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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 November 20, 2025 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “closure” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US PGPub 20150063075 to Baek et al. (hereafter “Baek”).
Regarding Claim 5, Baek discloses a device comprising:
a strip comprising at least one of a band [10] and a band part [13], the strip adapted to wrap around a human limb [[0066] and Fig. 1], the strip comprising a cavity [cavity is located where camera 51 is; see Fig. 7], the cavity being opened towards the human limb [[0109]];
wherein a shape of the cavity is adapted to a shape of an imaging device [51; Figs. 2 and 7; [0074]-[0075]]; and
wherein the cavity has at least one opening [1131] adapted for a lens of the imaging device [Figs. 2 and 7; [0075]].
Regarding Claim 6, Baek discloses a closure [14] for closing the cavity and for securing the imaging device inside the cavity [Figs. 2 and 7; [0074]].
Regarding Claim 7, Baek discloses that the strip comprises: a first band part [13] comprising the cavity, wherein the first band part comprises a first end part comprising a connector [123] to connect to a watch part [1; Fig. 2] and a second end part [124] comprising a connector to connect to a second band part [10’][Figs. 1-2]; and the second band part comprising a third end part comprising a connector to connect to a watch part [Figs. 1-2], and a fourth end part comprising a connector to connect to the second end part of the first band part [Figs. 1-2].
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 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baek in view of US 10,129,503 to Kim et al. (hereafter “Kim”).
Regarding Claim 8, Baek discloses that the device additionally comprises a display [3].
Baek does not disclose that the at least one opening comprises two openings mounted with an angle between the openings, wherein the angle is larger than zero degrees and smaller than 180 degrees; wherein at least one of the at least one opening is mounted with an angle to the display that is larger than zero and smaller than 90 degrees.
Kim teaches a watch band with two imaging devices [106] comprising two openings [lenses 108], wherein the angle between the two openings is larger than zero degrees and smaller than 180 degrees [Fig. 2], and wherein at least one of the at least one opening is mounted with an angle to the display that is larger than zero and smaller than 90 degrees [Fig. 2].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to both (a) duplicate the opening disclosed by Baek [see MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B)] and to (b) provide the two imaging devices with different angles as taught by Kim with a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results. A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to create this combination in order to achieve a wider field-of-view than is possible with a single camera [Kim Col. 4, lines 36-38].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 and 9-14 are allowed.
The references fail to teach, disclose, or suggest, either alone or in combination, regarding Claims 1 and 9, the imaging device adapted to be installed in the cavity so as to entirely fill the cavity; regarding Claim 11, installing the imaging device inside the cavity so as to entirely fill the cavity and in combination with the rest of the limitations of the base and intermediate claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed August 11, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to Applicant’s arguments that the cavity as disclosed by Baek does not open towards the human limb, Applicant appears to argue that, since the cavity has a cover, it is not “opened towards a human limb.” This is not persuasive. The cavity is indeed opened inwards, as can clearly be seen in Fig. 7; the fact that there is also a cover is irrelevant. The installation of the camera into the cavity occurs from the back. Further, the Examiner notes that the instant claims read “the cavity has at least one opening and the imaging device has at least one lens arranged to fit against the opening”. This is not necessarily the same opening as implied by “opened towards a human limb”. The fact that the camera faces an opening, and that there exists an opening towards the human limb, certainly meets these limitations. Thus, Baek anticipates the limitation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDWIN A LEON whose telephone number is (571)272-2008. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10am-6pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Renee Luebke can be reached at 571-272-2009. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EDWIN A. LEON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2831