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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 06/23/2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 2, 4-13, 15-18 have been amended. No Claims have been cancelled. Therefore Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application.
Per the amendments to Drawings and the Claims, the Drawings objections have been withdrawn.
Per the amendments to the claims, all but one of the claim objections (see accordingly below) and the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections have been withdrawn.
Per the amendments to the claims, a new 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection has been presented, see accordingly below.
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 1-20 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 1 recites the limitation "wherein both the eccentric member and the balancing member are located on the same side of the output shaft" in lines 8-9, underlined for emphasis. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-20 are rejected upon being dependent upon the rejected independent claim under 35 U.S.C. 112(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: the recitation “this first insertion socket”, should read ---the first insertion socket---. Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 15-20, filed 06/23/2026, with respect to the U.S.C. 103 rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of claims 1-20 have been withdrawn, however, a newly presented 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection and objection has been made accordingly, see above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-20 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection, set forth in this office action.
As to claim 1, Marton (US 20210038472 A1), represents the closest prior art to the claimed invention.
Specifically, Marton discloses:
a massage device (Marton Figure 1), comprising:
a massage head having at least one massage surface and a shell portion, and an interior of the shell portion forming an assembly chamber (Figure 3; ‘126’ is a massage head with a massage surface ‘516’, shell portion ‘120’,’112’,’130’, inside of the shell the components are assembled making it an assembly chamber);
a mounting bracket mounted in the assembly chamber and fixed to the massage head (Figure 11A; ‘320’ is a mounting bracket that is within the assembly chamber of Figure 3, that gets fixed to the massage head ‘126’);
an electric motor and an eccentric member arranged in the assembly chamber (Figure 11A; ‘310’ electric motor, ‘360’ eccentric crank (member) in the assembly space within the shell of Figure 3);
a balancing member (Figure 11A; ‘374’);
wherein both the eccentric member and the balancing member are located on the same side of the output shaft (Figure 11A; where the eccentric member ‘360’ and the balancing member ‘374’ are located on the same side of the output shaft – the end of the output shaft);
the electric motor comprises an output shaft (Figure 11A; ‘312’ is the output shaft);
the eccentric member is fixed to the output shaft to rotate eccentrically with the output shaft, and is configured to convert a rotation output by the electric motor into a vibration of the massage head (Figure 11A; where the eccentric member ‘360’ is fixed to the output shaft ‘312’ via lines of construction, and rotates eccentrically with the output shaft, [0069,0070,0092,0093]; where the eccentric member ‘360’ converts the rotational output of the electric motor ‘310’ into vibration of the massage head).
However, Marton fails to disclose, teach or render obvious: the balancing member being located on the same side of the mounting bracket as the electric motor, a stator connected to the mounting bracket, a rotor, and the balancing principle of all the components together.
It does not appear that the specific claimed structure of claim 1 is known in the prior art. It appears that no prior art of record which teaches, alone or in combination, all of the limitations of claim 1, nor would it have been obvious to combine prior art to get to the claimed structure of the massage device and its interior components, specifically with the balancing member located on the same side of the mounting bracket as the electric motor to balance the mounting bracket and the stator connected to the mounting bracket.
Accordingly, Independent claim 1 and its dependents therein, patentably define over the prior art.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AISLINN MOIRA JONES whose telephone number is (571)272-3835. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-5, EO Friday 7:30-4.
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/AISLINN M JONES/Examiner, Art Unit 3785
/VALERIE L WOODWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3785
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