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 1-20 have been examined.
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.
Claims 1-15 are 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.
As to Claims 1 and 15, it is unclear as to what structure/feature is doing the receiving of media, generating exercise controls, adjusting the operating parameter of the exercise device, and implementing the exercise program.
As to Claim 13, it is unclear as to how a media file could be modified to include exercise controls.
As to Claim 15, it is unclear how the results of the application of the media exercise control model are used for generating exercise controls.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Waller et al (US Patent Application Publication 2024/0017123).
1. Waller et al disclose a method for implementing an exercise program, comprising:
receiving third-party media (50), the third-party media unrelated to the exercise program;
generating, while streaming and displaying the third-party media on a display of an exercise device, exercise controls for the third-party media, the exercise controls based at least in part on content in the third-party media(Par. 0054-0055; Par. 0092); and
adjusting at least one operating parameter of the exercise device based at least in part on the exercise controls (Par. 0065-0068).
2. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the third-party media comprises a TV series (Par. 0033).
3. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the third-party media comprises a movie (Par. 0033).
4. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the third-party media does not include exercise controls (Par. 0063).
5. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises a soundtrack of the third-party media (Par. 0033).
6. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 5, wherein the exercise controls are based at least in part on a tempo of the soundtrack (Par. 0064).
7. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 6, wherein the exercise controls increase an intensity of the exercise program when the tempo is fast (Par. 0051).
8. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 6, wherein the exercise controls decrease an intensity of the exercise program when the tempo is slow (Par. 0051).
9. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 5, wherein the exercise controls are based at least in part on lyrics of the soundtrack (Par. 0064: Examiner considers Waller et al to disclose that both words (e.g. lyrics) and musical tone and musical tempo can be used as exercise controls).
10. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises dialog of the third-party media (Par. 0064: “The features module 56 represents the features that are extracted from the digital file. At least some of the features are non-quantitative, such as…a joke, an insult, a conversation”).
11. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises video of the third-party media (Par. 0033).
12. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises a genre of the third-party media (Par. 0049: “Users will often seek out certain show or movie genres to support a workout”.
13. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein generating the exercise controls comprises: modifying the third-party media to include the exercise controls.
14. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 1, wherein generating the exercise controls comprises:
generating an exercise control file to control the at least one operating parameter of the exercise device.
15. Waller et al disclose a method for implementing an exercise program, comprising:
receiving third-party media (50), the third-party media unrelated to the exercise program;
applying, while receiving the third-party media and displaying the third- party media on a display of an exercise device, a media exercise control model to the third-party media, the media exercise control model trained to associate content of the third-party media with operating parameters of the exercise device (Par. 0064-0065);
generating, based at least in part on the exercise control model, exercise controls for the exercise program, the exercise controls associated with the content of the third-party media (Par. 0064-0065); and
implementing the exercise program on the exercise device synchronized with the third-party media (Par. 0068).
16. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 15, wherein receiving the third-party media comprises: receiving the third-party media via streaming over an internet interface (Par. 0092).
17. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 16, wherein applying the media exercise control model comprises: applying the media exercise control model in real-time (Par. 0072).
18. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 15, wherein the third-party media comprises a TV series (Par. 0033).
19. Waller et al disclose the method of claim 15, wherein the third-party media comprises a movie (Par. 0033).
20. Waller et al disclose an exercise system, comprising:
an exercise device (130) including a display (104) and operating parameters changeable by an exercise program (Par. 0065: “The emotion-led workout profile 58 is generated using the features that are present in the features module 56. The profile is generated by defining settings for parameters of an exercise machine”);
one or more memories (110) comprising instructions (“computer-readable instructions”); and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and configured to execute the instructions to cause the exercise system to:
receive third-party media (50), the third-party media unrelated to the exercise program;
generate, while streaming and displaying the third-party media on a display of an exercise device, exercise controls for the third-party media, the exercise controls based at least in part on content in the third-party media (Par. 0054-0055; Par. 0092); and
adjust at least one operating parameter of the exercise device based at least in part on the exercise controls (Par. 0065-0068).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Toles et al, Casalini, Watterson, and Evancha et al all disclose similar exercise control systems and methods where media is used and/or manipulated to effect the operation of an exercise device.
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 6/29/2026
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