DETAILED ACTION
This is the First Office Action on the Merits based on the 18/669,947 application filed on 05/21/2024 and which claims as originally filed have been considered in the ensuing 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
Application 18/669,947 is a divisional of application 17/564,883 filed 12/29/2021, now US Patent 12,017,107. Accordingly, application 18/669,947 has priority to 12/29/2021.
Election/Restrictions
In the reply filed 01/02/2026, the applicant elected Species 4 (Fig. 5a-5E) directed to a resistance mechanism having a flywheel and a spring configured to exert return torque with an axis of rotation separate from the axis of rotation of the flywheel, without traverse. No claims have been withdrawn.
The election has been made final.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/06/2025 and 04/02/2025 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
No double patenting exists between parent 12,017,107 has the instant application is directed to a different species and claims that the first and second axis are different, see claim 1.
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 1, 7, 9-10, 12-13, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 2023/0053751) in view of Colosky et al (US 2002/0225891).
Regarding claim 1:
Lin discloses a brake shaft (shaft 10) configured to rotate about a first axis (see Fig. 3); a spool (wheel 61) configured to receive a strap (pull rope 62) and drive rotation of the brake shaft about the first axis in response to movement of the strap (see Fig. 3); a flywheel (flywheel 20) configured to rotate about the first axis (see Fig. 3); one or more conductive coils (coil 42) arranged to generate magnetic fields that induce eddy currents in the flywheel (“the electromagnetic resistance and the load of the flywheel 20 can be changed and controlled accurately by the current of the coil” see paragraph [0033]) ; a clutch (clutch 30) configured to engage and disengage transmission of torque between the spool and the flywheel (see Fig. 3); and a spring (spring 72) configured to exert a return torque about a second axis in response to rotation of the brake shaft.
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Lin fails to disclose that the second axis is different from the first axis.
Colosky et al teaches an exercise device with a spool (9) configured to wind and unwind a cable (11), the spool rotating around a shaft (1b) having a first axis of rotation; constant springs (8) attached to the shaft at one end and the other attached to a spool (7) creating a second axis of rotation, wherein the constant spring exerts a force against movement of the shaft and retracts the cable around the spool (see paragraph [0087]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the spring of Lin to be a constant spring between the shaft and a secondary axis of rotation, as taught by Colosky to create a constant resistance to movement of the cable.
Regarding claim 7:
Lin as modified disclose a rowing exercise machine (see Fig. 9).
Regarding claim 10:
Lin as modified disclose an encoder configured to detect a positional parameter of the brake shaft (Lin discloses a first sensing device 50 that can have an encoding disk to sense the rotating speed of the flywheel, which is a positional parameter of the brake shaft as the flywheel is directly attached and rotates with the brake shaft, see paragraph [0034]).
Regarding claim 12:
Lin as modified discloses that the clutch is configured to engage and disengage transmission of torque between the flywheel and the brake shaft (“The one-way clutch 30 is a component used for a one-way transmission through the internal roller 31. Depending on the type of the internal roller, a needle roller type one-way clutch, a wedge type one-way clutch, a cam type one-way clutch or any other clutch that can be used to make the shaft 10 to drive the flywheel 20 to rotate in a forward direction but not in a reverse direction.” See paragraph [0032]).
Regarding claim 13:
Lin as modified discloses that the clutch is arranged within a footprint of the flywheel (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 17:
Lin as modified discloses that the brake shaft comprises an integrally- formed shaft extending to the spool and the flywheel (see Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 19:
Lin as modified discloses that a brake controller configured to adjust a current through the one or more conductive coils to set a braking force applied by the flywheel (“In this way, the electromagnetic braking unit 40 is installed disposed between the outer ring body 23 and the hub 21 of the flywheel 20 and coupled to an external controller (not shown in the figure) to control the current outputted to the coil 43 by the controller, so that the inner ring surface of the serrated portion 42 facing the outer ring body 23 can generate an electromagnetic resistance, and controlled current and the rotating speed of the outer ring body of the flywheel are specifically related to the electromagnetic resistance, so that the electromagnetic resistance and the load of the flywheel 20 can be changed and controlled accurately by the current of the coil and the detected rotating speed of the flywheel.” See paragraph [0033]).
Regarding claim 20:
Lin as modified discloses that the brake controller is configured to: receive, as input, sensor data indicative of rotation of the brake shaft; apply the sensor data to a stored model of the exercise machine; and determine, as an output of the stored model, the current (Lin discloses that sensor data from the first and second sensor device is sent to the controller, the sensor data indicative of the speed of rotation, the which is turn is then used to control the current, see paragraph [0034], the Examiner notes that controlling the current requires determining the current of the device).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 2023/0053751) and Colosky et al (US 2002/0225891) in view of Sebelle (US 4,603,855). Lin as modified discloses the device as substantially claimed above.
Regarding claim 9:
Lin fails to disclose that the spool has a radius that increases in a winding direction of the spool.
Sebelle teaches an exercise device with a winding spool (111) that conical in shape and has a spiral groove (116) resulting in a radius that increases in the winding direction (see Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the spool of Lin to have a conical shape with a spiral groove as taught by Sebelle, as conical spools are well known in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6, 8, 11, 14-16 and 18 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. The Examiner notes that claims 3-6, 14-15 are dependent upon claim 2.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEGAN M ANDERSON whose telephone number is (313)446-6531. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 6 a.m. -4 p.m. (Arizona).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LoAn Jimenez can be reached at 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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/Megan Anderson/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784