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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the top portion is coupled to the bottom portion at a pivot point; the footrest is closer to the pivot point than the cushion is to the pivot point” as recited in claim 17 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 17-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Newly amended claim recites the limitation “the top portion is coupled to the bottom portion at a pivot point; the footrest is closer to the pivot point than the cushion is to the pivot point” which is not found in the specification as originally filed and constitutes new matter.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 27-28 and 31-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hornback et al. (US PG Pub. No 2014/0066276, Mar. 6, 2014 (herein “Hornback”)
Regarding claim 27, Hornback teaches an exercise apparatus comprising: a top portion comprising: a center post 232 (see Fig. 24 and 27 below) having a first end (i.e., foot end 238, see para. [0071], and Fig. 10, 24, 27 below) and a second end (i.e., head end 236, see para. [0070], and Fig. 10, 24, 27 below); an ankle post 264 (see Fig. 28 below) comprising an ankle pad 262 (see Fig. 24 below) coupled to a top surface of the center post 232; a footrest 260 coupled to the center post 232 (see Fig. 28 below) at the first end 238, a bottom portion 212 (see Fig. 24) comprising a foot (i.e., four plates on the bottom frame 212); a trench (i.e., space between bars 226,228, see Fig. 24 below) that receives at least a portion of the top portion when the exercise apparatus is in a lowered configuration; and a peg 216 (see Fig. 24 and 27 below, and para. [0073]) hingedly coupled to the top portion, wherein: the exercise apparatus is configured to transition from the lowered configuration where the top portion is in a lowered position, to a raised configuration where the top portion is in a raised position by actuating the peg 216 at a hinged coupling point (i.e., by making the peg 216 struts longer or shorter to change an effective angle, see para. [0073]), and the center post 232, the footrest 260, and the ankle post 262 remain in a same position relative to each other when in both the lowered position and the raised position (i.e., see Figs. 24 and 27 below).
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Regarding claim 28, Hornback teaches wherein the lowered configuration comprises a Nordic Bench and the raised configuration comprises a Roman Chair (i.e., the center post 232 is pivotable to any number of positions including horizontal and inclined such that the device can be used as a bench or chair).
Regarding claim 31, Hornback teaches a sheath 291 (see Figs. 24 and 27 above) coupled to the bottom portion and for receiving the peg 216.
Regarding claim 32, Hornback teaches a collapsed exercise apparatus comprising: a center post 232 (see Figs. 24 and 27 above); a crossbar 280 (see Fig. 28 above) coupled to the center post 232; a cushion 270 coupled to the center post 232 or the crossbar 280; an ankle post 264 coupled to the center post 232; a peg 216 hingedly coupled to the center post 232; and a footrest 260 coupled to and creating an approximately 90 degree angle with the center post 232 (see Fig. 28 above), wherein the ankle post 264 is located between the footrest 260 and the crossbar 280 (see Fig. 28 above) on the center post 232, wherein the collapsed exercise apparatus is configured to transition between a first collapsed configuration and a second expanded configuration by actuating the peg 216 at a hinged coupling point (i.e., by making the peg 216 struts longer or shorter to change an effective angle, see para. [0073]), and wherein the center post 232, the footrest 260, and the ankle post 264 remain in a same position relative to each other when in both the first collapsed configuration and the second expanded configuration. (i.e., see Figs. 24 and 27 above).
Regarding claim 33, Hornback teaches wherein the lowered configuration comprises a Nordic Bench and the raised configuration comprises a Roman Chair (i.e., the center post 232 is pivotable to any number of positions including horizontal and inclined such that the device can be used as a bench or chair).
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 29 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hornback, as applied to claims 27 and 32 above, in view of Doherty (US PG Pub. No. 2017/0014681, Jan. 19, 2017).
Hornback teaches the invention as substantially claimed.
Regarding claim 29 and 34, Hornback is silent in explicitly teaching wherein at least a portion of the cushion 270 is removable.
Doherty, however, in an analogous art teaches an exercise device for Nordic curls (see Fig. 7 below), the device having a cushion 2 (see Fig. 4a below) that is removeable (see Doherty, Fig. 4b, where the cushion is removed)
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Hornback such that the cushion 270 is a removeable as taught by Doherty in order to allows interchangeability of cushions when worn
Claims 30 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hornback, as applied to claims 27 and 32 above, in view of Webber (D541893, May 1, 2007).
Hornback teaches the invention as substantially claimed.
Regarding claims 30 and 35, Hornback is silent in explicitly teaching further comprising one or more wheels coupled to the bottom portion proximate to the footrest of the top portion, wherein the one or more wheels are configured to engage a floor when the exercise apparatus is in the lowered configuration and the second end of the center post is lifted.
Webber, however, in an analogous art teaches wheels coupled to a bottom portion of an exercise device for transporting the exercise device on a ground. (see Webber, Fig. 8 below)
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It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Hornback to include one or more wheels as taught by Webber coupled to the bottom portion proximate to the footrest of the top portion, wherein the one or more wheels are configured to engage a floor when the exercise apparatus is in the lowered configuration and the second end of the center post is lifted in order to better transport the exercise device on a ground.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 22-26 are allowed.
Regarding claim 22, none of the prior art either alone or in combination teach or suggest all the structural and functional limitations of the claim and more specifically an exercise apparatus comprising: a top portion comprising: a center post having a first end and a second end; an ankle post coupled to a top surface of the center post; a flat-top cushion coupled to the center post; and a footrest coupled to the center post at the first end; a bottom portion comprising a foot; and a peg hingedly coupled to the top portion, wherein: the exercise apparatus is configured to transition, from a lowered configuration where the top portion is in a lowered position, to a raised configuration where the top portion is in a raised position, by actuating the peg at a hinged coupling point; when in the lowered position, the peg is stored underneath the center post and the flat-top cushion; when in the lowered position, the peg is approximately parallel with the center post, the flat-top cushion, and a floor; and the center post, the footrest, and the ankle post remain in a same position relative to each other when in both the lowered position and the raised position.
Claims 23-26 depend either directly or indirectly from claim 22.
Claims 36-37 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 36, none of the prior art either alone or in combination teach or suggest all the structural and functional limitations of the preceding and intervening claim and further reciting: wherein, when in the first collapsed configuration, the peg is stored underneath the center post and the cushion and wherein, when in the first collapsed configuration, the peg is approximately parallel with the center post, the cushion, and a floor.
Regarding claim 37, none of the prior art either alone or in combination teach or suggest all the structural and functional limitations of the preceding and intervening claim and further reciting: wherein: the center post comprises a first end, a second end, an approximate midline running from the first end to the second end, and a width running perpendicular to the approximate midline; and the cushion comprises two flat-top cushions having a gap therebetween defined by at least a portion of the width of the center post, wherein the two flat-top cushions are coupled to the center post proximate to a termination of the center post at the second end of the center post.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW S LO whose telephone number is (571)270-1702. The examiner can normally be reached Mon. - Fri. (9:30 am - 5:30 pm EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LoAn Jimenez can be reached on (571) 272-4966. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW S LO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784