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 .
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pub. 2024/0181323 by Meloy.
Regarding claim 1, Meloy discloses a single puck dribbling plate (abstract), wherein the single puck dribbling plate is provided with a scoring area and/or a missing area (para. 29-33 – see the light illuminated sensor locations on the boards), the scoring area and the missing area are both provided with an indicator and a sensor (para. 29-33 – see the light indicator and the proximity sensor), a processor is arranged in the single puck dribbling plate, and the indicators and the sensors are both connected with the processor (para. 29-33 – see the microcontroller the controls the indicators and sensors of the units).
Regarding claim 2, Meloy discloses the single puck dribbling plate according to claim 1, wherein, the single puck dribbling plate is connected with a built-in or external power supply (para. 49 – see power supply), the processor comprises a master control module, a communication module, an indicator control module, a sensor control module, and a storage module, the communication module, the indicator control module, the sensor control module, and the storage module are all connected with the master control module (para. 49 – see the control modules), the master control module is configured to coordinate the work of each module connected thereto; the communication module is configured to connect other single puck dribbling plates and/or a terminal device; the indicator control module is configured to control the work of an indicator; the sensor control module is configured to control the work of a sensor; and the storage module is configured to store preset information, and the preset information comprises identification information, and specification information of the single puck dribbling plate (para. 29-33, 49 – see the functionality and modules).
Regarding claim 3, Meloy discloses the single puck dribbling plate according to claim 2, wherein the processor further comprises an identification module and a positioning module, the identification module is configured to identify identification information of other single puck dribbling plates connected with the single puck dribbling plate, the positioning module is configured to acquire a position where a single puck dribbling plate is located; a cross-section of the single puck dribbling plate is rectangular or triangular; and the indicator is a light which is able to be combined into a variety of colors through RGB (para. 29-33, 49 – see different color illumination at para. 31).
Regarding claim 5, Meloy discloses a modular puck dribbling plate, comprising one or more single puck dribbling plates according to claim 1 (fig. 6A; para. 51-52 – see interconnected mats).
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.
Claim(s) 4 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meloy and further in view of U.S. Pub. 2022/0118331 by de Lanauze.
Regarding claim 4, Meloy discloses the single puck dribbling plate according to claim 1, wherein the single puck dribbling plate is a first single puck dribbling plate (1) having a rectangular cross-section or a second single puck dribbling plate (2), the first single puck dribbling plate (1) being adapted to the second single puck dribbling plate (2); the first single puck dribbling plate (1) is provided with one or more circular first scoring areas (101), and the first single puck dribbling plate (1) is further provided with one or more elongated first missing areas (102); the second single puck dribbling plate (2) is provided with an elongated second missing area (201) (fig. 6A; para. 51-52 – see interconnected mats). Meloy does not explicitly disclose a main body of the single puck dribbling plate is made of PE or HDPE material and a dribbling plate having a triangular cross-section. These elements are disclosed by de Lanauze at para. 25-30. Because the references are from a similar art and concerned with a similar problem, see hockey training devices, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to construct Meloy with de Lanauze’s triangular boards and HDPE construction. One having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing would have been motivated to do so because HDPE allows for a surface that simulates ICE and triangular boards allow for increased spatial arrangements of boards as noted by de Lanauze at para. 27-29.
Regarding claim 6, Meloy and de Lanauze discloses the modular puck dribbling plate according to claim 5, wherein the combination mode of the single puck dribbling plates of the modular puck dribbling plate comprises: a first combination mode, a single puck dribbling plate having a rectangular cross-section, a second combination mode, a plurality of single puck dribbling plates having rectangular cross-sections, a third combination mode, a single puck dribbling plate having a rectangular cross-section and one or more single puck dribbling plates having triangular cross-sections, and a fourth combination mode, a plurality of single puck dribbling plates having rectangular cross-sections and one or more single puck dribbling plates having triangular cross-sections; and the adjacent single puck dribbling plates are able to be disassembled (Meloy - fig. 6A; para. 51-52 – see interconnected mats; de Lanauze at para. 25-30).
Regarding claim 7, Meloy discloses the modular puck dribbling plate according to claim 6, wherein the modular puck dribbling plate is connected with a terminal device to form an ice hockey training system, and the connection mode of the terminal device and the modular puck dribbling plate comprises: a first mode in which the terminal device is in communication connection with one single puck dribbling plate of the modular puck dribbling plate, the single puck dribbling plate being a main plate, and other single puck dribbling plates of the modular puck dribbling plate are in communication connection with the main plate; and a second mode in which the terminal device is directly in communication connection with all the single puck dribbling plates of the modular puck dribbling plate (fig. 6A; para. 51-52; 63 – see interconnected mats and user devices).
Regarding claim 8, Meloy discloses the modular puck dribbling plate according to claim 7, wherein the terminal device is an intelligent terminal having a display screen, the intelligent terminal is able to acquire the position and specification information of each single puck dribbling plate in the modular puck dribbling plate, and build a 3D virtual model corresponding to the modular puck dribbling plate according to the position information, each module in the 3D virtual model is in one-to-one correspondence with the single puck dribbling plate in the modular puck dribbling plate and is associated with each other, and a control interface of the corresponding single puck dribbling plate is entered by clicking the module after mutual association (para. 62-65 – see recording publication and display of the hockey training).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 10 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. While certain analysis of sports activities are known (see U.S. Pub. 2020/0184846 and U.S. Pub. 2019/0392729), the particular inputs that are used with the applied analysis and hardware would not be obvious in view of the prior art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See attached PTO-892.
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/PETER J IANNUZZI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715