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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites “at least three antennas” while parent claim 1 recites “the at least one first antenna and the at least one second antennas”. It is unclear whether the “at least three antennas” is intended to include the first and second antenna(s) of claim 1.
Claim 9 recites “being distributed in groups of three, and the antennae of a group being arranged in a paving”. It is unclear whether “a group” intends to refer to a single one of the groups or each group.
Claim 10 recites “at least five first antennas and at least five second antennas”, while parent claim 1 recites “at least one first antenna and at least one second antenna”. It is unclear whether the at least five first and second antennas of claim 10 are intended to include the first and second antenna(s) of claim 1.
Claim 11 recites the limitations “the hands”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 11 recites the limitations “three first antennas and three second antennas…the first antenna alternating with the second antenna in the assembly”, while parent claim 1 recites “at least one first antenna and at least one second antenna”. It is unclear 1) whether applicant intends to include the at least one respective first and second antenna(s) of claim 1 in the three first and second antennas of claim 11, and 2) whether applicant intends for each respective first antenna to alternate with each respective second antenna in the assembly.
Claim 12 recites the limitations “the arm” and “the ankle”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-8, filed 7 January 2026, with respect to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive in light of the amendments to the claims. The rejections of 7 August 2025 have been withdrawn.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 4-8 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
No prior art of record teach and/or fairly suggest the device for emitting a magnetic field of claim 1, comprising: an insulating support configured for contact with an associated part of a person’s body; at least one first antenna and at least one second antenna, each antenna being a coil of conductive metal wire wound along the outline of a hexagon, wherein the hexagon is regular with a side length of 2-20 cm; a power source; wherein the first antenna(s), the second antenna(s), and the power source are integral with the support; and wherein the antenna current from the power source is alternating, and the at least one first antenna and the at least one second antenna are wound in opposite directions.
The closest prior art of record, Greff in view of Baumbach as cited in the prior Office action, teaches a device as claimed, except that each antenna is a regular hexagonal coil winding having a side length of 2-20 cm.
Wong (US 20210162230) teaches a support configured for contact with a person’s body comprising embedded hexagonal coils (abstract), but does not disclose the coils are metal wire wound around the outline of a regular hexagon having a side length of 2-20 cm.
Rastogi (US 20180117352) teaches a treatment device comprising a plurality of hexagonal coils ([0056]; [0058]), but does not disclose inter alia the coils are metal wire wound around the outline of a regular hexagon having a side length of 2-20 cm.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carrie R Dorna whose telephone number is (571)270-7483. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander Valvis can be reached at 571-272-4233. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CARRIE R DORNA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
Prosecution Insights