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 .
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 local device, a bound Apple Watch and a presser synchronization mechanism 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 1-10 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.
Claims 1-10 contains the trademark/trade name Apple. Where a trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. A trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. In the present case, the trademark/trade name is used to identify/describe an Apple Watch and, accordingly, the identification/description is indefinite.
For example, in claim 1, “An Apple Watch-base HTML5 somatosensory game method” and “a bound Apple Watch” could easily be replaced by generic language, such as, -- A smart watch-base HTML5 somatosensory game method -- and -- a bound smart watch --.
Claim 1 recites “a bound Apple Watch”. The term “bound” is not clear in this context.
In computing, "bound" defines the limiting factor of a process, most commonly seen as CPU-bound (limited by processor speed for heavy calculations) or I/O-bound (limited by data transfer speed, like disk or network), but also memory-bound or cache-bound, indicating performance bottlenecks caused by the CPU, Input/Output, memory access, or cache speed respectively, essentially meaning a component's limit dictates overall speed, similar to a "bottleneck". That does not appear to be the appropriate meaning.
In the ordinary common meaning, "To be bound" means to be tied, restricted, or obligated (e.g., "bound by contract"), to be destined or certain to happen (e.g., "bound to rain"), or to be traveling toward a specific place (e.g., "bound for London"). It also refers to being closely connected (e.g., "bound together by friendship") or physically secured, like a book with covers. The meaning depends heavily on the context, often implying a strong connection, duty, or inevitability. That does not appear to be the appropriate meaning either.
It might be clearer to rephrase the limitation as – after a somatosensory game is started, communicating somatosensory data from a watch to local device; --. (Applicant’s paragraph [0109] shows the communication between the watch and the local device.)
Claim 1 recites generating a corresponding game instruction according to the somatosensory data. It is not clear what is generating the game instruction. The local device received the data, but next step sends the instructions to the local device. There are no figures showing the connection or information flow between the server, the local device and the watch. Paragraph [0002] presents that not loading sensory data to the server is part of the solution being solved.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 USC 112, but might be allowable if the 112 issues are resolved. Apple released a somatosensory sports app, AirExercise, on July 22, 2022, but the examiner was unable to document the detailed information flow provided in the current limitations. There are other cited systems, but again, none of the cited prior art shows or teaches the full combination of information flow provided in the current limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL A CUFF whose telephone number is (571)272-6778. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9-5.
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, Xuan Thai can be reached at 571 272-7147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL A CUFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715