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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 03/31/2026 has been entered.
Claims 2, 7 and 12 are cancelled.
Claims 1, 6, 13, and 20 are amended.
Claims 1,3-6,8-11 and 13-23 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ouzounov (WO2016037912).
Regarding claim 1, Ouzounov discloses an ultrasonic intrabody wireless communication system comprising a wearable device [Fig. 1b, device #52] in contact with a surface of a human body [#50], the wearable device 52]including an ultrasonic wave generator [CMUT] configured to transmit ultrasonic waves,
and an external receiver [#54] configured to receive the ultrasonic waves from the wearable device[#52] and determine data encoded in the ultrasonic waves[Page 4 Line 30 to page 5 Lines 10 has data communication via ultrasonic waves]
wherein communication between the wearable device and external transceiver is transferred through an ultrasonic intrabody network [Page 4 Line 25 to page 5 Lines 10 has data communication via ultrasonic waves; See also #52 to #54 in Fig 1b]
wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform. [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning it would be considered a pulse transmission, Moreover abstract involves data transmission and Page 11, Lines 5-20 have pulses which with page 10 means bits are encoded in the ultrasonic pulse].
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.
Claims 1, 3-6, 8-11 and 13-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thill (EP2608158A1) in view of Ouzounov (WO2016037912) and Elayan (Efficient Intrabody Biosensor Communication Using Ultrasonic Wave Propagation).
Regarding claim 1, Thill teaches a wearable device [#1, 0008] in contact with a surface of a human body [#3], the wearable device [#1]…..
an external receiver [#5; 0039] configured to receive the from the …..wearable device[#1; 0008] and determine data encoded[ Abstract; 0039] in the
wherein communication between the wearable device and external transceiver is transferred through an …..intrabody network [Abstract; 0039]…
Thill does not explicitly teach an ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves ….. and wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform.
Ouzounov teaches ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves [page 12, line 20 - page 13, line 25 all list the advantages of ultrasonic intrabody communications, among them achieving high data throughout, smaller sizing and robust data communications at low energy consumption]
and ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning it would be considered a pulse transmission, Moreover abstract involves data transmission and Page 11, Lines 5-20 have pulses which with page 10 means bits are encoded in the ultrasonic pulse]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the ultrasonic wave transmitter/transceiver communicator of Ouzounov so as to achieve the advantages of intrabody ultrasonic communication.
Elayan also teaches that wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves [Page 4 Third full para has that pulsed ultrasonic transmission is a solution to both heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the pulsed ultrasonic wave of Elayan so as to reduce heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications.
Regarding claim 6, Thill teaches a wearable device [#1, 0008] in contact with a surface of a human body [#3], the wearable device [#1]…..
an external receiver [#5; 0039 configured to receive the ….. from the wearable device[#1; 0008] and determine data encoded[ Abstract; 0039] in the…..;
And a biometric scanner [#5] configured to identify a biometric feature [#9 I associated with the human body
wherein communication between the wearable device and external transceiver is transferred through an….. intrabody network[ Abstract; 0039]
Thill does not explicitly teach an ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves ….. and wherein the wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform.
Ouzounov teaches ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves [page 12, line 20 - page 13, line 25 all list the advantages of ultrasonic intrabody communications, among them achieving high data throughout, smaller sizing and robust data communications at low energy consumption]…..
wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform. [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning it would be considered a pulse transmission, Moreover abstract involves data transmission and Page 11, Lines 5-20 have pulses which with page 10 means bits are encoded in the ultrasonic pulse]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the ultrasonic wave transmitter/transceiver communicator of Ouzounov so as to achieve the advantages of intrabody ultrasonic communication.
Elayan also teaches that wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves. [Page 4 Third full para has that pulsed ultrasonic transmission is a solution to both heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the pulsed ultrasonic wave of Elayan so as to reduce heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications.
Regarding claim 13, Thill teaches a transmitter [#1, 0008] configured to send data encoded in ….. at least partially through an intrabody communications channel[ Abstract; 0039];
and an adapter[#5; 0039] configured to receive data encoded in the….. from the transmitter[#1, 0008], wherein the adapter comprises an interface within the adapter that is configured to communicate with the data to an external device that has no direct …..data connectivity [The transceiver #5 reads upon the adapter and the facility #7 reads upon the external device and the claimed interface is implicitly provided by the transceiver #5].
Thill does not explicitly teach an ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves ….. wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform.
Ouzounov teaches ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves [page 12, line 20 - page 13, line 25 all list the advantages of ultrasonic intrabody communications, among them achieving high data throughout, smaller sizing and robust data communications at low energy consumption]…..
wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform. [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning it would be considered a pulse transmission, Moreover abstract involves data transmission and Page 11, Lines 5-20 have pulses which with page 10 means bits are encoded in the ultrasonic pulse]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the ultrasonic wave transmitter/transceiver communicator of Ouzounov so as to achieve the advantages of intrabody ultrasonic communication.
Elayan also teaches that wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves. [Page 4 Third full para has that pulsed ultrasonic transmission is a solution to both heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the pulsed ultrasonic wave of Elayan so as to reduce heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications.
Regarding claim 20, Thill teaches determining, by a wearable device [#1, 0008 ]comprising one or more computer processors coupled to memory, payment data to communicate to an external device[#5; 0039] via …..transmitted through human tissue[0016 has payment data communication];
determining the ….., wherein the payment data is encoded in the …..[0016 has payment data communication];…..
and determining that the payment data is received by the external device [#5; 0039; 0016 has payment data communication];
wherein the ….. are confined to the human tissue and can be received only via physical contact[ Abstract; 0039] …
Thill does not explicitly teach an ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves ….. wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform.
Ouzounov teaches ultrasonic wave generator configured to transmit ultrasonic waves [page 12, line 20 - page 13, line 25 all list the advantages of ultrasonic intrabody communications, among them achieving high data throughout, smaller sizing and robust data communications at low energy consumption]…..
wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves that encode each bit of data in a corresponding ultrasonic pulses, such that each ultrasonic pulse containing each bit of data is itself and ultrasonic waveform. [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning it would be considered a pulse transmission, Moreover abstract involves data transmission and Page 11, Lines 5-20 have pulses which with page 10 means bits are encoded in the ultrasonic pulse]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the ultrasonic wave transmitter/transceiver communicator of Ouzounov so as to achieve the advantages of intrabody ultrasonic communication.
Elayan also teaches that wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves. [Page 4 Third full para has that pulsed ultrasonic transmission is a solution to both heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the pulsed ultrasonic wave of Elayan so as to reduce heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications.
Regarding claim 3, Thill, as modified, teaches an adapter configured to communicate with a device that does not have ultrasonic communication capabilities [transceiver #5 reads on the claim]
Regarding claim 4, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein at least part of the data transmitted through the intrabody network comprises authentication information [Abstract has intrabody network for authentication information]
Regarding claim 5, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein at least part of the data transmitted through the intrabody network comprises biometric data that includes user information associated with one or more of voice data, fingerprint data, electrocardiogram (ECG) data, electro-encephalogram (EEG) data, or retinal data. [Abstract has biometric data for authentication information]
Regarding claim 8, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein data associated with the biometric feature is stored only at the wearable device. [0028 has storage of biometric data in the device #1].
Regarding claim 9, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein data associated with the biometric feature is at least partially transmitted through an intrabody network. [Abstract; Fig 1 has data transmitted through intrabody network]
Regarding claim 10, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the system is configured to transmit intrabody data through a human hand. [Abstract; Fig 1 has data transmitted through hand].
Regarding claim 11, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the external transceiver is a credit card payment station or a secure access control lock [0038 has payment system or access control].
Regarding claim 14, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the adapter is configured to communicate with a payment station or automated teller machine. [0038 has payment system or access control]
Regarding claim 15, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the adapter is configured to communicate with a secure access interface, [Fig 1 has communication between #1 and #5]
Regarding claim 16, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the transmitter is disposed within a wearable device in contact with a human body. [Fig I has wearable device #1 ]
Regarding claim 17, Thill, as modified, teaches wherein the interface is a magnetic strip or a credit card payment chip. [0038 has point of sale device]
Regarding claim 18, Thill, as modified, teaches at least one biometric scanner disposed on the adapter. [Abstract; Fig 1 has biometric scanner]
Regarding claim 19, Thill, as modified, wherein the adapter is used for a multifactor authentication system. [Abstract has biometric data for authentication information as well as from the device #1]
Regarding claim 21, Thill does not explicitly teach wherein: the pulsed ultrasonic waves comprise a first pulsed ultrasonic wave that encodes a first bit of a byte; the pulsed ultrasonic waves comprise a second pulsed ultrasonic wave that encodes a second bit of the byte; and wherein at least the first and second pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted by the wearable device according to a spreading code and/or pseudo-random time hopping scheme.
Ouzounov teaches wherein: the pulsed ultrasonic waves comprise a first pulsed ultrasonic wave that encodes a first bit of a byte[page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning each transmission is a bit and that it can be a pulse transmission];
the pulsed ultrasonic waves comprise a second pulsed ultrasonic wave that encodes a second bit of the byte[page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning each transmission is a bit and that it can be a pulse transmission];
and wherein at least the first and second pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted by the wearable device according to a spreading code and/or pseudo-random time hopping scheme. [page 10, lines 13-18 has coding of bits and signal transmission for each transmitted bit meaning each transmission is a bit and that it can be a pulse transmission as well as teaching spreading code as well as wearable device #52 in fig la]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the ultrasonic wave transmitter/transceiver communicator of Ouzounov so as to achieve the advantages of intrabody ultrasonic communication.
Elayan also teaches that wherein the ultrasonic waves are pulsed ultrasonic waves. [Page 4 Third full para has that pulsed ultrasonic transmission is a solution to both heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the system of Thill with the pulsed ultrasonic wave of Elayan so as to reduce heating and cavitation effects in intrabody ultrasonic communications.
Claims 22 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thill (EP2608158A1) in view of Ouzounov (WO2016037912) and Elayan (Efficient Intrabody Biosensor Communication Using Ultrasonic Wave Propagation) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Melodia (US 20180027077 A1).
Regarding claim 22, Thill teaches does not explicitly teach wherein the pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted according to a pseudo-random time hopping scheme.
Melodia teaches wherein the pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted according to a pseudo-random time hopping scheme. [0094 has pseudo random adaptive time hopping for pulsed ultrasonic waves]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to have modified the ultrasonic system of Thill with the pseudorandom adaptive time hopping for pulsed ultrasonic waves of Melodia in order to transmit short information bearing pulses.
Regarding claim 23, Thill teaches does not explicitly teach wherein the pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted according to an adaptive time hopping scheme.
Melodia teaches wherein the pulsed ultrasonic waves are transmitted according to an adaptive time hopping scheme.[0094 has pseudo random adaptive time hopping for pulsed ultrasonic waves]
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/31/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant's arguments and interpretation concerning encoding data in the ultrasonic pulse, the interpretation is overly narrow. The concept of transmitting data via bits via ultrasonic pulses are well known in the art and the prior art clearly has ultrasonic waves being used for data transmission. Such a concept is further supported by the list of references cited. See for example 0067 of D'Souza (US 20180241577 A1).
Applicant's remaining arguments amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references. Rejections are maintained – and no allowable subject matter can be identified at this time.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VIKAS NMN ATMAKURI whose telephone number is (571)272-5080. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-5:30pm.
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/VIKAS ATMAKURI/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/JAMES R HULKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
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