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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: “101”. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: at line 2, “two ends” should apparently read --and two ends--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-10 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 1 at line 4 recites a “snakelike transmission shaft”. The term “snakelike” (similar to the phrase "or the like") renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "or the like"), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim 2 at lines 10-12 recites two instances of “the positioning channel”. It is unclear which “the positioning channel” is being referenced as lines 7-9 recites “two positioning channels”.
Claim 2 at line 11 recites “the positioning rod”. It is unclear which “the positioning rod” is being referenced as lines 2-3 recites “two groups of positioning rods”.
Claim 3 recites that “the bulge member comprises a plurality of bulging discs coaxially superimposed thereof”. It is unclear to what (or where) the plurality of bulging discs are being coaxially superimposed with this recitation.
Claim 5 at line 1 recites “the transmission hole”. It is unclear which “the transmission hole” is being referenced as claim 4 at lines 1-2 recites a transmission hole for each of the plurality of bulging discs.
Claim 5 at line 2 recites “the positioning hole”. It is unclear which “the positioning hole” is being referenced as claim 4 at lines 1-3 recites two positioning holes for each of the plurality of bulging discs.
Claim 5 at line 3 recites “the two positioning holes of the bulging disc”. It is unclear which “the bulging disc” is being referenced as claim 4 at lines 1-2 recites a “plurality of bulging discs”. A suggested amendment to lines 3-4 of claim 5 is --the two positioning holes of each bulging disc--.
At lines 4-5 of claim 5, it is unclear which “the transmission hole” and “the same bulging disc” are being referenced. A suggested amendment to lines 4-5 of claim 5 is --a respective transmission hole of a respective bulging disc--.
Claim 5 at lines 1-3 recites “a transverse-circular-square structure” and “a longitudinal-circular-square structure”. It is unclear how to interpret a structure which is “transverse-circular-square” or “longitudinal-circular-square”.
Claim 9 at lines 1 recites the limitation "the bulging disc". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nan (U.S. Patent No. 7,988,650) in view of Leonard et al. (U.S. Patent No. 5,470,303). Regarding claim 1, Nan teaches a wriggle massager comprising:
a resilient sleeve 15 (Fig. 1 and col. 3, lines 32-40);
a massaging structure 14 (Fig. 2) received in the resilient sleeve 15 and comprising: a bracket (housing 58), a driving member 18 installed on the bracket (col. 4, lines 5-8), a snakelike transmission shaft 20 and a bulge member 16 (Figs. 1, 5 and col. 4, lines 5-16); and wherein
the driving member 18 is connected with the snakelike transmission shaft 20 to control rotation of the snakelike transmission shaft 20 (Figs. 2, 5 and col. 4, lines 5-16); the snakelike transmission shaft 20 comprising at least one curve portion 60 (as shown in Figs. 1-5)
and the bulge member 16 comprising a transmission channel so that the snakelike transmission shaft 20 is inserted into the transmission channel from an end of the transmission channel (as shown in Figs. 3-4, the transmission channel is created by center holes 22 and 25 of the bulge member 16 – col. 4, lines 32-67 and col. 5, lines 19-27); and wherein
a rotation contour of the at least one curve portion 60 exceeds a radial contour of the transmission channel (as shown in Figs. 1 and 5), so that the snakelike transmission shaft 20 rotates to drive the bulge member 16 to wriggle (col. 4, lines 11-16 – “…unit 16 that provides the spiral wave form action imparted to the outermost sleeve 15”; also see Abstract).
However, Nan fails to disclose that the resilient sleeve is a soft, rubber sleeve. Leonard et al. (hereinafter Leonard) teaches a massager for self-stimulation (see Abstract), as likewise disclosed by Nan, wherein the massage head/sleeve 2 of the device (Fig. 7) is formed of a soft, resilient, flexible material such as thermoplastic rubber (col. 4, lines 54-59). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to construct a resilient material of a massaging head/sleeve as taught by Nan, to be of a thermoplastic rubber as suggested by Leonard, as Nan recognizes the need of a massaging head with a resilient material composition, and Leonard teaches that a soft, resilient, flexible material for contacting a user of a massage device would be thermoplastic rubber (col. 4, lines 54-59).
Regarding claim 10, Nan teaches that the snakelike transmission shaft 20 is coaxial with the transmission channel (Figs. 1 and 2), and a rotation radius of the snakelike transmission shaft is at least greater than radiuses of some positions of the transmission channel due to the curved portion 60 of the snakelike transmission shaft 20 (as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include 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: U.S. Patent No. 6,190,307; and U.S. Pub. No. 2019/0290536.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE HOPKINS MATTHEWS whose telephone number is (571)272-9058. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles A Marmor, II can be reached at (571) 272-4730. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHRISTINE H MATTHEWS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791