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 .
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) 1, 3, 7, 9-10, 12, 16, and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luna (US 2014/0085050) in view of Aloe et al. (US 2016/0341600), and further in view of Liu et al. (US 2015/0342481).
Regarding to claims 1, 9-10, 19:
Luna discloses an information processing apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
periodically acquire output values corresponding to a plurality of pulse wave signals detected by a proximity sensor in a state worn on a body of a user via a wearable device (FIG. 1A: The wearable device 110 having proximity contact members (107 and 109a) containing sensors 120a-c (paragraph [0029]) and being worn by the user 102. Paragraph [0024]: Sensor data from the sensors includes data representing physiological information such as heart rate, pulse waves, respiration rate. FIG. 2A shows the plurality of pulse wave signals 204a-c),
derive, for each of the plurality of pulse wave signals detected by the proximity sensor during a predetermined determination period, an amplitude parameter representing an amplitude of a respective pulse wave signal (FIG. 2B: The amplitude parameters (272, 274, 295) of the output signal 270 are acquired at the time period).
Luna however does not teach count a number of the amplitude parameters exceeding a criterial value, the number being defined as an amplitude count for determination, determine that the wearable device is correctly worn on the body of the user based on the amplitude count for determination being less than or equal to a criterial number, and determine that the wearable device is not properly worn on the body of the user in a case where the amplitude count for determination is greater than the criterial number.
Aloe et al. discloses algorithms for detecting whether a device is properly/not properly secured to a user’s skin (Abstract) based on the variance in amplitude of sensed pulse signals to count by incrementing/decrementing a value of the counter unit 1112 (paragraph [0056]), wherein the value of the counter unit 1112 is compared to a counter threshold to determine whether the device is on-wrist or off-writ (paragraph [0056]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Luna’s method to determine the wearing state/condition based on the count value of the amplitude variance as disclosed by Aloe et al. to improve the accuracy of wrist detection algorithm (Abstract).
Luna further teaches acquire body movement information of the user (paragraph [0020]: Motion pattern capture unit identifies certain patterns of motion that constitute an activity, such as walking or jogging), Luna however does not teach set a criterial value based on the body movement information acquired, wherein the criterial value is set to a larger value as the body movement information indicates a body movement of the user is becoming larger, and the criterial value is set to a smaller value as the body movement information indicates the body movement of the user is becoming smaller.
Liu et al. discloses a wearable device (heart rate sensor) worn on a body of a user, comprising means for acquiring body movement information of the user (FIG. 3A-B: The data line 312 and 355 indicates the motion of the heart rate sensor during the user activities) and means for setting a criterial value based on the body movement information acquired, wherein the criterial value is set to a larger value as the body movement information indicates a body movement of the user is becoming larger (FIG. 5: In period t1-t2, the motion 505 is large, the difference thus is high as shown in line 555), and the criterial value is set to a smaller value as the body movement information indicates the body movement of the user is becoming smaller (FIG. 5: In period t5-t6, the motion 505 is small, the difference thus is low as shown in line 555).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Luna’s method to set the criteria based on the body movement information as disclosed by Liu et al. in order to selectively apply the compensation to gain the accuracy in processing the data of the wearable device.
Lunar also teaches the following claims:
Regarding to claims 3, 7, 12, and 16: wherein the processor acquire, as the amplitude parameter, a respective one of a plurality of amplitudes of the plurality of pulse wave signals generated at different timings (FIG. 2B shows the plurality of wave signals at different time periods); and acquires body movement information of the user (, and sets the criterial value based on the acquired body movement information, wherein upon determining that the wearable device is not properly worn on the body of the user, the processor outputs information for prompting the user to check a wearing state of the wearable device (paragraph [0041]: In case the wearable device is in the mis-positioned wearing state, the motion data 201 can be used to check or confirm the wearing state of the wearable device).
Regarding to claims 18-19: wherein the processor is configured to set the criteria number to be smaller with a decrease in the length of the predetermined determination period (Liu et al.: As shown in FIG. 5, the graph 500, as the time period decreases, the deviation in the magnitude decreases; as a result, the criteria defined by the difference/deviation (the graph 550) is getting smaller).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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