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 1-16 have been examined.
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.
Claims 1, 11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nolan et al (US Patent Application 2024/0307729).
1. Nolan et al disclose an angle-adjustable Smith machine, comprising:
a base (108);
an upper frame (Fig 9), located at a height from the base in a z direction, the upper frame including at least one slide slot bracket (See Examiner's Figure 1);
two front poles (118), spaced apart from each other in an X direction, the two front poles extending in the Z direction, at least one of the front poles having a bottom end pivotally connected to the base and a top end coupled to the slide slot bracket (Fig 4);
two rear poles (102), spaced apart from each other in the X direction, the two rear poles being located at a distance away from the two front poles in a Y direction, the two rear poles extending in the Z direction and being connected between the base and the upper frame, the X direction, the Y direction and the Z direction being perpendicular to one another (Fig 1); and
at least one angle adjustment unit, disposed on the slide slot bracket, the angle adjustment unit being connected to the top end (See Examiner's Figure 1);
wherein the angle adjustment unit is configured for driving the top end to move in the X direction and then to be secured, so that the bottom end of the front pole is pivoted in the X direction for the front pole to be adjusted at a predetermined angle (Fig 4).
Examiner’s Figure 1 (from Fig 9)
[AltContent: textbox (Pull Up Bar)][AltContent: textbox (Angle Adjustment Unit)][AltContent: textbox (Slide Slot Bracket)]
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11. Nolan et al disclose the angle-adjustable Smith machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base includes two outwardly-expanding feet (108), and the two outwardly-expanding feet are expanded from the rear poles toward the front poles.
13. Nolan et al disclose the angle-adjustable Smith machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper frame includes a pull-up bar, and the pull-up bar is straddled between the front poles (See Examiner's Figure).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nolan et al in view of Wang et al (CN 219539357).
10. Nolan et al disclose the angle-adjustable Smith machine significantly as claimed, but do not disclose further comprising two safety racks, wherein a plurality of safety rack positioning holes are formed on the front pole in the Z direction and are located close to the base, the two safety racks each have a U-shaped mount corresponding to the safety rack positioning holes, an inner wall of the U-shaped mount has protrusions, and the protrusions are selectively engaged in the safety rack positioning holes from different planes, so that the U-shaped mount surrounds the front pole and is selectively secured at different positions in the Z direction.
Wang et al teach a similar fitness machine having a pair of safety racks (12) having U-shaped mounts and protrusions selectively engaged in positioning holes in vertical members to provide a position adjustable safety shelf preventing falling and crushing the body-building personnel when a barbell is placed thereon. 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 fitness machine of Nolan et al to include the safety racks as taught by Wang et al to provide an added safety feature to the machine.
Claims 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nolan et al in view of Qi (US D974506).
14-15. Nolan et al disclose the angle-adjustable Smith machine significantly as claimed, but do not disclose at least one weight disk holder, wherein the rear pole has a plurality of weight disk holder positioning holes arranged in a lengthwise direction of the rear pole, the weight disk holder has a U-shaped seat corresponding to the weight disk holder positioning holes, an inner wall of the U-shaped seat has at least one protruding portion, and the protruding portion is selectively engaged in the corresponding weight disk holder positioning hole from different planes, so that the U-shaped seat surrounds the rear pole and is selectively secured at different positions in the Z direction, wherein the weight disk holder is movably pivoted to the U-shaped seat through a pivot member, and the weight disk holder is rotatable by 90 degrees relative to the U-shaped seat in the lengthwise direction of the rear pole through the pivot member.
Qi discloses a similar fitness machine/rack having a frame defined by upper and lower frames and vertical members extending therebetween wherein the vertical members are constructed with holes to accept a weight disc holder (See Examiner's Figure 2). Wherein the weight disc hold has a U-shaped seat with a protruding portion configured to be selectively engaged in a positioning hole in the vertical members and then rotated to be seated against the vertical members. 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 fitness machine of Nolan et al to include the weight disc holders as taught by Qi to allow a user to mount weight discs thereon for storage purposes.
Examiner’s Figure 2 (from Fig 1)
[AltContent: textbox (Weight Disc Holder)][AltContent: textbox (Positioning Pin)][AltContent: connector][AltContent: textbox (U-Shaped Seat)]
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Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nolan et al in view of Gong et al (US Patent Application Publication 2025/0090894).
16. Nolan et al disclose the angle-adjustable Smith machine significantly as claimed, but do not disclose wherein the upper frame includes a barbell bar holder, the barbell bar holder includes two holding pieces, and a spacing between the two holding pieces is less than a protruding section of a barbell bar.
Gong et al disclose a similar angle-adjustable fitness machine having barbell holding pieces (Fig 1A) being mounted to vertical members (111) of the fitness machine which allow for a user to place a barbell thereon to allow a user to perform additional fitness exercises with a barbell within the frame of the machine (such as squats, bench press, etc). 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 fitness machine of Nolan et al to include the barbell holders as taught by Gong et al to expand the array of exercises that can be performed on/within the frame of the machine, making it more versatile based on desired exercises by the user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-9 and 12 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:
The primary reason for the allowance of the claims is the inclusion of the following limitations:
The fitness machine having a slide slot bracket in an upper frame to which is engaged an angle adjustment unit including a driving rod, a driven rod and an operating handle, such that a first end of the driving rod is pivotally connected to the slide slot bracket via a first shaft, the second end is connected to a restricting portion, the operating handle is pivotally connected to the restricting portion, a slot is formed between the first end and the second end, the driven rod has two end portions defined as a first end portion and a second end portion, the first end portion is secured to the top end through a second shaft passing through the slide slot, such that the second shaft is movable within the slide slot to drive the top end to pivot relative to the bottom end, and the second end portion is pivotally connected to a third shaft fixed in the slot (Claim 2).
The fitness machine having two hollow, movable poles slidably inserted in the two front poles, each includes at least one barbell holder exposed on the two front poles, the two movable poles each have a plurality of positioning holes arranged in the Z direction and corresponding in position to the stop groove; the plurality of positioning pins are selectively inserted in the positioning holes; the two force-applying rods are pivotally connected to the respective front poles; the two force-applying rods are movable to support exposed portions of the respective positioning pins, through leverage, the movable poles are movable up or down with less effort to relocate the positioning pins, by relocating the positioning pins in different ones of the positioning holes, the positions of the barbell holders are adjustable in the Z direction (Claim 5).
The two rear poles of the fitness machine further being disposed obliquely in the Z direction such that a distance between the two rear poles in the X direction gradually increases from the upper frame toward the base, a distance between the rear pole and the front pole in the Y direction gradually increases from the upper frame toward the base, and the front poles are parallel to the Z direction (Claim 12).
These features in combination with the claimed machine of claim 1 which is not found in the prior art of record. The closest prior art of record, Nolan et al, Li, Berg, Gong et al, and Qi taken as a whole, disclose a fitness machine significantly as claimed, but does not provide any teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the prior art as such. There is no cogent reasoning that is unequivocally independent of hindsight that would have led one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the prior art to obtain the applicant’s invention.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Li and Berg teach similar fitness equipment having vertical members which are angularly adjustable in a Z direction.
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 5/14/2026
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