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 § 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.
The term “conditionally” in claim 1 and 8 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “conditionally” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The applicant can overcome this reject by clearly defining the claim limitation (replacing the term with one that is not indefinite or clarifying the terminology). For purposes of continued examination, the examiner gives no weight to the term conditionally.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1 through 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Challa (US20170224573A1, 2017-08-10).
Regarding Claim 1, Challa teaches an electronic device for detecting a step taken by a patient with a walking aid [Abstract; 0025; 0035], the device comprising:
at least one load sensor configured to measure a load on the walking aid [0062; 0070];
a motion sensor [0037];
a non-transitory memory [0007; 0034]; and
a processor, communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor, to the motion sensor, and to the non-transitory memory [0007], the processor operable to:
detect, using the at least one load sensor, a transitory positive load upon the walking aid having a maximum load value that exceeds a positive load threshold [0058];
measure a duration of the transitory positive load upon the walking aid [0058];
verify that the measured duration of the transitory positive load upon the walking aid falls within a range defined by a lower positive duration threshold and an upper positive duration threshold [0077; 0080; Claim 2];
further detect, using the at least one load sensor and the motion sensor, an unweighted movement of the walking aid exceeding a movement threshold [0057];
measure a duration of the unweighted movement of the walking aid [0058];
further verify that the duration of the unweighted movement of the walking aid exceeds a minimum recovery phase duration threshold [0058; 0007; 0060]; and
conditionally upon the detecting, the verifying, the further detecting, and the further verifying, store an indicator of the step in the non-transitory memory [0079].
Regarding Claim 2, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 1 wherein the motion sensor comprises an accelerometer and wherein the movement threshold is a minimum acceleration threshold [0008; 0063-0064; Fig. 3].
Regarding Claim 3, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 1 wherein the positive load threshold is dynamically configurable [0080].
Regarding Claim 4, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 1 wherein the positive load threshold is based, at least in part, on a weight of the patient [0051].
Regarding Claim 5, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 1 wherein the positive load threshold is based, at least in part, on a type of the walking aid [0050].
Regarding Claim 6, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 5 wherein the processor is operable to:
receive user input indicative of the type of the walking aid [0040]; and
dynamically configure the positive load threshold based on the received user input indicative of the type of the walking aid [0080].
Regarding Claim 7, Challa further teaches the electronic device of claim 1 wherein the further detecting detects the unweighted movement of the walking aid occurring after and contiguously with the detected transitory positive load upon the walking aid [0079; 0080].
Regarding Claim 8, Challa teaches a computer-implemented method of detecting a step taken by a patient with a walking aid [Abstract; 0025; 0035], the method comprising:
detecting, by at least one load sensor, a transitory positive load upon the walking aid having a maximum load value that exceeds a positive load threshold [0058];
measuring a duration of the transitory positive load upon the walking aid [0058];
verifying that the measured duration of the transitory positive load upon the walking aid falls within a range defined by a lower positive duration threshold and an upper positive duration threshold [0077; 0080; Claim 2];
further detecting, by the at least one load sensor and a motion sensor, an unweighted movement of the walking aid exceeding a movement threshold [0057];
measuring a duration of the unweighted movement of the walking aid [0058];
further verifying that the duration of the unweighted movement of the walking aid exceeds a minimum recovery phase duration threshold [0058; 0007; 0060]; and
conditionally upon the detecting, the verifying, the further detecting, and the further verifying, storing an indicator of the step in a non-transitory memory [0079].
Regarding Claim 9 Challa further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the motion sensor comprises an accelerometer and wherein the movement threshold is a minimum acceleration threshold [0008; 0063-0064; Fig. 3].
Regarding Claim 10, Challa further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the positive load threshold is dynamically configurable [0080].
Regarding Claim 11, Challa further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the positive load threshold is based, at least in part, on a weight of the patient [0051].
Regarding Claim 12, Challa further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the positive load threshold is based, at least in part, on a type of the walking aid [0050].
Regarding Claim 13, Challa further teaches computer-implemented method of claim 12 wherein the processor is operable to:
receive user input indicative of the type of the walking aid [0040];
and dynamically configure the positive load threshold based on the received user input indicative of the type of the walking aid [0080].
Regarding Claim 14, Challa further teaches the computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the further detecting detects the unweighted movement of the walking aid occurring after and contiguously with the detected transitory positive load upon the walking aid [0079; 0080].
Conclusion
The prior art made record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Fukushi et al. (Walking State Determination Device, Walking State Determination System, Walking State Determination Method, And Storage Medium, 2021-12-28) teaches to determine a walking state when a target person uses a stick. A walking state determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires feature information indicating a feature of a motion of a target person when using a stick, based on first measurement data acquired from a first sensor installed at the stick and second measurement data acquired from a second sensor installed at the target person; and a determination unit that determines a walking state of the target person, based on the acquired feature information.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J SINGLETARY whose telephone number is (571)272-4593. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lisa Caputo can be reached at (571) 272-2388. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL J SINGLETARY/ Examiner, Art Unit 2863
/LISA M CAPUTO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2863