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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in the instant Application on 10/16/2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/21/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-2, 8-12, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2019/0275363 (Jones et al., hereinafter “Jones”).
Regarding claim 1, Jones discloses a leg exercise apparatus 21,50,201 installable on an upright 11 (embodiment of FIGS. 58A-58B as shown below, para 0197), said apparatus comprising:
a fixing system 50, installable on the upright 11 (carriage assembly 50 is moveably mounted on the frame member 11 of the weight rack 12 - para 0150, see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
an arm 21 extending along a first direction and hinged to the fixing system so as to be rotatable relative to a hinge axis (weightlifting arm 21 is pivotally connected to the carriage assembly 50 via a pin 70, which has a hinge axis where the arm 21 pivots about - para 0163, see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
a first push roller 203 mounted on one side of the arm 21 (see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
a rod 30 for holding weights (see FIGS. 58A-58B below, para 0197); and
a support for supporting the rod 30 at a first distance from the arm 21, said support being mounted on the arm 21 (weight holder 30 is mounted to the arm 21 by fixing structures in the form of threaded bolts, or alternatively in the form of one or more removable pins, detent pins, spring pins, or other connections - para 0164; these fixing structures can be interpreted as the support since they support the weight holder 30 at a distance from the arm 21 depending on how tightly they are mounted to the arm 21).
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Regarding claim 2, Jones teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein said support is configured so that the rod 30 is maintained at the first distance from the arm 21 during the rotation of the arm relative to the hinge axis (the fixing structures maintain the weight holder 30 at a fixed distance from the arm 21 during movement of the arm - para 0164; see FIGS. 58A-58B above).
Regarding claim 8, Jones teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein the first roller 203 and the rod 30 extend away from the arm 21 respectively along a second direction and a third direction opposite to each other, parallel but not coincident (as best shown in FIG. 58B).
Regarding claim 9, Jones teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, and further discloses a second support roller 204 mounted on the fixing system 50 on the same side of the arm as the first roller 203 (FIGS. 58A-58B, para 0197).
Regarding claim 10, Jones teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, and further discloses wherein the upright 11 is part of a rack 12 (para 0149, FIG. 58B).
Regarding claim 11, Jones discloses an exercise station (exercise station in the embodiment of FIGS. 58A-58B as shown below, para 0197) comprising:
a rack 12 comprising at least one upright 11 (para 0149, FIG. 58B);
a leg exercise apparatus 21, 50, 201 (see FIGS. 58A-58B below) including:
a fixing system 50, installable on the upright 11 (carriage assembly 50 is moveably mounted on the frame member 11 of the weight rack 12 - para 0150, see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
an arm 21 extending along a first direction and hinged to the fixing system so as to be rotatable relative to a hinge axis (weightlifting arm 21 is pivotally connected to the carriage assembly 50 via a pin 70, which has a hinge axis where the arm 21 pivots about - para 0163, see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
a first push roller 203 mounted on one side of the arm 21 (see FIGS. 58A-58B below);
a rod 30 for holding weights (see FIGS. 58A-58B below, para 0197); and
a support for supporting the rod 30 at a first distance from the arm 21, said support being mounted on the arm 21 (weight holder 30 is mounted to the arm 21 by fixing structures in the form of threaded bolts, or alternatively in the form of one or more removable pins, detent pins, spring pins, or other connections - para 0164; these fixing structures can be interpreted as the support since they support the weight holder 30 at a distance from the arm 21 depending on how tightly they are mounted to the arm 21).
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Regarding claim 12, Jones teaches the exercise station according to claim 11, and further discloses wherein said support is configured so that the rod 30 is maintained at the first distance from the arm 21 during the rotation of the arm relative to the hinge axis (the fixing structures maintain the weight holder 30 at a fixed distance from the arm 21 during movement of the arm - para 0164; see FIGS. 58A-58B above).
Regarding claim 18, Jones teaches the exercise station according to claim 11, and further discloses wherein the first roller 203 and the rod 30 extend away from the arm 21 respectively along a second direction and a third direction opposite to each other, parallel but not coincident (as best shown in FIG. 58B).
Regarding claim 19, Jones teaches the exercise station according to claim 11, and further discloses a second support roller 204 mounted on the fixing system 50 on the same side of the arm as the first roller 203 (FIGS. 58A-58B, para 0197).
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 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jones in view of US 2022/0323815 (Simental et al., hereinafter “Simental”).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Jones teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 and the exercise station according to claim 11, respectively, and Jones further discloses the fixing system comprises a configuration that limits the rotation of the arm (a support 104 can be mounted to frame member 11 to support the pivoting arm 21 in an extended position and prevent downward rotation of the arm 21 - paras 0178-0180, FIGS. 29-31). However, Jones does not disclose the configuration includes a plurality of openings arranged in proximity to the hinge axis and at least one limiter element removably inserted in one of the openings.
Simental teaches an analogous apparatus/exercise station having a fixing system 170 (see FIGS. 9 and 12 below) comprising a configuration that limits the rotation of an arm (see annotated FIG. 12 below), the configuration includes a plurality of openings arranged in proximity to a hinge axis and at least one limiter element removably inserted in one of the openings (see annotated FIG. 12 below).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jones’ invention with the fixing system as taught by Simental in order to customize the range of motion of the arm to accommodate a user of different sizes and to accommodate different forms of exercise requiring a customized range of motion.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 and 13-16 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 closest prior art of record is US 2019/0275363 (Jones et al.).
Regarding dependent claims 3 and 13, Jones et al. teaches the apparatus according to claim 1 and the exercise station according to claim 11, respectively. See the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejections above. However, Jones et al. fails to disclose wherein said support comprises a plate extending between a first end mounted on the arm on the opposite side relative to the first roller and a second free end, said rod being fixed to the plate. There is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art of record that would have made it obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Jones et al. to arrive at either of the claimed inventions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA S LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1661. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-7pm Eastern.
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, LoAn Jimenez can be reached at 571-272-4966. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Joshua Lee/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784