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 .
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 March 12, 2024 and May 24, 2024 have been considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because Fig. 1 shows reference number 0 (which may correspond to item 20, according to the specification as filed at page 8) and two reference number 1s (the top one may correspond to item 10, according to the specification as filed at page 8).
The drawings are further objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show items 5A and 8A as described in the specification as filed at page 8, lines 21 and 22, respectively. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
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 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.
Claim 20 is 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 19 gives the option to include periodic deformation, yet claim 20 further defines the periodic deformation. As such, the metes and bounds of claim 20 are unclear as a user may or may not include said option. Please clarify.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Altmann (US 2022/0265408).
Altmann discloses and shows a motion converter structured for converting a rotational motion provided by a motor shaft into a linear reciprocating motion of a drive shaft, comprising:
a deformable unit (Fig. 3, 50B, for example);
a mounting unit (60B) connected with the deformable unit;
a coupling unit (59B) connected with the deformable unit, the coupling unit being structured to receive the drive shaft (70B) or the coupling unit comprising the drive shaft;
a connector unit (81A, for example) connected with the deformable unit, the connector unit comprising at least a first essentially U-shaped receiver (814B) being structured for receiving a first eccentric shaft element (42B) of the motor shaft and having a U-base and two U-legs together defining a first elongated hole having a length, a width and a height, and a first bracing element (integral with and at an axial end of the receiver) that connects the two U-legs of the first essentially U-shaped receiver on their free ends such that access into the first elongated hole across the width and the height of the first elongated hole is provided, and where the length is measured from an inner surface of the U-base to the free ends of the U-legs.
Cl. 2 – the first bracing element is bar shaped.
Cl. 3 – the motion converter being an integral element (para. 0021).
Cl. 4 – the integral element is a plastic injection molding element (para. 0035).
Cl. 5 – the connector unit comprising at least a first arm element connecting the first essentially U-shaped receiver with the deformable unit.
Cl. 6 – the deformable unit is structured to periodically deform along a z direction to provide the linear reciprocating motion along the z direction and to periodically deform along a y direction, the z direction and the y direction spanning a plane and wherein the first elongated hole extends lengthwise along an x direction that is perpendicular to the plane spanned by the z direction and the y direction.
Cl. 7 – the first bar-shaped or U-shaped or O-shaped bracing element that connects the two U-legs of the first essentially U-shaped receiver on their free ends extends in a plane that is parallel to the plane spanned by the z direction and the y direction.
Cl. 8 – the connector unit comprising a second essentially U-shaped receiver (804B) being structured for receiving a second eccentric shaft element and having a U-base and two U-legs together defining a second elongated hole having a length, a width and a height and a second bar-shaped or U-shaped or O-shaped bracing element that connects the two U-legs of the second essentially U-shaped receiver on their free ends such that access into the second elongated hole across the width and the height of the second elongated hole is provided.
Cl. 9 – the connector unit comprising at least a second arm element (801B) connecting the second essentially U-shaped receiver with the deformable unit.
Cl. 10 – the connector unit comprising a third essentially U-shaped receiver (805B) being structured for receiving a third eccentric shaft element and having a U-base and two U-legs together defining a third elongated hole having a length, a width and a height and a third bar-shaped or U-shaped or O-shaped bracing element that connects the two U-legs on their free ends such that access into the third elongated hole across the width and the height of the elongated hole is provided.
Cl. 11 – the connector unit comprising at least a third arm element (802B) connecting the third essentially U-shaped receiver with the deformable unit.
Cl. 12 – the second arm and the third arm join each other.
Cl. 13 – the deformable unit having a generally convex quadrilateral-type structure having four edges and four vertices, where the mounting unit and the coupling unit are provided at two essentially opposite vertices of the convex quadrilateral-type structure and the connector unit is connected with at least one of the two other essentially opposite vertices (see Figs. 2 and 3, for example).
Cl. 14 – the connector unit is connected with both of the two other essentially opposite vertices.
Cl. 15 – the first arm is connected with one of the vertices and a second arm is connected with the respective opposite vertex.
Cl. 16 – the drive unit further comprising: a drive shaft (70B) connected with the coupling unit for providing the linear reciprocating motion in operation; a motor (30A) having a motor shaft (31B) providing a rotational motion around a longitudinal center axis of the motor shaft in operation; a motor shaft extension (40B) coupled to or connected with the motor shaft, the motor shaft extension comprising at least a first eccentric shaft element (42B) that is arranged eccentrically with respect to the longitudinal center axis so that it moves on a circular path around the longitudinal center axis in operation; wherein the first eccentric shaft element extends through the first elongated hole (814B) along a height direction of the first elongated hole, which first eccentric shaft element has a diameter that tightly fits into the first elongated hole in a width direction of the first elongated hole and the first eccentric shaft element can freely move in the first elongated hole in a length direction of the first elongated hole in operation (paras. 0066-0067).
Cl. 17 – the motor shaft extension having a second eccentric shaft element (41B) that is arranged eccentrically with respect to the longitudinal center axis, wherein the second eccentric shaft element extends through the second elongated hole in the height direction, which second eccentric shaft element has a diameter that tightly fits into the second elongated hole in the width direction and the second eccentric shaft element can freely move in the second elongated hole in the length direction in operation.
Cl. 18 – the first eccentric shaft element and the second eccentric shaft element are provided opposite to each other with respect to the longitudinal center axis so that in operation they rotate around the longitudinal center axis with a 180 degrees angular distance (para. 0039).
Cl. 19 – Altmann further discloses and shows at Fig. 1 a personal care device comprising a head section that is coupled with the drive shaft so that the head section or a driven element of the head section is in operation driven into a back-and-forth motion such as an oscillating motion or a reciprocating motion, optionally wherein the mounting unit of the motion converter is fixedly mounted with respect to the motor, and further optionally wherein in operation the circular motion of at least the first eccentric shaft element causes at least the first essentially U-shaped receiver to transfer a periodic force onto the deformable unit so that the deformable unit periodically deforms.
Cl. 20 – when the deformable unit periodically deforms, it undergoes a periodic deformation in a z direction and a 180 degrees phase-shifted periodic deformation in a y direction being perpendicular to the z direction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BOBBY RUSHING, JR whose telephone number is (571)270-0501. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8AM-5PM EST.
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/BOBBY RUSHING, JR/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618