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 .
Claims 1-20 have been examined.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “Proposed is,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-5, 8, 10, and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-4 and 10: There is no antecedent basis for “the drive motor” and “the exercise load” in the claims.
Claim 3: There is no antecedent basis for “the target load” or “the basic load” in the claim.
Claim 5: There is no antecedent basis for “the plurality of possible safety ranges” in the claim.
Claim 8, Lines 1-2: “a exercise” should be changed to --an exercise--.
Claim 17: There is no antecedent basis for “the device body” in the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-13 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nayak (US Patent Application Publication 2025/088851).
1. Nayak discloses a muscle exercise device comprising:
a device body (102);
at least one drive motor (612) installed inside the device body and configured to provide an exercise load;
a cable (202) configured to be pulled out of the device body to transfer the exercise load of the drive motor outside of the device body;
a sensor (encoders: 2006,2010) configured to detect a withdrawal position of the cable (Par. 0107); and
a controller configured to control the drive motor so that the exercise load of the drive motor is reduced when the sensor detects that the withdrawal position of the cable has entered a preset safety range (Par. 0108).
2. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 1, wherein the controller controls the drive motor so that the exercise load of the drive motor is maintained at a target load (2104) before the withdrawal position of the cable enters the safety range.
3. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 2, wherein the controller controls the drive motor so that the drive motor sequentially provides a basic load that is less than the target load, increases the load from the basic load to the target load, and reduces the load from the target load to the basic load when the withdrawal position has entered the safety range (Fig 21A; Par. 0108).
4. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 2, further comprising:
a data storage configured to store a plurality of exercise types and a plurality of possible safety ranges for the exercise types (Par. 0109), and
a user input part to receive an input selecting one of the plurality of exercise types (Par. 0141),
wherein the controller controls the exercise load of the drive motor based on one of the plurality of possible safety ranges corresponding to the one of the plurality of exercise types selected through the user input part (Par. 0143).
5. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 4, wherein
a plurality of exercise ranges for the plurality of exercise types are stored in the data storage (Par. 0109), and
the plurality of exercise types comprise:
a first exercise type in which a first safety range of the plurality of possible safety ranges is located under a first exercise range of the plurality of exercise ranges based on a withdrawal direction of the cable (Par. 0109), and
a second exercise type in which a second safety range of the plurality of possible safety ranges is located within a second exercise range of the plurality of exercise ranges (Par. 0109: Nayak discloses that start points are specified for a plurality of different exercises/users).
6. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 5, wherein when the withdrawal position detected by the sensor has entered the first safety range while the muscle exercise device operates according to the first exercise type, the controller controls the drive motor so that the load of the drive motor is reduced (Fig 26).
7. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 6, wherein the first safety range for the first exercise type is between an initial position of the cable (Fig 2A) and an upper limit position (“start point”) according to the first exercise type.
8. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 5, wherein when an exercise discontinuance condition is satisfied based on the withdrawal position detected by the sensor entering the second range while the muscle exercise device operates according to the second exercise type, the controller controls the drive motor so that the load of the drive motor is reduced (Par. 0109; Fig 26).
9. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 8, wherein when the withdrawal position detected by the sensor is maintained for at least a preset period within the second safety range when the muscle exercise device operates according to the second exercise type, the controller determines that the exercise discontinuance condition is satisfied (Par. 0109; Fig 26).
10. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 2, wherein when an exercise preparation condition is satisfied during an initial operation of the drive motor, the controller controls the drive motor so that the load of the drive motor reaches the target load (Fig 26).
11. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 10, wherein when the withdrawal position detected by the sensor is outside the safety range, the controller determines that the exercise preparation condition is satisfied (Fig 26).
12. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 11, wherein the safety range is set between an initial position of the cable and an upper limit position that is set according to an exercise type to be performed by a user (Par. 109).
13. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an encoder (2006, 2010) installed inside the device body and configured to detect a rotation of the drive motor, the sensor detecting the withdrawal position of the cable based on the rotation of the drive motor detected by the encoder (Par. 0095).
15. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device of claim 1, wherein the safety range is changeable according to a user's setting (Par. 140).
16. Nayak discloses an apparatus comprising:
a body (102);
a motor (612) provided inside the device body and configured to provide a load;
a cable (202) coupled to the motor and configured to be pulled out of the body to transfer the load of the motor outside;
a sensor (encoders: 2006,2010) configured to detect a withdrawal length of the cable (Par. 0107); and
a controller configured to control the motor (Par. 0108),
wherein the controller controls the motor so the load of the motor is a first load when the withdrawal length of the cable is within an exercise range, and the load of the motor is a second load that is less than the first load when the withdrawal length of the cable is within a safety range (Fig 21A).
17. Nayak discloses the apparatus of claim 16, wherein the safety range is between an initial position of the cable before the cable is pulled out of the device body and an upper limit position that is set according to an exercise type to be performed by a user (Par. 0109).
18. Nayak discloses the apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller controls the motor so the load of the motor is the second load further based on determining that the withdrawal length of the cable is maintained within the safety range for at least a preset period (Fig 26).
19. Nayak discloses an apparatus comprising:
a motor (612);
a bar (116) coupled by a cable (202) coupled to the motor, the bar being moved by a user during an exercise;
a sensor (encoders: 2006,2010) that detects a movement of the cable; and
a controller that determines when a user is performing an exercise based on the movement of the cable (Par. 0108; Fig 21A),
wherein the controller controls the motor to sequentially provide a first load before the user performs the exercise, provide a second load greater than the first load while the user performs the exercise, and a third load less than the second load after the user performs the exercise (Fig 26).
20. Nayak discloses the apparatus of claim 19, wherein the controller determines that the user is not performing the exercise when the bar is moved by a less than particular distance from an initial position (Fig 26) or when the bar does not move for at least a preset period.
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nayak in view of Neuhaus et al (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0062738).
14. Nayak discloses the muscle exercise device significantly as claimed, but does not disclose wherein the cable has recognition marks marked at preset intervals, and the sensor detects the withdrawal position of the cable based on counting a number of the recognition marks that has passed the sensor while the cable is withdrawn.
Neuhaus et al disclose a similar exercising device having a cable (tether) attached to a motor controlled resistance system (Fig 1) and an end effector (104) which the user engages to perform a number of selected strength training exercises, wherein the control system of the device further comprises linear positional transducers for determining a length of tether released from the system (Par. 0066). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the encoders of Nayak to include the linear positional transducers as taught by Neuhaus et al for a more accurate measurement of the position of the end effector based on the amount of cable released.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Peal et al, Jung et al, Lafrance et al, and Belson et al all disclose similar exercise devices using cables and a motor controller to simulate a load applied to user via the cables.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA T KENNEDY whose telephone number is (571)272-8297. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7a-4:30p MST.
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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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/JOSHUA T KENNEDY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784 12/17/2025