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
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 02/02/2026 is acknowledged. Claim 8 is non-elected. Claims 1-7 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) filed 03/24/2023 has/have been considered by the Examiner.
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 the abstract recites “The present disclosure discloses…”, which is considered implied phraseology and should be avoided. 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).
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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "…the electrode piece at the outermost end…". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since the claim previously recites “…the electrode assembly comprises a plurality of electrode pieces…”. Dependent claims 2-7 are further rejected.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "…the fastener is fastened on the outer band…". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since the claim previously recites “…an open fastener is arranged on one side of each sealing layer away from the base…”, and is therefore unclear if the open fastener refers to the configuration of the fastener being physically opened, or is the designated name for its structure. Dependent claims 2-7 are further rejected.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would 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.
Claims 2-7 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
No prior art could be found to anticipate and/or render obvious to claims 1 in its entirety, and subsequently to dependent claims 2-7. Specifically, the prior art searched fails to teach and/or suggest AT LEAST to a wristband nerve stimulator comprising: a shell, a plurality of first threaded holes and a framework matched with a vibration motor are arranged in the shell, the vibration motor is embedded into the framework; a plurality of second threaded holes corresponding to the first threaded holes are formed in four corners of the circuit board; the plurality of first threaded holes are fixedly connected with the plurality of second threaded holes through screws; the first threaded holes are all blind holes; a charging interface and an adapter port are arranged on the circuit board; a bottom of the shell is provided with a charging interface location and an adapter port location which are matched with the charging interface and the adapter port; a band, wherein the band comprises an outer band and an inner band; a plurality of electrode pieces and an adapter seat; the plurality of electrode pieces are sequentially connected through a flexible printed circuit (FPC) flat cable; the electrode piece at the outermost end is arranged at the bottom of the base and protrudes from the bottom of the base, and sealing layers wrap outer sides of the remaining electrode pieces and the FPC flat cable; and the base is also provided with a plurality of circular magnetic attraction slots matched with the plurality of magnetic attraction slots; a magnet is embedded in each circular magnetic attraction slot; the magnets in the plurality of magnetic attraction slots are connected to the magnets in the plurality of circular magnetic attraction slots in an attracting manner, in combination with the other elements in the claims.
Prior art searched includes Ivorra (US 20110040204 A1) which teaches a wristworn stimulation device 3 with buttons and display (figure 5), as well as a vibration motor 604 (figure 6).
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However, Ivorra does not explicitly teach at least to the vibration motor is embedded into the framework, as well as an electrode piece at the outermost end is arranged at the bottom of the base and protrudes from the bottom of the base, and sealing layers wrap outer sides of the remaining electrode pieces and the FPC flat cable, as well as the other claim limitations of claim 1 listed above.
Prior art searched includes Ferree (US 20200030604 A1) which teaches a similar wrist worn TENS device with display 106, and holes or compartments 101, however does not teach elements required by claim 1 including at least to a framework matched with a vibration motor are arranged in the shell, and the vibration motor is embedded into the framework, and a plurality of circular magnetic attraction slots matched with the plurality of magnetic attraction slots; a magnet is embedded in each circular magnetic attraction slot; the magnets in the plurality of magnetic attraction slots are connected to the magnets in the plurality of circular magnetic attraction slots in an attracting manner, as well as the other claim limitations of claim 1 listed above.
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Prior art searched includes Wang (US 20230218897 A1), which teaches a similar watch device comprising an electrode 16 placed on the bottom of a base (figure 5).
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However, Wang (US 20230218897 A1) would not qualify as prior art under 35 USC § 102 for being published after the effective filing date of 03/24/2023.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anh-Khoa N. Dinh whose telephone number is (571)272-7041. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00am-4:00pm EST.
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/ANH-KHOA N DINH/Examiner, Art Unit 3796