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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 19 and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 was made without traverse in the reply filed on 02/09/2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 01/30/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it begins with the phrase “The present invention relates to…”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the hinge connecting one single motor housing must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 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 5, 8, and 12 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 5 recites the limitation "the self-propelling movement" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 8, the phrase "similar to" renders the claim indefinite because the claim include elements not actually disclosed, thereby rendering the scope of the claim unascertainable.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the one or more secondary massage elements". Secondary massage elements are previously functionally claimed. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Stoll DE 3801953.
Regarding claims 1-3 and 5, Stoll discloses a self-propelling massaging device comprising a massage element (1”) having ends, wherein the ends are attached to one or more rotational connectors (21) forming a limb opening, wherein the limb opening is at least partially surrounded by the massage element (Stoll, Figure 5), wherein a user inserts a body part into the limb opening for contact with and massaging by the massage element (Stoll translation: “The handle only serves to hold the device and around the massage patches to the part of the body to be massaged hold.”); the rotational connectors being connected to a motor (7’), and wherein when the one or more rotational connectors are rotated by the motor the one or more rotational connectors cause a rotation of the ends (Stoll translation: abstract). Stoll is capable of performing the functional limitations of claims 2, 3, and 5.
Regarding claim 4, Stoll further discloses the massage element is made of an elastic material (Stoll translation: “stocking is formed carrier 1 '' from a wire body made of metal or plastic.”.
Regarding claim 7, Stoll further discloses the massage element consisting of coils (Stoll, Figure 5).
Regarding claim 8, Stoll further discloses the massage element is structurally similar to a spiral hair tie or coiled phone cord (Stoll, Figure 5).
Regarding claims 9-11, Stoll further discloses the one or more rotational connectors causes a rotation of the ends, the massage element is also caused to rotate, with the rotation of the massage element causes the massaging device to move along the body part inserted into the limb opening, thereby providing a self-propelling massage to the body part. (Stoll translation: “This motor rotates at high speed, and in order to obtain the lower massage speed of the bearing axis 6 '' required for the massage process, between these and the drive motor 7 '' a transmission gear 24 is switched on; the power flow is schematically indicated by dashed lines at 25.”). Stoll is capable of performing the functional and conditional limitations of the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 12-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art fails to disclose either alone or in combination the claimed invention wherein the massage element being attached to the one or more rotational connectors through an attaching structure comprising a circular channel holder; the motors being housed as claimed; or a control unit.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 2019/0183723.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTEN C HAYES whose telephone number is (571)272-7881. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michener Joshua can be reached at 571.272.1467. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISTEN C HAYES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3642