DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the claim amendments and Applicant’s Remarks filed 9 June 2026. The Examiner acknowledges the amendments to claim 1 and 13-14, as well as the cancelation of claims 12 and 15-19. Claims 1 and 13-14 are pending.
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 Objections
Claim(s) 13-14 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13 should read “wherein [[a]] the length of the second movable arm is from 1.2 to 1.4 times greater than [[a]] the length of the first movable arm and the length third movable arm” [lines 1-3].
Claim 14 should read “[[the]] a diameter of the second joint” [line 2].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
Examiner Notes: currently, NO limitation invokes interpretation under § 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shim (US-20150231018-A1, previously presented) in view of Snow (US-20200069452-A1, previously presented), Stark (US-20050113652-A1, previously presented, hereinafter Stark ‘652) which incorporates by reference Stark (US-5052375-A, previously presented, hereinafter Stark ‘375) [see Stark ‘375 ¶0078 (MPEP § 2131.01(I)], and Kupfer (US-6152890-A, previously presented).
Regarding claim 1, Shim teaches
A hip knee range of motion measurement device for physical therapy, comprising:
a first movable arm having first and second ends [second waist support unit 14 (Shim Figures 1-2), see Annotated Fig. 1];
a first joint attached to the first end of the first movable arm [first joint 21 (Shim Figures 1-2)];
a second movable arm having first and second ends [first link 22 (Shim Figures 1-2), see Annotated Fig. 1], wherein the first end of the second movable arm is attached to the first joint [The first joint 21 is a part corresponding to the hip joint of the human body and is provided in a connection region of a second waist support unit 14 and the first link 22 (Shim ¶0066, Figures 1-2)];
a first dial attached to the second movable arm [The first detection unit 200a may include at least one of, for example, a joint angle sensor, an inclination sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The first detection unit 200a may be installed in at least one of the first joint 21 and the first link 22 (Shim ¶0100), wherein based on the Applicant’s definition of a “dial” on p. 9:16-18 of the Applicant’s Specification, the joint angle sensor of Shim is considered to be a “structure that is capable of measuring a slope, an elevation, or an angle of inclination of a specific axial axis of a body part of joint angle with respect to an adjacent arm”];
a second joint attached to the second end of the second movable arm [second joint 31 (Shim Figures 1-2)];
a third movable arm having first and second ends [second link 32 (Shim Figures 1-2), see Annotated Fig. 1], wherein the first end of the third movable arm is attached to the second joint [The second joint 31 is a part corresponding to the knee joint of the human body, and is provided in a connection region of the first link 22 and the second link 32 (Shim ¶0074, Figures 1-2)];
a second dial attached to the third movable arm [The second detection unit 200b may include at least one of the joint angle sensor, the inclination sensor, the acceleration sensor, and the IMU. The second detection unit 200b may be installed in at least one of the second joint 31 and the second link 32 (Shim ¶0102), wherein based on the Applicant’s definition of a “dial” on p. 9:16-18 of the Applicant’s Specification, the joint angle sensor of Shim is considered to be a “structure that is capable of measuring a slope, an elevation, or an angle of inclination of a specific axial axis of a body part of joint angle with respect to an adjacent arm”]; and
a first movable strap attached to the first movable arm [the second waist fixing unit 12 may fix the housing 10a to the waist or buttocks of the wearer. The first waist fixing unit 11 and the second waist fixing unit 12 may be made of a metal material or an elastic material such as rubber. The first waist fixing unit 11 and the second waist fixing unit 12 may be provided in the form of a chain, a band with elasticity, or various kinds of straps (Shim ¶0091, Figures 1-2)], a second movable strap attached to the second movable arm [a first fixing unit 23 for fixing the first link 22 to the femoral region of the wearer may be provided in an inner side or an outer side of the first link 22 (Shim ¶0069, Figure 1)); the first fixing unit 23 may be made of a metal material, an elastic material such as rubber and the like. The first fixing unit 23 may be implemented in the form of a chain as shown in FIG. 1, in the form of a band with elasticity, or in the form of a strap, however example embodiments are not limited thereto (Shim ¶0072)], and a third movable strap attached to the third movable arm [at least one second fixing unit 33 and 34 for fixing the second link 32 to the lower thigh region of the wearer may be provided in an inner side or an outer side of the second link 32 (Shim ¶0076, Figure 1); Meanwhile, configurations, structures, materials, and the like of the second fixing units 33 and 34 may be the same as those of the first fixing unit 23 (Shim ¶0079)]; wherein
the first movable arm is configured to remain longitudinally oriented with a horizontal axis of a pelvis of a clinical patient with the first movable strap [the first waist fixing unit 11 and the second waist fixing unit 12 may include various fixing means which can be considered by those skilled in the art in order to fix the first waist support unit 13 or the housing 10a to the waist, the buttocks, or the like (Shim ¶0091), wherein as depicted in Shim Figures 1-2, the second waist fixing unit 12 maintains the second waist support unit 14 about the patient’s pelvic region], the second movable arm is configured to remain in axial alignment to a horizontal axis of a femur of the clinical patient with the second movable strap [Thus, when the first link 22 is rotated, the femoral region of the wearer fixed to the first link 22 by the first fixing unit 23 may be rotated in the same direction as the first link 22 (Shim ¶0069)], and the third movable arm is configured to remain in axial alignment to a horizontal axis of a tibia of the clinical patient with the third movable strap [Thus, when the second link 32 is rotated, the lower thigh region of the wearer fixed to the second link 32 by the second fixing units 33 and 34 may be rotated in the same direction as the second link 32 (Shim ¶0076), wherein as depicted in Figures 1-2 of Shim, the second link is positioned about the tibia of the patient]; and
the first joint is configured to be positioned adjacent to a hip joint of the clinical patient, is configured to remain longitudinally oriented with a horizontal axis of a hip of the clinical patient [The joint may include a first joint and a second joint respectively corresponding to a hip joint and a knee joint of the wearer, and the link may include a first link that connects the first joint and the second joint and is rotated in response to rotation of the first joint (Shim ¶0011, Figures 1-2); the first joint may be rotated in a front, rear, left, or right direction of the wearer in response to movement of the hip joint when the wearer walks (Shim ¶0017); The first joint 21 is a part corresponding to the hip joint of the human body (Shim ¶0066)]; and
the second joint is configured to be positioned adjacent to a knee joint of the clinical patient [Shim ¶0011, Figures 1-2; The second joint 31 is a part corresponding to the knee joint of the human body (Shim ¶0074)]; and
the first and second dials are configured to measure a joint angle of the clinical patient [The first measuring unit 210a is connected to the first joint 21 to obtain information related to movements of the first joint 21. The information related to the movement of the first joint 21 may include at least one of a rotation angle (Shim ¶0101); The second measuring unit 210b may obtain information related to the movement of the second joint 31. The information related to the movement of the second joint 31 may include at least one of a rotation angle (Shim ¶0103)]; and
the first, second, and third movable arms are coplanar [wherein as depicted in Figures 1-2 of Shim, the second waist support unit 14, the first link 22, and the second link 32 are disposed within the same plane]; and
wherein the first, second, and third movable arms are configured to measure an angle of knee flexion while the hip joint is stabilized [In addition, the main body 10 supports an upper body of the wearer to assist the wearer in stably wearing the walk-assistive apparatus 1 (Shim ¶0083), wherein the second waist support unit 14, the first link 22, and the second link 32 being respectively fixed (Shim ¶¶0091, 0069, 0076) to each of the waist, the thigh, and the shank is considered to read on the claimed limitation, and wherein the stabilization is considered to occur during measurement of a popliteal angle of the clinical patient based on ¶¶0102-0103 of Shim disclosing measuring the knee angle, as the knee angle as measured by Shim is considered to be an angle of knee flexion, which is further considered to be the popliteal angle (see Applicant’s Specification p. 2:5), wherein it is understood that the popliteal angle may be measured at any time, such that the device is considered to be configurable to perform the measurement while the hip is stabilized];
wherein a length of the second movable arm, and a length of the third movable arm are each adjustable [A length of the first link 22 may be adjustable. Thus, the wearer may adjust the length of the first link 22 to match the length of his or her own femoral region before or while wearing the walk-assistive apparatus 1 (Shim ¶0068); Also, a length of the second link 32 may be adjustable in the same manner as the first link 22. Thus, the wearer may adjust the length of the first link 22 to match his or her own lower thigh region before or while wearing the walk-assistive apparatus 1 (Shim ¶0075)].
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Annotated Figure 1. Figure 2 of Shim has been annotated to identify the first and second end of each of the first, second, and third movable arms.
However, while Shim discloses that the range of rotation allowed by at least the first joint is within an operation range of the corresponding joint of the patient [A range of the rotation of the first joint 21 may be within an operation range of the hip joint of the wearer (Shim ¶0069)], Shim is silent regarding a specific rotatable range of motion of the first joint and the second joint, such that Shim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first joint is rotatable through 180 degrees and wherein the second joint is rotatable through 180 degrees.
Snow discloses a hip and thigh brace configured to be worn by a patient, wherein Snow discloses a range of motion of the brace allowing for a joint of the brace to be rotatable through 180 degrees based on a range of motion of the patient [For instance, a set of one or more openings may be provided in which motion stops (e.g., 516) may be inserted and secured to lock the range of motion stops for the brace 100. For instance, the openings may define a range of motion adjustable up to 90 degrees of flexion (or more) (e.g., range of motion restrictions ranging from −90 degrees extension to 90 degrees of flexion) (Snow ¶0029), wherein +90 degrees of flexion and -90 degrees of extension is considered to be a range of motion of 180 degrees].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Shim to employ wherein the first joint is rotatable through 180 degrees and wherein the second joint is rotatable through 180 degrees, so as to accommodate different ranges of motion of patients.
However, Shim in view of Snow fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first joint comprises a first lock to secure the hip joint at a predetermined angle within the device and wherein the second joint comprises a second lock to secure the knee joint at a predetermined angle within the device, such that the measured angle of knee flexion while the hip joint is stabilized is at the predetermined angle by the first lock.
Stark ‘375 discloses a hip knee range of motion device for physical therapy, wherein Stark ‘375 discloses that the device comprises a first movable arm [support section 820 (Stark ‘375 Fig. 20)], a first joint attached to the first movable arm [hip hinge 804 (Stark ‘375 Fig. 20)], a second movable arm attached to the first joint [thigh support 806 (Stark ‘375 Fig. 20)], wherein the first joint comprises a lock to secure the hip joint at a desired angle within the device [Hinges 108, 110, 136 preferably can be locked at a selected angle to protect the joint from undesired motion and/or to provide for isometric exercises. Hinges 108, 110 can be mechanical, electromechanical or a combination thereof, as described further below. In preferred embodiments, the hinge/flexible connection includes a position sensor such that the relative orientation of the hinge can be measured and monitored by the controller 112 (Stark ‘375 ¶0078); To perform the isometric exercises of a particular joint, the corresponding hinge is adjusted to a particular angle. If a manual hinge is used, the hinge is manually adjusted. The controller may instruct the patient if the hinge is set at the desired angle (Stark ‘375 ¶0166); When the engaging members 22a and 24a are tightened together in this manner, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an angle between the respective distal end sections 6aa' and 6ab' of the elongated restraining bar 6a' will be fixed and the device 2' can then be used to restrain an individual wearing or engaged in the device 2' conducting isometric exercises at a series of different degree of flexion generally corresponding to this angle (Stark ‘652 Col 18:7-14), such that it is understood that a first hinge (joint) of Stark ‘375 may be locked at a certain angle while another hinge (second joint) may be unlocked to allow for measurement of an angle at the unlocked hinge, wherein any desired angle for range of motion testing or isometric exercises is considered to read on the hinge being configurable to secure the hip joint at a predetermined angle].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Shim in view of Snow to employ wherein the first joint comprises a lock to secure the hip joint at 90 degrees within the device, so as to allow for the clinical patient to perform isometric exercises while the hip is secured at a desired angle as part of a physical therapy routine.
However, Shim in view of Snow and Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652 fails to explicitly disclose wherein a length of the first movable arm, the length of the second movable arm, and the length of the third movable arm are slidably adjustable by half the total length of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm respectfully.
Kupfer discloses a kip knee range of motion measurement device, wherein Kupfer discloses a movable arm [flexible, length-adjustable hip-knee connection 5 (Kupfer Figure 1)] that is slidably adjustable by an unspecified length to fit a patient’s thigh [Flexible, telescopic hip-knee connections, which can be adjusted to the length of the thigh and are easily detached at a quick-release catch 5a, are used to set both the knee angle sensors 1 and the hip angle sensors 4 (Kupfer Col 4:22-26), wherein being telescopic is considered to read on being slidable].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the device of Shim in view of Snow and Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652 to employ wherein a length of the first arm is adjustable and wherein the lengths of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm are slidably adjustable, in order to allow for a more customizable fit to the patient [Kupfer Col 4:22-26]; to have modified the second movable arm and the third movable arm to have lengths that are slidably adjustable, as this modification would amount to mere simple substitution of one known element [adjustable mechanism of Shim] for another [telescopic adjustable mechanism of Kupfer] with similar expected results [MPEP § 2143(I)(B)]; and to have modified slidable adjustability of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm to be adjustable by half the total length of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm respectfully, since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 US. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). In the instant case, the device of Shim in view of Snow and Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652 would not operate differently with the claimed length adjustability limit, and since Shim in view of Snow and Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652 is considered to disclose adjustability to accommodate any size of patient, the device would function appropriately having the claimed adjustable length limit. Further it appears the Applicant places no criticality on the adjustable length limit claimed, indicating that the length limit “may” be adjustable to such a length [Applicant’s Specification p. 15:7-20].
Regarding claim 13, Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘652 and Stark ‘375, and Kupfer teaches
The device of claim 1.
However, while Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652, and Kupfer discloses wherein the length of the second arm, the length of the third arm are adjustable to accommodate different sizes of patients [Shim ¶¶0068, 0075], Shim fails to explicitly disclose wherein the length of the second movable arm is from 1.2 to 1.4 times greater than the length of the first movable arm and the third movable arm.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the length of the second movable arm to be from 1.2 to 1.4 times greater than the length of the first movable arm and the third movable arm since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 US. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). In the instant case, the device of Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652, and Kupfer would not operate differently with the claimed length adjustability limit, and since Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652, and Kupfer is considered to disclose slidable adjustability to accommodate any size of patient, the device would function appropriately having the claimed adjustable length limit. Further it appears the Applicant places no criticality on the adjustable length limit claimed, indicating that the length limit “may” be adjustable to such a length [Applicant’s Specification p. 8:1-4].
Regarding claim 14, Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘652 and Stark ‘375, and Kupfer teaches
The device of claim 1.
However, Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652, and Kupfer fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first joint has a diameter that is from 1.15 to 1.25 times greater than the diameter of the second joint.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the diameter of the first joint to be from 1.15 to 1.25 times greater than the diameter of the second joint since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 US. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). In the instant case, the device of Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375 and Stark ‘652, and Kupfer would not operate differently with the claimed length adjustability limit, the device would function appropriately having the claimed diameter proportions. Further it appears the Applicant places no criticality on the diameter proportions as claimed, indicating that the diameters “may” be within such a relative range [Applicant’s Specification p. 8:25-9:3].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s Remarks p. 4, filed 9 June 2026, with respect to the previously presented Claim Objections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objections to claims 13-15 and 18-19 have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s Remarks p. 4, with respect to the previously applied rejections under § 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 15-19 under § 112(b) have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s Remarks p. 4, with respect to the previously applied rejection under § 112(d) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of claim 15 under § 112(d) has been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see Applicant’s Remarks p. 4-6, with respect to the previously applied rejections of claims 1 and those dependent therefrom under § 103 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant asserts that the Examiner’s application of Snow to remedy the acknowledged deficiency of Shim regarding “the second joint is configured to be positioned adjacent to a knee joint of the clinical patient, is rotatable through 180 degrees, and comprises a second lock to secure the knee joint at a predetermined angle within device” as recited in claim 1 [emphasis applied by Applicant] is improper, as the Applicant notes that Snow contains no such disclosure. The Applicant further asserts that the set of references of Shim and Snow, considered in every possible combination and from the viewpoint of a person of ordinary skill in the art would not have provided any reason to make a device including the argued feature. However, the Examiner disagrees with the Applicant’s argument that Snow contains no such disclosure relevant to the argued limitation, as Snow is explicitly cited as disclosing a hip and thigh brace configured to be worn by a patient, wherein a range of motion of the brace allows for a joint of the brace to be rotatable through 180 degrees based on a range of motion of the patient [For instance, a set of one or more openings may be provided in which motion stops (e.g., 516) may be inserted and secured to lock the range of motion stops for the brace 100. For instance, the openings may define a range of motion adjustable up to 90 degrees of flexion (or more) (e.g., range of motion restrictions ranging from −90 degrees extension to 90 degrees of flexion) (Snow ¶0029), wherein +90 degrees of flexion and -90 degrees of extension is considered to be a range of motion of 180 degrees]. As such, Snow is considered to disclose the argued limitation and the modification by the disclosure of Snow is considered to be applicable. Furthermore, the Examiner disagrees with the Applicant’s argument that there is no reason to modify the device of Shim based on the disclosure of Snow, as Snow is considered to be similar directed towards a hip and leg brace, and wherein the cited portion of Snow is considered relevant so as to accommodate different ranges of motion of patients. As such, the modification of Shim in view of Snow is considered to be applicable.
The Applicant notes that claim 1 is presently amended to incorporate the limitation “wherein a length of the first movable arm, a length of the second movable arm, and a length of the third movable arm are each slidably adjustable by half the total length of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm respectively” from previously presented and presently canceled claim 12. The Applicant asserts that the application of Kupfer’s disclosure of a device that is “slidably adjustable by an unspecified length to fit a patient’s thigh” using simple substitution rationale lacks sufficient rationale, as the Applicant notes that Kupfer does not disclose an arm adjustable by up to half the length of the arm. However, the Examiner notes that Kupfer was not cited as explicitly disclosing an arm adjustable by up to half the length of the arm. The Examiner notes that in the previously applied § 103 rejection of claim 12, Shim in view of Snow, Stark ‘375, Stark ‘652 and Kupfer, was further modified to employ slidable adjustability of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm to be adjustable by half the total length of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm respectfully, since it has been held that “where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device” Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 US. 830, 225 SPQ 232 (1984). As the Applicant has not provided any arguments against the previously applied further modification to employ slidable adjustability of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm to be adjustable by half the total length of the first movable arm, the second movable arm, and the third movable arm respectfully, the further modification is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEVERO ANTONIO P LOPEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-7378. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6 EST.
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/SEVERO ANTONIO P LOPEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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