DETAILED ACTION
This Final Office Action is in response to the amendment filed on 03/25/2025. Claims 1, 5-8, 11, 14, and 18-19 are acknowledged as pending, with claims 1, 11, and 18 being currently amended.
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 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stroup (US Patent Publication No. 2016/0129292; FD: 11/04/2015) in view of Gonzales (US Patent No. 10,010,159; FD: 05/04/2017) in view of Chen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0383444; FD: 06/10/2019) in view of Park (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0331640; Provisional FD: 06/15/2021) in further view of Henniger (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0269956; FD: 12/07/2018) in further view of Arranz (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0339044; FD: 06/24/2019).
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Regarding claim 1, Stroup discloses a weight backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) for performing exercises by a user (i.e., the user depicted in Figure 1A above) comprising: a weight exercise backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) having a housing (i.e., the interior of the body 102 that is accessible through the accessible end 134), a plurality of panels (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 5 panels and a top flap; Para. [0021]), and a top flap (Accessible end 106; Figure 1A; i.e., the accessible end is a top flap that opens and closes as seen in Figure 1A and 3); wherein said plurality of panels having a front panel, a rear panel, a pair of side panels, and a bottom panel (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 6 panels; Para. [0021]), forming a weight compartment (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangle) for storing a plurality of selectable weights (Tube 130; Figure 3; i.e., the interior of the body 102 can hold weights 130 as seen in Figure 3; Para. [0026]); wherein said rear panel having a top edge (i.e., see annotated Figure 3 above) attached to said top flap for selectively covering said weight compartment (i.e., the top flap/accessible end 106 has a top edge, as annotated in Figure 3 above, that holds the top flap and has a closure mechanism 108 that can selectively fasten the top flap); wherein said top flap having a hook fastener (Closure mechanism 108; Figure 3; i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be a hook and loop fabric; Para. [0022]); wherein said front panel having a loop fastener for fastening to said hook fastener (i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be disposed on the top flap 106 and a front panel as seen in Figure 3), wherein said rear panel comprises a pair of shoulder straps (Shoulder straps 124; Figure 1B and 2 of Stroup) and a hook (i.e., the rear panel of Stroup can have a hook as each side of the backpack has outer handles 114 that can serve as hooks); and wherein the top flap further comprises an indicia removably attached to the top flap (i.e., the top flap 106 may include indicia that can be removably attached by hook and loop fasteners; Para. [0022] “Either or both ends 104, 106 as well as other locations on the body 102 may include hook-and-loop fabric areas so that insignia or other group indicia may be easily attached to the workout bag assembly 102. Typical indicia includes a name tag, a fire station number, a military company and the like.”).
Stroup does not disclose said top flap is waterproof for sealing said weight compartment from weather elements.
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Gonzales teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 1 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Gonzales comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said top flap is waterproof for sealing said weight compartment from weather elements (i.e., each panel including the top flap 10 is made of a water proof material; Col. 6 Lines 19-30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the top flap of Stroup to be made of the waterproof material of Gonzales in order to protect the interior of the backpack from outside weather conditions.
Stroup in view of Gonzales does not teach a waterproof Bluetooth speaker mounted to said front panel configurable for connecting to a source device to play music; and further wherein said waterproof Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker.
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Chen teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 2 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Chen comprising a user worn backpack, comprising a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (Speaker device 1; Figures 2 and 6; i.e., the circuit board 13 contains a transmission module 131 that utilizes Bluetooth and mobile devices to communicate with the speaker; Para. [0056] “the wireless transmission module 131 can be wirelessly connected with mobile terminals 8, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and the like, in a manner of Bluetooth wireless connection, and a signal is sent to the control module 133”) mounted to said front panel configurable for connecting to a source device (i.e., mobile phones; Para. [0056]) to play music (i.e., the front panel of the backpack 9 contains a speaker device 1 as seen in Figure 2 above that can play music; Para. [0001]); and further wherein said waterproof Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker (i.e., the circuit board 13 has a switch module 137 that can control the volume of the speaker by either turning the speaker on or off or use a touch control panel; Para. [0056] “the switch module 137 which can control play or pause of playing content or music, and the switch module 137 can be a touch control panel or a push control panel”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales to have the waterproof Bluetooth speaker of Chen in order to have a portable speaker system that can be brought to outdoor activities with the backpack apparatus.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in teaches selectable weights (Tube 130; Figure 3; i.e., the interior of the body 102 can hold weights 130 as seen in Figure 3; Para. [0026] of Stroup) that can be filled with material (Para. [0026] of Stroup “Each tube 130 is preferably filled with sand, cat litter, or a material to provide weight inside the workout bag assembly 100”).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen does not teach the plurality of selectable weights are gravel weights.
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Park teaches analogues exercise weight bag (See Figure 1 above) comprising the plurality of selectable weights are gravel weights (i.e., the Park reference teaches a weight bag that is filled with filler material such as gravel; Para. [0042] “FIGS. 1-14 illustrate an embodiment of an exercise weight bag 100, which is configured to be filled with a weight material, such as a granular material (e.g., sand, gravel, pebbles, rice, animal feed, rubber mulch, metal pellets, wood pellets”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the filler of the selectable weights of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen to be gravel as taught by Park in order to have a higher weight material to fill the backpack for exercises that require larger weight.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park does not teach the weight exercise backpack is tapered in shape.
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Henniger teaches an analogous weighted backpack (See Figure 11) that is tapered in shape (i.e., the annotation T shows the taper of the back pack from the bottom to the top of the backpack; Para. [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shape of the backpack of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park to be a tapered shape as taught by Henniger in order for lifting by the user holding the bag against his/her chest and wrapping his/her arms around the central body portion, and the tapering of the central body portion produces a shape that is advantageous for such usage, by aiding the user in holding the bag without downward slippage due to the weight of the bag (Para. [0107]).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in further view of Henniger does not teach said rear panel between a back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel.
Arranz teaches an analogous bulletproof backpack (See Figure 4 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Arranz comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said rear panel between a back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel (i.e., the breathable foam 15 is placed on the rear panel between a back of a user and said weight compartment of the backpack 1 of Arranz; Para. [0058] “Foam 14, 15 is made of breathable material and serves as cushion to a back of a user.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rear panel of the backpack of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in view of Henniger to have the back cushion foam of Arranz in order to have a rear panel that prevents the back of the user from sweating. The Examiner notes that Arranz teaches a breathable foam layer on the back panel 25 with a secondary layer/interior section 26 as seen in Figure 5, therefore, the entire backpack could be nylon/waterproof with the additional layer of breathable material of Arranz between the backpack and the user to form a breathable panel.
Regarding claim 5, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in view of Henniger in further view of Arranz teaches said weight exercise backpack having a material selected from a group consisting of a leather, a canvas, and a nylon (i.e., the materials of the components of the backpack 100 of Stroup is described within Para. [0021] “The workout bag assembly 100 is preferably manufactured from a heavy duty cloth (natural, synthetic and/or blends thereof) with reinforced stitching, preferable to military standards (MILSPEC) for durability.”; Para. [0023] “Other materials may be used for the handles 112, 114 including cloths of natural and synthetic fibers, leather, synthetic leather, plastic and polymer-based handles, as well.”).
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stroup (US Patent Publication No. 2016/0129292; FD: 11/04/2015) in view of Gonzales (US Patent No. 10,010,159; FD: 05/04/2017) in view of Chen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0383444; FD: 06/10/2019) in view of Park (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0331640; Provisional FD: 06/15/2021) in view of Henniger (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0269956; FD: 12/07/2018) in view of Arranz (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0339044; FD: 06/24/2019) in further view of Younan (US Patent No. 10,702,047; FD: 07/30/2019). Stroup as modified discloses the device as substantially claimed above.
Regarding claim 6, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in view of Henniger in further view of Arranz teaches at least one of said plurality of panels (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 6 panels; Para. [0021]).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in further view of Henniger in further view of Arranz does not disclose said plurality of panels having a sealable pouch for storing said source device.
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Younan teaches an exercise backpack comprising said plurality of panels (Body 110; Figure 3; i.e., the body 1100 is rectangular and has 6 panels as seen in Figure 3) having a sealable pouch (Pocket 1120; Figure 3; i.e., the pockets are sealable using zippers) for storing said source device (i.e., the pocket 1120 can store smartphones 5000 as seen in Figure 3; Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack front panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in further view of Henniger in further view of Arranz to have a pocket to store a smartphone of Younan in order to have a pocket to fit smartphones with ease and comfort (Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
Regarding claim 7, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in view of Henniger in view of Arranz in further view of Younan teaches said source device is a smartphone (i.e., Chen teaches in Para. [0056] that the source device can be a mobile phone and Younan teaches the pocket being capable of holding a smartphone; Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
Regarding claim 8, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Park in view of Henniger in view of Arranz in further view of Younan teaches a chest strap (i.e., the straps 130, 132 are connectable to form a single chest strap that is adjustable; Para. [0025] of Stroup) connecting said pair of shoulder straps and having an adjustable loop for adjusting a tension between said shoulder straps.
Claims 11 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stroup (US Patent Publication No. 2016/0129292; FD: 11/04/2015) in view of Gonzales (US Patent No. 10,010,159; FD: 05/04/2017) in view of Chen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0383444; FD: 06/10/2019) in view of Asokaraj (US Patent Publication No. 2014/0224854; FD: 02/14/2013) in view of McCarthy (Patent Publication No. 2020/0367627; FD: 04/03/2020) in view of Park (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0331640; Provisional FD: 06/15/2021) in further view of Henniger (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0269956; FD: 12/07/2018) in further view of Arranz (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0339044; FD: 06/24/2019). Stroup as modified discloses the device as substantially claimed above.
Regarding claim 11, Stroup discloses a weight exercise backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) for performing exercises by a user (i.e., the user depicted in Figure 1A above) comprising: the weight exercise backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) having a housing (i.e., the interior of the body 102 that is accessible through the accessible end 134), a plurality of panels (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 5 panels and a top flap; Para. [0021]), and a top flap (Accessible end 106; Figure 1A; i.e., the accessible end is a top flap that opens and closes as seen in Figure 1A and 3); wherein said plurality of panels having a front panel, a rear panel, a pair of side panels, and a bottom panel (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 6 panels; Para. [0021]) forming a weight compartment for storing a plurality of selectable weights (Tube 130; Figure 3; i.e., the interior of the body 102 can hold weights 130 as seen in Figure 3; Para. [0026]); wherein said rear panel having a top edge (i.e., see annotated Figure 3 above) attached to said top flap for selectively covering said weight compartment (i.e., the top flap/accessible end 106 has a top edge, as annotated in Figure 3 above, that holds the top flap and has a closure mechanism 108 that can selectively fasten the top flap); wherein said top flap having a fastener (Closure mechanism 108; Figure 3; i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be a hook and loop fabric; Para. [0022]); wherein said front panel having a fastener for fastening to said fastener (i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be disposed on the top flap 106 and a front panel as seen in Figure 3); wherein said rear panel having a pair of shoulder straps (Shoulder straps 124; Figure 1B and 2 of Stroup) connected to said rear panel for wearing said weight exercise backpack on a back of a user and hook (one of handles 114; Figure 1) for hanging said weight exercise backpack (i.e., the backpack 100 of Stroup has shoulder straps 122 that are attached to the rear of the backpack to wear the backpack on the back of a user as seen in Figure 1B and the handles 114 form a hook that can hang the backpack as seen in Figure 3); wherein said pair of shoulder straps having a connecting strap (i.e., Straps 130, 132 are connectable to form a single chest strap that is adjustable; Para. [0025]) therebetween for securing said pair of shoulder straps to the user of said weight exercise backpack; and wherein the top flap further comprises an indicia removably attached to the top flap (i.e., the top flap 106 may include indicia that can be removably attached by hook and loop fasteners; Para. [0022] “Either or both ends 104, 106 as well as other locations on the body 102 may include hook-and-loop fabric areas so that insignia or other group indicia may be easily attached to the workout bag assembly 102. Typical indicia includes a name tag, a fire station number, a military company and the like.”).
Stroup does not disclose said top flap is waterproof for sealing said weight compartment from weather elements.
Gonzales teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 1 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Gonzales comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said top flap is waterproof for sealing said weight compartment from weather elements (i.e., each panel including the top flap 10 is made of a water proof material; Col. 6 Lines 19-30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the top flap of Stroup to be made of the waterproof material of Gonzales in order to protect the interior of the backpack from outside weather conditions.
Stroup in view of Gonzales does not teach a waterproof Bluetooth speaker mounted to said front panel configurable for connecting to a source device to play music; and further wherein said waterproof Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker.
Chen teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 2 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Chen comprising a user worn backpack, comprising a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (Speaker device 1; Figures 2 and 6; i.e., the circuit board 13 contains a transmission module 131 that utilizes Bluetooth and mobile devices to communicate with the speaker; Para. [0056] “the wireless transmission module 131 can be wirelessly connected with mobile terminals 8, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and the like, in a manner of Bluetooth wireless connection, and a signal is sent to the control module 133”) mounted to said front panel configurable for connecting to a source device (i.e., mobile phones; Para. [0056]) to play music (i.e., the front panel of the backpack 9 contains a speaker device 1 as seen in Figure 2 above that can play music; Para. [0001]); and further wherein said waterproof Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker (i.e., the circuit board 13 has a switch module 137 that can control the volume of the speaker by either turning the speaker on or off or use a touch control panel; Para. [0056] “the switch module 137 which can control play or pause of playing content or music, and the switch module 137 can be a touch control panel or a push control panel”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales to have the waterproof Bluetooth speaker of Chen in order to have a portable speaker system that can be brought to outdoor activities with the backpack apparatus.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen does not disclose said plurality of panels having a sealable pouch for storing said source device.
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Younan teaches an exercise backpack (See Figure 3 above) comprising said plurality of panels (Body 110; Figure 3; i.e., the body 1100 is rectangular and has 6 panels as seen in Figure 3) having a sealable pouch (Pocket 1120; Figure 3; i.e., the pockets are sealable using zippers) for storing said source device (i.e., the pocket 1120 can store smartphones 5000 as seen in Figure 3; Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack front panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen to have a pocket to store a smartphone of Younan in order to have a pocket to fit smartphones for ease and comfort (Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan does not disclose wherein said pair of shoulder straps are reinforced having a width of at least 2 inches.
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Asokaraj teaches an analogous backpack (Backpack 1; Figure 2), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Asokaraj comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said pair of shoulder straps (Shoulder straps 17; Figure 2) are reinforced having a width of at least 2 inches (i.e., the top portion 18 of the straps 17 can be at least 2 inches in width as the width of the straps can be between 1-3 inches; Para. [0055] “In embodiments of the subject invention, the width of the top portion 18 of the shoulder strap 17 may be one to three inches”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shoulder straps of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan to be a width of 2 inches as taught by Asokaraj in order to have a strap width that comfortably fits on the shoulders and chest of a user. The Examiner notes that the limitation lacks criticality and a change in size is well known and routine in the art.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj teaches said top flap having a fastener (Closure mechanism 108; Figure 3; i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be a hook and loop fabric or many other mechanisms; Para. [0022]); wherein said front panel having a reciprocal magnetic fastener for fastening to said magnetic fastener (i.e., the closure mechanism 108 can be disposed on the top flap 106 and a front panel as seen in Figure 3);
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj does not teach said top flap having a magnetic fastener; wherein said front panel having a reciprocal magnetic fastener for fastening to said magnetic fastener.
McCarthy teaches an analogous exercise back pack (Backpack 100; Figure 1) comprising a flap having a magnetic fastener and a second flap having a reciprocal magnetic fastener for fastening to said magnetic fastener (i.e., the two flaps of the main compartment of the backpack 100 are able to be connected by magnetic fasteners; Para. [0025] “It should be understood that although zipper mechanisms are provided, any type of closure system may be provided, such as buttons, hook and loop fasteners, magnetic fasteners, etc.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fastener of the top flap and the fastener of the front flap of the Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj to be magnetic fasteners as taught by McCarthy in order to provide a fastening structure that would allow a user to open the backpack with ease. The Examiner notes that the limitation lacks criticality and it is well known and routine in the art to switch one form of fastener for another.
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Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in further view of McCarthy does not teach an exercise weight bag comprising the plurality of selectable weights are metal weights.
Park teaches an analogues exercise weight bag (See Figure 1 above) comprising the plurality of selectable weights are metal weights (i.e., the Park reference teaches a weight bag that is filled with filler material such as metal pellets; Para. [0042] “FIGS. 1-14 illustrate an embodiment of an exercise weight bag 100, which is configured to be filled with a weight material, such as a granular material (e.g., sand, gravel, pebbles, rice, animal feed, rubber mulch, metal pellets, wood pellets”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the filler of the selectable weights of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy to be metal weights as taught by Park in order to have a higher weight material to fill the backpack for exercises that require larger weight.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in further view of Park does not teach the weight exercise backpack is tapered in shape.
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Henniger teaches an analogous weighted backpack (See Figure 11) that is tapered in shape (i.e., the annotation T shows the taper of the back pack from the bottom to the top of the backpack; Para. [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shape of the backpack of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in view of Park to be a tapered shape as taught by Henniger in order for lifting by the user holding the bag against his/her chest and wrapping his/her arms around the central body portion, and the tapering of the central body portion produces a shape that is advantageous for such usage, by aiding the user in holding the bag without downward slippage due to the weight of the bag (Para. [0107]).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in view of Park in further view of Henniger does not teach said rear panel between the back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel.
Arranz teaches an analogous bulletproof backpack (See Figure 4 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Arranz comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said rear panel between the back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel (i.e., the breathable foam 15 is placed on the rear panel of the backpack 1 of Arranz; Para. [0058] “Foam 14, 15 is made of breathable material and serves as cushion to a back of a user.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rear panel of the backpack of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in view of Park in further view of Henniger to have the back cushion foam of Arranz in order to have a rear panel that prevents the back of the user from sweating. The Examiner notes that Arranz teaches a breathable foam layer on the back panel 25 with a secondary layer/interior section 26 as seen in Figure 5, therefore, the entire backpack could be nylon/waterproof with the additional layer of breathable material of Arranz between the backpack and the user to form a breathable panel.
Regarding claim 14, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in view of Park in view of Henniger in further view of Arranz teaches said weight exercise backpack having a material selected from a group consisting of a leather, a canvas, and a nylon (i.e., the materials of the components of the backpack 100 of Stroup is described within Para. [0021] “The workout bag assembly 100 is preferably manufactured from a heavy duty cloth (natural, synthetic and/or blends thereof) with reinforced stitching, preferable to military standards (MILSPEC) for durability.”; Para. [0023] “Other materials may be used for the handles 112, 114 including cloths of natural and synthetic fibers, leather, synthetic leather, plastic and polymer-based handles, as well.”).
Regarding claim 15, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of McCarthy in view of Park in view of Henniger in further view of Arranz teaches each of said pair of shoulder straps having an adjustable loop for adjusting lengths of said shoulder straps (i.e., each strap can be adjusted using the buckles 128 and the loop of the sections 126; Para. [0025] of Stroup).
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stroup (US Patent Publication No. 2016/0129292; FD: 11/04/2015) in view of Gonzales (US Patent No. 10,010,159; FD: 05/04/2017) in view of Chen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0383444; FD: 06/10/2019) in view of Younan (US Patent No. 10,702,047; FD: 07/30/2019) in view of Asokaraj (US Patent Publication No. 2014/0224854; FD: 02/14/2013) in view of Chen (CN112138351; FD: 08/11/2020) in view of Schromm (WO/2016/172697; FD: 04/25/2016) in view of Bassoo (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0288440; FD: 04/18/2022) in further view of Arranz (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0339044; FD: 06/24/2019)
Regarding claim 18, Stroup discloses a method of using a weighted backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) for performing exercises, the method comprising the steps of: providing a weight exercise backpack (Workout bag assembly 100; Figure 1) having a housing (i.e., the interior of the body 102 that is accessible through the accessible end 134), a plurality of panels (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a heart, square, or rectangular in shape to have 5 panels and a top flap; Para. [0021]), and a top flap (Accessible end 106; Figure 1A; i.e., the accessible end is a top flap that opens and closes as seen in Figure 1A and 3); wherein said plurality of panels having a front panel, a rear panel, a pair of side panels, and a bottom panel (i.e., the body 102 can be in a shape of a square or rectangular in shape to have 6 panels; Para. [0021]) forming a weight compartment for storing a plurality of selectable weights (Tube 130; Figure 3; i.e., the interior of the body 102 can hold weights 130 as seen in Figure 3; Para. [0026]); adding selectable weights to said weight compartment (See Figure 3 of Stroup); covering said weight compartment with said top flap wherein said rear panel having a top edge attached to said top flap; fastening said top flap to said front panel (i.e., the top flap/accessible end 106 has a top edge, as annotated in Figure 3 above, that holds the top flap and has a closure mechanism 108 that can selectively fasten the top flap by way of a zipper; Para. [0022]); wherein said rear panel having a pair of shoulder straps (Shoulder straps 124; Figure 1B and 2 of Stroup) connected to said rear panel; wearing said weight exercise backpack on a back and shoulders of a user (i.e., the backpack 100 of Stroup has shoulder straps 122 that are attached to the rear of the backpack to wear the backpack on the back and shoulders of a user as seen in Figure 1B); and hanging the weight exercise bag via a hook (i.e., the rear panel of Stroup can have a hook as each side of the backpack has outer handles 114 that can serve as hooks to hold the bag) connected to said panel.
Stroup does not disclose sealing said weight compartment from weather elements wherein said top flap is waterproof.
Gonzales teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 1 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Gonzales comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said top flap is waterproof for sealing said weight compartment from weather elements (i.e., each panel including the top flap 10 is made of a water proof material; Col. 6 Lines 19-30).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the top flap of Stroup to be made of the waterproof material of Gonzales in order to protect the interior of the backpack from outside weather conditions.
Stroup in view of Gonzales does not teach mounting a waterproof Bluetooth speaker to said front panel wherein said Bluetooth speaker configurable for connecting to a source device to play music; wherein said Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker.
Chen teaches an analogous backpack (See Figure 2 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Chen comprising a user worn backpack, comprising a waterproof Bluetooth speaker (Speaker device 1; Figures 2 and 6; i.e., the circuit board 13 contains a transmission module 131 that utilizes Bluetooth and mobile devices to communicate with the speaker; Para. [0056] “the wireless transmission module 131 can be wirelessly connected with mobile terminals 8, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and the like, in a manner of Bluetooth wireless connection, and a signal is sent to the control module 133”) mounted to said front panel configurable for connecting to a source device (i.e., mobile phones; Para. [0056]) to play music (i.e., the front panel of the backpack 9 contains a speaker device 1 as seen in Figure 2 above that can play music; Para. [0001]); and further wherein said waterproof Bluetooth speaker having a plurality of control buttons for controlling at least a volume of said speaker (i.e., the circuit board 13 has a switch module 137 that can control the volume of the speaker by either turning the speaker on or off or use a touch control panel; Para. [0056] “the switch module 137 which can control play or pause of playing content or music, and the switch module 137 can be a touch control panel or a push control panel”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales to have the waterproof Bluetooth speaker of Chen in order to have a portable speaker system that can be brought to outdoor activities with the backpack apparatus.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen does not disclose said plurality of panels having a sealable pouch for storing said source device.
Younan teaches an exercise backpack (See Figure 3 above) comprising said plurality of panels (Body 110; Figure 3; i.e., the body 1100 is rectangular and has 6 panels as seen in Figure 3) having a sealable pouch (Pocket 1120; Figure 3; i.e., the pockets are sealable using zippers) for storing said source device (i.e., the pocket 1120 can store smartphones 5000 as seen in Figure 3; Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the backpack front panel of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen to have a pocket to store a smartphone of Younan in order to have a pocket to fit smartphones for ease and comfort (Col. 3 Lines 5-8).
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan does not disclose wherein said pair of shoulder straps are reinforced having a width of at least 2 inches.
Asokaraj teaches an analogous backpack (Backpack 1; Figure 2), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Asokaraj comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said pair of shoulder straps (Shoulder straps 17; Figure 2) are reinforced having a width of at least 2 inches (i.e., the top portion 18 of the straps 17 can be at least 2 inches in width as the width of the straps can be between 1-3 inches; Para. [0055] “In embodiments of the subject invention, the width of the top portion 18 of the shoulder strap 17 may be one to three inches”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shoulder straps of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan to be a width of 2 inches as taught by Asokaraj in order to have a strap width that comfortably fits on the shoulders and chest of a user. The Examiner notes that the limitation lacks criticality and a change in size is well known and routine in the art.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in view of Younan in further view of Asokaraj does not teach electronically fastening said top flap to said front panel.
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Chen teaches an analogous bag for table tennis (Bag 2; Figure 1) comprising a zipper closure mechanism (Zipper 31; Figure 31) that has an electronic lock (Electronic lock 7; Figure 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the zipper fastener of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj to have an electronic lock for a zipper as taught by Chen in order to provide an antitheft measure on the bag.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen does not teach the plurality of selectable weights are rock weights.
Schromm teaches an analogous exercise bag (Backpack 100; Figure 2) that can be filled with selectable weights that can be filled with rock weights (i.e., bags can be filled with rock weights that can be inserted into the backpack; Page 10 Para. 2 “What is meant by "bladder" is a flexible sac or bag, for example such as the rubber bag, that is filled with fluid (liquid and/or gas), or granular material, e.g., sand, rice, beans, or mixtures, e.g., pebbles, rocks, metal balls, pellets (BBs), or solids, or combinations thereof.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the selectable weights of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen to be filled with rocks as taught by Schromm in order to have a weight that is higher in weight for large weight exercises.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen in view of Schromm does not teach herein the weight exercise backpack is heart shaped.
The Office notes that the limitation “the weight exercise backpack is heart shaped” is not supported within Applicant’s provisional application 18/053,418, therefore, the limitation does not retain the benefit of the provisional date.
Bassoo teaches an analogous exercise training bag (Training bag 100; Figure 1) that can be made of fabric layers in the shape of a heart (Para.[0142] “In some embodiments, at least one layer of thread stitching can secure one or more fabric layers shapes selected from triangle, right triangle, rectangle, parallelogram, circle, square, rhombus, oval, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, cylinder, cube, star, heart, arrow in combination thereof the training bag 100 as one apparatus.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the shape of the bag of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen in view of Schromm to have the shape of a heart as taught by Bassoo in order to have a design that suits the user performing exercises as it is mere design choice.
Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen in view of Schromm in further view of Bassoo does not teach said rear panel between the back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel.
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Arranz teaches an analogous bulletproof backpack (See Figure 4 above), in the same field of endeavor as the claimed invention due to the structure and embodiments of Arranz comprising a user worn backpack, comprising said rear panel between the back of the user and said weight compartment is a breathable panel (i.e., the breathable foam 15 is placed on the rear panel of the backpack 1 of Arranz; Para. [0058] “Foam 14, 15 is made of breathable material and serves as cushion to a back of a user.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the rear panel of the backpack of Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen in view of Schromm in view of Bassoo to have the back cushion foam of Arranz in order to have a rear panel that prevents the back of the user from sweating. The Examiner notes that Arranz teaches a breathable foam layer on the back panel 25 with a secondary layer/interior section 26 as seen in Figure 5, therefore, the entire backpack could be nylon/waterproof with the additional layer of breathable material of Arranz between the backpack and the user to form a breathable panel.
Regarding claim 19, Stroup in view of Gonzales in view of Chen in further view of Younan in view of Asokaraj in view of Chen in view of Schromm in view of Bassoo in further view of Arranz teaches a step of performing a workout of exercises (i.e., the user can perform multiples exercise as seen in Figures 1A and 3 of Stroup above).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejections of claims 1, 5-8, 10-11, 14-15, and 17 under U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, the independent claims have been rejected under Stroup (US Patent Publication No. 2016/0129292; FD: 11/04/2015) in view of Gonzales (US Patent No. 10,010,159; FD: 05/04/2017) in view of Chen (US Patent Publication No. 2020/0383444; FD: 06/10/2019) in view of Park (US Patent Publication No. 2022/0331640; Provisional FD: 06/15/2021) in view of Henniger (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0269956; FD: 12/07/2018) in further view of Arranz (US Patent Publication No. 2019/0339044; FD: 06/24/2019). The Examiner notes that the Arranz reference contains a breathable fabric rear backpack structure as disclosed in the rejection. Additional breathable rear panel backpacks are cited within the 892.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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/ANDREW M KOBYLARZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3784