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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, Species 2 in the reply filed on 05/13/2026 is acknowledged. As a result, claims 2-8 and 17-20 are withdrawn and claims 1 and 9-16 are pending.
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 and 9-16 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.
Regarding claim 1, the phrase "optionally" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 9, 10 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by REN [CN201353409].
Regarding claim 1, REN discloses hand disc equipment (Fig. 1) comprising:
at least one disc, said disc having a striking face and a non-striking face (“Referring to Fig. 1-Fig. 3, the present embodiment comprises an upper racket 1 and a lower racket 2, and the sides of the upper and lower rackets can be fixed together by a connecting piece”); and
a hand attachment device being coupled to the non-striking face of the at least one disc, the hand attachment device configured for receiving a hand or portion of a hand of a user for coupling the hand of the user to the hand disc equipment (Figs. 2 and 3, “A space 3 is formed between the two rackets, into which a racket-holding hand can be inserted, and an annular elastic ring 4 is provided in the space 3 for fingers to be inserted, and the annular elastic ring 4 can be an elastic rubber ring or an elastic alloy ring”), wherein the at least one disc is formed of a rigid material (since “the player can use the upper racket 1 and the lower racket 2 to hit the ball freely and flexibly,” the discs have to be formed of a rigid material to hit pingpong ball), optionally the disc includes a coating and an image coupled or integral with the striking face, the image being positioned underneath the coating.
Regarding claim 9, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 1 comprising two discs, the hand attachment device is coupled to the non-striking face of each of the discs, wherein the hand disc equipment is double sided hand disc equipment including a first striking face of a first of the discs and a second striking face of a second of the discs opposing one another, the discs being aligned in opposing directions to one another, and a diameter of the first of the discs being the same or different than a diameter of a second of the discs, optionally the first of the discs being smaller and being attached at a center of the second of the discs being larger (please refer to claim 1 and Figs. 1-3).
Regarding claim 10, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 9 wherein the hand attachment device is band having a first portion of the band attached at a first position on the non-striking faces of the two discs, a second portion of the band attached at a second position on the non-striking faces of the two discs, a third portion of the band attached to the non-striking face of one of the discs at a third position, the third position being between the first position and the second position, a first loop being formed between the first position and the third position of the band and a second loop being formed between the second position and the third position of the band, an opening formed between the third position and a non-striking face of a second one of the discs, the first loop of the band configured for receiving a first digit of the hand and the second loop of the band configured for receiving a second digit of the hand, and the opening formed between the third position and the non-striking face configured for receiving a third digit of the hand (Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 13, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 9 wherein a connective outer edging couples the two discs to one another, and the hand attachment device is an insert, the insert including a plurality of openings, wherein the openings are configured to each receive a digit of the hand of the user (Figs. 1 and 3).
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) 12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over REN, in view of Fourie [US20070021243].
Regarding claim 12, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 9 wherein the hand attachment device is a glove. However, REN does not explicitly disclose one or more finger portions of the glove being attached to a first one of the discs and at least one additional finger portion of the glove being attached to a second one of the discs.
Nevertheless, Fourie teaches in a like invention, hand attachment device being a glove, one or more finger portions of the glove being attached to a first one of the discs and at least one additional finger portion of the glove being attached to a second one of the discs (Fig. 1 and [0033], “In use, a user inserts his or her hand in between the cushions 32, 34, with his or her fingers slightly spread apart and with the bulge 36 being covered by the palm and fingers of the user's hand”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the hand disc equipment disclosed by REN, to have one or more finger portions of the glove being attached to a first one of the discs and at least one additional finger portion of the glove being attached to a second one of the discs, as taught by Fourie, in order to provide more secure grip of the paddle.
Regarding claim 14, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 1. However, REN does not explicitly disclose wherein the striking face has a concave shape and the non-striking face has a convex shape.
Nevertheless, Fourie teaches in a like invention, the striking face has a concave shape and the non-striking face has a convex shape ([0027], “The planar panels 14, 16 are of wood. Each planar panel 14, 16 has a convexly shaped outline”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the hand disc equipment disclosed by REN, to have the striking face has a concave shape and the non-striking face has a convex shape, as taught by Fourie, in order to provide a snug fit for hand.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over REN, in view of Cohen et al. [US20150314172], hereinafter Cohen.
Regarding claim 15, REN discloses the hand disc equipment of claim 1. However, REN does not disclose wherein the striking face includes a flange extending around a recessed central portion of the striking face.
Nevertheless, Cohen teaches in a like invention, the striking face includes a flange extending around a recessed central portion of the striking face (Figs. 1 and 2, 102 extending around a recessed central portion of the striking face 104).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the hand disc equipment disclosed by REN, to have the striking face include a flange extending around a recessed central portion of the striking face, as taught by Cohen, in order to better protect the striking face.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11 and 16 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YINGCHUAN ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-1375. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 4:30 M-F.
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, Nicholas Weiss can be reached at (571) 270-1775. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YINGCHUAN ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
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