CTNF 18/075,436 CTNF 81574 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Election/Restrictions Claims 1-15 and 18-23 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election of Invention I, claims 16 and 17 was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/04/2026. Drawings 06-22-03 AIA The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “ 210 ” has been used to designate both a housing and a phase comparator (see Figure 2 and paragraphs [0028] and [0029]) . 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. 06-22-06 AIA 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: In paragraph [0034], reference number 650 is mentioned, but fails to appear in the Drawings . 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. 06-22-07 AIA The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: In Figure 3, reference numbers 341 and 360 are shown, but fail to be mentioned in the Specification. In Figure 7, reference number 750 is shown, but fails to be mentioned in the Specification . Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 06-22 AIA The drawings are objected to because : In paragraph [0029] reference number 342 is mentioned in relation to an input receptacle, but shown in the drawings as an output receptacle . 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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 17 is objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a duplicate of subject matter recited in claim 16. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 16 and 17 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 limitation “a means to set the beat” has been evaluated under the three-prong test set forth in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, but the result is inconclusive. Thus, it is unclear whether this limitation should be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because: The Specification does not explicitly disclose what the Applicant deems as a means to set. Several means are discussed throughout the Specification (such as a knob, a touch display and a module), therefore it is unclear which the Applicant deems as the claimed “means to set”. The boundaries of this claim limitation are ambiguous; therefore, the claim is indefinite and is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph. In response to this rejection, applicant must clarify whether this limitation should be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. Mere assertion regarding applicant’s intent to invoke or not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph is insufficient. 07-34-14 AIA Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are: Please clarify whether the electronic metronome is part of the trainer (as shown in the Drawings) or a separate element. Please clarify whether the strobe is on the disk or the display. The limitations recite the strobe formed on the display but recites the strobe flashes at a rate that makes a pattern on the disk move. Similarly, please clarify where the disk resides in relation to the display. Further, please clarify to which element the input receptacle is connected (i.e. phase comparator, similar to the microphone). Claim 16 recites the limitation "the display" in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, given there is no previous mention of a display. Claim 16, line 8, please clarify whether “a pattern” is the same as, related to, or different from the previously recited pattern. Claim 16 (and claim 17), the phrasing of the last limitation, “at least one of an input receptacle…”, is indefinite. Please clarify that the limitation should be read as “at least one of an input receptacle … or a microphone…”, and if so, please consider a comma: - - at least one of an input receptacle configured to accept a plug from the musical instrument , or a microphone configured to…- -. Further in the last limitation it is unclear how a microphone monitors sound, given microphones traditionally capture sound, not monitor it. In relation to the rejections above concerning the strobe, disk and display, the Drawings show the strobe and disk as separate elements, therefore please clarify how then the strobe can make the pattern of the disk move if they are not integral. Allowable Subject Matter 07-43-01 Claims 16 and 17 are believed to be allowable if rewritten or amended 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. The closest prior art of record that could be found at this time are: the US patent application publication to D’Addario et al. (US 2006/0185499), the US patent to Middleton (4,281,577), the Japanese publication to Hirosaka et al. (JP 2003-114676 A), and the French publication to Antoine (FR 2634033 A1). Once of better understanding of the intended configuration is received, a further search and consideration of the prior art will be conducted. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Christina Schreiber whose telephone number is (571)272-4350. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-4 PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dedei Hammond can be reached at 571-270-7938. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHRISTINA M SCHREIBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837 03/21/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 2 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 3 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 4 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 5 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 6 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 8 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/075,436 Page 9 Art Unit: 2837