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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/10/25 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 21-26, 28-35, 37-39, and 41-44 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by the applicant’s amendments to the claims.
Drawings
As discussed in a previous action, the drawings filed on 03/04/22 are accepted.
Examiner’s Note - Double Patenting
As previously discussed, in view of the applicant’s amendments of 11/19/24, the previous double patenting rejection was withdrawn. However, depending on how the claims may be amended in the future, the double patenting rejection may be reinstated.
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 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.
Claim(s) 21-26, 29-35, 37-39, 41-42, and 44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Volpe et al (US PgPub 20130085538) in view of Longinotti-Buitoni et al (US PgPub 20140070957). Please note Post et al (US Pat 6210771), which is applied as an illuminating reference and not a modifying reference.
With respect to claim 21, Volpe et al discloses:
A wearable device (figures 1-2 and 4-5; paragraph 0003 specifically discloses invention as being directed to a wearable device.)
a reference transmitting loop coupled with the wearable device, the reference transmitting loop having a first physical structure and a reference measurable property (figures 3B and 4B show two parallel capacitive elements 155; One of these capacitive elements 155 will be construed as a reference transmitting loop. The other capacitive element 155 will be construed as a measurement transmitting loop. In the applicant’s 09/10/25 arguments, the applicant stated that “Support for this amendment is found in at least par. [0012] and [0038]-[0039].” (page 9, paragraph 1 of the applicant’s arguments). Paragraph 0012 of the applicant’s specification states, “the first and second transmitting loops are separate transmitting loops and the property with a readable value depending on aging of the object of a wearable device is a mutual property of at least two physically separate loops, such as capacitance or resistance between two adjacent loops … Then, when the wearable device is getting older (ages) … the aging can be determined based on the changing value of the mutual property so for example when the value of capacitance or conductance (resistance) has changed over a certain limit or threshold value, the effect or amount of aging can be deduced.” (emphasis mine). Although Volpe uses different language, it appears that its configuration in figures 3B and 4B is conceptually doing the same thing, as the capacitance between the two capacitive elements 155 is being measured. Paragraph 0059 of Volpe states, “FIG. 3B depicts a portion of wearable therapeutic device 100 that includes capacitive elements 155 in an unstretched position, and FIG. 4B depicts a portion of wearable therapeutic device 100 that includes capacitive elements 155 in a stretched position … controller 130 can determine differences between the capacitance of capacitive element 155 in the unstretched position of FIG. 3B and the stretched position of FIG. 4B, as stretching or movement of garment 105 changes the relative capacitive surface area and/or distance between capacitive elements 155.” (emphasis mine). In that the applicant’s 09/10/25 amendments appear directed to using two fibers/wires/loops to form a capacitive element that exhibits a change in capacitance over time (so as to deduce amount of aging), the teachings of Volpe of two conductive elements 155 that have a change in capacitance over time are construed to anticipate/teach/suggest the amended concept. This is especially the case, as Volpe connects stretching changes to age in paragraph 0061, where it is stated, “controller 130 can determine the inductance or capacitance with garment 105 in an unstretched position at a baseline first time … and in a stretched position at a second time … comparator circuit 520 compares the unstretched baseline inductance or capacitance value with the stretched inductance or capacitance value … Based on this comparison, controller 130 and alarm module 120 can alert the subject to a number of conditions … or that the garment should be replaced for example, due to its age.” (emphasis mine). As an additional illuminating, non-modifying reference, the examiner would also draw the applicant’s attention to Post et al (US Pat 6210771). Post figure 5A, references 502 and 504 discloses a substantially similar structural configuration to figures 3B and 4B of Volpe. Column 10 of Post et al states, “Passive electrical components may be formed in a fabric in various ways. In one approach, shown in FIG. 5A, a non-conductive fabric panel 500 contains a pair of conductive threads or fibers 502, 504 that run parallel to one another along a path … the fibers 502, 504 form a capacitor.” (emphasis mine). Post et al is mentioned here to demonstrate that pairs of fibers that form a capacitor, like the ones shown in Volpe, are well-known and well-established; Post predates both Volpe and the applicant’s invention by more than a decade. Also, Volpe recognizes that “Passive electrical components may be formed in a fabric in various ways.” For argument’s sake, even if the parallel fiber capacitor teachings of Volpe and Post did not explicitly anticipate the applicant’s amended configuration, the examiner contends that the configurations taught by the art would constitute obvious equivalent replacements to the claimed configuration. As seen in both Volpe and Post (and also in the applicant’s disclosure), there are many permissible implementations of electrical components for fabrics. One of the KSR rationales for obviousness is “Design Incentives or Market Forces Prompting Variations,” which accounts for: 1) The prior art teaches a base device (or method, product) similar or analogous to the claims; 2) Design incentives or market forces would have prompted change to the base device; 3) Known variations or principles would meet the difference between the claimed invention and the prior art and the implementation would have been predictable. If an obviousness rejection were applied, all three of these considerations would be considered to be met by the art. However, as the art is considered to disclose, teach, or suggest the claimed invention, no obviousness rejection is currently applied for this limitation.)
a measurement transmitting loop coupled to the wearable device (figures 3B and 4B; explanation given above), electrically connected to an end device that is coupled to the wearable device, and configured to power the end device (paragraph 0032 of Volpe states, “Wearable therapeutic device 100 may include one, more than one, or all of the above mentioned elements, as well as additional elements such as at least one power supply to provide power …” Please also note the abstract of Post, which states, “The conductive fibers, which may be continuous or arranged in lanes, serve as electrical conduits capable of carrying data signals and/or power …”), the measurement transmitting loop having a second physical structure and a measurement measurable property, wherein the reference measurable property and the measurement measurable property are different over time due to different rates of aging of the first physical structure and the second physical structure (figures 3B and 4B, reference 155; see explanation above. Also, please note that because the two wires/loops/threads/fibers are separate entities, they will inherently disclose different rates of aging, even at a minimal level. Even if they are constructed of the same material and have the same thickness specifications, separate wires located in the same position will inherently be subject to slightly different real-life conditions that would impact their rates of aging. That being said, inherency aside, it is also known in the art to apply different materials. For example, column 4, lines 1-8 of Post state, “The fabric 100 may be an ‘organza’ textile comprising two types of fibers … The conductive fiber may be a fully metallic strand; a fiber or cotton fiber plated or coated with a metal or other conductive material; or a silk or other non-conductive thread uniformly wrapped in a very thin layer of metal (e.g., copper, gold or silver) foil.”), the reference measurable property and the measurement measurable property both depend on aging of the wearable device, and the reference measurable property and the measurement measurable property are a mutual property of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop, the mutual property being at least one of capacitance and resistance between the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop (As discussed above, the mutual property of the two loops is capacitance, and Volpe teaches age, in the context of capacitance change over time.)
a data processing unit coupled to the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop (paragraph 0009 states, “At least one other aspect is directed to a non-transitory computer readable medium … The instructions include instructions that will cause a processor to receive … and to determine inductance of an inductive element or capacitance of a capacitive element included in the wearable therapeutic device …”)
the data processing unit configured to:
determine a difference value between a measured value of the reference measurable property and a measured value of the measurement measurable property (Volpe paragraph 0061, as discussed above)
compare the difference value to a baseline value, the baseline value being a predetermined measured difference of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop, to determine an amount of aging of at least one of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop (Volpe paragraph 0061, as discussed above)
With respect to claim 21, Volpe et al differs from the claimed invention in that it does not explicitly disclose:
manipulating a power fed to the measurement transmitting loop based on the determined amount of the aging of at least one of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop, wherein the power fed powers the end device and manipulating the power fed includes changing the power fed to compensate for aging of the measurement transmitting loop
With respect to claim 21, Longinotti-Buitoni et al discloses:
manipulating a power fed to the measurement transmitting loop based on the determined amount of the aging of at least one of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop, wherein the power fed powers the end device and manipulating the power fed includes changing the power fed to compensate for aging of the measurement transmitting loop (figure 1A; paragraphs 0209-0210 state, “An intelligent garment or apparel system may include a power and data distribution system (‘PDDS’). Such a power and data distribution system may be applied to or incorporated into an intelligent apparel item. Such a power and data distribution system may supply and/or route any power and/or data paths to operate the multitude of electronics and sensors used in conjunction with an intelligent apparel … With a power and data distribution system, an intelligent wear system may utilize a ‘power trace’ … a power trace may also create an interactive sensor (touch point) that can be activated through any or more mechanisms including but not limited to capacitance …”; paragraph 0270 states, “Such a conductive trace may be used, for example, to bring a sensor condition and/or a power supply to a sensor or to an electrode … so that a sensor and/or power supply may be placed in any location on the shirt … or it may be used to bring an electrical signal (e.g., variable current or voltage) from a sensor or electrode … placed in any location on the shirt … to the smart module.”; paragraph 0272 states, “The electrical environment changes in response to a stimulus … The resultant decrease in capacitance can be detected by proper electronics.”; The claimed limitation is obvious in view of the combination of Volpe et al in view of Longinotti-Buitoni et al. Longinotti-Buitoni et al discloses a variety of end devices on a garment and also discloses a power and data distribution system, which one of ordinary skill in the art would understand to manipulate power fed to a variety of sensors and devices for a variety of reasons. As discussed above, Volpe paragraph 0061 links age with capacitance change over time. The link between power, age, and capacitance would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.)
With respect to claim 21, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Longinotti-Buitoni et al into the invention of Volpe et al. The motivation for the skilled artisan in doing so is to gain the benefit of controlling the distribution of power to different sensors and devices located on the garment.
With respect to claim 22, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference transmitting loop is arranged at a first physical location of the wearable device and the measurement transmitting loop is arranged at a second physical location of the wearable device (As discussed above, figures 3B and 4B show separate loops 155, that each serve as part of a “capacitor.”) such that measurement of the measured value of the reference measurable property and measurement of the measured value of the measurement measurable property are done simultaneously (obvious in view of both loops 155 each being part of the “capacitor”; the capacitance between the two loops is calculated based on simultaneous measurement of the properties of the individual loops)
Claim 35 represents a method claim variation of claims 21-22 and is rejected for similar reasons.
With respect to claims 23 and 37, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference measurable property and the measurement measurable property are at least one of an electrical and optical property. (paragraph 0061 of Volpe et al (‘538) discloses measuring inductance and capacitance, which are electrical properties)
With respect to claims 24 and 38, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference transmitting loop is made from a material having the reference measurable property and the measurement transmitting loop is made from another material having the measurement measurable property (paragraphs 0048 and 0050 of Volpe et al (‘538) disclose elements 150 and 155 as being formed of conductive material that allows them to serve their intended function.)
With respect to claim 25, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference transmitting loop is a physical structure having the reference measurable property and the measurement transmitting loop is another physical structure having the measurement measurable property (Volpe figures 3B and 4B, as discussed above)
With respect to claim 26, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop on the wearable device are at different locations of the wearable device such that the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop are exposed to different levels of erosion during usage of the wearable device (As discussed above, figures 3B and 4B show the two capacitive elements at different locations, and it would either be inherent, suggested, or obvious that the different real-time elements, at different locations, would result in different levels of erosion, over time, during usage of the wearable device.)
With respect to claim 29, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the wearable device is a garment or a structure of the garment (Volpe et al (‘538) figure 2; paragraph 0032 states, “Wearable therapeutic device 100 can include at least one garment 105 in the shape of a vest or a shirt.”)
With respect to claim 30, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the end device is a sensor for detecting at least one of biosignals, heart rate, or temperature (Volpe et al (‘538) paragraph 0037 states, “sensing electrode 135 can sense electrical activity of the subject’s heart signals …” Please also note variety of data collected by variety of sensors in Longinotto-Buitoni et al.)
With respect to claim 31, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the electrical property of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop is at least one of resistance or inductance (Volpe abstract)
With respect to claim 32, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein at least one of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop is a printed conductor (Longinotti-Buitoni et al paragraph 0085 discloses, “An intelligent garment platform may be created with printed and physical sensors, conductive and elastic materials and media (inks) …”)
With respect to claim 33, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the measured value of the reference measurable property of the reference transmitting loop is known at a first moment, and wherein the data processing unit is configured to measure a value of one of the reference measurable property of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement measurable property of the measurement transmitting loop at a second moment to determine an effect of aging, the second moment being later than the first moment (Volpe et al (‘538) paragraph 0061)
With respect to claim 34, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the wearable device is configured to provide notification of over age based on the determined amount of aging, wherein the notification is provided to at least one of an indication device of the wearable device and an outer device (Volpe et al (‘538) paragraph 0061)
With respect to claim 39, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
locating the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop on the wearable device at different locations to age the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop differently (obvious for similar reasons as given with respect to claim 26 above)
With respect to claim 41, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein a rate of aging of the reference transmitting loop is greater than a rate of aging of the measurement transmitting loop (obvious for reasons discussed above; The rates of aging are determined by things like material and structure, and one of ordinary skill in the art recognizes that these can be varied for various situations. Also, as discussed above, since the two loops are separate, one will inherently have a different rate of aging than the other due to real-world conditions.)
With respect to claim 42, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop are both printed conductors (paragraph 0085 discloses, “An intelligent garment platform may be created with printed and physical sensors, conductive and elastic materials and media (inks) …”; The limitation is obvious in view of applying the printed conductive conductors principles of Longinotti-Buitoni et al to the context of Volpe et al), and a thickness of the reference transmitting loop is greater than a thickness of the measurement transmitting loop such that resistances of the reference transmitting loop and the measurement transmitting loop change at different rates during usage of the wearable devices and over time (obvious in view of combination; paragraph 0269 of Longinotti-Buitoni et al discloses various thicknesses. Both Volpe et al and Longinotti-Buitoni et al disclose using various materials. It is inherent that different thicknesses and different materials will carry different properties, such as different resistance changes at different rates. The claimed limitation is an obvious and natural consequence of using different materials at different thicknesses.)
With respect to claim 44, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
wherein a baseline value of the reference measurable property and a baseline value of the measurement measurable property are known at a first time, the data processing unit is configured to determine the amount of aging by comparing the measured value of the reference measurable property to the baseline value of the reference measurable property and comparing the measured value of the measurement measurable property to the baseline value of the measurement measurable property (Volpe paragraph 0061)
Claim(s) 28 and 43 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Volpe et al (US PgPub 20130085538) in view of Longinotti-Buitoni et al (US PgPub 20140070957), as applied to claims 21-26, 29-30, 32-35, 37-39, and 41-42 above, and further in view of Wikipedia Article on Impedance Matching (Snapshot taken on 10/19/14).
With respect to claim 28, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
the wearable device of claim 21 (as applied to claim 21 above)
With respect to claim 28, Volpe et al, as modified, differs from the claimed invention in that it does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the wearable device is configured to perform active impedance matching to the measurement transmitting loop functioning as a transmission line to keep an impedance of the transmission line as desired based on the measured value of the reference measurable property of the reference transmitting loop
With respect to claim 28, the Wikipedia entry on impedance matching discloses:
wherein the wearable device is configured to perform active impedance matching to the measurement transmitting loop functioning as a transmission line to keep an impedance of the transmission line as desired based on the measured value of the reference measurable property of the reference transmitting loop (The Wikipedia article on impedance matching is being applied to demonstrate that it is well-known to apply impedance-matching to capacitive elements, such as the elements in reference 155 of Volpe et al. The last paragraph of the “Complex conjugate matching” section in the Wikipedia entry discloses, “This simple matching network consisting of a single element will usually only achieve a perfect match at a single frequency. This is because the added element will either by a capacitor or an inductor …” The last paragraph of the “Impedance-matching devices” section states, “To match electrical impedances, engineers use combinations of transformers, resistors, inductors, capacitors and transmission lines. These passive (and active) impedance, matching devices are optimized for different applications …” (emphasis mine). The claimed limitation is obvious in view of the combination with Volpe et al, as it describes impedance-matching functionality as it pertains to the context of the capacitive loops of Volpe et al, and the Wikipedia entry teaches impedance matching for capacitive elements.)
With respect to claim 28, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Wikipedia into the invention of modified Volpe et al. The motivation for the skilled artisan in doing so is to gain the benefit of maximizing power transfer or minimizing signal reflection from a load.
With respect to claim 43, Volpe et al, as modified, discloses:
the wearable device of claim 21 (as applied to claim 21 above)
With respect to claim 43, Volpe et al, as modified, differs from the claimed invention in that it does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the measurement transmitting loop has a line impedance of 50 ohms to 75 ohms
With respect to claim 43, the Wikipedia entry on impedance matching discloses:
wherein the measurement transmitting loop has a line impedance of 50 ohms to 75 ohms (The last paragraph on page 3 states, “In radio-frequency (RF) systems, a common value for source and load impedances is 50 ohms.” The applicant’s disclosure presented the claimed values as exemplary and not critical. It would appear that this new claim is merely disclosing well-known and well-established impedance values.)
With respect to claim 43, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Wikipedia into the invention of modified Volpe et al. The motivation for the skilled artisan in doing so is to gain the benefit of maximizing power transfer or minimizing signal reflection from a load.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lussey et al (US Pat 7145432) discloses flexible switching devices.
Nikonov et al (US PgPub 20140180624) discloses a sensing and responsive fabric.
Logan et al (US PgPub 20160245665) discloses monitoring activity with intelligent fabrics.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEONARD S LIANG whose telephone number is (571)272-2148. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00 AM - 7 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ARLEEN M VAZQUEZ can be reached on (571)272-2619. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LEONARD S LIANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2857 03/04/26