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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5th May 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Section 33(a) of the America Invents Act reads as follows:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no patent may issue on a claim directed to or encompassing a human organism.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 and section 33(a) of the America Invents Act as being directed to or encompassing a human organism. See also Animals - Patentability, 1077 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 24 (April 21, 1987) (indicating that human organisms are excluded from the scope of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101). Claim 10, lines 3-4 recites “the first portion is spaced away from the skin” & claim 10, lines 7-8 “extend from the base into a space between the second portion of the base and the skin” appear to positively recite a human organism. Examiner recommends amending claim 10 to read “the first portion is configured to be spaced away from the skin” & “are configured to extend from the base into a space between the second portion of the base and the skin”, respectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 3-6, 9, 11, 13, 21-28 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art of record is the combination of US 20100063438 A1 to Bengtsson, US 20130066564 A1 to Forsyth and US 6511478 B1 to Burnside et al. The combination of references are silent on the specific requirements of first sensors provided on the base, a first of the first sensors being a first distance from the hole in a first direction, a second of the first sensors being the first distance from the hole in a second direction that opposes the first direction, a third of the first sensors being a second distance from the hole, the second distance being greater than the first distance, and each of the first sensors being configured to detect a first condition indicative of the physiological response of the region of skin. These limitations enable multiple differing zones of detection for tracking of physiological response given possible via specific integration of pluralities of sensors distributed in these zones.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAWN CURTIS BROUGHTON whose telephone number is (571)272-2891. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8am-4pm EST..
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/SHAWN CURTIS BROUGHTON/Examiner, Art Unit 3791 /ALEX M VALVIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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