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 § 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.
Claims 1, 6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson et al (8,414,658) in view of Bell (4,258,441) and further in view of Romero et al (6,079,758).
Johnson et al teaches a below-elbow prosthetic arm assembly comprising:
a terminal device 70 (abstract teaches any terminal device);
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an arm 16 connected to a rear end of the terminal device;
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a cylinder 14 connected to a rear end of the arm;
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a holder (12 including 20, 22) connected to a rear end of the cylinder and to a string 142.
However, Johnson et al is silent regarding at least one expansion kit comprising a hand fitting portion and a function expansion portion, with the hand fitting portion being fitted to the hand.
First, Johnson et al teaches a terminal device and not a hand. Bell teaches a terminal device can be a hand as shown below having a threaded connector 43/45.
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have substituted the hand of Bell for the “any terminal device” of Johnson et al for a more human appearance.
Further, referring to figures 1-12, Romero et al teaches an expansion kit comprising a hand fitting portion 5 and a function expansion portion (portion for connecting to tool 3).
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It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have included an expansion kit comprising a hand fitting portion and a function expansion portion as taught by Romero et al with the prosthetic arm assembly of Johnson et al in view of Bell for an apparatus to assist in gripping a hand-held tool (etc.) for hands with restricted function.
Claim 6, wherein the expansion kit comprises a sports component (such as a fork or knife used in a food eating or cooking competition or in fishing) and the function expansion portion of the sports component is a sleeve (11 in figure 12 that tilts (pivots) about the hand). Also, see figure 8 which holds a sports component 3 and tilts about 40. Note that applicant specification does not describe any additional elements are needed for tilting.
Claim 9, wherein connection ribs 130 are disposed between the holder and the cylinder and each have two ends coupled to the holder and the cylinder.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7-8 and 10 are 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance. The prior art of record fails to teach the combination of all claimed limitations including:
Claim 2, the combination fails to teach the function expansion portion is base dented to form a bowl which is a hemispherical shape. A cup is not hemispherical shape.
Claim 4, the combination fails to teach wherein the expansion kit comprises a paperweight component, and the function expansion portion of the paperweight component is a block, with a flat surface being formed at a bottom of the block.
Claim 7, the combination fails to wherein a shaft is connected to a rear end of the hand and fitted to a positioning disk, with first slots being formed at a circumferential edge of the positioning disk, and the arm has therein a hollow-core chamber, with a through hole being disposed at a front end of the arm and being in communication with the chamber, wherein the shaft connected to the hand is penetratingly disposed at the through hole disposed at the front end of the arm, with the positioning disk being disposed in the chamber, with a first tenon being formed on the wall of the chamber to engage with any one first slot of the positioning disk.
Claim 8, the combination fails to teach wherein the arm has therein a hollow-core chamber, with a through hole being disposed at the rear end of the arm and being in communication with the chamber, with the chamber having a cylinder fitting portion positioned proximate to the through hole at the rear end of the arm, with a polygonal fitting hole being disposed at a center of the cylinder fitting portion, with at least one penetrating hole penetrating a sidewall of the arm and thus being in communication with the polygonal fitting hole, with a polygonal fitting block being disposed at a front end of the cylinder, with at least one fastening hole being disposed on a lateral side of the polygonal fitting block to allow the front end of the cylinder to be inserted into the through hole at the rear end of the arm and fitted inside the chamber of the arm, wherein the polygonal fitting block disposed at the front end of the cylinder is fitted to the polygonal fitting hole of the arm, and the fastening hole disposed on the lateral side of the polygonal fitting block corresponds in position to the penetrating hole of the arm, with at least one fastening element being penetratingly disposed at the penetrating hole of the arm and fastened to the fastening hole of the polygonal fitting block of the cylinder.
Claim 10, the combination fails to teach wherein an axial hole is disposed on a side of the holder, and second slots are formed in the wall of the axial hole, wherein second tenons are formed at the bottom of a coiling drum to engage with the second slots of the axial hole, and the coiling drum is connected to an axle, wherein the holder is covered with a cover and coupled thereto to hide the coiling drum, the cover having a rotation hole, the axle being penetratingly disposed at the rotation hole, wherein a knob is disposed on an outer side of the cover and fitted to the axle, wherein an end of a cord is fitted to the coiling drum, and another end of the cord is inserted into the arm and connected to branch cords, wherein the hand has a palm connected to fingers, and the branch cords are penetratingly connected to the fingers of the hand, respectively.
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.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRUCE EDWARD SNOW whose telephone number is (571)272-4759. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Thursday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Melanie Tyson can be reached at 5712729062. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRUCE E SNOW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3774