Prior art

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10016284, a direct search of the USPTO database for patent 10016284 and its cited references is necessary. Based on the provided information, I can outline the steps to find this information via the USPTO Patent Public Search tool.

Steps to Identify Prior Art for US10016284 using USPTO Patent Public Search:

1. Access USPTO Patent Public Search: Navigate to the USPTO Patent Public Search website (e.g.,).
2. Search for US10016284: Use the "Quick lookup" or "Basic search" function, entering the patent number "10016284" in the Patent or Publication number field. Ensure to use the correct format for patent numbers (e.g., "010016284" if leading zeros are required for a 7-digit number, though for an 8-digit number like this, it's typically just the number itself).
3. Locate Cited References: Once the patent document for US10016284 is displayed, navigate to the "References Cited" section. This section lists all the prior art documents (patents and non-patent literature) that the examiner considered during the prosecution of the patent application.
4. Extract Information for Each Reference: For each listed patent reference, record the following:
   • Full Citation (Patent Number, Inventor, Issue Date)
   • Publication/Filing Date (usually the earliest of these dates is the most relevant for prior art analysis)
   • Brief Description (this often requires reviewing the abstract and main claims of the cited patent)
   • Which claim(s) of US10016284 it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102. This last step would involve a detailed claim-by-claim comparison of US10016284 against the disclosures of each cited prior art patent, which cannot be fully performed without direct access to the USPTO search results and a deeper analysis of each cited patent's full text.

Since I do not have live, interactive access to the USPTO Patent Public Search tool to perform these detailed steps and retrieve the full text and descriptions of all cited prior art patents, I cannot provide a definitive list of the most relevant prior art and their specific anticipation of claims under 35 U.S.C. § 102 at this moment.

However, based on the Cross-Reference to Related Applications section in the provided patent text, I can identify several family members and earlier applications that are likely to be highly relevant prior art. While these are not "cited references" in the traditional sense of external prior art, they are foundational to the patent's development and are often considered in patentability.

Here are the internal prior art references explicitly mentioned as related applications, which would be crucial for understanding the patent's scope and novelty:

• US Patent 7,704,279

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,279 issued Apr. 27, 2010.
  • Filing Date: August 23, 2005 (application Ser. No. 11/208,644).
  • Brief Description: This patent is a predecessor to US10016284, as US10016284 claims priority through a chain of continuations, including this patent. It likely describes earlier iterations of zero-profile expandable intervertebral spacer devices.
  • Potential Anticipation: It would likely anticipate broad aspects of intervertebral spacers, zero-profile designs, and expandable mechanisms. A detailed analysis would be needed to see if specific elements of Claim 1 or Claim 17 of US10016284 were already fully disclosed in this patent.

• US Patent 7,846,188

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,188 issued Dec. 7, 2010.
  • Filing Date: September 29, 2006 (application Ser. No. 11/536,815).
  • Brief Description: This patent is also part of the priority chain for US10016284 and likely details further developments in zero-profile expandable intervertebral spacer technology.
  • Potential Anticipation: Similar to US 7,704,279, it would be highly relevant for anticipating various features of expandable intervertebral spacers, and specifics would depend on a claim comparison.

• US Patent 7,942,903

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,903 issued May 17, 2011.
  • Filing Date: August 21, 2007 (application Ser. No. 11/842,855).
  • Brief Description: This patent is also a direct ancestor in the priority chain, further elaborating on the core concepts.
  • Potential Anticipation: It would be highly relevant to the novelty of the expandable spacer, particularly the zero-profile and calibrated expansion features.

• US Patent 8,353,913

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,913 issued on Jan. 15, 2013.
  • Filing Date: April 11, 2011 (application Ser. No. 13/084,543).
  • Brief Description: This patent is a continuation in the priority chain, suggesting it builds upon the earlier inventions.
  • Potential Anticipation: Given its position in the family, it would likely anticipate many elements of the general expandable intervertebral fusion device.

• US Patent 9,005,293

  • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 9,005,293 issued Apr. 14, 2015.
  • Filing Date: May 16, 2011 (application Ser. No. 13/108,982).
  • Brief Description: Another continuation in the series, further refining the device or methods.
  • Potential Anticipation: This patent would be highly relevant to the specific mechanisms of expansion or features described in US10016284's claims.

To provide a comprehensive prior art analysis, including external citations, direct access to the "References Cited" section of US10016284 on the USPTO website is essential.