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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 37-41, 46-48, and 50 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/2/2026
Claims 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12-16, 19, 23-25, 28, 29, 31-34, 36, 42-45, 49, and 51-54 have been canceled.
Clams 1-2, 5, 8, 11, 17-18, 20-22, 26, 27, 30, and 35 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,” “There is disclosed,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
Claim Objections
Claims 11, 22. and 30 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 11, Lines 7 and 8: “rode” should be changed to --rod--.
Claim 22, Line 1: “one of” should be changed to --one or--.
Claim 30, Line 2 and 3: “one of” should be changed to --one or--.
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)(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.
Clams 1-2, 5, 8, 11, 17, 20-22, 26, 27, 30, and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by King et al (US Patent 10,843,032)
1. King et al disclose a limb exercising system comprising:
a grip training unit comprising two movable grasp elements (16a,24a) defining geometry of said grip training unit and configured to be engaged by an exercised limb of a user (Figs 13-15), and to controllably perform contraction or expansion of a cross-section thereof (Col 7, Line 47- Col 8, Line 8); and
a sensing system coupled to said grip training unit and configured to generate measurement data/signals indicative of gripping action of said exercised limb and of opening action of said exercised limb, for control of said contraction or expansion of said grip training unit (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 3).
2. King et al disclose the system of claim 1 configured for at least one of the following:
identify in the measurement data/signals deviations associated with the gripping or opening action of the exercised limb with respect to a performed exercise, and cause enhancement of said deviations by the contraction or expansion of the cross-section of the grip training unit (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36);
operate the grip training unit
in a stationary state for exercising gripping and opening actions of the exercised limb, or
in a maneuverable state for exercising the gripping and opening actions of the exercised limb while concurrently moving said grip training unit in three-dimensional space;
isometrically exercising the gripping and opening actions in the stationary and maneuverable states (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36);
regulate pressure over the exercised limb either
by increasing forces applied thereover whenever it is determined that the forces applied by the exercised limb are greater than a permissible force level associated with an exercise being performed, or
by decreasing forces applied thereover whenever it is determined that the forces applied by the exercised limb are smaller than a permissible force level associated with the exercise being performed.
5. King et al disclose the system according to claims 1, comprising
one or more lateral beams (30a) spaced-apart from said grip training unit to define respective one or more gaps therebetween for accommodating the fingers of the exercised limb,
said one or more lateral beams are coupled to the grip training unit for movement corresponding to the contraction or expansion of the cross-section of said grip training unit (Col 7, Line 61- Col 8, Line 9).
8. King et al disclose the system according to claim 5, comprising
one or more supports (18), and
wherein the two movable grasp elements are pivotally coupled to said one or more supports (Col 7, Lines 25-34), and
wherein the sensing system is configured to sense interaction of the fingers of the exercised limb with the one or more lateral beams responsive to the opening action of said fingers and generate the measurement data indicative thereof (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36).
11. King et al disclose the system according to claim 5, comprising
an actuation system configured to controllably contract or expand the cross-section of the grip training unit based on the measurement data generated by the sensing system (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36), and
wherein the system comprises one or more of the following:
respective two actuating arms coupled to the two movable grasp elements, and a motor coupled to said respective two actuating arms (Figs 1-2 and 9);
at least one sensor unit configured to generate measurement data/signals indicative of angular motion affected by the motor (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36);
a threaded rod coupled for rotary motion to the motor, and a threaded bushing arm engaged for linear motion over said threaded rode for transforming said rotary motion into linear motion and moving the actuating arms;
a push-pull arm pivotally coupled to the threaded bushing arm, and wherein each one of the two actuating arms is pivotally coupled by one extremity thereof to said push-pull arm and by its other extremity to a respective one of the two movable grasp elements;
a guiding rod configured for the threaded bushing arm to slide thereover.
17. King et al disclose the system according to claims 11, wherein
the sensing system comprises two bidirectional sensor elements configured to sense either
contraction forces applied by the fingers of the exercised limb pressing the two movable grasp elements inwardly one towards the other, or
expansion forces applied by the fingers of the exercised limb pressing the two lateral beams outwardly one away from the other, and
generate measurement data/signals indicative thereof (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36).
20. King et al disclose the system according to claim 5, wherein
each one of the two movable grasp elements comprises internal and external layers spaced-apart one from other to define a sensing space therebetween, and
wherein the sensing system comprises at least one sensor element mounted in said sensing space for sensing force and/or pressure applied thereover by the exercised limb (Fig 2).
21. King et al disclose the system according to claim 20 wherein each one of the lateral beams is movably coupled to the internal and/or external layer of a respective one of the two movable grasp elements (Fig 2; via 28a).
22. King et al disclose the system according to claim 21 comprising one or more of the following:
at least one support arm coupled by one extremity thereof to each internal layer of the two grasp elements and extending therefrom towards a respective one of the two lateral beams, and wherein the sensing system comprises a respective at least one sensor element installed between another extremity of the support arm and its respective lateral beam for sensing force and/ pressure applied by the fingers of the exercised limb;
two support platforms (26a,28a), each fixedly coupled to a respective external layer of the two movable grasp elements, and wherein each one of the lateral beams is pivotally coupled to a respective one of said support platforms;
at least one elastic element mounted between each one of the support platforms and its respective lateral beam; at least one elastic element mounted between each one of the support platforms and its respective support arm.
26. King et al disclose the system according to claim 1, wherein the sensing system comprises at least one sensor device configured to generate measurement data/signals indicative of movement of the grip unit in a three-dimensional space (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36).
27. King et al disclose the system according to claim 1, comprising
a control unit configured to
process the measurement data to identify deviations associated with the gripping or opening action of the exercised limb with respect to an exercise thereby performed,
generate based thereon control signals for causing enhancement of said deviations by the sectional contraction or expansion of the grip training unit, and
selectively generate said control signals for either enhancing the identified deviation, implementing an error correcting scheme or a force control scheme (Col 10, Line 20 - Col 11, Line 36).
30. King et al disclose the system according to claim 1, comprising
one or more gap adjusting members (Col 8, Lines 5-8) configured to adapt and conform to the fingers of the exercised limb for improved coupling thereto, wherein said one or more gap adjusting members comprises one or more of the following:
at least one inflatable element;
at least one flexible element configured to adapt its shape to the fingers of the exercised limb;
one or more inserts (32a) reversibly connectable to the grip unit for defining gripping gaps suitable to accommodate the fingers of the exercised limb.
35. King et al disclose the system according to claim 1, comprising
an arm support assembly (14),
wherein the arm support assembly is detachably coupled to the grip training unit and/or comprises one or more adjustable support elements configured for adjusting at least one of angular orientation and a length of the arm support assembly (Fig 1; Col 9, Line 10- Col 10, Line 4).
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 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over King et al in view of Gable (US Patent Application Publication 2023/0031692).
18. King et al disclose the system significantly as claimed, including that any type of force/load/movement sensors can be used at a number of locations on the device, but do not disclose two bendable beams, each carrying a respective one of the two bidirectional sensor elements and mechanically coupled to a respective one of the two actuating arms at one end portion thereof, and to a respective one of the two movable grasp elements by another end portion thereof.
Gable teaches a similar device for measuring force and motion of an exercise device having a force sensor which “may comprise any sort of force sensor as known in the art, such as but not limited to a spring scale force gauge, strain gauge, stretch sensor, force transducer, load cells (such as but not limited to bending beam, shear beams, double-ended shear beam, s-types, etc.). When a force is applied pulling first connective portion 120 and second connective portion 130 in different directions, the amount of force may be measured by sensor 140” (Par. 0035). 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 force sensor to be a bending beam as taught by Gable and be placed between the gripping portions to measure the force applied to the gripping portions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Aksoz et al, Krebs et al and Seo et al all disclosed similar hand exercise device which measure the force applied by the user via a sensor system.
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 8/28/2026
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