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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10, as filed on 1/19/2024, are currently pending and considered below.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Claim 1: “the gap” (no reference number; unclear in specification to which gap the claims are referring to, the one in the clamping block or door/different structure).
Claim 8 “pull device housing” (no reference numbers nor anything shown in the drawings what could be considered a pull device housing).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims listed below are objected to because of the following informalities (appropriate correction is required):
Abstract is over 150 words.
Claim 1, line 4-5 amend: “the other end” to ---an other end---.
Claim 5-6 amend: “the thickness” to ---a thickness--.
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 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)(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.
Claims 1-2, 7, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A)(1) as being anticipated by CN 207323929 U (Yan et al; henceforth Yan).
Regarding Independent Claim 1, Yan discloses a pull device fixing apparatus (“pull rope handle” --Figures 1-3), comprising:
a pull band (buckle mesh belt 8), wherein a fixed member is provided at an end of the pull band (cylindrical sponge body 3, Figure 1 shown at the left end side of belt 8);
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and the fixed member enables the pull band to unidirectionally pass through a gap (“door gap” Page 3; said strap is configured to pass through a door gap) through which the fixed member is incapable of passing (said cylindrical sponge body 3 sized such that belt 8 is configured to pass through a gap that of which the body 3 cannot due to the size difference);
a connecting member (safety ring 11) for connection to a pull device (“pull rope” Page 4; said device is attached to a pull rope which in turn is attached to a door allowing for the user to pull on the handle) is provided at the other end of the pull band (Figure 1 shows the safety ring 11 located at a right end of the belt 8);
a clamping member (regulator with thickness strips 6) is provided on the pull band (Figure 1 shows the regulator located on the pull belt 8 in the middle), and the thickness of the clamping member is adaptively adjustable depending on the width of the gap, so as to keep the fixed member fixed (“The new design increases the adjuster for different widths of the door, increase the thickness of the different strips superimposed on the regulator for different Wide and narrow door seams prevent it from slipping during movement” Page 3; said regulator 6 is configured to change in thickness dependent on the gap size).
Regarding Claim 2, Yan further discloses the pull device fixing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the clamping member is movably provided on the pull band in a sleeving manner (said regulator 6 is configured to slide along belt 8 via holes 12, 13, and 16 therethrough).
Regarding Independent Claim 7, Yan discloses a pull device fixing apparatus (Figures 1-3), comprising a strip-shaped pull band (mesh belt 8), wherein a clamping member (regulator 6) capable of abutting on a wall (“door”) of a gap (“door gap”) is provided on the pull band (“The new design increases the adjuster for different widths of the door, increase the thickness of the different strips superimposed on the regulator for different Wide and narrow door seams prevent it from slipping during movement” Page 3; said regulator is configured to abut the door);
the clamping member is provided with at least one clamping block (“thickness strips”), and the clamping member is capable of being provided with different numbers of blocks depending on the width of the gap (“single thread hole 16 can be filled with thick and thin strips” Page 3 and “Pulling out inwards, if the door seam is too large, the single-bore hole 16 can be inserted into different thickness strips so that the adjuster 6 and the door seam just fit closely” Page 3; said regulator is configured to be used with a plurality of thickness strips dependent on the gap size; said hole 16 is within the regulator 6).
Regarding Claim 9, Yan further discloses the pull device fixing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the clamping block is an arc-shaped structure (see Figure 2 wherein the regulator 6 has an arced shaped top shown by the arced lines).
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Regarding Independent Claim 10, Yan discloses a pull device (“pull rope handle” --Figures 1-3), comprising the pull device fixing apparatus according to claim 1 (said pull rope handle is a pull device comprised of said pull rope handle).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 207323929 U (Yan et al; henceforth Yan) in view of US 11406863 B2 (Bonyai).
Regarding Claim 8, Yan further discloses the pull device fixing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a fixed member (cylindrical sponge 4) capable of abutting on the wall of the gap (sponge 4 is capable of resting against the door) is provided at an end of the pull band (see Figure 1 wherein the sponge 4 is attached at a left end of the belt 8), and a connecting member (safety ring 11) for connecting to a pull device housing (ring 11 is openable and configured to be attachable; said ring 11 is capable of attaching to a pull device housing) is provided at the other end (Figure 1 shows ring 11 attached at a right end of the belt 8);
the volume of the fixed member is greater than the volume of the connecting member (see Figure 1 wherein the sponge 4 is larger than the safety ring 11);
the fixed member is a columnar structure (cylindrical sponge 4; cylindrical is column shaped) provided with a through hole (hole 5) for the pull band to pass through (Figure 1 shows the belt 8 passing through hole 5);
the connecting members a looped structure (ring is a loop structure) provided with a through hole (ring 9) for the pull band to pass through (ring 9 therethrough of which the belt 8 pass therethrough as shown in Figure 1);
the pull band passes through the through hole of the fixed member and extends into the through hole of the connecting member (see Figure 1), to form a looped winding structure (belt 8 passes through both holes such that it forms a looped winding structure);
the clamping block is provided on the pull band in a sleeving manner (regulator 6 comprises a hole therethrough that is configured to allow for the belt 8 to slide therethrough such that the regulator 6 is attached in a sleeved manner).
Yan does not disclose what the clamping block is made of and does not disclose the clamping block made of plastic, rubber, or wood.
Bonyai teaches an analogous exercise device in the same field of endeavor comprising:
A clamping block made of rubber (sleeve 30 formed of synthetic rubber 32). It would have been obvious for one skilled in the art at the time of filing to modify the clamping block to be made of rubber, as taught by Bonyai, in order to provide a malleable structure to prevent fracturing due to stress.
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Figure 5: Bonyai
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 3, the prior art of record CN 207323929 U (Yan et al; henceforth Yan) fails to teach or render obvious the exercise device in combination with all of the elements and structural and functional relationships as claimed and further including:
wherein the clamping member comprises a first elastic clamping bloc and a second elastic clamping bloc that are capable of moving relative to each other.
The prior art of record teaches holes 12 and 13 that share a wall extending through the regulator 6, which are not considered equivalent to applicant’s invention as the holes are not blocs and do not move relative to each other. It would not have been obvious for one skilled in the art at the time of filing to modify the holes to be blocs that move relative to each other without improper hindsight.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY T MOORE whose telephone number is (571)272-0063. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 4:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LoAn Jimenez can be reached on (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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/ZACHARY T MOORE/Examiner, Art Unit 3784