175). Morisaki et al. (US 2023/0310129 A1) discloses a demonstration method of filling a cavity with a composite resin (see abstract). Iwaki et al. (US 2014/0024003 A1) discloses a tooth model and process of producing the model (Par’s. 64-67). Marshall (US 2004/0067477 A1) discloses a model of dental caries.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER EGLOFF whose telephone number is (571) 270-3548. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday Eastern.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Xuan Thai, can be reached at 571-272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Peter R Egloff/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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