DETAILED ACTION
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) 1-3, 5, 7, 15-17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coppaken et al. (US 11,497,978).
Regarding claims 1, 5, 15, and 19, Coppaken discloses a sleeve-pole engagement system 100 for releasably securing a pole to a user (noting the pole is only functionally claimed and the device of Coppaken discloses all structural elements and is capable of securing a pole to the user in the claimed manner), the user having an arm including a bicep, an elbow, a forearm, and a wrist, the system comprising: an elongated sleeve 300 having a sleeve body having a longitudinal axis extending between a proximal end 308 and a distal end 306 of the elongated sleeve, the distal end being adapted to extend about the wrist, and the proximal end being adapted to extend about the bicep; a proximal engagement member 408 configured to be positioned near the elbow, and about the elongated sleeve and the pole, to secure the pole relative to the elbow; a distal engagement member 410 configured to be positioned near at least one of the forearm or the wrist, and about the elongated sleeve and the pole, to secure the pole relative to at least one of the forearm or the wrist; and proximal and distal cuffs 318 configured to be positioned near the wrist and the bicep of the user.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 16, 17 and 3, the proximal and distal engagement members 408/410 each includes an inner proximal fastening member 404 and an outer proximal fastening member 400.
Regarding claim 7, Coppaken disclose an indicator strip 320 extending between the proximal and distal ends of the elongated sleeve (noting that no particular structure or function is disclosed regarding the indicator strip).
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 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppaken et al. in view of Van Trojen (US 7,814,572).
Regarding claims 4 and 18, Coppaken discloses wherein at least one of the proximal engagement member 408 and the distal engagement member 410 includes a fastening member 400/404 but does not disclose first and second longitudinal loops configured to restrain at least one of the proximal engagement member and the distal engagement member relative to the longitudinal axis. However, Van Trojen discloses a similar arm sleeve wherein engagement members 32/38 are secured to the sleeve through longitudinal loops 36/42. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the engagement members 408/410 of Coppaken removable from the sleeve in the manner taught by Van Trojen using longitudinal loops. The motivation would be to remove the straps when not needed and/or to make them easy to replace.
Claim(s) 6 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppaken et al. in view of Harroff (US 4,013,070).
Regarding claims 6 and 20, Coppaken discloses wherein the proximal and distal fastening members include fastening members 400/404 but not disclose a proximal and distal buckle as claimed. Harroff teaches that it is known to provide fastening members 40 around a sleeve that engage buckles 38 to maintain tension of the fastening member about the sleeve. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to provide the fastening members of Coppaken with buckles as taught by Harroff in order to provide a more secure means for tightening and securing the sleeve around the user’s arm.
Claim(s) 8-10, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppaken et al. (US 11,497,978) in view of Middleton (US 9,950,232).
Regarding claims 8 and 12, Coppaken discloses a method of a sleeve 300 support for releasably securing a support 302 to a user substantially as claimed, including: providing an elongated sleeve 300, a proximal engagement member 408, a distal engagement member 410, and cuffs 318; positioning the elongated sleeve to extend between a wrist and a bicep of the user (Figure 1), with proximal and distal cuffs 318 at each respective end; positioning the proximal engagement member 408 near an elbow of the user, and about the elongated sleeve 300 and the support 302, to secure the support 302e relative to the elbow; and positioning the distal engagement member 410 near a forearm or wrist of the user, and about the elongated sleeve and the support, to secure the support relative to the forearm or wrist. Coppaken does not disclose the support being a pole. However, Middleton teaches a similar device for stabilizing a user’s wrist/arm/forearm wherein sleeve 5 is provided with engagement members 10a/10b which are tightened around the sleeve and supports 7a/7b which are formed as poles. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to replace the support 302 of Coppaken with poles as taught by Middleton in order to reduce the weight of the device or to enable the support to slightly flex in the manner taught by Middleton. In doing so, the method steps would be satisfied in the normal operation of the modified Coppaken device.
Regarding claims 9 and 10, Coppaken discloses the proximal and distal engagement members 408/410 each includes an inner proximal fastening member 404 and an outer proximal fastening member 400.
Regarding claim 14, Coppaken discloses an indicator strip 320 extending between the proximal and distal ends of the elongated sleeve (noting that no particular structure or function is disclosed regarding the indicator strip).
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppaken et al. in view of Middleton, as applied to claim 8, and in further view of Van Trojen (US 7,814,572).
Regarding claim 11, modified Coppaken discloses wherein at least one of the proximal engagement member 408 and the distal engagement member 410 includes a fastening member 400/404 but does not disclose first and second longitudinal loops configured to restrain at least one of the proximal engagement member and the distal engagement member relative to the longitudinal axis. However, Van Trojen discloses a similar arm sleeve wherein engagement members 32/38 are secured to the sleeve through longitudinal loops 36/42. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the engagement members 408/410 of Coppaken removable from the sleeve in the manner taught by Van Trojen using longitudinal loops. The motivation would be to remove the straps when not needed and/or to make them easy to replace.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppaken et al. in view of Middleton, as applied to claim 8, and in further view of Harroff (US 4,013,070).
Regarding claim 13, modified Coppaken discloses wherein the proximal and distal fastening members include fastening members 400/404 but not disclose a proximal and distal buckle as claimed. Harroff teaches that it is known to provide fastening members 40 around a sleeve that engage buckles 38 to maintain tension of the fastening member about the sleeve. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to provide the fastening members of Coppaken with buckles as taught by Harroff in order to provide a more secure means for tightening and securing the sleeve around the user’s arm.
Conclusion
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/COREY N SKURDAL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3734