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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1 and 16 have been amended by incorporating features of now cancelled claims 2, 3 and 17, 18 (cancelled without prejudice), respectively. Claim 30 has been amended similarly. Claims 1, 4-8, 10, 13, 16, 19-23, 25, 27 and 30 are pending. Claims 1, 4-8, 10, 13, 16, 19-23, 25, 27 and 30 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 16, and 30 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.
Notably, while elements of claims 3 have been incorporated into claim 1, the amendment clarifies that the “threshold” referred to in former claim 3 refers to a time period (“a time frame exceeds a threshold”, amended claim 1), opposed to the threshold referring to a sensor reading (“the determination of the first sub-behavioral state, exceeding a threshold”, former claim 3). Therefore, the new grounds of rejection are necessitated by the change of scope due to the clarification provided by the amendment. Arnold has been added to meet the limitations introduced by the amendment. Singh is not used to address the limitation and the argument against Singh regarding amended claim 1 not teaching the elements of former claim 3 is moot.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4-8, 10, 13, 16, 19-23, 25, 27 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh et. al. (US 2019/0053470 A1) [previously cited] in view of Arnold et. al. (US 2016/0022201 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Singh discloses a monitoring system (Singh Figure 1B, tag assembly 102, concentrator 104, and remote server 108), comprising:
a sensing mechanism comprising one or more sensors (Singh FIG. 1B, sensor 114, see par. 97 stating sensor 114 may include sensors 114a-114c) configured to obtain information relating to a subject, the sensing mechanism having a plurality of operation modes, each of the operation modes having respective power consumption ranges (Singh par. 158, in a situation where the given animal [i.e., subject] is in a poor or stressed health state, the concentrator 104 and/or remote server 108 may direct the tag assembly 102 to increase the sampling rate or change the parameters that are sampled [i.e. change mode, different sampling rate being a different operation mode], higher sampling rate would require higher power consumption for the monitoring period [i.e., respective power consumption range for the mode]);
a power source capable of supplying power to the one or more sensors […] (Singh FIG. 1B, battery 121 [i.e., power source], see par. 44, battery powers components of tag assembly 102 and sensor 114 are part of tag assembly); and
a processing circuitry (Singh FIG. 1B, processor 116 in tag assembly 102, processor 130 or processor 124; also see par. 107, the steps described throughout the present disclosure may be carried out on any one or more of the one or more processors 116, 124, 130) configured to:
cause activation of the sensing mechanism at a first operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of first readings from the one or more sensors over a first period of time (Singh FIG. 1B and par. 56, processor 116 in tag assembly 102 use "program instructions" to configure/activate tags to collect data using processor 130; Singh par. 129 “physiological and/or behavior characteristics measured at a first time instance (or across a first time interval)” [i.e., first period of time]; also see par. 81, one or more sensors 114 of tag assembly 102 may collect activity data of the animal over a selected time period [e.g., a first time period]);
analyze the first readings to determine a first behavioral state of the subject, the first behavioral state being one of a plurality of predetermined behavioral states (Singh par. 39, the system may measure one or more behavioral characteristics [i.e., behavioral states]), wherein (a) each behavioral state of the predetermined behavioral states is associated with a distinct group of a plurality of predetermined sub-behavioral states (Singh par. 39, activity and/or movement characteristics tracked by the one or more sensors may include frequency and/or duration of chewing, range of motion (e.g., range of head motion), body movements, the frequency and duration of trips to a feed and/or water source [i.e., each behavioral state [e.g., chewing] is associated with a sub behavioral state [e.g., chewing frequently]]; also see instant application par. 70 sub behavioral states may be "a difference in the granularity or a difference of degree, and not necessarily completely different behaviors."), and (b) in at least one of the plurality of predetermined behavioral states at least part of said plurality of predetermined sub-behavioral states are degrees of said behavioral state (Singh par. 39, activity and/or movement characteristics tracked by the one or more sensors may include frequency and/or duration of chewing, range of motion (e.g., range of head motion), body movements, the frequency and duration of trips to a feed and/or water source [i.e., degree of identified behavioral state]);
based on the first behavioral state, cause activation of the sensing mechanism at a second operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of second readings from the one or more sensors over a second period of time, the second operation mode having a higher power consumption range than the first operation mode (Singh par. 158, in a situation where the given animal is in a poor or stressed health state [i.e., based on e.g., a poor or stressed behavioral state], concentrator 104 and/or remote server 108 to the tag assembly 102 may update the sampling conditions of the given tag assembly 102 to increase the sampling rate or change the parameters that are sampled [i.e., change the mode to a second mode of operation in which the sensor samples at a higher rate; more frequent sampling would have increased power over the default mode]);
analyze the second readings to determine a first sub-behavioral state of the subject (Singh par. 67, the set of program instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors 130 to make one or more assessments and/or one or more predictions regarding the health state of one or more animals; also see par. 84, accelerometer readings may be taken at smaller intervals (e.g., 10 readings per second, 25 readings per second, and the like) over a selected time period [i.e., a second time period] to gather additional activity data, and the standard deviation may be calculated and used to determine if subsequent values (e.g., readings collected in the subsequent one second, readings collected in the subsequent three seconds, and the like) are either in-line or outside of normal activity and/or movement for the particular animal; and par. 85, acceleration readings may be used to identify particular activities, such as step count, feeding, coughing [i.e., behavioral states, where degree is sub-behavioral state, as disclosed in par. 39]), the first sub-behavioral state being one of the sub-behavioral states of the group of the predetermined sub-behavioral states associated with the first behavioral state (Singh par. 39, activity and/or movement characteristics tracked by the one or more sensors may include frequency and/or duration of chewing, range of motion (e.g., range of head motion), body movements, the frequency and duration of trips to a feed and/or water source [i.e., each behavioral state [e.g., chewing] is associated with a sub behavioral state [e.g., chewing frequently]);
cause, after determining the first sub-behavioral state of the subject, activation of the sensing mechanism at the first operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of third readings from the one or more sensors over a third period of time (Singh par. 129, “physiological and/or behavior characteristics measured at a first time instance (or across a first time interval) may compared to one or more measured physiological and/or behavior characteristics at a second time instance (or across a second time interval) (and a third time instance, a fourth time instance and so on)”, describing obtaining multiple readings (e.g., first and third) over additional time intervals, measuring requires activation of the sensor);
analyze the third readings to determine a second behavioral state of the subject, the second behavioral state being one of the plurality of predetermined behavioral states (Singh par. 129, “physiological and/or behavior characteristics [i.e., behavioral states] measured at a first time instance (or across a first time interval) may compared to one or more measured physiological and/or behavior characteristics [i.e., behavioral states] at a second time instance (or across a second time interval) (and a third time instance, a fourth time instance and so on)”, stating determining a behavioral state is based on readings across multiple time intervals [i.e., a second time interval, a third time interval]);
based on the second behavioral state, cause activation of the sensing mechanism at a third operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of fourth readings from the one or more sensors over a fourth period of time, the third operation mode having a higher power consumption range than the first operation mode (Singh par. 129, “physiological and/or behavior characteristics [i.e., behavioral states] measured at a first time instance (or across a first time interval) may compared to one or more measured physiological and/or behavior characteristics [i.e., behavioral states] at a second time instance (or across a second time interval) (and a third time instance, a fourth time instance and so on)”, stating determining a behavioral state is based on readings across multiple time intervals [i.e., a second time interval, a third time interval]; and Singh par. 158, in a situation where the given animal is in a poor or stressed health state [i.e., based on e.g., a poor or stressed behavioral state], concentrator 104 and/or remote server 108 to the tag assembly 102 may update the sampling conditions of the given tag assembly 102 to increase the sampling rate or change the parameters that are sampled [i.e., change the mode to a second mode of operation in which the sensor samples at a higher rate; more frequent sampling would have increased power over the default mode]), wherein, upon the second behavioral state being the same as the first behavioral state, causing the activation of the sensing mechanism at the third operation mode […] (Singh par. 129, “physiological and/or behavior characteristics measured at a first time instance (or across a first time interval) may compared to one or more measured physiological and/or behavior characteristics at a second time instance (or across a second time interval) (and a third time instance, a fourth time instance and so on)”, describing obtaining multiple readings over additional time intervals, measuring requires activation of the sensor; also see par. 87, the animal's average historical temperature and average historical accelerometer readings may be determined as an average for the same selected time period for which the one or more temperature and accelerometer readings are being collected [i.e., the same sensing mode is used to derive temperature readings for the animal over a tracked time period]); and
analyze the fourth readings to determine a second sub-behavioral state of the subject, the second sub-behavioral state being one of the sub-behavioral states of the group of the predetermined sub-behavioral states associated with the second behavioral state (Singh par. 67, the set of program instructions may be configured to cause the one or more processors 130 to make one or more assessments and/or one or more predictions regarding the health state of one or more animals; also see par. 84, accelerometer readings may be taken at smaller intervals (e.g., 10 readings per second, 25 readings per second, and the like) over a selected time period [i.e., a second time period] to gather additional activity data, and the standard deviation may be calculated and used to determine if subsequent values (e.g., readings collected in the subsequent one second, readings collected in the subsequent three seconds, and the like) [i.e., including fourth readings] are either in-line or outside of normal activity and/or movement for the particular animal; and par. 85, acceleration readings may be used to identify particular activities, such as step count, feeding, coughing [i.e., behavioral states, where degree is sub-behavioral state, as disclosed in par. 39]).
Singh does not explicitly teach:
a power source capable of supplying power to the one or more sensors in accordance with the power consumption ranges.
wherein, upon the second behavioral state being the same as the first behavioral state, causing the activation of the sensing mechanism at the third operation mode only after a time frame exceeds a threshold, wherein the time frame is the time between the determination of the second behavioral state and one of (a) the determination of the first behavioral state or (b) the determination of the first sub-behavioral state; and
In the analogous art of saving power based on a user's state Arnold teaches a monitoring system (Arnold FIG. 9, electronic device 900 and wearable electronic device 902), comprising:
a power source (Arnold par. 41-42, sensors consume power) capable of supplying power to the one or more sensors in accordance with the power consumption ranges (Arnold par. 175, power consumption is changed responsive to the detection of a user's transitions in and out of the asleep state or, in addition, make power consumption changes responsive to detection of transition between one or more of the sleep stages); and
processing circuitry (Arnold FIG. 9, processor 942 and processor 952) configured to:
cause, after determining the first sub-behavioral state of the subject (Arnold par. 52, the time block classifier 126 uses the activity levels to assign blocks of time a sleep state selected from one of a plurality of sleep states, including an awake state and an asleep state [i.e., behavioral states]; and par. 52 some embodiments may include sleep states that represent different stages of sleep of a user [i.e., sub-behavioral states], some embodiments may include sleep states that represent different types of non-sleeping activities [i.e., sub-behavioral states]), activation of the sensing mechanism at the first operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of third readings from the one or more sensors over a third period of time (Arnold FIG. 3A, showing sensor movement measurements over a period of time; and Arnold par. 175, the power consumption is changed responsive to the detection of a user's transitions in and out of the asleep state, or in addition make sure power consumption changes responsive to detection of transition between one or more of the sleep stages [i.e., sensing mode is based on the behavioral state]);
analyze the third readings to determine a second behavioral state of the subject, the second behavioral state being one of the plurality of predetermined behavioral states (Arnold FIG. 3D, illustrates the deriving of user awake/asleep states [i.e., behavioral states] using data [i.e., readings] during different time spans);
based on the second behavioral state, cause activation of the sensing mechanism at a third operation mode of the operation modes to obtain a plurality of fourth readings from the one or more sensors over a fourth period of time, the third operation mode having a higher power consumption range than the first operation mode (Arnold claim 27, responsive to a state of the user, as tracked by the wearable electronic device, transitioning into an asleep state [i.e., behavioral state], increasing power consumption of the at least one of the photoplethysmographic sensor and the motion sensor [i.e., changing operational modes], wherein the increase of the power consumption provides additional data for sleep stage detection [i.e., obtain an additional data set for sleep stage detection]), wherein, upon the second behavioral state being the same as the first behavioral state, causing the activation of the sensing mechanism at the third operation mode only after a time frame exceeds a threshold (Arnold par. 138, the deriving of user awake/asleep states; and Arnold par. 175, power consumption is changed responsive to the detection of a user's transitions in and out of the asleep state [i.e., being in the same behavioral state would result in the sensor being activated in the same mode, because power mode is based on behavioral state]; and Arnold FIG. 2A and par. 73, time windows are used to calculate features within the window; [the time window represents a threshold time before the sensing mode changes in response to a determination of a new power mode]), wherein the time frame is the time between the determination of the second behavioral state and one of (a) the determination of the first behavioral state or (b) the determination of the first sub-behavioral state (Arnold FIG. 2A, 2B, and par. 132, determining statistical features for one of the moments of interest and classifying that moment of interest based on the statistical features [i.e., determining behavioral state]; and Arnold par. 175, power consumption is changed responsive to the detection of a user's transitions in and out of the asleep state; [the time frame is the at least the time between the determination of the second behavioral state and the determination of the first behavioral state, as the power consumption mode is changed based on determining a behavioral state, also see par. 37 describing determining states at the end of sensing windows]); and
analyze the fourth readings to determine a second sub-behavioral state of the subject, the second sub-behavioral state being one of the sub-behavioral states of the group of the predetermined sub-behavioral states associated with the second behavioral state (Arnold par. 52, the time block classifier 126 uses the activity levels to assign blocks of time a sleep state selected from one of a plurality of sleep states, including an awake state and an asleep state [i.e., behavioral states]; and par. 52 some embodiments may include sleep states that represent different stages of sleep of a user [i.e., sub-behavioral states], some embodiments may include sleep states that represent different types of non-sleeping activities [i.e., sub-behavioral states]; also see par. 279, periods of sleep are determined after sleep determination).
Therefore, it would have been obvious of one of ordinary skill in the art, having the teachings of Singh and Arnold before him, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Singh’s animal tracking system with Arnold’s sensing system with operational power modes and timing windows for behavior determination, the motivation being to decrease the memory consumed by storing multiple samples of movement data (Arnold par. 37-39).
Regarding Claim 4, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the determination of at least one of (a) the first behavioral state of the subject (Singh par. 39, using data to determine behavioral state (ex. number of steps an animal takes over a selected time period)), or (b) the first sub-behavioral state, is also based on analysis of historical behavioral patterns associated with the subject (Singh par. 41, "A change in any one or more physiological and/or behavioral characteristics may indicate a change in health of the given animal", historical data is needed to detect a change; or Singh par. 86, animal's temperature and activity readings for a selected time period may be compared to that animal's average historical temperature and average historical activity readings to determine any abnormalities which may indicate the animal has a sickness, disease, or other health defect).
Regarding Claim 5, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the operation modes define at least one of:
a sampling rate of one or more of the one or more sensors (Singh par. 158 "in a situation where the given animal is in a poor or stressed health state, the concentrator 104 and/or remote server 108 may direct the tag assembly 102 to increase the sampling rate or change the parameters that are sampled."), a sensitivity of one or more of the one or more sensors, a dynamic range of one or more of the one or more sensors, an accuracy of one or more of the one or more sensors, or a bandwidth of one or more of the one or more sensors.
Regarding Claim 6, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the sensing mechanism, the power source and the processing circuitry are comprised within a tag attachable to the subject (Singh Figure 1B, tag assembly 102 with sensor 114, battery 121, and processor 116; and Singh par. 10, the tag can be placed on the subject's body).
Regarding Claim 7, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the sensing mechanism and the power source are comprised within a tag attachable to the subject (Singh Figure 1B, tag assembly 102 with sensor 114 and battery 121; and Singh par. 10 stating the tag can be placed on the subject's body).
Regarding Claim 8, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 7. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the processing circuitry is part of a server (Singh Figure 1B, remote server 108 with processor 130), the tag further comprises a transceiver capable of transmitting the information to the server (Singh Figure 1B, communication circuitry 120; also see par. 47: circuitry 120 relays data to concentrator 104 and par. 52: data is further relayed from concentrator 104 to server 108), and the processing circuitry is further configured to receive the first readings and the second readings from the tag utilizing a transmitter (Singh Figure 1B, remote server 108 with network interface 131, see par. 54 "the remote server 108 may receive all or some of the received physiological and/or behavioral data via network 106").
Regarding Claim 10, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the one or more sensors include one or more of the following: a vibration sensor, a temperature sensor, a velocity sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a pedometer, a location sensor, a heart rate sensor, a moisture sensor (Singh par. 37, listing potential sensor types: "temperature probes (e.g., IR temperature sensors, thermocouples, thermistors, and the like), one or more heart rate monitors (e.g., optical heart monitors), one or more accelerometers, one or more magnetometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more inertial measurement units, one or more location sensors, and the like").
Regarding Claim 13, Singh in view of Arnold discloses the monitoring system of claim 1. Singh in view of Arnold further discloses:
wherein the information obtained by at least one of the one or more sensors includes one or more of:
(a) physiological information obtained from the subject (Singh par. 38, addressing physiological information to be collected), (b) geo-spatial information (Singh par. 39, addressing tracking behavior and movement such as "duration of trips to a feed and/or water source"), or (c) environmental information.
Regarding Claim 16, Singh discloses a monitoring method (Singh FIG. 1C and par. 91, system 100 for monitoring one or more characteristics of one or more members of an animal population).
The remaining limitations of claim 16 are similar in scope to claim 1 as addressed above and are thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 19 is similar in scope to claim 4 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 20 is similar in scope to claim 5 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 21 is similar in scope to claim 6 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale
Claim 22 is similar in scope to claim 7 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 23 is similar in scope to claim 8 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 25 is similar in scope to claim 10 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Claim 27 is similar in scope to claim 13 as addressed above and is thus rejected under the same rationale.
Regarding Claim 30, Singh discloses a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code, executable by at least one processing circuitry of a computer to perform a method (Singh FIG. 1C and par. 91, system 100 for monitoring one or more characteristics of one or more members of an animal population; and par. 108, the memory 117, 125, 132 may include any storage medium known in the art suitable for storing program instructions executable by the associated one or more processors… the memory 117, 125, 132 may include a non-transitory memory medium).
The remaining limitations of claim 30 are similar in scope to claim 1 as addressed above and are thus rejected under the same rationale.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/C.J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2175
/ANDREW J JUNG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2175