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 .
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s claim for foreign priority to TW113109449 filed 14 March 2024. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
The claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
Throughout the claims, “said guide wheel assemblies” should read --said two guide wheel assemblies--
Throughout the claims, “said longitudinal bars” should read --said pair of longitudinal bars--
Throughout the claims, “said positioning plates” should read --said two positioning plates--
Claim 7, line 13, “to protrusion block” should read --to said protrusion block--
Claim 8, line 5, “man” should read --main--
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2020/0254302, hereinafter Yoo) in view of Bayerlein et al. (US 2022/0212056, hereinafter Bayerlein).
Regarding claim 1, Yoo teaches a treadmill (treadmill 1) comprising:
a base frame unit (frame structure 110);
a front wheel unit (front rotation module 152) that is rotatably connected to said base frame unit (Fig. 11);
a rear guide unit (rear rotation module 153) that is mounted to said base frame unit, that is spaced apart from said front wheel unit in a first direction (Fig. 11), and that includes
two positioning plates (rotation members 200) spaced apart from each other along an axis that is perpendicular to the first direction (Fig. 11: The rotation members 200 are considered plates as they are thin flat support structures.), and
two guide wheel assemblies respectively connected to said positioning plates, each of said guide wheel assemblies including a plurality of roller subunits (bearings 203) that are disposed around the axis and that are spaced apart from each other (Fig. 14 shows the bearings 203 spaced apart around a center axis of the rotation members 200.. Para. [0085]: “For example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, in the non-powered treadmill 1 according to embodiments, in at least one of the front rotation module 152 and the rear rotation module 153, each of the pair of rotation members 200 may include a plurality of third bearings 203.”);
a running belt unit (slats 131 and belts 132) that is looped around said front wheel unit and said guide wheel assemblies, such that said rotation of said front wheel unit drives circular motion of said running belt unit relative to said base frame unit (Fig. 1. Para. [0046]: “The slats 131 connected by the belts 132 may form a closed loop. The belts 132 may be wound around the rotation device 150 to be rotated. As the belts 132 rotate, the slats 131 connected by the belts 132 may be rotated.”).
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Yoo teaches wherein “the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may also be applied to a powered treadmill in which a track unit is driven by power or to a hybrid treadmill in which a track unit may be driven in both powered and non-powered manners” (Para. [0096]), but does not expressly teach a drive unit that is mounted to said base frame unit and that is operable to drive rotation of said front wheel unit.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Bayerlein teaches a treadmill comprising a base frame unit (frame 260); a wheel unit (shaft assembly 280) rotatably connected to said base frame unit; and a drive unit (motor system 350) mounted to said base frame unit that is operable to drive rotation of said wheel unit (Fig. 4. Para. [0074]: “As shown, the motor system 350 is in cooperation with the rear shaft assembly 280. In particular, the driven pulley is coupled to the rear shaft 281, such that rotation of the driven pulley causes rotation of the rear shaft 281 (and, in turn, the rear running belt pulleys 282). However, in other embodiments, the motor system 350 may be in cooperation with the front shaft assembly (e.g., the driven pulley may be rotationally coupled to the rear shaft) and/or multiple motor systems may be included whereby the motor systems are included with the treadmill.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the treadmill of Yoo by including the motor system of Bayerlein. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “selectively provide power, to not provide power, or to provide braking to resist rotational movement of the running belt” for various exercises on the treadmill, as suggested by Bayerlein (Para. [0074]).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo (US 2020/0254302) in view of Bayerlein (US 2022/0212056) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Astilean et al. (US 2016/0367851, hereinafter Astilean).
Regarding claim 2, Yoo in view of Bayerlein teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for each of said guide wheel assemblies, each of said roller subunits includes a bearing (bearings 203) (Yoo: Fig. 14).
Yoo does not expressly teach a threaded member that extends through said bearing and that is threadedly secured to a respective one of said positioning plates.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Astilean teaches a treadmill comprising a plurality of roller bearings (rollers 176c) and threaded members (screws 176e) that extend through said bearings and threadedly secure the bearing to a support plate (frame 177) (Fig. 10AA).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the roller subunits of Yoo by including the threaded members of Astilean with the predicted result of providing a removable fastener that can be easily unscrewed in order to quickly replace any faulty bearings (see MPEP 2141(III)).
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo (US 2020/0254302) in view of Bayerlein (US 2022/0212056) further in view of Astilean (US 2016/0367851) as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of the bearing train 151 of Yoo (US 2020/0254302).
Regarding claim 3, Yoo in view of Bayerlein further in view of Astilean teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 2, wherein, for each of said guide wheel assemblies:
said roller subunits are divided into a first group and a second group, each adjacent pair of said roller subunits belonging to said first group being spaced apart by one of said roller subunits belonging to said second group (Yoo: See annotated Fig. 14 below.).
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Yoo teaches wherein each adjacent pair of roller subunits belonging to said first group is spaced a part by one of said roller subunits belonging to said second group, but does not teach wherein each adjacent pair of roller subunits belonging to said first group being spaced apart by at least two of said roller subunits belonging to said second group. However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to cause the device of Yoo to have two roller subunits of the second group between each of the roller subunits of the first group, because the treadmill would not operate differently and the rear rotation members 200 would function appropriately to guide the treadmill belt as it loops around, as desired by Yoo. Such modifications involve a mere duplication of parts which fails to distinguish the invention over the prior art (see MPEP 2144.04). Further, Applicant places no criticality on the number claimed and simply states “each adjacent pair of the roller subunits 421 belonging to the first group are spaced apart by at least two of the roller subunits 421 belonging to the second group” (paragraph [0029]).
Yoo teaches wherein the roller subunits belonging to said first group are larger than the roller subunits belonging to said second group, but does not expressly teach wherein each of said roller subunits belonging to said first group further includes a roller sleeve that is fixedly sleeved on said bearing.
However, in a separate structure of the treadmill of Yoo, Yoo teaches a bearing train 151 comprising a plurality of bearings belonging to a first group (guide rollers 1512) and a plurality of bearings belonging to a second group (bearings 1511), wherein the bearings belonging to the first group include roller sleeves fixedly sleeved on the bearings (Figs. 13, 14 shows wherein the guide rollers 1512 comprise sleeves that are fixedly sleeved on an outer circumference of the bearing/roller. It is further noted that Yoo teaches wherein “a guide roller 1512 configured to prevent the belt 132 from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction may be arranged between the plurality of third bearings 203” (Para. [0085]) in reference to the bearings on the rotation members 200 shown in Fig. 14.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the bearings of the first group of roller subunits of Yoo by including the guide rollers of the bearing train. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “prevent the belt from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction,” as suggested by Yoo (Para. [0085]).
Regarding claim 4, Yoo in view of Bayerlein in view of Astilean teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 3, wherein said roller sleeve of each of said roller subunits belonging to said first group has
an outer surrounding surface that is substantially parallel to the axis, and
a block portion that protrudes from said outer surrounding surface and that abuts against said running belt unit such that said running belt unit is positioned relative to said base frame unit along the axis (Yoo: See the annotated portion of Fig. 11 below.).
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Regarding claim 5, Yoo in view of Bayerlein in view of Astilean teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 4, wherein said block portion of said roller sleeve has an inclined surface segment that is in contact with said running belt unit (Yoo: Annotated Fig. 11 above with regards to claim 4 shows an inclined surface of the guide roller in as much as Applicant has shown an inclined surface of the roller subunit. In Fig. 4 of the instant application, Applicant points to a lip of the roller sleeve as an inclined surface. The lip of the guide roller 1512 is considered the inclined surface.).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo (US 2020/0254302) in view of Bayerlein (US 2022/0212056) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Parise (WO 2008/099429, a copy of which is provided with this office action).
Regarding claim 6, Yoo in view of Bayerlein teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said base frame unit has
a front end portion;
a rear end portion that is opposite to said front end portion in the first direction,
a pair of longitudinal bars (left frame 111-1, right frame 111-2) that are elongated from said front end portion to said rear end portion in the first direction, and that are spaced apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and
at least one transverse bar (gap maintaining unit 111-3) that is elongated in the second direction and that interconnects said longitudinal bars;
said front wheel unit is disposed adjacent to said front end portion of said base frame unit;
said rear guide unit is disposed adjacent to said rear end portion of said base frame unit (Yoo: Fig. 11 shows the treadmill having a front end and a rear end with left and right frames 111-1, 111-2 between them. The frame members 111-1, 111-2 of Yoo are bars in as much as Applicant has shown bars. In the Figures of the instant application, the bars 13 are shown as structural frame members.).
Yoo does not teach each of said positioning plates is connected to and movable along a respective one of said longitudinal bars.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Parise teaches a treadmill comprising a base frame unit having a pair of longitudinal bars (base 12) and a rear guide unit (rear roller 21), wherein the rear guide unit is connected to and movable along the pair of longitudinal bars (Figs. 5-6. Abstract: “A treadmill comprises a frame having a base (12), a transmission device having a front roller and a rear roller (21) connected between two sides of said base (12), an endless belt (22) driven over said front and rear rollers, and an adjusting device for adjusting the tension of the endless belt (22) that includes two identical units (32) respectively connected to the two sides of the base (12), each unit (32) comprising a movable member (31) which is a substantially C-shaped member and has a passage defined therethrough, a threaded rod (37) connected to said passage, and an adjusting nut (35) rotatably mounted to a distal end of said threaded rod (37) extending beyond said movable member (31). A shaft of the rear roller (21) is connected to the two movable members (31) of the adjusting device so that, by operating the two adjusting nuts (35), the two movable members (31) are moved in the horizontal direction so as to adjust the distance between the front and rear rollers and the tension of the endless belt (22) without using electric power and with a simple and compact mechanism.” Parise teaches an adjustment unit 32 on each side of the rear roller that moves the rear roller along the base 12 in order to adjust tension of the belt.).
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the treadmill of Yoo by making the rear guide unit movable, as taught by Parise. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to “adjust the distance between the front and rear rollers and the tension of the endless belt without using electric power and with a simple and compact mechanism,” as suggested by Parise (Abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 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 prior art of record fails to disclose all of the structural and functional limitations of the claimed invention, further in view of the structure of the positioning plates and adjustment system, as required by claim 7.
Regarding dependent claim 7, the combination of Yoo, Bayerlein, and Parise teaches the treadmill as claimed in claim 6, wherein: each of said positioning plates has an abutment protrusion (Parise: Figs. 5, 6 show the rod within the rear roller 21 being an abutment protrusion.); and each of said longitudinal bars has a protrusion block (movable member 31), and an adjustment bolt (threaded rod 37) that extends threadedly through said protrusion block (Parise: Figs. 5, 6).
Yoo in view of Bayerlein further in view of Parise fails to teach wherein each of said positioning plates has a plurality of adjustment slots that are elongated in the first direction, a plurality of fasteners that extend respectively through said adjustment slots and that are fastened to said respective one of said longitudinal bars, and wherein the adjustment bolt abuts against said abutment portion of a respective one of said positioning plates, such that said adjustment bolt is rotatable to move relative to protrusion block and push said respective one of said positioning plates, via said abutment portion of said respective one of said positioning plates, to move in the first direction.
In a similar field of endeavor, Pasero (US 5,302,162) teaches a treadmill comprising a tension adjustment mechanism comprising a protrusion block (mounting block 44), and an adjustment bolt (shaft 70) that extends threadedly through said protrusion block, wherein the adjustment bolt abuts against said abutment portion (axle 48) of a rear guide unit (roller assembly 16), such that said adjustment bolt is rotatable to move relative to said protrusion block and push said rear guide unit, via said abutment portion of said respective one of said positioning plates, to move in the first direction (Fig. 3).
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However, Pasero does not teach wherein each of the positioning plates has a plurality of adjustment slots that are elongated in the first direction, a plurality of fasteners that extend respectively through said adjustment slots and that are fastened to said respective one of said longitudinal bars.
It would not have been obvious to modify the positioning plates (rotation members 200) of Yoo to have a plurality of adjustment slots for a plurality of fasteners to extend through such that the positioning plates are fastened to the respective one of the pair of longitudinal bars (frame members 111-1, 111-2), because the rotation members 200 are meant to rotate and fastening them at a plurality of points to the frame members 111-1, 111-2 would prevent the necessary rotation.
Claims 8-9 depend from claim 7.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Catrina Letterman whose telephone number is (303)297-4297. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday - Friday, 8am - 5pm MT.
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/C.A.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3784
/Megan Anderson/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3784
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