DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 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.
Claim(s) 4-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 4, “the head module” lacks proper antecedent basis.
Regarding claim 7, it is unclear as to whether “an ultrasonic oscillation head” is the same one initially set forth in claim 4.
Regarding claim 8, “the track home” lacks proper antecedent basis.
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.
(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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park (US 20170303895).
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses a lifting beauty device using high-intensity focused ultrasound, the lifting beauty device ([0059]: “face lifting or skin tightening”) comprising: a body portion having a circumference gripped by a hand of a user ([0062], Fig. 2: “procedure handpiece 210”) and configured to generate a rotational power ([0068], Fig. 2: “rotating unit 233”) as the user operates an operation button exposed on a surface ([0062], Fig. 2: “switch 212a…controls an ultrasonic wave”); and a cartridge portion coupled to an upper side of the body portion and having an ultrasound emission head that emits high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) with the rotational power generated by the body portion ([0063]…[0066]: “cartridges 310”, “a rotational force outside the first through third cartridges…may be transferred to an inside of the cartridges, and the transducer 314 may be moved in a rectilinear direction by the rotational force”) and emits the high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in two emission depths while moving along a corresponding path ([0064]: “initial HIFU radiation depth and a final HIFU radiation depth”).
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 may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20170303895).
Regarding claim 2, Park discloses a body housing that has an internal space having an internal length from top to bottom and includes an operation button on a surface (Fig. 2: “switch 212a”; [0090], Fig. 9: “input unit 430 may be implemented as a physical button or touch screen”); a battery accommodated on the lower side of the internal space of the body housing and electrically connected to an external power source and an input terminal to be charged with electricity, and outputting the charged electricity through an output terminal ([0092]: “power supply unit 460 may be implemented with a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery”, “power supply unit 460 can be charged”); an electric motor accommodated on an upper side of the internal space of the body housing, electrically connected to the output terminal of the battery, and causing a motor gear, which is rotatably provided on an upper side of the body housing, to rotate (Fig. 9, [0103], [0109]: “motor 450”, “gear (not shown)”); and a control board provided in the internal space of the body housing, electrically connected to the electric motor and the battery, and controlling a power output of the battery based on a signal input through the operation button to control operations of the electric motor and the cartridge portion ([0115], [0117], [0121]: “controller 440”). While Park does not explicitly disclose a plurality of operation buttons, Park does teach that input devices may come in different designs (see [0090]), and also, an artisan would have found it well-known and common to include additional buttons, such as one dedicated to powering up the device or one dedicated to controlling the rotation mechanism, to name just two. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to apply an additional input button to the device of Park, as to provide additional independent control various functions.
Regarding claim 3, Park discloses a coupling portion which is formed on the upper side of the body housing and into which a lower end of the cartridge portion is inserted (Figs. 2, 7, and 12 show a cartridge being inserted into a body housing); and a pair of connection terminals which are spaced apart from the motor gear located at an inner center of the coupling portion by a certain distance and are electrically connected to the control board (Fig. 7: “512T1” and “512T2” are spaced apart terminal pairs and are connected to the controller), and from which power is output to the cartridge portion through the control board ([0169]: “a relay that turns the transducer 314 on or off and a power supply line (not shown)”; “Fig. 9 shows that a controller is connected to the motor).
Regarding claim 4, Park discloses a cartridge housing having an internal space, including an insertion portion inserted into the coupling portion, having an opening formed in an upper side through which an ultrasonic oscillation head is movable (Figs. 2-5); a rotational power transfer means accommodated on a lower side inside the cartridge housing and receiving and outputting a rotational power generated by the body portion (Figs. 4 and 5: “rotational force applying unit 350”); a head transport means mechanically connected to the rotational power transfer means in the internal space of the cartridge housing and linearly transporting the head module with the rotational power output from the rotational power transfer means ([0075]…[0079], Fig. 5: “cylindrical cam 341” moves the transducer head linearly using rotational power from the rotational force applying unit 350); and the head unit connected to the head transport means in the internal space of the cartridge housing and emitting the high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) while linearly moving by the head transport means ([0074]…[0076], Figs. 4 and 5: “transducer 314”). Park does not explicitly disclose that the opening formed in an upper side is oval-shaped. However, the oval shape of the opening does not appear to be functionally significant and also to be merely a matter of choice which an artisan would have found to obvious (MPEP 2144.04(IV)(B): In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966)).
Regarding claim 5, Park does not explicitly disclose that the rotational power transfer means includes a connection gear engaged with the motor gear; and a first bevel gear connected to the connection gear by an axis to rotate in conjunction with a rotation of the connection gear. However, Park does teach that gears, belts, pulleys, are engaged with the motor to transmit the rotational energy to the HIFU transducer ([0109], [0135]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to apply a connection gear and a bevel gear, which are well-known, to the mechanism of Park, as to provide a robust transmission of rotational energy.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jason Ip whose telephone number is (571) 270-5387. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9a-5p PST.
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/JASON M IP/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3793