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 .
Response to Amendment
The following Office Action is in response to amendments filed 01/28/2026. Claims 1-13 are pending in the application. Claims 1-13 have been examined as set forth below.
Note to Applicant:
As stated in the previous Office Action and acknowledged by the applicant, for the purposes of examination, the effective filing date of the limitations of claim 13 has been considered to be 06/18/2018 (which is a filing date of US Application 16/011394, see Non-Final Rejection dated 09/29/2025 for details).
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: the phrase “an sensor value” in lines 4-5, needs to be changed to “a sensor value”, the phrase “a gaming device” in line 11, needs to be changed to “an electronic gaming device” (please note that upon making such change in line 11, same changes need to also be applied to claims 5-7). Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang (US 2013/0012357 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a fitness device gaming controller (abstract, ¶ [21], The fitness equipment 1 as the embodiment incorporates game control from the movement of the user driving the driving device 20 to generate the signals and accomplish the purpose of computer game or video game control), comprising:
an exercise machine (i.e., 1, 3, 5 or 7, Figs. 1-4 and 6-9) comprising one or more hardware motion sensors (sensors/actuators, ¶ [21], [24]-[25], [28], [34]) the exercise machine configured to:
receive user input from a manually operated control on the exercise machine (i.e., via direction control components 12, ¶ [23]), or an sensor value from the one or more hardware motion sensors indicating physical movement, or both (¶ [21]-[25], [28], [34], As the user exercises on the fitness equipment 1, which drives the driving device 20, the driving device 20 generates actuating signals. the driving device 20 may be a mechanically-driven structure, light-sensing or magnetic-sensing actuating structure that has magnetic switch, light-sensing switch, or photoresistor. The actuator 122 may be a magnetic switch, a light sensor switch or a photoresistor, which gets related movement signals via photo detection or magnetic detection);
create a dataset comprising at least a portion of the received user input (¶ [21]-[25], [28], [34]);
transform the dataset into output values that conform to an expected gaming controller input scheme, wherein the output values map the physical movement to corresponding gaming controller input values (abstract, ¶ [20]-[29], The control unit 50, as a processing unit that receives signals from each corresponding input component and converts the received signals into corresponding control signals with commands to the games waiting for control. In the embodiment of the invention, the fitness equipment 1 is in connection with an electronic device 2, such as a computer or a video game player, via the communication interface 60, by which an electronic game 70 in the electronic device 2 may be controlled when using the fitness equipment 1. Due to the one way movement (forward or backward) on the fitness equipment 1 like the treadmill or the bike, the electronic game 70 in the electronic device 2 that is applicable to be controlled may be, practically, a role playing game, an online role playing game, a puzzle game, a sport game, a virtual reality game, a motion game, or a shooting game. The electronic game 70 may also be a landscape interactive application, in which as the user is running, walking, or bicycling on the fitness equipment 1, the movement of the user may be simulated as walking, running or bicycling at the virtual street on the landscape map provided by the interactive application. Specifically, when the control unit 50 generates the corresponding control signals, these control signals are adapted to the commands controlling the figures or the objects in the electronic games 70 to move forward. To put it another way, the user's running, walking, or bicycling on the fitness equipment 1 simulates the commands controlling the figures or the objects in the electronic games 70 to move forward, as the control switch 51 of the control unit 50 corresponding to a switch with "moving forward" command); and
wirelessly transmit the transformed dataset to a gaming device (i.e., 2) for controlling an object in an application based on the physical movement (Figs. 1, 4, 7 and 9, ¶ [21]-[23], [29], In the embodiment of the invention, the fitness equipment 1 is in connection with an electronic device 2, such as a computer or a video game player, via the communication interface 60, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface, or any existing interfaces between two devices, by which an electronic game 70 in the electronic device 2 may be controlled when using the fitness equipment 1. In the embodiment of the invention, the fitness equipment 5 is in connection with an electronic device 2, such as a tablet computer, a smart phone, an electronic book reader, or a laptop computer, via the communication interface 60, for example, RS232, PS/2, USB, SATA, local area network, Firewire, Bluetooth, infrared ray, ultraviolet ray, ultrasonic wave, radio wave, wireless communication network or any existing interfaces between two devices, by which an application 71 in the electronic device 2 may be controlled when using the fitness equipment 5).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses wherein the exercise machine is a treadmill device (Figs. 1 and 6).
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses wherein the exercise machine is a stationary bicycle (¶ [20], [27]).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses wherein the gaming device is a gaming console (i.e., video game player, ¶ [7], [22]).
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses wherein the gaming device is a personal computing device (¶ [29]).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ashby (US 2007/0254778 A1, hereinafter referred to as “Ashby ‘778”).
Wang is silent about wherein the exercise machine is an elliptical training device.
Regarding claim 4, Ashby ‘778 teaches a fitness device gaming controller comprising: an exercise machine (Figs. 1, 5 and 7), wherein the exercise machine is an elliptical training device (100, Figs. 1 and 3A-3C).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention wherein the exercise machine is an elliptical training device as taught by Ashby ‘778 in order to enable users exercise upper and lower body simultaneously using the elliptical training device and play a game.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Houston et al. (US 2012/0004956 A1).
Wang is silent about the gaming device being a cloud-based gaming service.
Regarding claim 7, Houston teaches a gaming device, wherein the gaming device is a cloud-based gaming service (¶ [86]-[87]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention wherein the gaming device is a cloud-based gaming service as taught by Houston in order to widen the range of games that can be played by the user, thereby prevent the user from boredom and encourage the user to exercise more.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ashby (US 2007/0265138 A1, hereinafter referred to as “Ashby ‘138”)
Regarding claim 8, Wang teaches wherein the exercise machine further comprises an electronic connector (i.e., 80/180) to accept an external device (i.e., 90/190, Figs. 1-2, 4, 7 and 9, ¶ [23], an expansion interface 80 may further be included in the fitness equipment 1. Such expansion interface 80 may either have the same specification as the communication interface 60 or form an interface group with the communication interface 60 via serially connecting with the communication interface 60. The expansion interface 80 directly connects to the control unit 50 and can be expandedly connected with an auxiliary input device 90, which may be a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch screen panel, a light sensor, or a video camera. In FIG. 1, the keyboard 14 is an example of the auxiliary input device 90 that transmits another types of control signals to the control unit 50 for providing a more extensive control for the fitness equipment 1 to the electronic game 70).
Wang is silent about the exercise machine comprising a plurality of electronic connectors to accept external devices.
Regarding claim 8, Ashby ‘138 teaches an exercise machine (12, Fig. 2), wherein the exercise machine comprises a plurality of electronic connectors (i.e., 90, 92, 102-104) to accept external devices (Fig. 2 and 6, ¶ [59], [61]-[62], [69]-[70]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention wherein the exercise machine comprises a plurality of electronic connectors to accept external devices as taught by Ashby ‘138 in order to enable different types of external devices of various users to be connected to the exercise machine, thereby accommodating wider ranges of users and external devices.
Regarding claim 9, Wang in view of Ashby ‘138 teaches wherein the exercise machine is further configured to receive additional input from a connected external device, and the dataset comprises at least a portion of the additional input (Wang: ¶ [23], an expansion interface 80 may further be included in the fitness equipment 1. Such expansion interface 80 may either have the same specification as the communication interface 60 or form an interface group with the communication interface 60 via serially connecting with the communication interface 60. The expansion interface 80 directly connects to the control unit 50 and can be expandedly connected with an auxiliary input device 90, which may be a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch screen panel, a light sensor, or a video camera. In FIG. 1, the keyboard 14 is an example of the auxiliary input device 90 that transmits another types of control signals to the control unit 50 for providing a more extensive control for the fitness equipment 1 to the electronic game 70).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Ashby ‘138 as applied to claims 1 and 8-9 above, and further in view of Lassanske et al. (US 2003/0073546 A1).
Regarding claim 10, it is Office’s position that Wang in view of Ashby ‘138 teaches wherein the external device is a biometric sensor (Ashby ‘138: heart rate monitor, ¶ [194]). However, if applicant is not in agreement with the Office’s position, such limitation is taught by Lassanske.
Regarding claim 10, Lassanske teaches an external device, wherein the external device is a biometric sensor (¶ [52]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention in view of Ashby ‘138, wherein the external device is a biometric sensor as taught by Lassanske in order to enable a user keep track of his biometric parameters (i.e., heart rate) during exercise and adjust his/her exercise accordingly.
Claims 8-9 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Brodess et al. (US 2011/0275498 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Wang teaches wherein the exercise machine further comprises an electronic connector (i.e., 80/180) to accept an external device (i.e., 90/190, Figs. 1-2, 4, 7 and 9, ¶ [23], an expansion interface 80 may further be included in the fitness equipment 1. Such expansion interface 80 may either have the same specification as the communication interface 60 or form an interface group with the communication interface 60 via serially connecting with the communication interface 60. The expansion interface 80 directly connects to the control unit 50 and can be expandedly connected with an auxiliary input device 90, which may be a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch screen panel, a light sensor, or a video camera. In FIG. 1, the keyboard 14 is an example of the auxiliary input device 90 that transmits another types of control signals to the control unit 50 for providing a more extensive control for the fitness equipment 1 to the electronic game 70).
Wang is silent about the exercise machine comprising a plurality of electronic connectors to accept external devices.
Regarding claim 8, Bordess teaches an exercise machine (10, Fig. 1), wherein the exercise machine comprises a plurality of electronic connectors to accept external devices (Fig. 9, ¶ [35], console 130 includes computer dock 132, which may include one or more universal serial bus (USB) ports or one or more ports designed for specific popular handheld devices).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention wherein the exercise machine comprises a plurality of electronic connectors to accept external devices as taught by Bordess in order to enable different types of external devices of various users to be connected to the exercise machine, thereby accommodating wider ranges of users and external devices.
Regarding claim 9, Wang in view of Bordess teaches wherein the exercise machine is further configured to receive additional input from a connected external device, and the dataset comprises at least a portion of the additional input (Wang: ¶ [23], an expansion interface 80 may further be included in the fitness equipment 1. Such expansion interface 80 may either have the same specification as the communication interface 60 or form an interface group with the communication interface 60 via serially connecting with the communication interface 60. The expansion interface 80 directly connects to the control unit 50 and can be expandedly connected with an auxiliary input device 90, which may be a mouse, a joystick, a keyboard, a touch screen panel, a light sensor, or a video camera. In FIG. 1, the keyboard 14 is an example of the auxiliary input device 90 that transmits another types of control signals to the control unit 50 for providing a more extensive control for the fitness equipment 1 to the electronic game 70).
Regarding claims 11-12, Wang in view of Bordess teaches wherein the external device is a personal computing device (Bordess: i.e., smartphone 137, Figs. 1 and 9, ¶ [35]), wherein the personal computing device is a smartphone (Bordess: smartphone 137, Figs. 1 and 9, ¶ [35]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Bordess as applied to claims 1, 8-9 and 11 above, and further in view of Polinsky (US 2017/0043219 A1).
Wang in view of Bordess is silent about wherein the personal computing device is a smartwatch.
Regarding claim 13, Polinsky teaches a personal computing device, wherein the personal computing device is a smartwatch (¶ [76]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wang’s invention in view of Bordess wherein the personal computing device is a smartwatch as taught by Polinsky in order to provide for further designs of the fitness device gaming controller, whereby motion sensing is done with a smartwatch.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Applicant’s arguments regarding Houston, Lassanske and Polinsky failing to teach the newly added limitations of claim 1, the Examiner would like to mention that none of these references have been used to teach the limitations of claim 1 (see above for details). As such, applicant’s arguments regarding these references are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHILA JALALZADEH ABYANEH whose telephone number is (571)270-7403. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:30 am - 3:00 pm.
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, 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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/SHILA JALALZADEH ABYANEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784
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