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.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-9 are objected to because of the following informalities: the claims are replete with unclear wording and do not appear to use proper idiomatic English. The claims appear to be a directed translation. Claim 6, line 1, “the servo motor is having atleast 20-degree movement with a torque capacity of atleast 1 kg.cm ” should be -- the servo motor has at least 20-degree movement with a torque capacity of at least 1 kg.cm -- . Claim 9, line 2, “wherein Belts (6) connected with Forehead mounting (2) is made of flexible material” should be -- wherein Belts (6) connected with Forehead mounting (2) are made of flexible material -- . Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Section 33(a) of the America Invents Act reads as follows:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no patent may issue on a claim directed to or encompassing a human organism.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 and section 33(a) of the America Invents Act as being directed to or encompassing a human organism. See also Animals - Patentability, 1077 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 24 (April 21, 1987) (indicating that human organisms are excluded from the scope of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101).
Regarding Claim 1, line 6 positively claims a head of a person as part of the device and as shown in figure 3 element 1 points to a head of a user of the device.
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 1-9 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.
The claims are replete with unclear and indefinite language.
Regarding claim 1,
Lines 1-4 , “the performance of yogic breathing practices”, “ the use of fingers and hands”, “the desired outcome”, “the patterns of human breathing” all lack antecedent basis.
Lines 8-12, “ the adjusting Belts”, “mounted to the Fork coupling (4) through its shaft” , “the nose touching part of the said Fork (5)” all lack antecedent basis. The “shaft” for the fork coupling was not previously set forth.
Lines 8-12, “the frequency of Servo motor”, “the frequency of Fork” lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 2,
Lines 1-2, “the mechanism 1” and “the surface” lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 3,
Lines 1-2, “the mechanism 2” and “the surface” lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 4,
Lines 1-2, “the mechanism 1” and “the Servo motor (3) shaft axis” lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 5,
Lines 1-2, “the mechanism 2” and “the axis of the Servo motor” lack antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 7,
Lines 1-2, “the frequency of the Fork” lacks antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 8,
Lines 1-2, “the device” lacks antecedent basis.
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.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee(WO 2008078954) hereinafter Lee(8954) in view of Lee( KR 100873446) hereinafter Lee(3446).
Lee(8954) teaches a respiration adjustment device which helps a user to achieve relaxation of mind and body and further assists promotion of health of the user by physically operating on the user' s nose to appropriately adjust and correct the user's respiration made through nostrils. The respiration adjustment device of the present invention includes a main body 1 including pressing projections 11 for pressing the user's nose from the sides and a control box 2 for diving the main body 1. The main body 1 is electrically connected to the control box 2 through a wire 3. Nostrils of the user's nose are closed and opened according to the drive of the pressing projections 11. Accordingly, a mind and body trainee can perform an alternate breathing comfortably without the use of his or her fingers, thus concentrate on the training of mind and body.
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Regarding claims 1, 7 and 9, Lee(8954) teaches Forehead mounting, Servo motor, Fork coupling , Fork , Belt or band, Ear plugs, processor/controller, Battery, On/Off Switch , Regulated Power
Supply ( motor driver for outputting drive signals to the motors). Note Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 8 and the corresponding descriptions in the reference, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a respiration adjustment device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The respiration adjustment device in accordance with the present invention includes a main body 1 held on a user's face and a control box 2. The main body 1 is electrically connected to the control box 2 through a wire 3, The main body 1 includes a holding portion 10 bent upward along the shape of the nose and formed in the middle thereof so as to be held on the user's nose. Moreover, the main body 1 includes pressing projections 11a and lib for pressing the user's nose from both sides of the nose. A wing 12 is hinge-connected to both ends of the main body 1 to be folded. The wings 12 are used to hold the main body 1 on the user's face stably. Preferably, the wings 12 are formed of a flexible material. A connection unit 15 for the connection of a fixing band 5 and an earphone holder 16 are detachable connected to each of the wings 12. The examiner interprets wings 12 and band 5 for holding the device on the user’s head as the bands. A fixing band connection unit 15 is selectively connected to the end of the wing 12, if necessary. The fixing band connection unit 15 is to connect the fixing band 5 for stably holding the main body 1 on the user' s face to the main body 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the main body 1, and FIG. 4 is a projection view thereof. The main body 1 comprises a front plate 17A and a rear plate 17B, connected to each other. Preferably, the rear plate 17B is formed of a soft material such as silicon in view of the contact with the user's face. Penetration holes 171 for receiving the pressing projections 11 (11a and 11b) are formed on the bottom of the inclined surfaces of the holding portion 10, i.e., at positions corresponding to the lateral surfaces of the user's nose. The penetration holes 171 are connected with motor holders 172 for receiving motors 18 (18a and 18b). Motor holders 172 are considered to be the pressing portions ( fork ) holders. The motor 18 is a step motor in which a drive shaft reciprocates according to a drive power or a drive signal. The control box 2 includes a display portion 21 formed in the front thereof and a plurality of operation keys 221 to 226. The display portion 21 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) . The operation keys includes a power key 221 for turning on/off the power source, a meditation music selection key 222, a respiratory method selection key 223, an operation time and respiration nυmber per minute selection key 224, a sub-menu selection key 225 and a help key 226. The user may set the main body 1 to a desired operation mode by operating the operation keys 222 to 226. Furthermore, a jack holder 229 for connecting a wire jack 31 is provided on the top of the control box 2 and, although not shown in the figures, a battery receiving portion for receiving a battery is provided on the rear side of the control box 2. When the user selects the power key 221, the processor 24 sets the overall device to an operation state. When the user sets the operation mode using the meditation music selection key 222, the respiratory method selection key 223, the operation time and respiration number per minute selection key 224 and the sub-menu selection key 225, the processor 24 outputs a motor drive signal through the motor driver 25 based on the same to drive the motors 18 of the main body 1.
In the Ujjayi breathing mode, the processor 24 fixes the pressing projection 11a corresponding to the right nostril of the user in a state of being moved to the outside of the main body 1 and reciprocates the pressing projection lib corresponding to the left nostril of the user at a predetermined time interval.
Lee(8954) does not specifically teach where the projection/fork is made of silicone or a potentiometer knob to control the motor or the specific placement of the on/off switch relative to the batter and regulated power supply.
Lee(3446) teaches in the same field of endeavor a respiratory control device that can promote the health of the user by inducing the user to follow the inhalation and exhalation by arbitrarily adjusting the breathing rate and breathing method. The device is worn around the user's nose is composed of a breathing control means for selectively opening and closing one or both sides of the nose and a control box for controlling the overall operation of the breathing control means is electrically coupled . The breathing control means is a body that is worn on the user's face to wrap around the nose, the pressing portion is disposed on the lower surface of the main body to press both sides of the nose, and the reciprocation of the pressing portion based on the control signal applied from the control box It is configured with a transfer member for controlling the movement. The control box is electrically coupled with the transfer member to provide a signal for reciprocating movement of the transfer member. Therefore, the user's nose is selectively opened and closed in accordance with the reciprocating motion of the pressing portion by the conveying member.
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The pressing part 120 has a spherical shape in contact with the nose in order to soften the touch when the nose is pressed. In this case, when the pressing part 120 is disposed to protrude from the main body 110, the pressing part 120 directly contacts the nose, so that the touch part 120 may be made of a soft material, for example, silicone, urethane, or rubber.
Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include in Lee(8954) where the fork or pressing portion is made of silicone as taught by Lee(3446) to make the pressing portion more comfortable against a user’s face.
Lee(8954) as modified by lee(3446) do not specifically teach a potentiometer knob for controlling and varying the motor. Lee(8954) teaches In the alternate breathing mode, the processor 24 alternately drives the motors 18a and 18b included in the main body 1. For example, the processor 24 performs an alternate operation in which the pressing projection 11a is moved to the outside of the main body 1 and the pressing projection lib is moved to the inside of the main body 1 and, after a predetermined period of time, the pressing projection 11a is returned back to the inside of the main body 1 and the pressing projection lib is returned back to the outside of the main body 1. Even in this case, the time interval in which the pressing projections 11a and lib are alternately reciprocated is determined based on the respiration number per minute set by the user through the operation time and respiration number per minute selection key 224 and the submenu selection key 225.
It is noted that there are a limited number of choices available to a person of ordinary skill in the art for controlling a motor including buttons or knobs and placing the location of the buttons, knobs and switches and Lee(8954) teaches the use of a buttons arranged on the control case to vary the timing and frequency of operation of the motors from menus and sub-menus in the control box display. These perform the same function that a potentiometer knob would perform. Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to try known types of motor control and placing them on the casing as a matter of design choice and selecting a potentiometer knob from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of successfully operating the breathing device. See KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1742, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007).
Regarding claim 2, since it is not clear to which surface the claim refers, both Lee(8954) and Lee(3446) includes motors in various orientations relative to the glasses and holders. In Lee(8954), the motors are at least perpendicular to a surface portion of the glasses.
Regarding claim 3, since it is not clear to which surface the claim refers, both Lee(8954) and Lee(3446) includes motors in various orientations relative to the glasses and holders. . In Lee(8954), the motors are at least parallel to a surface portion of the holders.
Regarding claim 4, Lee(8954) does not specifically teach where the pressing portions or forks are perpendicular to the motors.
Lee(3446) teaches where the pressing portions are perpendicular to the motor axis.
Therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to include in Lee(8954) an alternate orientation of the pressing portions such that they are perpendicular to the motors as taught by Lee(3446) as a simple substation of own known motor arrangement for another to obtain a predictable result of alternate nostril breathing.
Regarding claim 5, Lee(8954) teaches wherein in the mechanism 2, the Fork (5) is mounted along the axis of the Servo motor. Note Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 8 and the corresponding descriptions in the reference.
Regarding claim 6, Lee(8954) does not specifically teach wherein the Servo motor (3) is having at least 20-degree movement with a torque capacity of at least 1 kg.cm.
Lee(3446) teaches As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer member 130 is fixedly coupled to the upper side of the motor 131a, the reducer 131b for reducing the rotational speed of the motor 131a, and the pressing part 120. It consists of the rotating shaft 131c rotated by the motor 131a. Here, the motor 131a is rotationally driven such that the pressing portions 120 reciprocate within a range of 30 ° in both directions, that is, 60 ° in total which is “at least 20 degrees”. In addition, the conveying member 130 is coupled to the rotating means 132 for changing the rotational movement of the motor 131a to the rotational axis 131c of the motor 131a as shown in Figure 5a to 5c is coupled , The pressing portion 120 is fixedly coupled to the other end of the transfer means 132 may be configured. At this time, the pressing unit 120 is disposed at a suitable position to press the user's nose by the linear movement of the transfer means 132.
The particular torque capacity is a matter of design choice to ensure proper closing a user’s nostril without harming the user and It is noted that there are a limited number of choices available to a person of ordinary skill in the art for controlling a motor and setting a proper applied force and therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to try different torque capacities in Lee(8954) to properly enable the device to close the nostril and allow the nostril to open from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of successfully operating the breathing device. See KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1742, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007).
A reduction gear 131b for reducing the rotation speed of the motor 131a may be coupled between the motor 131a and the transfer means 132.
Regarding claim 8, Lee(8954) teaches wherein the device is powered by a battery. The particular type of battery is a matter of design choice and It is noted that there are a limited number of choices available to a person of ordinary skill in the art for battery selection and therefore, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to try known battery from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of successfully operating the breathing device. See KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 127 S.Ct. 1727, 1742, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1396 (2007).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
GHOSH(2010140158) teaches device, for performing certain ancient yogic breathing practices of Pranayam without involving the use of hands, is controlled by a programmable controlling unit. The device is integrated onto the frame of a supporting base, worn on the nose, and uses battery-operated artificial fingers to block or unblock nostrils in programmable patterns, cycles and durations. This facilitates a precise and hands-free routine of alternate nostril breathing or single nostril breathing, in the most precise style, following techniques of ancient yogic Pranayam. The sensors of the device sense/measure the force and flow of the breath into and out of each nostril, and can automate and synchronize the artificial fingers to the normal breathing pattern of the user.
DONG(CN 113750472) teaches A respiration coordination training device, comprising a therapeutic apparatus, upper end the surface of the therapeutic apparatus is orderly provided with a nose cover port from left to right; a vent port and a nozzle cover port; the other end of the nose cover port and the nozzle cover port is respectively with a nose cover air pipe and a nozzle cover pipe; the other end of the nose cover air pipe and the nozzle cover air pipe is respectively with a nose cover and a nozzle cover; the front end face right side of the therapeutic instrument is equipped with a plurality of control buttons.
LEE(20200127521) teaches a breathing meditation induction device combined with a headphone capable of measuring brain waves, which comprises: a main body mounted on a face of a user; and a control box providing a driving signal to the main body while being electrically coupled to the main body. The main body includes first and second opening and closing means for opening and closing the nostril of the nose of the user, first and second driving means for driving the first and second opening and closing means, respectively, and a mounting means for mounting the main body to the face.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN L CASLER whose telephone number is (571)272-4956. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 to 4:30.
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, Charles Marmor can be reached at (571)272-4730. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN L CASLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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