DETAILED ACTION
This action is pursuant to claims filed on 03/28/2023. Claims 1-16 are pending. A first action on the merits of claims 1-16 is as follows.
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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, “sensor and the wide-angle camera,” should read “sensor and the wide-angle camera.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2, the claim recites the limitation “a position out of view of the subject”. The metes and bounds of the field of view cannot be ascertained because there is no standard field of view, the field of view can change depending on the position of the subject, therefore this limitation is unclear on what is required. The broad and indefinite scope of the limitation fails to inform a person of ordinary skill in the art with reasonable certainty of the metes and bounds of the claimed invention, therefore the claim is rendered indefinite. For purposes of examination, any position that could be interpreted as being a position out of view of any subject will teach on this limitation.
Regarding claim 11, the claim recites the limitation “the image apparatus”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, this is being interpreted as referring to the wide-angle camera in claim 1.
Further regarding claim 11, the claim recites the limitation “an image of at least one of an operation performed by the subject and an environment around the subject”. It is unclear if this limitation refers to the image, operation, and environment from claim 1, or different images, operations, and environments. If it is referring to the same limitations, it needs to refer back to it. If it is referring to different limitations, it needs to be distinguished. For purposes of examination, it is being interpreted as referring to the limitations from claim 1.
Further regarding claim 11, the claim recites the limitation “a facial expression of the subject”. It is unclear if this is referring to the facial expression from claim 1, or a different facial expression. If it is referring to the facial expression from claim 1, it needs to refer back to it. If it is referring to a different facial expression, it needs to be distinguished. For purposes of examination, it is being interpreted as referring to the facial expression from claim 1.
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.
(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 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kobayashi (WO 2016143759).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kobayashi teaches a physiological information measurement system that measures brain activities, the physiological information measurement system comprising:
a base attachable to and removable from a head of a subject (Fig. 2C and 2D; Page 16: “the head-mounted portion may be a hat-mounted type”);
a plurality of sensors held by the base (Page 4: “the brain potential signal acquisition means acquires signals from the brain using sensors”);
and a signal processing unit that processes signals outputted from the plurality of sensors (Page 11: “The processing unit 111 includes a processor”),
wherein the plurality of sensors include a brain sensor that measures brain activities (Page 11: “the emotion estimation device 100 includes a brain activity measurement device 140”).
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.
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 1-3 and 7-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kobayashi in further view of Alves (WO 2020006275) and Samec (US PG Pub 20170323485).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kobayashi teaches a physiological information measurement system comprising:
a base attachable to and removable from a head of a subject (Fig. 2C and 2D; Page 16: “the head-mounted portion may be a hat-mounted type”);
a sensor held by the base, the sensor measuring brain activities (Page 11: “the emotion estimation device 100 includes a brain activity measurement device 140”; Page 4: “the brain potential signal acquisition means acquires signals from the brain using sensors”);
a camera that obtains an image of at least one of an operation performed by the subject as combined with a facial expression of the subject (Page 11: “a facial expression measurement camera 160”).
However, Kobayashi does not disclose a wide-angle camera, or obtains an image of an environment around the subject.
Alves discloses a wearable system for brain health monitoring. Specifically, Alves teaches a wide-angle camera that obtains an image of an environment around the subject ([00101]: “location 802 can include wide-angle cameras”; [0071]: “the camera 252 can collect video or images of the user’s environment”). Kobayashi and Alves are analogous arts as they are both related to systems used to monitor the brain of a user.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the camera and environment image from Alves into the system from Kobayashi as it allows the system to capture more information about the user and their environment, which can provide a more comprehensive analysis of the user’s condition.
The Kobayashi/Alves combination teaches a signal processing unit (Kobayashi, Page 11: “The processing unit 111 includes a processor”).
However, the Kobayashi/Alves combination does not teach synchronizing the signals outputted from the sensor and the wide-angle camera.
Samec discloses systems and methods for user health analysis. Specifically, Samec teaches a signal processing unit that synchronizes signals outputted from the sensor and the wide-angle camera ([0288]: “the display system may be configured to gather external data (e.g., date, temperature, ambient noise, lighting conditions, distance from the mirror, etc.) and/or outputs provided by the display system to the user, which are synchronized or otherwise associated with the user data.”). Kobayashi, Alves, and Samec are analogous arts as they are all related to systems used to monitor the brain of a user.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the synchronization step from Samec into the system from the Kobayashi/Alves combination as it allows the combination to perform further, important analysis of the data and can determine the relation between the data from the different sensors.
Regarding claim 2, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the wide-angle camera is arranged at a position out of a field of view of the subject (Kobayashi, Page 30: “the face is photographed by a facial expression measuring camera 160 (not shown) that photographs the face from the tip of the cap brim”).
Regarding claim 3, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the base includes a protruding portion that protrudes forward from a frontal portion of the subject, and the wide-angle camera is attached to the protruding portion (Kobayashi, Page 30: “the face is photographed by a facial expression measuring camera 160 (not shown) that photographs the face from the tip of the cap brim”).
Regarding claim 7, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit is provided in the base (Kobayashi, Page 11: “The signals or data obtained from the brain activity measuring device 140, the eyeball photographing device 150, and the facial expression measuring camera 160 are processed by emotion estimation means (brain potential information processing means, pupil diameter information processing means, and facial image information processing means) of the computer 110 connected to the bus 114 via, for example, an I/O port … The processing unit 111 includes a processor that controls each unit, and performs various processes using the storage unit 112 as a work area. The above processing means, 25-08-2025 - Page 12 calculations, etc. can be executed by a program stored in the storage unit 112”).
Regarding claim 8, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1.
However, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination does not teach wherein the signal processing unit is provided in an apparatus different from the base.
Samec teaches wherein the signal processing unit is provided in an apparatus different from the base ([0348]: “data received and/or stored at the database 632 may be analyzed locally at the device 608, or may be analyzed remotely, for example, following transmission to external processing circuitry through the cloud 636 or other data sharing or transmission medium”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the signal processing unit being in an apparatus different from the base from Samec into the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as it allows the processor to be separate from the device, which can give it more space and keep the device smaller and allows the processor to be transported in different places than the device.
Regarding claim 9, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit synchronizes a first signal from the sensor and a second signal from the wide-angle camera with each other based on a time stamp of the first signal and a time stamp of the second signal (Samec, [0318]: “data from two or more sensors and/or data input sources may be correlated to improve the monitoring, diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or health analysis capabilities of the display system 2010. In some more embodiments, data from user sensors 24, 28, 2030, 32 may be correlated with data from environmental sensors 34, allowing the display system 2010 to monitor the effects of interactions between the user and the real and/or augmented environment. This correlation may be analyzed for a behavioral analysis, diagnostic or monitoring purposes, and/or a health analysis. For example, sensor data such as heart rate, blood pressure, or other user-specific data may be correlated with data from environmental sensors. Such environmental data may include time and/or date, so as to track cycles or trends in such physiological parameters over the course of a day, multiple days, or longer time periods”).
Regarding claim 10, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor measures brain waves or measures a cerebral blood flow (Kobayashi, Pages 6-7: “FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a triple correlation display section of a brain activity measuring device B according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a pseudo-three dimensional display of an example of a triple correlation value distribution of electroencephalographic waveforms of healthy subjects, plotted on a feature space formed by two delay parameters (τ1, τ2) of a brain activity measuring device B according to one embodiment of the present invention”).
However, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination does not teach the physiological information measurement system further comprises an additional sensor that performs at least one selected from the group consisting of a detection of a motion of the subject, measurement of a heartbeat, measurement of a body temperature, and measurement of respiration.
Alves teaches the physiological information measurement system further comprises an additional sensor that performs at least one selected from the group consisting of a detection of a motion of the subject, measurement of a heartbeat, measurement of a body temperature, and measurement of respiration ([00143]: “step 410 can include receiving video data from a camera associated with the brain health system, movement data from a motion sensor (e.g., an accelerometer) associated with the brain health system”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the additional sensor from Alves into the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as it allows the system to measure more influential factors that go into the analysis of the user’s condition, which can provide a more accurate, comprehensive analysis of the user.
Regarding claim 11, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 10, wherein the image apparatus is configured to obtain an image of at least one of an operation performed by the subject and an environment around the subject, as combined with a facial expression of the subject (Kobayashi, Page 11: “a facial expression measurement camera 160”; Alves, [0071]: “the camera 252 can collect video or images of the user’s environment”).
Regarding claim 12, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice collector that collects oral communication between the subject and a measurer (Kobayashi, Page 30: “A cap-type head-mounted device worn on the subject's head is equipped with a visual image capturing camera (with microphone)”).
Regarding claim 13, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, further comprising an audio device that presents an audio stimulus to the subject (Kobayashi, Page 37: “The experiment was conducted using the aforementioned equipment, with the subjects sitting and looking directly at the video content presented on a 20-inch LCD screen placed approximately 70 cm in front of them, while listening to audio from a speaker placed next to the screen.”).
Regarding claim 14, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, further comprising a display device that presents a visual stimulus to the subject (Kobayashi, Pages 10-11: “FIG. 11 is a data processing block diagram of a feeling estimation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a two-dimensional index value display when a joyful video is viewed using the emotion estimation device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a two-dimensional index value display when a sad video is viewed using the emotion estimation device according to the third embodiment.”).
Regarding claim 15, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that communicates data with external equipment (Kobayashi, Pages 11-12: “the emotion estimation device 100 includes a brain activity measurement device 140, an eyeball photography device (pupil diameter measurement device) 150, a facial expression measurement camera 160, a computer 110 communicatively connected to these, and an input device (e.g., mouse, keyboard) 120 and an output device (e.g., display) 130 connected to the computer 110. The computer 110 includes a processing unit 111, a storage unit 112, and a communication unit 113, and these components are connected by a bus 114, and are also connected to an input device 120 and an output device 130 through the bus 114. The signals or data obtained from the brain activity measuring device 140, the eyeball photographing device 150, and the facial expression measuring camera 160 are processed by emotion estimation means (brain potential information processing means, pupil diameter information processing means, and facial image information processing means) of the computer 110 connected to the bus 114 via, for example, an I/O port. The processed data may be output to an output device 130 . The processing unit 111 includes a processor that controls each unit, and performs various processes using the storage unit 112 as a work area. The above processing means, calculations, etc. can be executed by a program stored in the storage unit 112. The pupil diameter measuring device is realized by the eyeball photographing device 150 and pupil diameter information processing means, and the facial expression measuring device is realized by the facial expression measuring camera 160 and face image information processing means. The input device 120 allows the user to change setting values and the like.”).
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shimoaze (JP 2016220770).
Regarding claim 4, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1.
However, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination does not teach comprising a fixing portion that removably fixes the base to the head of the subject, wherein the fixing portion includes a vertex band for prevention of slip-off, a head band that fixes a position of the base, and a size adjustment portion that allows adjustment of a length of at least the head band in accordance with a size of the head.
Alves teaches comprising a head band that fixes a position of the base, and a size adjustment portion that allows adjustment of a length of at least the head band in accordance with a size of the head ([00113]: “The detachable band can secure the eyeglass device 800 to the wearer’s head and lie flush against the wearer’s skin”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the head band that adjusts to the user’s head from Alves in the device from the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as it allows the device to fit properly to the user’s head and be adjustable so it can be used on different people.
However, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination does not teach a fixing portion that removably fixes the base to the head of the subject, wherein the fixing portion includes a vertex band for prevention of slip-off.
Shimoaze discloses an electroencephalograph. Specifically, Shimoaze teaches a fixing portion that removably fixes the base to the head of the subject, wherein the fixing portion includes a vertex band for prevention of slip-off ([0008]: “an electroencephalograph that can be worn on the head by aligning it with the top of the head, and includes a band-shaped main body frame that extends from the top of the head toward the left and right auricles when worn on the head”). Kobayashi, Alves, Samec, and Shimoaze are analogous arts as they are all related to systems used to monitor the brain of a user.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the fixing portion from Shimoaze into the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as it adds an additional structure that can ensure that the device is secure and in the correct location, which can make sure the device is recording the most accurate information.
Regarding claim 5, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec/Shimoaze combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 4, wherein the vertex band includes an alignment portion aligned with a vertex point (Shimoaze, [0058]-[0059]).
Regarding claim 6, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination teaches the physiological information measurement system according to claim 1.
However, the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination does not teach wherein the base includes a mechanism that changes a position where the sensor is held by the base in accordance with a brain activity to be measured.
Shimoaze teaches wherein the base includes a mechanism that changes a position where the sensor is held by the base in accordance with a brain activity to be measured ([0088]: “the position of the EEG electrodes 35 can be changed depending on the purpose of training using the rehabilitation system 1”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the changing of position from Shimoaze into the Kobayashi/Alves/Samec combination as it allows the device to be configured to measure the specific parameters that is intended for use, making sure the most accurate measurement is gathered and used for analysis.
Conclusion
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/E.K.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3791
/DEVIN B HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791