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 .
This is the first office action for application number 19/086,808, MODULAR CLAMPS FOR MOUNTING SURGICAL MANIPULATORS, filed on March 21, 2025. This application is a continuation of application no. 17/444,158 filed July 30, 2021.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a sensor, in claim 16, and a motor, in claim 17, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informality: claim 15 currently depends from itself (note, claim 15 has not been treated on its merits). Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 5-7, 10, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 6,622,980 to Boucher. Boucher discloses a clamping apparatus (1) for mounting a surgical manipulator to a mounting structure (24), the clamping apparatus comprising: a body having a mounting location configured to support the surgical manipulator; an articulable bracket (40) coupled to the body; a first jaw (14) coupled to the body and configured to engage a first portion of the mounting structure; and a second jaw (16) coupled to the articulable bracket and configured to engage a second portion of the mounting structure facing, wherein the articulable bracket is configured to articulate relative to the body along a path comprising multiple directions to move the second jaw from an unclamping position to a range of clamping positions, wherein the second jaw is spaced further from the body in the clamping positions than in the unclamping position, and wherein the second jaw is closer to the first jaw in the clamping positions than in the unclamping position; wherein the path is an arcuate path; wherein: the first jaw further comprises one or more first clamping surface portions configured to abut a first portion of the mounting structure in the clamping position; and he second jaw further comprises one or more second clamping surface portions configured to abut a second portion of the mounting structure in the clamping position; wherein one or both of the first jaw and the second jaw have an angled clamping surface portion to accommodate a range of widths of a mounting structure; wherein the first jaw is fixed relative to the body; wherein the second jaw is moveable relative to the articulable bracket; and wherein one or both of the first jaw and the second jaw are spring biased toward the other of the first jaw or the second jaw in the clamping positions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 8, 7, 12-14, and 16-20 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 10,660,815 to Katzenstein is directed to a clamping claw having a base body with a support surface that rest on a slide rail and a clamp assembly. U.S. Patent No. 9,022,334 to DeMayo is directed to an operating table support clamp including top and bottom jaw clamps. U.S. Patent No. 7,566,038 to Scott et al. is directed to a clamp for attaching a medical device to an operating table, having two closable clamp jaws. U.S. Patent No. 4,854,016 to Rice is directed to a device for clamping the edge of a diagnostic table top, having a clamping block mechanism with first and second jaws.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANITA M KING whose telephone number is (571)272-6817. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Terrell Mckinnon can be reached at 571-272-4797. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANITA M KING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3632 June 27, 2026
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