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 Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/25/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Objections Claims 9-14 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75(c) as being in improper form because a multiple dependent claims 6-8. See MPEP § 608.01(n). Accordingly, the claims 9-14 not been further treated on the merits. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because claim 15 is claiming a program for causing a control device because Claims 1 5 reci te " a program " and the applicant's specification as filed defines such program in paragraph [00 23 ] . T he definition is open-ended and therefore covers also forms of transito ry propagating signals per se . T he United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is obliged to give claims their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification during proceedings before the USPTO. See In re Zletz , 893 F.2d 319(Fed. Cir. 1989) (during patent examination the pending claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow). The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a program (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of program , particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP 2111.01. When the broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim covers a signal per se , the claim must be rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 as covering non-statutory subject matter. See In re Nuijten , 500 F.3d 1346, 1356-57 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (transitory embodiments are not directed to statutory subject matter) and Interim Examination Instructions for Evaluating Subject Matter Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. 101 , Aug. 24, 2009; p. 2. The USPTO recognizes that applicants may have claims directed to program that cover signals per se , which the USPTO must reject under 35 U.S.C. 101 as covering both non-statutory subject matter and statutory subject matter. In an effort to assist the patent community in overcoming a rejection or potential rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 in this situation, the USPTO suggests the following approach. A claim drawn to such a program that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101 by adding the limitation "non-transitory" to the claim. Such an amendment would typically not raise the issue of new matter, even when the specification is silent because the broadest reasonable interpretation relies on the ordinary and customary meaning that includes signals per se . The limited situations in which such an amendment could raise issues of new matter occur, for example, when the specification does not support a non-transitory embodiment because a signal per se is the only viable embodiment such that the amended claim is impermissibly broadened beyond the supporting disclosure. See, e.g., Gentry Gallery, Inc. v. Berkline Corp ., 134 F.3d 1473 (Fed. Cir. 1998). 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)(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. Claim(s) 1-8 and 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by ICHIYO et al. (JP2016097238) . With respect to claim 1, ICHIYO et al. discloses a rehabilitation assistance system comprising: an assistive unit (20) for applying force to move a paralyzed part of a patient whose body is partially paralyzed [007-008] ; a sensor unit (motion detection unit in paragraph 0026) for detecting movement of an unaffected part corresponding to the paralyzed part [0024-0026] ; and a drive control unit (40) for controlling the assistive unit according to the movement of the unaffected part detected by the sensor unit [0024-0026] . With respect to claim 2, ICHIYO et al. discloses wherein the drive control unit controls the assistive unit such that the paralyzed part moves in imitation of the movement of the unaffected part [0025,0027-0028] . With respect to claim 3, ICHIYO et al. discloses further comprising a stimulation device for applying stimulation to the patient to relieve contracture of the paralyzed part [0030, 0033, 0037] . With respect to claim 4, ICHIYO et al. discloses wherein the assistive unit is operated by pneumatic pressure [0030] . With respect to claim 5, ICHIYO et al. discloses further comprising a stimulation device for applying stimulation to the patient to relieve contracture of the paralyzed part, wherein the assistive unit is operated by pneumatic pressure [0033] . With respect to claim 6, ICHIYO et al. discloses further comprising a display control unit for displaying, on a display device, a paralyzed part image representing movement of the paralyzed part [0032] . With respect to claim 7, ICHIYO et al. discloses wherein the sensor unit detects movement of the paralyzed part, and the system further comprising: a display control unit for displaying, on a display device, a paralyzed part image representing the movement of the paralyzed part detected by the sensor unit [0032] . With respect to claim 8 , ICHIYO et al. discloses wherein the sensor unit detects movement of the paralyzed part, and the system further comprising: a display control unit for displaying, on a display device, an unaffected part image representing the movement of the unaffected part detected by the sensor unit and a paralyzed part image representing the movement of the paralyzed part detected by the sensor unit [0033-0037] . With respect to claim 1 5 , ICHIYO et al. discloses a program for causing a control device of a rehabilitation assistance system, the system comprising an assistive unit for applying force to move a paralyzed part of a patient whose body is partially paralyzed; and a sensor unit for detecting movement of an unaffected part corresponding to the paralyzed part, to function as a control means for controlling the assistive unit according to the movement of the unaffected part detected by the sensor unit as stated in claim 1 above and also see paragraph 0032 CPU 46 is causing to detect the steps of claim 15 . With respect to claim 1 6 , ICHIYO et al. discloses a control device for a rehabilitation assistance system comprising: an assistive unit for applying force to move a paralyzed part of a patient whose body is partially paralyzed; and a sensor unit for detecting movement of an unaffected part corresponding to the paralyzed part, wherein the control device controls the assistive unit according to the movement of the unaffected part detected by the sensor unit (please see rejection of claim 1 above and paragraph 0042, 0044-0045 and 0047) . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TARLA R PATEL whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3143 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-Th 6-2:30PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Rachael E Bredefeld can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-5237 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /TARLA R PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3786