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 without traverse of species (1) and claims 47 and 49 – 54 in the reply filed on 05/26/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 59 – 70 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/26/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 / 103
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 / 103 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.
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) 47, 49, 52 and 54 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xie et al. (US Pub. 2017/0340374 A1); or alternatively, rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xie et al. (US Pub. 2017/0340374 A1).
Claim 47, Xie disclose a method of inserting a pin with a surgical power tool [abstract, Figs. 1 – 55, and ¶1, the tool is best shown in Fig.3], the surgical power tool including a trigger [56 and/or 57] and a lever [230 / 232] coupled to a collet [502, Figs. 4 - 6], the method comprising:
grasping a housing of the surgical power tool with a user's hand [grasping at least a portion by housing 44, Fig.3];
engaging the lever with at least a finger of the user's hand to clamp a surgical pin with the collet [¶119 and ¶177, wherein lever 230 / 232 to be actuated by at least one finger];
engaging the trigger with a finger of the user's hand [¶80 and ¶177, wherein triggers 56 / 57 to be actuated by at least one finger];
driving the surgical pin into bone with the surgical power tool [¶15 and ¶79 - ¶81]; and
grasping the housing of the surgical power tool with a hammer grip [grasping at least a portion of housing 44 with handgrip 46, Fig.3].
Although, Xie does not explicitly specify which finger being used for engaging the lever with (i.e. an index finger) and engaging the trigger with (i.e. different finger).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to engage the lever with an index finger and engage the trigger with a different finger based on a user preference for the sake of reaching the actuator(s) to be pressed and minimize finger strain when pressing the actuator(s).
Xie discloses the limitations of claim 47, as above, and further, Xie discloses:
(claim 49) wherein the step of grasping is further defined as grasping the housing such that a user's thumb is closer to a proximal end of the surgical power tool than a distal end of the surgical power tool [grasping at least a portion by housing 44 will result in having a user’s thumb closer to a portion by 52 than a portion by 80, Fig.3].
(claim 52) wherein the steps of depressing the lever and depressing the trigger are performed simultaneously [¶142 - ¶148].
(claim 54) wherein the step of grasping the housing further comprises grasping the housing such that a battery is disposed above the user's hand during use [Figs.3 – 4, wherein at least a portion by housing 44 can be grasped in such a way, batteries 62 to be disposed above the user hand].
Claim(s) 47, 50 – 51 and 53 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aman et al. (US Pub. 2016/0000449 A1); or alternatively, rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aman et al. (US Pub. 2016/0000449 A1).
Claim 47, Aman disclose a method of inserting a pin with a surgical power tool [abstract, Figs. 1 – 6, and claim 14, the tool is best shown in Figs.1 – 2], the surgical power tool including a trigger [122] and a lever [17] coupled to a collet [at least a portion of 19, Fig. 6], the method comprising:
grasping a housing of the surgical power tool with a user's hand [grasping at least a portion by housing 114, Fig.2];
engaging the lever with at least a finger of the user's hand to clamp a surgical pin with the collet [¶19, wherein lever 17 to be actuated by at least one finger];
engaging the trigger with a finger of the user's hand [¶18, wherein trigger 122 to be actuated by at least one finger];
driving the surgical pin into bone with the surgical power tool [¶19]; and
grasping the housing of the surgical power tool with a hammer grip [grasping at least a portion of housing 114 with handle portion 118, Figs.1 – 2].
Although, Aman does not explicitly specify which finger being used for engaging the lever with (i.e. an index finger) and engaging the trigger with (i.e. different finger).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current application to engage the lever with an index finger and engage the trigger with a different finger based on a user preference for the sake of reaching the actuator(s) to be pressed and minimize finger strain when pressing the actuator(s).
Aman discloses the limitations of claim 47, as above, and further, Xie discloses:
(claim 50) wherein the step of engaging the trigger further comprises depressing the trigger to adjust a speed of an electric motor based on a position of the trigger [¶28].
(claim 51) the step of engaging the lever with the index finger while a user's thumb is closer to a battery of the surgical power tool assembly than the index fingers [Figs. 1 – 2, wherein a user gripping handle portion 118, in such a way a thumb to be close to 118, and an index close to 17, should result in having a thumb closer to battery 126 than the index].
(claim 53) wherein the collet includes a jaw [best shown in the view of Fig.6], and wherein the step of depressing the lever further comprises depressing the lever to move the jaw from an unclamped state to a clamped state in which the jaw engages the surgical pin [¶19].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL S. HANNA whose telephone number is (571)270-3248. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5 M-F.
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/SAMUEL S HANNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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