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 .
Claims 1-59 have been cancelled.
Claims 60-79 have been examined.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Objections
Claims 60, 69, 70, and 79 are objected to because of the following informalities:
As to Claims 60 and 70, all instances of “moves” in claims 60 and 70 should be changed to --move--.
As to Claims 69 and 79, “a assembling” should be changed to --an assembling--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 60-68 and 70-78 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US Patent 7,018,324) in view of Hsieh (US Patent Application Publication 2014/0035414) and Pan et al (US Patent Application Publication 2007/0021278).
Claims 60 and 70. Lin discloses a sport device, comprising:
an equipment body (exercise machine: not shown);
a rotating wheel (10) defining a magnetic conductive surface (16) and a receiving space (15), wherein the resistance adjusting device is held within the receiving space of the rotating wheel (Fig 5), wherein the rotating wheel is capable of being driven (via 30) to rotate relative to the resistance adjusting device;
a resistance adjusting device (50; Fig 3) comprising a first magnetic tile (521/522; Fig 7), a second magnetic tile (521/522; Fig 7), a rotating member (53) and a base plate (54), wherein each of the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile has a magnetic surface (522), wherein the rotating member is rotatably mounted at the base plate, the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile are movably and spacedly held at two outer sides of the rotating member (Fig 7);
a first linkage member (526); and
a second linkage member(526), wherein two ends of the first linkage member are pivotally and respectively connected with the rotating member and the first magnetic tile (Fig 7), and two ends of the second linkage member are pivotally and respectively connected with the rotating member and the second magnetic tile (Fig 7) such that when the rotating member is driven to rotate clockwise with respect to the base plate (as seen in Fig 7 compared with Fig 6), the rotating member is capable of driving the first linkage member and the second linkage member to move and enable the first linkage member and the second linkage member to pull the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile to moves in a direction far away from the magnetic conducting surface of the rotating wheel respectively (Fig 7);
when the rotating member is driven to rotate counterclockwise with respect to the base plate, the rotating member is capable of pushing the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile to movein a direction closer to the magnetic conducting surface of the rotating wheel respectively (Fig 6), wherein the rotating wheel of the resistance-adjustable rotating wheel is drivably connected with the equipment body.
However, Lin does not explicitly disclose a metal spacer held between the magnetic conductive surface of the rotating wheel and the magnetic surfaces of the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile, wherein the magnetic conductive surface is corresponded to the magnetic surfaces.
Hsieh discloses a similar load controller for an exercise device comprising a rotating wheel (20), a resistance adjusting device (30/40) comprising magnetic tiles (41) connected to a rotating wheel (51) having a magnetic conductive surface (22) via connecting devices (52/53) which are configured to adjust the radial position of the tiles relative to the rotating wheel (12). Hsieh also discloses the use of a metal spacer (42) held between the magnetic conductive surface of the rotating wheel and the magnetic surfaces of the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile “to generate eddy current and reluctance braking torque” (Par. 0028). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device of Lin to further include a metal spacer held between the rotating wheel and magnetic conductive surfaces of the resistance adjusting device as taught by Hsieh to facilitate the generation of eddy currents and reluctance braking torque.
Further, while Lin discloses a linkage member in the form of a pull rope, Lin does not disclose the pull rope being capable of being driven to push the first magnetic tile and the second magnetic tile to move in a direction closer to the magnetic conducting surface of the rotating wheel respectively
Pan et al disclose a similar load controller for an exercise device comprising a rotating wheel (12), a resistance adjusting device (10) comprising magnetic tiles (40/42) connected to a rotating wheel (42) via connecting devices (44) which are configured to adjust the radial position of the tiles relative to the rotating wheel (12). Pan et al disclose that the connecting devices are formed as rigid bars, but other equivalent forms of the connecting devices known in the art include flexible members, such as metallic wires, ropes or chains (Par. 0019). Inasmuch as the references disclose these elements as art recognized equivalents, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the exercise art to substitute one for the other. In re Fout, 675 F.2d 297, 301, 213 USPQ 532, 536 (CCPA 1982). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the pull rope linkage members of Lin to be rigid bars as taught by Pan et al as these linkage forms were art-recognized equivalents at the time the invention was made and a rigid bar would positively facilitate the radial movement of the tiles in both directions (towards and away from the rotating wheel).
Claims 61 and 71. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the first linkage member and the second linkage member are centrosymmetric (Fig 6).
Claims 62 and 72. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the first linkage member has an extension direction parallel to an extension direction of the second linkage member (Figs 6 and 7).
Claims 63 and 73. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the first linkage member is inclinedly held between the first magnetic tile and the rotating member, and the second linkage member is inclinedly held between the second magnetic tile and the rotating member (Figs 6 and 7).
Claims 64 and 74. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 63, wherein the first linkage member and the first magnetic tile has an angle of inclination no less than 90 degrees, the second linkage member and the second magnetic tile has an angle of inclination no less than 90 degrees (Figs 6 and 7).
Claims 65 and 75. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 63, wherein the first linkage member and the second linkage member are parallel to each other (Figs 6 and 7).
Claims 66 and 76. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the first magnetic tile comprises a first load-bearing element (521) and at least one first magnetic block (522), the second magnetic tile comprises a second load-bearing element (521) and at least one second magnetic block (522), wherein the magnetic surfaces are formed by the at least one first magnetic block and the at least one second magnetic block, wherein the at least one first magnetic block and the at least one second magnetic block generate a magnetic field between the magnetic conductive surface and the at least one first magnetic block and the at least one second magnetic block (Col 4, Lines 27-39).
Claims 67 and 77. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the resistance adjusting device further comprises a driving motor (551) and a transmission gear set (553/533,53), wherein the driving motor and the transmission gear set are mounted at the base plate, wherein the driving motor and the transmission gear set are provided to drive the rotating member to rotate (Col 4, Lines 27-31).
Claims 68 and 78. Lin discloses the sport device, as recited in claim 60, wherein the magnetic conductive surface of the rotating wheel defined by metal material (“metal conductor 16”).
Claims 69 and 79 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Hsieh and Pan et al as applied to Claims 60-68 and 70-78 above, and further in view of Lee (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0314076
Lin discloses the resistance-adjustable rotating wheel for a sport device significantly as claimed, but does not disclose a torque detecting device comprising a connecting member and a torque sensing member, wherein the connecting member comprises a strain portion, a fixed end and a assembling end extended integrally from two sides of the strain portion, wherein the torque sensing member is provided at the strain portion, the fixed end of the connecting member is adapted to be fixedly mounted at a fixing device, the assembling end is fixedly provided at resistance adjusting device such that the torque detecting device is capable of detecting a torque to which the resistance adjusting device is subjected, when the rotating wheel rotates relative to the resistance adjusting device.
Lee teaches a similar resistance-adjustable rotating wheel for a sport device (Par. 001) having a rotatable flywheel (20) and a magnetic resistance mechanism (50) having a torque detecting device comprising a strain sensor which is mounted to a fixing device (Fig 8) which is configured to sense the force applied to the system to be “converted into a load value, and then transmitted to the system to achieve a control effect” (Par. 0036-0040). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the device of Lin to include the torque detecting device as taught by Lee to allow for a greater control and accuracy of the resistance applied (e.g. desired torque value).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chang et al, Qiao, Chen and Peng all disclose similar resistance-adjustable rotating wheel for a sport device utilizing a magnetic resistance mechanism which increases or decreases an air gap with a flywheel to adjust the resistance applied to the device.
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/JOSHUA T KENNEDY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784 1/13/2026