PTAB

IPR2022-00533

MerchSource LLC v. Hyper Ice Inc

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Hand-held Percussion Massager
  • Brief Description: The ’708 patent is directed to a battery-powered, hand-held percussion massager. The invention’s key features include a handle containing a rechargeable battery and a printed circuit board (PCB), and a charge indication display comprising LEDs positioned near the peripheral edge of the PCB that emit light outward toward an annular, light-transmissive ring to display the battery's charge status.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 1-18 are obvious over Shaanxi in view of Horie, and further in view of Huang and/or Srinivasan.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Shaanxi (CN205251993U), Horie (Application # US2014/0014384), Huang (TWM402573), and Srinivasan (Application # US2019/0125972).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner asserted that the primary reference, Shaanxi, discloses the foundational elements of a pistol-shaped, electric percussive massage device, including a main enclosure, motor, reciprocation assembly with a piston, and a handle. However, Shaanxi does not specify a power source. Horie, which relates to handheld power tools, was argued to supply the missing elements of a rechargeable battery system, including a battery pack, control circuitry on a PCB housed within the handle, and an outer gripping surface. The key claimed features of the charge indication system were allegedly taught by either Huang (a wireless microphone) or Srinivasan (a medical device). Both Huang and Srinivasan were asserted to disclose a charge display with multi-colored LEDs mounted near the periphery of a PCB, which emit light outward to an annular, transmissive ring to provide a clear visual indication of battery status from multiple viewing angles.
    • Motivation to Combine: A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA) would have been motivated to modify Shaanxi’s massager with Horie’s well-known rechargeable battery technology to create a desirable portable, cordless device. To provide users with necessary feedback on the battery’s charge state, a POSITA would look to analogous arts of handheld consumer electronics. Huang and Srinivasan offered known, elegant solutions for displaying status indicators that are visible from various angles, making it an obvious design choice to incorporate their peripheral LED and light ring system into the massager handle.
    • Expectation of Success: Petitioner argued that combining these elements involves the integration of conventional mechanical and electronic components. The underlying technologies were well-understood, and their implementation was considered predictable, leading to a high expectation of success.

Ground 2: Claims 1-18 are obvious over Jingwen in view of Horie, and further in view of Huang and/or Srinivasan.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Jingwen (CN204246459U), Horie (Application # US2014/0014384), Huang (TWM402573), and Srinivasan (Application # US2019/0125972).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground presented a parallel argument to Ground 1, substituting Jingwen for Shaanxi as the primary reference. Petitioner argued that Jingwen, like Shaanxi, discloses a base pistol-shaped percussion massager with a main body, motor, handle, and a reciprocation assembly that includes a piston element. As with the first ground, Horie was relied upon to teach the rechargeable battery, control circuitry, and gripping surface. Similarly, Huang and/or Srinivasan were cited to provide the specific charge indication display system, including the peripherally mounted LEDs and the annular light transmissive ring.
    • Motivation to Combine: The motivation to combine was asserted to be identical to that in Ground 1. A POSITA would start with the known massager design of Jingwen and would be motivated to make it portable by incorporating the established rechargeable battery technology from the analogous field of power tools, as taught by Horie. The need to communicate battery status to the user would lead a POSITA to adopt the known and effective lighting solutions from other handheld devices like those disclosed in Huang or Srinivasan.
    • Expectation of Success: The combination was presented as a predictable integration of known components from analogous arts. No unexpected results would arise from placing a standard battery and indicator light system into a handheld massager, thus a POSITA would have a reasonable expectation of success.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests institution of an inter partes review (IPR) and cancellation of claims 1-18 of the ’708 patent as unpatentable.