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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 2-19 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 2-19 recite “The system of claim” in line 1 should be instead -The therapy system of claim”
Claim 18 recites “the cavities” in line 3 should be -the one or more cavities-.
Claim 19 recites “the system to a user’s body” should be -the therapy system to the user’s body-.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4-5, 7, 9, 11, 16-18 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4, 11, 16 recites “each segmented section” where the claim previously recites “a plurality of segmented sections”, wherein this is improper/insufficient antecedent basis. The usage of “each” does not substitute for the usage of “said” or “the” and even further the current claim limitation of “a plurality of segmented sections” is of different phrase that “each segmented section”. Thus, claim 4/11 is rejected under 112b for having improper antecedent basis and lack of clarity. For examining purposes, “each segment section” will be interpreted as “each of the plurality of segmented sections”.
Claim 5 recites “two or more segmented sections”, wherein claim 5 is dependent on claim 4 which recites “a plurality of segmented sections”. There is a lack of clarity to if these “two or more segmented sections” are part of that “a plurality of segmented sections” or different. For examining purposes, will be read as “two or more segmented sections of the plurality of segmented sections”.
Claim 6 recites “wherein the accelerometer can detect a section that is pointing upwards from the ground” wherein the usage of “can” herein provides a lack of clarity on if this is an actually recited functional language of the accelerometer or a mere capability with no patentable weight. Furthermore, the term “the ground” has insufficient antecedent basis in the claim.
Claim 9 recites “one or more activable therapy elements” wherein claim 1 also already recites “a plurality of individually activatable therapy elements”, wherein it is unclear if these are meant to be the same or different therapy elements.
Claim 11 recites “a segmented section” (and “the segmented section”) wherein earlier in the claim “a plurality of segmented sections” is recited. It is unclear if this “segmented section” is part of that plurality or not. For examining purposes, this will be read as “a segmented section of the plurality of segmented sections”.
Claim 17-18 recites “at least one segmented section” where the claim previously recites “a plurality of segmented sections”, wherein this is improper/insufficient antecedent basis. The “at least one segmented section” lacks clarity to being one of the “plurality of segmented sections”. Thus, claim 17-18 is rejected under 112b for having improper antecedent basis and lack of clarity. For examining purposes, “at least one segmented section” will be interpreted as “at least one segmented section of the plurality of segmented sections”, wherein now “at least one segmented section” would be its own claim term with proper claim reference.
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)(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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-12, 16-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Solana (US 20220015984 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Solana discloses a therapy system 70 (Fig. 9-12, Abstract, massage roller therapy system), comprising:
a rolling element 72 (Fig. 9-12, [0072], shell 72 forming a rolling element 72);
a plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 82 (Fig. 9-12 and [0075] massage motors 82, see Abstract and [0032] wherein the massage elements may be individually controlled) disposed on the rolling element 72 (Fig. 9-12);
a sensor 77 (see [0077] there are sensors 77 within the roller system) disposed on the rolling element 72 (see [0077] sensors positioned anywhere on or in the roller assembly) and configured to detect a portion of the rolling element 72 in contact with a user’s body ([0077] the sensors 77 detect the portion of the roller assembly in contact with or proximity with the body of the user),
wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 82 are selectively activated based on an output of the sensor 77 ([0077] the motors 82 will activate in sections based on the sensors 77 to be activated, see [0005] wherein the vibration motors may be individually activatable).
Regarding claim 3, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the rolling element 72 includes a shape selected from the group consisting of: a cylinder, a sphere, a hemisphere, a cube, a cuboid, a cone, a torus, an ellipsoid, or a polyhedron (Fig. 9-12, rolling element 72 is a cylinder).
Regarding claim 4, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the rolling element 72 includes a plurality of segmented sections 84 (Fig. 9-12 and [0075] wire openings 84 being segmented sections where the massage motors 82 are placed), wherein at least one of the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 82 is positioned on each segmented section 84 (Fig. 9-12).
Regarding claim 5, Solana discloses the invention of claim 4 above.
Solana further discloses wherein two or more segmented sections are activatable at the same time ([0076-0077] the segmented sections and the corresponding massage motors may be activated in sections having two or more of them contained within the section to thus be activated at the same time).
Regarding claim 7, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the sensor is an accelerometer ([0077] the sensors 77 may include an accelerometer), wherein the accelerometer can detect a section that is pointing upwards from the ground ([0077] accelerometers implicitly provide for being able to determine directionality of the sections of the roller; see further [0034] wherein the roller can determine how its pointing, “As a result, it can be determined what portion of the vibrating roller is facing upwardly (and can be utilized by a person for rolling thereon) and what portion of the vibrating roller is facing downwardly”).
Regarding claim 8, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses one or more additional sensors selected from the group consisting of: a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor ([0029] thermal sensor), a vibration sensor, a position sensor ([0005] position sensor), an orientation sensor ([0081] sensors for determining orientation built in), a humidity sensor, a force sensor ([0029] force meter being a force sensor), a light sensor, or combinations thereof.
Regarding claim 10, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses further comprising a control system ([0008] controller being a control system) comprising one or more of wires ([0075] there are wires), circuits ([0033] printed circuit board), and user interfaces ([0022] buttons and display screen being a user interface).
Regarding claim 11, Solana discloses the invention of claim 10 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the rolling element 72 comprises a plurality of segmented sections 84 (Fig. 9-12 and [0075] wire openings 84 being segmented sections where the massage motors 82 are placed), wherein at least one of the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 82 is positioned on each segmented section 84 (Fig. 9-12),
wherein the control system is adapted to predict a segmented section 84 that touches the user’s body ([0077] the control system has proximity sensors that predict when a segmented sections 84 having the massage motors 82 therein will be near a body part, thus being able to predict when it is about to touch the user’s body), and wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 82 on the segmented section 84 that touches the user’s body are pre-activatable ([0077] the motors 82 may be activated due to the proximity sensor and thus be pre-activated as they touch the user’s body).
Regarding claim 12, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements comprise one or more vibration elements ([0076] vibration motors), heating elements, cooling elements, red light elements, LED elements, or combinations thereof.
Regarding claim 16, Solana discloses the invention of claim 4 above.
Solana further discloses wherein each segmented section comprises an individual control system so as to provide a selected level of therapy in each segmented section ([0032] the controls of each segmented section/therapy element may be isolated individualized to each to control the level of therapy being outputted).
Regarding claim 17, Solana discloses the invention of claim 4 above.
Solana further discloses wherein at least one segmented section 84 comprises one of transparent materials, translucent materials and opaque materials (Fig. 10, the segment sections 84 are formed of the material of the roller 72 being opaque as shown).
Claim(s) 1, 4, 12, 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Solana (US 20220104995 A1), henceforth Solana2.
Regarding claim 1, Solana2 discloses a therapy system 10 (Fig. 1-3), comprising:
a rolling element 14 (Fig. 1-3 and [0034]);
a plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 18/32 disposed on the rolling element 14 (Fig. 1-3, [0037] lights 18 on strips 32 on the roller element 14); and
a sensor disposed on the rolling element and configured to detect a portion of the rolling element in contact with a user’s body ([0014, 0018] sensors anywhere in or on the roller assembly, configured to detect proximity/contact with the user),
wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 18/32 are selectively activated based on an output of the sensor ([0014, 0018, 0038] lights may be switched on and off individually based on the output of the sensors).
Regarding claim 4, Solana2 discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana2 further discloses wherein the rolling element 14 includes a plurality of segmented sections 30 (Fig. 2), wherein at least one of the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 18/32 is positioned on each segmented section 30 (Fig. 2 and [0037] segmented sections 30 being light recesses 30 receiving the light members 18).
Regarding claim 12, Solana2 discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana2 further discloses wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 18/32 comprise one or more vibration elements, heating elements, cooling elements, red light elements, LED elements, or combinations thereof ([0037] infrared light elements being red light elements) ([0007] the lights are LEDs).
Regarding claim 17, Solana2 discloses the invention of claim 4 above.
Solana2 further discloses wherein at least one segmented section 30 comprises one of transparent materials, translucent materials and opaque materials ([0007, 0037] the recesses/segmented sections 30 comprises a cover being transparent or opaque).
Regarding claim 18, Solana2 discloses the invention of claim 4 above.
Solana2 further discloses wherein at least one segmented section 30 comprises one or more cavities (Fig. 1-3 and [0037] the segmented sections 30 are light recesses being a cavity), wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements 18/32 comprise one or more red light elements, LED elements or combinations thereof ([0037] infrared light elements being red light elements) ([0007] the lights are LEDs) positioned in the cavities 30 (Fig. 1-3 and [0037]).
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 (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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2, 9, 13-15, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Solana (US 20220015984 A1) in view of Rocklin (US 20210212883 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana discloses wherein the rolling element 72 includes a vibrating roller ([0077-0080] the rolling element 72 is a vibrating roller).
Solana does not disclose wherein the rolling element includes a vibrating roller made of silicone.
However, Rocklin teaches an analogous roller (title) with analogous vibration (see [0069]), wherein the roller may be made of silicone to improve comfort during use (see [0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the vibrating roller 72 of Solana to be made of silicone as taught by Rocklin in order to provide improved comfort (Rocklin [0056]).
Regarding claim 9, Solana discloses the invention of claim 8 above.
Solana does not disclose wherein the temperature sensor is configured to monitor one or more activable therapy elements so as to provide a heat treatment below or equal to a threshold temperature.
However, Rocklin teaches an analogous roller (title) with analogous vibration (see [0069]), comprising one or more activatable therapy elements ([0057] heating element 230) and comprising an analogous temperature sensor ([0063, 0067] device is able to read/detect temperature thus having temperature sensor) configured to monitor one or more activable therapy elements 230 so as to provide a heat treatment below or equal to a threshold temperature ([0061, 0063] there is a heating element that can have its temperature monitored such that it is turned off when above a certain heat/temperature threshold, thus providing heat treatment below a threshold temperature).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the roller assembly 10 and the temperature sensor therein of Solana to comprise heating elements 230 such that wherein the temperature sensor is configured to monitor one or more activable therapy elements so as to provide a heat treatment below or equal to a threshold temperature as taught by Rocklin in order to be able to provide heat treatment to the user and improve the massage effects on muscle (Rocklin [0061-0067]).
Regarding claim 13, Solana discloses the invention of claim 12 above.
Solana does disclose being heated ([0027] “temperature (if the vibrating roller assembly, or outer surface thereof, is heated)”).
Solana does not disclose wherein the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements comprise heating elements, wherein the heating elements comprises one or more coils, thermal alloy, nichrome wires, carbon fiber wire, or combinations thereof.
However, Rocklin teaches an analogous roller (title) with analogous vibration (see [0069]), comprising one or more activatable therapy elements being a heating element ([0057] heating element 230), wherein the heating elements comprises one or more coils, thermal alloy, nichrome wires, carbon fiber wire, or combinations thereof ([0057] heating coils).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have provided to the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements of Solana the heating element 230 being heating coils as taught by Rocklin in order to be able to provide heat treatment to the user and improve the massage effects on muscle (Rocklin [0061-0067]).
Regarding claim 14, Solana in view of Rocklin discloses the invention of claim 13 above.
Rocklin further teaches wherein the control system receive the output of the sensor to activate at least one of the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements ([0063, 0067] device is able to read/detect temperature thus having temperature sensor) ([0061, 0063] the heating element can have its temperature monitored such that it is turned off when above a certain heat/temperature threshold, thus providing heat treatment below a threshold temperature and due to the output of the sensor therein).
Solana also further discloses wherein the control system receive the output of the sensor to activate at least one of the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements ([0077] the proximity sensor output controls/activates the vibration motors being therapy elements).
Regarding claim 15, Solana in view of Rocklin discloses the invention of claim 13 above.
Solana further discloses wherein the control system is configured to modulate one or more treatment parameters comprising temperature, mode, and treatment time (see [0027] the control system can modulate the treatment time and modes therein of the vibration).
Rocklin further discloses wherein the control system is configured to modulate one or more treatment parameters comprising temperature, mode, and treatment time ([0063] temperature is shut off at a threshold and thus controlled) ([0067] there is a timer for treatment time for the heating element control system, and also controls temperature output and thus mode).
Regarding claim 19, Solana discloses the invention of claim 11 above.
Solana does disclose being heated ([0027] “temperature (if the vibrating roller assembly, or outer surface thereof, is heated)”).
Solana does not disclose a heat spreader to transfer heat from the system to a user’s body.
However, Rocklin teaches an analogous roller (title) with analogous vibration (see [0069]), comprising one or more activatable therapy elements being a heating element ([0057] heating element 230), wherein the heating elements comprises one or more coils, thermal alloy, nichrome wires, carbon fiber wire, or combinations thereof ([0057] heating coils), these heating coils being a heat spreader to transfer heat from the system to a user’s body.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have provided to the plurality of individually activatable therapy elements of Solana the heating element 230 being heating coils being a heat spreader to transfer heat from the system to a user’s body as taught by Rocklin in order to be able to provide heat treatment to the user and improve the massage effects on muscle (Rocklin [0061-0067]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Solana (US 20220015984 A1) in view of Venezia (US 20180049941 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Solana discloses the invention of claim 1 above.
Solana does not disclose wherein the rolling element is adapted to provide waterproofing, thermal insulation, or sound insulation.
However, Venezia teaches an analogous roller element/roller assembly (title, massage roller), having a waterproof washable material for its therapeutic outer side (see [0007]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the rolling element 72 (and/or its cover 74) to be waterproof as taught by Venezia in order to be easy to clean and prevent transmission of dirt and disease (Venezia [0007]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN S ALBERS whose telephone number is (571)272-0139. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm.
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/KEVIN S ALBERS/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3786
/KERI J NELSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3786
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