Prior art

The current date is April 26, 2026.

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 9005293, I will examine the patent citations listed within the patent itself. The patent states: "This application is a Continuation Application of application Ser. No. 11/842,855, filed on Aug. 21, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,903 issued on May 17, 2011, which is a Continuation-In-Part Application of application Ser. No. 11/536,815, filed on Sep. 29, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,188 issued on Dec. 7, 2010, which is a Continuation-In-Part Application of application Ser. No. 11/208,644, filed on Aug. 23, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,279 issued on Apr. 27, 2010, for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120; and this application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 60/670,231, filed on Apr. 12, 2005; the entire contents of all the above identified patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference."

These explicitly referenced parent applications and the provisional application are considered the most relevant prior art as they form the basis for the claims in US9005293.

Here's the breakdown of each, along with their potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102:

Most Relevant Prior Art for US9005293

1. US Patent 7,942,903

   • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,903
   • Publication/Filing Date: Issued May 17, 2011; Filed August 21, 2007.
   • Brief Description: This patent is a direct continuation of 7,942,903. As a continuation, it likely covers similar subject matter to US9005293, possibly with some modifications or refinements. The description of US9005293 states that "one or more of the described embodiments may eliminate the intervening wormed driving screws and gears required by previous designs, e.g., a gearless screw box is achieved." This suggests that 7,942,903 likely contained the "wormed driving screws and gears" that US9005293 aims to improve upon.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given that US9005293 is a continuation of 7,942,903, the content of 7,942,903 could potentially anticipate many, if not all, of the claims in US9005293, especially those that do not specifically describe the "gearless screw box" or other explicitly novel features mentioned in the later patent. It would particularly anticipate claims related to the general concept of bi-directional fixating transvertebral (BDFT) screws and intervertebral fusion devices.

2. US Patent 7,846,188

   • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,188
   • Publication/Filing Date: Issued December 7, 2010; Filed September 29, 2006.
   • Brief Description: US9005293 is a Continuation-In-Part of 7,846,188. This patent is described as reviewing "the history and evolution of instrumented spinal fusion in the entire human spine" and likely details earlier iterations of the intervertebral screw box and stapling devices. It specifically mentions that the "new improvement of this device [lumbar facet staple] includes a ratchet 1201."
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As a Continuation-In-Part, 7,846,188 would disclose a significant portion of the subject matter of US9005293, particularly regarding the foundational concepts of bi-directional screws, intervertebral spacers, and spinal stapling devices. Claims in US9005293 that describe these general systems or specific features like the calibrated ratcheting mechanism for lumbar facet staples (Claim 29) could be anticipated by 7,846,188, unless the improvements in US9005293 provide a truly novel aspect not found in 7,846,188.

3. US Patent 7,704,279

   • Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,279
   • Publication/Filing Date: Issued April 27, 2010; Filed August 23, 2005.
   • Brief Description: US9005293 is also a Continuation-In-Part of 7,704,279, which, like 7,846,188, would cover earlier developments in instrumented spinal fusion. This patent is also referenced in relation to the history and evolution of instrumented spinal fusion and likely includes the initial disclosures of the bi-directional screw systems and inter-articular joint stapling devices.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to 7,846,188, the content of 7,704,279 would likely anticipate many of the broader claims in US9005293, especially those concerning the general design and function of bi-directional screws for spinal fusion and spinal stapling devices. Any claims in US9005293 that are not distinct improvements over what was disclosed in 7,704,279 would be at risk of anticipation.

4. U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/670,231

   • Full Citation: U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/670,231
   • Publication/Filing Date: Filed April 12, 2005. (Provisional applications are not published as patents unless converted to a non-provisional application that then issues).
   • Brief Description: This provisional application is the earliest priority document for US9005293. Provisional applications provide an early filing date for an invention and allow for 12 months to assess commercial potential before filing a non-provisional application. It would contain the initial conceptualization and description of the inventions later detailed in the subsequent non-provisional and continuation applications.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): The provisional application provides the earliest effective filing date for the subject matter disclosed within it. Therefore, any claim in US9005293 whose subject matter is fully described and enabled in provisional application 60/670,231 would be anticipated by this provisional application if the effective filing date of the claim in US9005293 relies on the provisional's filing date. This would be crucial for establishing the patentability of later-added features or refinements.