Ydavid#19921
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 . The office action is in response to the set of claims received on June 10, 2025. Claims 1-5 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 1 and 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)as being anticipated by Dunlop et al. (US Publication 2015/0127011).
Regarding claim 1, Dunlop et al. discloses a bone plate (100, Figures 1-3) to be disposed on a medial surface of a tibia [paragraph 0005], the bone plate having a shape of a band (see Figure 2) having a longitudinal direction arranged along a longitudinal direction of the tibia and a lateral direction arranged along an anteroposterior direction of the tibia (i.e., the longitudinal axis 11 corresponds to longitudinal axis 11), having a proximal side (14, Figure 2) and a distal side (12, Figure 2) corresponding to a proximal side and a distal side of the tibia, respectively, and comprising: a shaft portion (10, Figure 2) extending in the longitudinal direction; and a head portion (14a, Figure 1) disposed on a proximal side of the shaft portion, wherein the head portion has four screw holes arranged in a quadrangular shape (see the diagram below holes 55a, Figure 2), and the four screw holes include: a first screw hole and a second screw hole arranged in the lateral direction with a space therebetween; a third screw hole located between the first screw hole and the second screw hole in the lateral direction and disposed further on the proximal side than the first and second screw holes; and a fourth screw hole located between the first screw hole and the second screw hole in the lateral direction and disposed further on the distal side than the first and second screw holes (see the annotated diagram below).
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Regarding claim 3, Dunlop et al. discloses a wherein the first screw hole is disposed on the distal side with respect to the second screw hole (i.e. the first hole is disposed more distally than the second hole), and the fourth screw hole is disposed on a posterior side with respect to the third screw hole (i.e., the forth screw hole is more posterior than the third screw hole).
Regarding claim 4, Dunlop et al. discloses wherein the shaft portion has four screw holes arranged in the longitudinal direction (see Figure 2, holes are arranged along 11), and one of the four screw holes is disposed on a posterior side with respect to a row of the other three screw holes (see the annotated diagram below).
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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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dunlop et al. (US Publication 2015/0127011) in view of Haidukewych et al. (US Publication 2010/0030277).
Regarding claim 5, Dunlop et al. discloses a bone plate kit [paragraph 0021] comprising: the bone plate according to Claim 1; and four bone screws to be inserted into the four screw holes [paragraphs 0008, 0020, 0022],
Dunlop et al. fails to disclose wherein center axes of the four screw holes are inclined with respect to each other in directions toward each other as the center axes are farther from the bone plate in insertion directions of the bone screws, and at least three of the four bone screws passing through the four screw holes contact each other at distal ends thereof to form a space truss structure.
Haidukewych et al., however, teaches wherein center axes of the four screw holes are inclined with respect to each other in directions toward each other as the center axes are farther from the bone plate in insertion directions of the bone screws, and at least three of the four bone screws passing through the four screw holes contact each other at distal ends thereof to form a space truss structure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to construct the kit of Dunlop et al. with four screw inclined with respect to each other as taught by Haidukewych et al. to provide structural stability.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIANA S JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-5963. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday (8am to 4pm EST).
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/Diana Jones/Examiner, Art Unit 3775
/KEVIN T TRUONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3775
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