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 .
Status of Claims
The present Office action is responsive to the application as filed on 01-22-2024. As directed, claims 1-14 are currently pending examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5, 7-9, 12, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
At claim 1, line 6, it is suggested that “configured” be added before “for an arm” to more explicitly avoid claiming the human organism.
At claim 1, line 11, it is suggested that “configured” be added before “for a hand” to more explicitly avoid claiming the human organism.
At claim 5, line 6, it is suggested that “has” be replaced with “includes” for clarity.
At claim 5, line 17, it is suggested that “when” be added before “said controller” for clarity.
At claim 5, line 19, it is suggested that “said controller” be added prior to “will then control” for clarity.
At claim 6, line 2, it is suggested that “has” be replaced with “includes” for clarity.
At claim 6, line 14, it is suggested that the reference numeral “(52)” be eliminated.
At claim 7, line 2, it is suggested that “has” be replaced with “includes” for clarity.
At claim 7, line 4, it is suggested that “the order and number” be replaced with “an order and a number” as the limitation has not yet been introduced.
At claim 8, line 8, it is suggested that the close parentheses “)” be eliminated from the end of the line.
At claim 9, line 4, it is suggested that a comma be added following “said sliding seat” for clarity.
At claim 12, line 5, it is suggested that “which in turn drives” be replaced with “which in turn is configured to drive” to avoid positive recitation of method steps in an apparatus claim.
At claim 14, line 3, it is suggested that “a patient” be replaced with “the patient” as the limitation is introduced in claim 1, line 1.
At claim 14, line 10, it is suggested that “drive mode” be replaced with “Active mode” for consistency with claim 4, line 3.
At claim 14, line 12, it is suggested that “then to” be replaced with “is configured to” to avoid recitation of positive method steps in an apparatus claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
A/the “support mechanism” in claims 1-2, 4, 8, and 10, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 18 to include a base, a guide rail unit, and a tilt adjustment unit (see 122f interpretation below).
A/the “flexion and extension drive unit” in claims 2, 4-8, and 14, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 26 to include a belt pulley, an adjustment wheel, a transmission belt, and a motor assembly.
A/the “rotary drive unit” in claims 3-7, 9, and 14, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 30 to include a motor assembly and a transmission belt.
A/the “tilt adjustment unit” in claim 11, and as it relates to the interpretation above with respect to the claimed “support mechanism”, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 19 to include a linkage module (see 122f interpretation below) and a tilt adjuster (see 122f interpretation below).
A/the “tilt adjuster” in claim 12, and as it relates to the interpretation of the “tilt adjustment unit”, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 20 to be an electric cylinder.
A/the “linkage module” in claim 12, and as it relates to the interpretation of the “tilt adjustment unit”, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 20 to be two links and a pivot shaft.
A/the “pivot assembly” in claim 13 which is interpreted relative to the instant application at paragraph 24 to include two bolts threaded on the frame body.
A/the “identification object” in claim 14, which is interpreted relative to the instant specification at paragraph 16 to be a bracelet encoded with medical information related to the patient.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Examiner notes that for the foregoing rejections, any foreign document citations are derived from the furnished translation.
Claims 1 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habib (US 2020/0222265) in view of Song (CN 114504769).
Regarding claim 1, Habib discloses an upper limb rehabilitation device (100) for rehabilitation of an upper limb of a patient (paragraph 38, lines 1-12; paragraph 79, lines 16-23; Fig. 1, and note that the device shown throughout Figs. 2-7 are different arrangements of the positioning mechanism for the device 100, see paragraphs 27, 62, and 65-69), comprising:
a portion of a support mechanism (see vertical supports 112 and “lower support frame” of paragraph 73 shown beneath member 102 in Figs. 1 and 10, which is analogous to the base of the 112f interpretation above, exemplary rails 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ housed on, and including base 102, analogous to the guide rail unit, and support spar 120, analogous to the pivot shaft of the tilt adjustment unit in the 112f interpretation above) (paragraph 50, lines 1-4 and paragraph 73, lines 1-8, and Figs. 1 and 10 for base portion of the support mechanism; paragraph 63, lines 3-5, paragraph 64, lines 3-8, paragraph 66, lines 3-4, and Figs. 2-4 for guide rails 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’, and paragraph 38, lines 1-7 for base 102; paragraph 74, lines 1-12 and Figs. 9-10 for pivot shaft of the tilt adjustment unit);
a flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism including a sliding seat unit (210, 308, or 408) mounted on said portion of said support mechanism (114+204+204’/304+304’/404+404’+102+120) and movable forwardly and rearwardly relative to said support mechanism (114+204+204’/304+304’/404+404’+102+120) (paragraph 63, lines 1-8 and Fig. 2, or paragraph 65, lines 6-8 and Fig. 3, or paragraph 67, lines 1-4 and Fig. 4), and an arm rest seat (118) mounted on said sliding seat unit (210, 308, or 408) for an arm of the upper limb of the patient to rest thereon (paragraph 61, lines 1-6, and note that the handles 110, 212, 312, 412, and 412’ are in indirect connection with each sliding seat unit), said arm rest seat (118) being configured to be actuated by a flexion and extension movement of the arm of the upper limb of the patient to drive forward and rearward movement of said sliding seat unit (210, 308, or 408) relative to said support mechanism (114+204+204’/304+304’/404+404’+102+120) (paragraph 59, lines 10-18, and note paragraph 32; note that the term “flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism” is further limited by the structure of the “sliding seat unit” and for the purposes of examination, the flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism is interpreted as being the sliding seat unit since it is limited thereto); and
a twist rehabilitation mechanism including a handgrip unit (110E) mounted on said sliding seat unit (210, 308, or 408) and rotatable leftward and rightward relative to said sliding seat unit (210, 308, or 408) for a hand of the upper limb of the patient to grip (paragraph 59, lines 10-18, and note paragraph 32; see also paragraph 9, lines 1-5; note that the term “twist rehabilitation mechanism” is further limited by the structure of the “handgrip unit” and fir the purposes of examination, the twist rehabilitation mechanism is interpreted as being the handgrip unit since it is limited thereto).
Habib fails to disclose the linkage module including two links and a pivot shaft of the tilt adjustment unit of the support mechanism, as has been interpreted under 35 USC 112f above.
However, Song teaches an upper body rehabilitation device (page 5: “A planar two-dimensional upper limb rehabilitation training robot, as shown in FIG. 1-9”) that includes a tilt adjustment unit further comprised of an electric cylinder (104) as well as a linkage module that includes two links (103 and 109) and a pivot shaft (see shaft extending from cylinder 104 in Fig. 6) for adjusting the angle of the table top as desired (page 5: “As shown in FIG. 6, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a long groove on the top end of the lower table body 102; the front part of the long groove is hinged with a telescopic cylinder 104, the telescopic cylinder 104 rear end is hinged with the lower table body 102 of the long front groove the hinge support; one end of the telescopic cylinder 104 away from the long groove is hinged with a first connecting rod 103 and a second connecting rod 109”; Fig. 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tilt adjustment unit of the support mechanism of Habib (see 112f interpretations above) to further include a linkage module including two links and an electric cylinder in addition to a pivot shaft, as taught by Song, in order to hingedly connect the top of the rehabilitation device to its base and enable additional adjustment of the angle therebetween by virtue of the additional links.
Regarding claim 11, Habib in view of Song disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above.
Modified Habib further discloses wherein said support mechanism (Habib: 114+204+204’/304+304’/404+404’+102+112+120, and the links 103+109 and cylinder 104 of Song’s Fig. 6) includes a base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) configured to be disposed on a platform (Habib: 114) (see Figs. 1 and 10 of Habib, where the base is the portion under member 102 that is perpendicular to vertical supports 112 and further includes the vertical supports 112; note that in Figs. 9-10 of Habib, the vertical supports 112 come into contact with the platform 114, also described at paragraph 50, lines 1-4; paragraph 73, lines 1-10, see “lower support frame” for portion under member 102), a guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102 analogous to the guide rail unit) extending in a front-rear direction and having a rear end portion that is pivotally connected to said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) and that is pivotable up and down relative to said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) (Habib: paragraph 38, lines 1-7 and paragraph 62, lines 1-5 for base 102 carrying rails units as shown in Figs. 1 and 9-10; paragraph 63, lines 3-5, paragraph 64, lines 3-8, paragraph 66, lines 3-4, and Figs. 2-4 for the y-axis guide rails; paragraph 73, lines 1-10, note “hinge”; Figs. 9-10, where the rear portion of base 102 is provided with a hinge that enables the guide rails carried thereon to be pivotally connected to the lower support frame; further note the rear/front direction of the guide rails throughout Figs. 2-4), and
a tilt adjustment unit (Habib: spar 120 and Song’s links 103+109 and cylinder 104 in Fig. 6) mounted between said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) and said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) (Habib: paragraph 74, lines 1-12; Figs. 9-10, where spar 120 is mounted to vertical support 112 that comprises a portion of the claimed base, and the base 102 which is a part of the claimed guide rail unit), said tilt adjustment unit (Habib: spar 120 and Song’s links 103+109 and cylinder 104 in Fig. 6) being operable to drive said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) to pivot up and down relative to said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) (Habib: paragraph 74, lines 1-10; Figs. 9-10; and Song: page 5: “As shown in FIG. 6, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a long groove on the top end of the lower table body 102; the front part of the long groove is hinged with a telescopic cylinder 104, the telescopic cylinder 104 rear end is hinged with the lower table body 102 of the long front groove the hinge support; one end of the telescopic cylinder 104 away from the long groove is hinged with a first connecting rod 103 and a second connecting rod 109” and Fig. 6), said sliding seat unit (Habib: 210, 308, or 408) being mounted on said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) and being movable forwardly and rearwardly along said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) (Habib: paragraph 38, lines 1-7 and paragraph 62, lines 1-5 for positioning of positioning mechanism 200 on base 102; and paragraph 63, lines 1-8 and Fig. 2, or paragraph 65, lines 6-8 and Fig. 3, or paragraph 67, lines 1-4 and Fig. 4 for each guide rail set).
Regarding claim 12, Habib in view of Song disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 11, as discussed above.
Modified Habib further discloses wherein said tilt adjustment unit (Habib: spar 120 and Song’s links 103+109 and cylinder 104 in Fig. 6) includes a linkage module (Song: links 103 and 109 in Fig. 6, and Habib’s pivot shaft 120 in Fig. 10) pivotally connected between said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) and said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) (Habib: paragraph 74, lines 1-10; Figs. 9-10; and Song: page 5: “As shown in FIG. 6, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a long groove on the top end of the lower table body 102; the front part of the long groove is hinged with a telescopic cylinder 104, the telescopic cylinder 104 rear end is hinged with the lower table body 102 of the long front groove the hinge support; one end of the telescopic cylinder 104 away from the long groove is hinged with a first connecting rod 103 and a second connecting rod 109” and Fig. 6), and
a tilt adjuster pivotally connected between said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) and said linkage module (Song: links 103 and 109 in Fig. 6, and Habib’s pivot shaft 120 in Fig. 10), said tilt adjuster being controllable to drive said linkage module (Song: links 103 and 109 in Fig. 6, and Habib’s pivot shaft 120 in Fig. 10) to bend and straighten in an up-down direction, which in turn drives said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) to pivot up and down relative to said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) so as to adjust a tilt angle of said guide rail unit (Habib: 204+204’, 304+304’, or 404+404’ and base 102) relative to said base (Habib: flat portion under platform 102 in Fig. 10, denoted as “lower support frame in paragraph 73 and vertical supports 112) (Habib: paragraph 74, lines 1-10; Figs. 9-10; and Song: page 5: “As shown in FIG. 6, the angle adjusting mechanism comprises a long groove on the top end of the lower table body 102; the front part of the long groove is hinged with a telescopic cylinder 104, the telescopic cylinder 104 rear end is hinged with the lower table body 102 of the long front groove the hinge support; one end of the telescopic cylinder 104 away from the long groove is hinged with a first connecting rod 103 and a second connecting rod 109” and Fig. 6, note the pivots on links 103 and 109 which create a “bent” angle between the links and the pivot shaft).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habib (US 2020/0222265) in view of Song (CN 114504769), as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of Li (CN 114129396).
Regarding claim 2, Habib in view of Song disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above.
Modified Habib Fails to disclose wherein said flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism further includes a flexion and extension drive unit mounted on said support mechanism and connected to said sliding seat unit, said flexion and extension drive unit being activated to drive the forward and rearward movement of said sliding seat unit relative to said support mechanism.
However, Li teaches an upper limb rehabilitation device (page 4: “As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, a single-hand lifting rehabilitation trainer”) that includes a flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism (7+motor+11+12+13) further including a flexion and extension drive unit (motor+11+12+13) mounted on an analogous base (3) and connected to an analogous sliding seat unit (7), said flexion and extension drive unit (motor+11+12+13) being activated to drive the forward and rearward movement of said sliding seat unit (7) relative to said analogous base (3) in order to control the motorized movement of the rehabilitation mechanism according to a patient’s condition (page 4: “In this embodiment, the pressing plate comprises a pressing plate (9) and a pressing plate (10), the pressing plate (10) is connected with the transverse part of the push plate (8), the pressing plate (9) is connected with the operating handle (4), a synchronous belt (11) is arranged between the pressing plate (9) and the pressing plate (10), the synchronous belt 11 is annularly wound on the synchronous belt driving wheel 12 and the synchronous belt driven wheel 13, the synchronous belt driving wheel 12 and synchronous belt driven wheel 13 is rotatably connected on the mounting plate 3, one side of the synchronous belt driving wheel 12 is connected with a belt 14 through a belt pulley set coaxially, the belt 14 passes through the mounting plate 3 is connected with a motor” and page 5: “after the position of the sliding to be mechanism is turned on, electric control box 16 controls the motor starting, synchronous belt 11 to set the speed to drive the sliding seat 7 to move back and forth along the guide rail 6, according to the recovery condition of the patient”; Fig. 2; note the 112f interpretation above, where 13 is the analogous belt pulley, 12 is the analogous adjustment wheel, and 11 is the analogous transmission belt).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the flexion and extension rehabilitation mechanism of Habib to further include a flexion and extension drive unit mounted on said base of said support mechanism and connected to said sliding seat unit, said flexion and extension drive unit being activated to drive the forward and rearward movement of said sliding seat unit relative to said base of said support mechanism, as taught by Li, in order to control the motorized movement of the rehabilitation mechanism according to a patient’s condition.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habib (US 2020/0222265) in view of Song (CN 114504769) in further view of Li (CN 114129396), as applied to claim 2 above, in still further view of Guo (CN 110179633).
Regarding claim 3, Habib in view of Song in further view of Li disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 2, as discussed above.
Modified Habib fails to disclose wherein said twist rehabilitation mechanism further includes a rotary drive unit mounted on said sliding seat unit and connected to said handgrip unit, said rotary drive unit being activated to drive left and right rotation of said handgrip unit relative to said sliding seat unit.
However, Guo teaches an upper limb rehabilitation device (page 3: “Referring to FIGS. 1-shown in Figure 2, the invention claims a hand mechanism is integrated limb rehabilitation training device”; Fig. 1) wherein said twist rehabilitation mechanism further includes a rotary drive unit mounted on an analogous sliding seat unit (12) and connected to an analogous handgrip unit (14), said rotary drive unit being activated to drive left and right rotation of said analogous handgrip unit (14) relative to said analogous sliding seat unit (12) (page 5: “the core shaft 13 is sleeved with a first synchronous wheel 162, a drive motor 161, the output shaft is sleeved with a second synchronous wheel 163, a first synchronous wheel 162 is connected 164 through the synchronous belt and the second synchronous wheel 163, in the using process. output shaft of the driving motor 161 rotates to drive the first synchronous wheel 162 to rotate, and drives the second synchronous wheel 163 through the synchronous belt 164 to rotate so as to drive the mandrel 13 on the rotating arm 15 rotate, the rotating arm 15 on handle 14 to rotate”; note in Fig. 2, the arc track within which handle portions 141 and 142 move to move the handle 14, moves left and right with respect to sliding seat 12, and the drive is shown as mounted to 12) in order to provide controlled wrist flexion and extension movement during the rehabilitation (page 2: “A hand mechanism is integrated limb rehabilitation training device, comprising a training platform, wherein said training platform is movably provided with a fixing hand and drives the wrist joint flexion/extension movement”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the twist rehabilitation mechanism of Habib to further include a rotary drive unit mounted on said sliding seat unit and connected to said handgrip unit, said rotary drive unit being activated to drive left and right rotation of said handgrip unit relative to said sliding seat unit, as taught by Guo, in order to provide controlled wrist flexion and extension during the patient’s rehabilitation.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habib (US 2020/0222265) in view of Song (CN 114504769) in further view of Li (CN 114129396) and Guo (CN 110179633), as applied to claim 3 above, in still further view of Ren (CN 208626529).
Regarding claim 4, Habib in view of Song in further view of Li and Guo disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 3, as discussed above.
Presently modified Habib fails to disclose the device further comprising a control device which includes a controller signally connected to said flexion and extension drive unit and said rotary drive unit, said controller having an active mode and a passive mode that are built therein, wherein, when said controller is operated to execute said active mode, said flexion and extension drive unit and said rotary drive unit will not be activated by said controller, said sliding seat unit is freely movable relative to said support mechanism, and said handgrip unit is freely rotatable relative to said sliding seat unit; and when said controller is operated to execute said passive mode, said flexion and extension drive unit and/or said rotary drive unit are controlled by said controller to activate.
However, Li further teaches a control device (16) for controlling the motor of the flexion and extension drive unit (page 4: “In addition, the other end of the base 1 is provided with an electric control box 16 for controlling the electric motor, the shell 2 is provided with a display screen 15, the display screen 15 is connected to the electric control box 16 through the lead, one side of the electric control box 16 is provided with an emergency stop button 17, which is convenient for emergency”).
Given that Habib additionally contemplates a control device with a controller to track adherence and progress (see paragraph 53, lines 1-5 and paragraph 111, lines 1-5, see computer system 2202 as control device and processor 2204 as controller), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller of Habib to include the functionality of being signally connected to the respective motors of said flexion and extension drive unit and said rotary drive unit, as taught by Li, in order to control the output and movement of each of the flexion and extension drive unit and the rotary drive unit during patient rehabilitation.
Further modified Habib still fails to disclose said controller having an active mode and a passive mode that are built therein, wherein, when said controller is operated to execute said active mode, said flexion and extension drive unit and said rotary drive unit will not be activated by said controller, said sliding seat unit is freely movable relative to said support mechanism, and said handgrip unit is freely rotatable relative to said sliding seat unit; and when said controller is operated to execute said passive mode, said flexion and extension drive unit and/or said rotary drive unit are controlled by said controller to activate.
However, Ren further teaches an upper limb rehabilitation device (abstract, lines 1-2; Fig. 1), a controller (700) including a mode selection module (730) (page 6: “control module 700 a corner position change detection module 710, the motor current change detection module 720 and a mode selection module 730”; Fig. 2), and wherein said controller having an active mode and a passive mode built therein (page 6: “in the passive training mode, the drive motor 200 drives the arm joint adapter 100 move, so as to drive the front arm of the patient to the front arm joint for training under the active training mode, the driving motor 200 is not working, the automatic movement of the patient to the arm joint adapter 100 motion, so as to make the patient joint training”), wherein, when said controller is operated to execute said active mode, said drive unit will not be activated by said controller (700) and the joint actuator (100) is freely movable (page 6: “under the active training mode, the driving motor 200 is not working” and “the automatic movement of the patient to the arm joint adapter 100 motion”); and when said controller is operated to execute said passive mode, said drive unit is controlled by said controller to activate (page 6: “in the passive training mode, the drive motor 200 drives the arm joint adapter 100 move, so as to drive the front arm of the patient to the front arm joint for training”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller of Habib to further include an active and a passive mode built thereon for each of the flexion and extension drive unit and the rotary drive unit, such that during said active mode, said flexion and extension drive unit and said rotary drive unit will not be activated by said controller, said sliding seat unit is freely movable relative to said support mechanism, and said handgrip unit is freely rotatable relative to said sliding seat unit, and during said passive mode said flexion and extension drive unit and/or said rotary drive unit are controlled by said controller to activate, as taught by Ren, in order to separately provide active assistance via the motor to the patient’s upper limb, or allow the patient to move the sliding seat or the handgrip by their own volitional effort, as a known method of providing different modes of rehabilitation to a patient.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Habib (US 2020/0222265) in view of Song (CN 114504769) in further view of Li (CN 114129396), Guo (CN 110179633), and Ren (CN 208626529), as applied to claim 4 above, in still further view of Zheng (CN 110384602).
Regarding claim 8, Habib in view of Song in further view of Li, Guo, and Ren disclose the upper limb rehabilitation device as claimed in claim 4, as discussed above.
Modified Habib fails to disclose wherein said control device further includes a front limit sensor and a rear limit sensor that are mounted on said support mechanism, that are spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction, and that are located on a displacement path of said sliding seat unit, said controller being further signally connected to said front limit sensor and said rear limit sensor, and wherein, when said controller is operated to execute said passive mode, said controller will control said flexion and extension drive unit to stop driving said sliding seat unit to move forward when said front limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit, and will control said flexion and extension drive unit) to stop driving said sliding seat unit to move rearward when said rear limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit.
However, Zheng further teaches an upper limb rehabilitation device (abstract, lines 1-2; Fig. 2) that includes a front limit sensor and a rear limit sensor that are mounted on said analogous support mechanism (15), that are spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction, and that are located on a displacement path of said analogous sliding seat unit (27), said device configured such that the motor is controlled to stop driving said sliding seat unit (27) to move forward when said front limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit (27), and will control said motor to stop driving said sliding seat unit (27) to move rearward when said rear limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit (27) in order to protect the motor and improve the life of the overall assembly (page 11: “It should be noted that, the training module may further comprises a limit sensor (not shown), the limit sensor can be set on two ends of the sliding hole, for detecting position of the training table 27 or detecting component so as to avoid training table 27, and detection component when reaching the edge position drive condition of the motor still running, so it can improve the using life of the product assembly”; Fig. 2, note sliding holes 151).
Given that Habib additionally discloses various sensors for sensing position of the handle, and that the controller (see processor) is configured to receive sensor data (paragraph 21, lines 1-5; paragraph 22, lines 1-5), and further since modified Habib includes control of said drive units by a controller (see the rejections of claims 2-4 above), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to equip the device with a front limit sensor and a rear limit sensor that are mounted on said support mechanism, that are spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction, and that are located on a displacement path of said sliding seat unit, said controller being further signally connected to said front limit sensor and said rear limit sensor, and wherein, when said controller is operated to execute said passive mode, said controller will control said flexion and extension drive unit to stop driving said sliding seat unit to move forward when said front limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit, and will control said flexion and extension drive unit to stop driving said sliding seat unit to move rearward when said rear limit sensor senses said sliding seat unit, where the limit sensors are taught by Zheng and the control of the drives is enacted by previously modified Habib, in order to protect the motor and improve the life of the overall assembly.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 9-10, and 13-14 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:
Regarding claims 5 and 6, the prior art does not readily provide for inclusion of each of an auxiliary passive mode and a somatosensory mode which are each based on/dependent on switching into previously identified and defined active and/or passive modes. Further, the prior art is devoid of teachings for activating assistance in a passive mode responsive to the patient failing to achieve a predetermined flexion/extension or left/right wrist rotation in a predetermined time frame in an upper limb rehabilitation device as is outlined in claims 1-4.
Claims 7, 10, and 14 depend either directly or indirectly from either of claims 5 or 6, and thus also do not incur prior art rejections at least by virtue of this dependency.
Regarding claim 9, while Zheng is relied on above for limit sensors in the front-rear direction, and could reasonably be instructive to the skilled artisan with respect to the left/right rotational limit sensors recited in claim 9, Habib does not further provide a limiting member on the handgrip unit, and neither of Habib or Zheng specifically outline such a limiting member contacting/being sensed by the limit sensor for controlling the rotary drive to stop.
Regarding claim 13, per the 112f interpretation above, Habib does not contemplate a pivot assembly as structurally outlined above, nor any other elements that fit the claimed language with respect to the loosened and tightened states thereof. Further, it is not clear how both the arm rest and the handgrips of Habib would be mounted to the frame body in a pivotal manner such that the pivot seat is forwardly and rearwardly pivotable with respect to the frame body.
Conclusion
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/PAIGE KATHLEEN BUGG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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