DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
in lines 4, 5, and 8, “said body” lacks proper antecedent basis and should be amended to “said force measuring body”; and
in line 6, “during for measurement” is a typographical/grammatical error and should be amended to “during .
Appropriate correction is required.
3. Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
in line 3, “and/or an angle sensor, and/or an accelerometer” is a typographical/grammatical error and should be amended to “.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-14 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 phrase “a side, called upper side” in line 4, recites the phrase “said top side” in line 6, and recites the phrase “said upper side” in line 9. It is not clear whether “side”, “upper side” and “top side” refer to the same structural element or are different structural elements.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “a force measuring body” in line 3, the limitations “said body” in lines 4, 5, and 8, and the limitation “a body” in line 10. It is not clear whether the “body” in line 10 is the same as the “body” references in lines 3, 4, 5, and 8.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “at least one connector arranged on a side, called upper side, of said body for removably attaching to said body an accessory provided to be pressed towards said top side during for measurement”. It is not clear whether “an accessory provided to be pressed towards said top side during for measurement” is part of the limitation directed to the “at least one connector” or is a separate limitation that should be separated with a comma.
Claims 2-14 are rejected due to their dependencies, either directly or indirectly, to base claim 1.
Claims 3 and 4 recite the limitation “an accessory” in line 2 of both claims. However, “an accessory” was previously defined in base claim 1, line 5, for which claims 3 and 4 depend on. Thus, it is not clear whether “an accessory” in claims 3 and 4 refers to “an accessory” in base claim 1, or are different structural elements to “an accessory” in base claim 1.
Claims 5 and 9-13 recite the limitation “it” in line 1 of each claim. It is not clear which structural element in base claim 1 the limitation “it” refers to.
Claims 5 and 6 recites the limitation “the body” in line 2 of both claims. It is not clear whether this limitation refers to the “body of said POI”, the “force measuring body” or “said body” in claim 1.
Claim 7 recite the limitation “the measuring body” in line 4. It is not clear whether this limitation refers to the “body of said POI”, the “force measuring body” or “said body” in claim 1.
Claim 10 recites the limitation “at least one accessory” in lines 1-2. It is not clear whether this limitation refers to “an accessory” in base claim 1, line 5, or a different structural element to “an accessory” in base claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by King et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0172763 A1 (“King”).
As to Claim 1, King teaches the following:
A portable handheld device (“handheld measurement device”) 10 for measuring the force of a joint of a person of interest, POI (see “A handheld measurement device (10) for enabling a user to measure a person's muscle strength and range of motion associated with a limb movement about a joint in a movement plane.” in Abstract), said device 10 comprising:
- a force measuring body (“force transducer”) 30, enclosed in a housing (“housing”) 12, comprising at least one connector (“mounting screws”) 44 arranged on a side, called upper side (“upper casing part”) 21, of said body 30 for removably attaching to said body 30 an accessory (“Printed Circuit Board (PCB)”) 31 provided to be pressed towards said top side 21 during for measurement (see figs. 4A and 4B); and
- a cup shaped bottom case (“lower casing part”) 27 having an open side (not labeled, bottom portion of “lower casing part 27” having two holes for “mounting screws 44”) and a bottom surface (“contact pad”) 28 opposite to said open side, for removably receiving said body 30 on the opposite side to said upper side 21 (see “Referring to FIGS. 4a and 4b, the housing 12 comprises an upper casing part 21 that securely couples to a lower casing part 27 to form an enclosed casing. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 31 is mounted within the housing and this provides the control system electronics and 3D orientation sensor components. … The force transducer 30 and its associated contact pad 28 are securely screw-mounted to the lower casing part 27, and their configuration will be explained further below.” in para. [0084]), and provided to be in contact with a part of a body of said POI during force measurement (see “In the first preferred form, the contact pad 28 protrudes from the bottom face 20 of the housing 12. The contact pad 28 provides a shaped and padded compression surface for the abutting against a part of the patient's limb or other suitable body part associated with the joint under assessment. … Additionally, the contact surface 26 need not necessarily be displaced from the bottom face 20 of the housing and could alternatively be flush with the bottom face if desired.” in para. [0082]; and see figs. 4A and 4B).
As to Claim 2, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the connector 44 allows attachment of the accessory 31 in a direction perpendicular to the upper side 21 (see arrangement of “mounting screws 44”, “Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 31” and “upper casing part 21” in fig. 4B).
As to Claim 3, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the connector 44 allows attachment of an accessory 31 at a first level not allowing rotation of said accessory 31 around a direction perpendicular to the top side 21 (see arrangement of “mounting screws 44”, “Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 31” and “upper casing part 21” in fig. 4B).
As to Claim 4, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the connector 44 allows attachment of an accessory 31 in a second level allowing rotation of said accessory around a direction perpendicular to the top side (see arrangement of “mounting screws 44”, “Printed Circuit Board (PCB) 31” and “upper casing part 21” in fig. 4B).
As to Claim 5, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 comprises a retaining means (“side lugs”) 42 for retaining the accessory 31 with the body 30 when no pressure is exerted on said accessory 31 (see “The central beam portion 36 comprises two integral side lugs 42, each extending outwardly from a side of the central beam portion. In the preferred form, the side lugs 42 are located at or toward the center of the central beam portion 36. Each side lug 42 comprises a threaded mounting aperture and mounting screws 44 extend through the contact pad 28 and into the mounting apertures to secure the contact pad to the base plate 35 of the force transducer 30. This arrangement ensures that the central beam portion 36 supports the load when a patient pushes against the contact pad 28 and the clinician holds the device 10 in a manner that will be described later. It will be appreciated that any other form of mounting mechanism or system could alternatively be utilised to secure the contact pad 28 permanently, or releasably, to the force transducer 30.” in para. [0086], and the arrangement of “side lugs 42” in fig. 5).
As to Claim 6, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the bottom case 27 is attached to the body 30 by clipping (“screw-mounting”) (see “With reference to FIG. 5, the preferred form force transducer 30 comprises a base plate 35 having mounting apertures 34 for screw-mounting the transducer to the lower casing part 27.” in para. [0086]).
As to Claim 7, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the bottom case 27 comprises at least a detaching leap (mounting screws, not labeled, for “mounting apertures 34” in figs. 4B and 5), in particular arranged on a border of the open side (not labeled, bottom portion of “lower casing part 27” having two holes for “mounting screws 44”) of said bottom case 27, and provided to be pulled for detaching said bottom case 27 from the measuring body 30 (see arrangement of mounting screws, not labeled, for “mounting apertures 34”, and “lower casing part 27” in figs. 4B and 5).
As to Claim 8, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the bottom case 27 comprises a lateral face (“bottom face”) 20 that is stiffer than the bottom surface 28 (see “The central beam portion 36 of the base plate is shaped, sized and/or formed with material that enables it to deform or flex slightly under loading, such as the force applied against the contact pad 28 by a patient.” in para. [0087]).
As to Claim 9, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 comprises several interchangeable bottom cases 27 that are removably attachable to the measuring body, one at a time (the “lower casing part 27” is replaceable with a new “lower casing part 27”).
As to Claim 10, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 also comprises at least one accessory (“Printed Circuit Board (PCB)”) 31 removably attaching (screw-mounting makes the components removable) to the measuring body 30 (see figs. 4A and 4B).
As to Claim 11, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 further comprises at least one command button (“switch”) 19 arranged on the top side 21 of the force measuring body 30 (see “In the first preferred form, the measurement device comprises a user interface 72 having an operable trigger or switch 69 that allows a user to start and stop the measurement recordings of the device in operation. Preferably, the switch 19 is provided in the finger recesses 18 as shown and described with reference to FIGS. 1a-2b.” in para. [0097]; and see figs. 2A and 2B).
As to Claim 12, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 further comprises an electrical interface (“user interface”) 72 arranged on the top side 21 of the force measuring body 30 (see “The preferred form user interface 72 also comprises an output display 24 which is arranged to display the measurement readings in numerical, graphical or any other appropriate format.” in para. [0098]; and see fig. 2A).
As to Claim 13, King teaches the following:
characterized in that it (“handheld measurement device”) 10 further comprises a display means (“output display”) 24 arranged on the top side 21 of the force measuring body 30 (see “The preferred form user interface 72 also comprises an output display 24 which is arranged to display the measurement readings in numerical, graphical or any other appropriate format.” in para. [0098]; and see fig. 2A).
As to Claim 14, King teaches the following:
characterized in that the measuring body 30 comprises a force sensor (“force transducer”), and at least one of the following sensors: an inertia sensor (see “With reference to FIG. 5, the preferred form force transducer 30 comprises a base plate 35 having mounting apertures 34 for screw-mounting the transducer to the lower casing part 27. The base plate 35 comprises a central beam portion 36 that is formed in between two elongate apertures 38 that extend through the base plate. A series of strain gauge resistors 40 are provided on the central beam portion 36. In the preferred form, there are eight foil-type strain gauge resistors fixed across the upper surface of the central beam portion 36, and these are coupled in a Wheatstone bridge to create a load cell.” in para. [0086]), and/or an angle sensor, and/or an accelerometer (see “A 3D orientation sensor is mounted within the housing and is arranged to generate 3D orientation signals representing the 3D orientation of the measurement device. In the preferred form, the 3D orientation sensor comprises an accelerometer and a magnetometer. The accelerometer measures force due to gravity or a change in velocity and outputs representative voltage signals. The accelerometer is preferably a 3-axis accelerometer that effectively measures the angular orientation or rotation of the measurement device with respect to gravity in the vertical plane when the device is held in any plane.” in para. [0089]).
Conclusion
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAVIN NATNITHITHADHA whose telephone number is (571)272-4732. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 6:00 am - 8:30 am & 10:30 am - 4:00 pm.
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/NAVIN NATNITHITHADHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791 11/07/2025