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 .
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.
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.
Claims 1-13, 15-20, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LeBoeuf et. al.'637 (U.S. Patent Publication 20160128637 – previously cited), in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 (U.S. Patent Publication 20080077128), and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 (U.S. Patent Application 20180192887 – previously cited).
Regarding Claim 1, LeBoeuf et. al.'637 discloses a housing including a protrusion; an eartip configured to be connected to the protrusion (Paragraph [0099] - an earbud housing 16 extending outwardly from the base 50 that is configured to be positioned within an ear E of a subject);
a polymer containing material on an inner piece of an earbud able to reflect visible wavelengths of light (Paragraph [0123] - the earbud housing 16 may be comprised of a polymer, plastic, glass, composite material, or resin that reflects visible wavelengths and transmits IR wavelengths);
a light emitting diode (LED) disposed in the housing and configured to emit light outside of the housing and through an air gap (Paragraph [0089] - The optical emitter 24 may be a light-emitting diode (LED); Figure 1; see Annotated Figure 8D below);
PNG
media_image1.png
358
324
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotated Figure 8D
a processor configured to determine a user’s temperature based on a hue of light detected by the first optical sensor (Paragraph [0096] - The alignment member 40 may facilitate stable measurements of optical scattered light from the ear region, which can be important for PPG measurements and tympanic temperature measurements);
memory, comprising one or more storage media, storing instructions (Paragraph [0141] - The data was recorded by a chip and memory card embedded in an earbud 30, having electrical connectivity with the sensor module 70 within the earbud 30); and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory (Paragraph [0090] - The circuit boards 20, 32 also may include at least one signal processor (not shown), at least one wireless module (not shown) for communicating with a remote device, and/or at least one memory storage device (not shown)).
LeBoeuf et. al.'637 fails to disclose the discoloration member configured to change hue without contacting a body of a user based on a temperature of the body of the user in contact with an outer surface of the eartip; a first optical sensor disposed in the housing and configured to detect light reflected from the discoloration member; or wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to determine the temperature of the user based on a hue of the light reflected from the discoloration member, the reflected light detected by the first optical sensor.
Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a thermochromic discoloration member disposed on an inner tube configured to go into a subject’s orifice such as an ear and change hue based on a temperature of the subject’s orifice without directly contacting the body of the subject (Paragraph [0044] - The present invention is also useful for procedures in the head and neck, e.g., targeting the ear; Paragraph [0076] - It may be desirable to place provide some type of protective covering for the temperature element. For example, the thermochromic materials for use with the present invention may be applied to an external surface of a device and then covered by a biocompatible sheath, e.g., comprising a transparent or translucent plastic; Paragraph [0109] - According to another embodiment, sheath 770 may comprise a transparent or translucent colored material having a first color (e.g., blue), while indicating element 750 may be colored (e.g., yellow) at body temperature and may become colorless and translucent at an elevated temperature, such that the appearance of element 750, as seen through sheath 770, changes in color (e.g., from green to blue) at the elevated temperature. As an example, certain thermochromic compositions are known to exhibit a thermochromic transition from opaque and colored to colorless and translucent with changing temperature; Figure 7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637 to include covering a discoloration member in order to shield the discoloration members from targeted tissue areas as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0098] - the temperature-indicating element may be covered by a sheath of biocompatible material (see, e.g., FIG. 7), which may be transparent or translucent. In such instances, the patient's tissue is shielded from direct contact with components of the temperature-indicating element during a procedure).
Ye et. al.'887 teaches emitting light towards a thermochromic temperature sensing element (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20. With such a configuration, light can travel along the first proximal branch 16, through the distal branch 20, and reach the temperature sensing element 14) as well as using a computer to analyze detected light from a thermochromic temperature sensing element (Paragraph [0022] - The measured reflectance spectra are analyzed with software (i.e., one or more algorithms comprising logic and executable instructions) that is stored within memory (i.e., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) resident on the computer 36; Paragraph [0014] - the temperature sensing element is a thermochromic sensing element, such as a thermochromic liquid crystal, that changes color in response to changes in temperature. When the light delivered by the optical waveguide is reflected back from the temperature sensing element, the spectra and/or intensity of the light can be detected and correlated with a particular temperature). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 to include emitting light towards a thermochromic sensing element and using a computer to detect the reflected light from the thermochromic sensing element in order to assist the device in correlating the light to a specific temperature as seen in Ye et. al.’887.
Regarding Claim 2, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above but fails to disclose wherein the discoloration member includes thermochromic liquid crystals. Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a temperature-dependent, color-changing sensor that consists of thermochromic composition (Paragraph [0106] - Temperature-indicating element 750 typically includes a thermochromic composition). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include a temperature-dependent, color-changing member with thermochromic composition that change color based on temperature within an earpiece in order to allow a user to visually observe their body temperature as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0106] - such that temperature-indicating element 750 undergoes a readily discernible change in appearance in response to a pre-defined change in temperature, e.g., at one or more thermochromic transition temperatures of the thermochromic composition).
Regarding Claim 3, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.’637 also discloses comprising a second optical sensor disposed in the housing and configured to detect light reflected from the user’s body (Paragraph [0109] - If the optical detector 26 is configured to measure this black body radiation, then the earbud can be used to measure tympanic temperature).
Regarding Claim 4, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 3 above. LeBoeuf et. al.’637 also discloses wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to perform photoplethysmography of the user based on a signal detected using the second optical sensor (Paragraph [0132] - This sensor module 70 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 12a-12B, and is described below. Three benefits of locating the sensor module 70 near the periphery of the light-guiding earbud 30 are: 1) PPG signals near the antitragus are less corrupted by motion artifacts than are PPG signals in other blood-vessel-rich regions of the ear; 2) the sensor module 70 may be designed somewhat independently of the earbud 30, liberating earbud comfort maximization from PPG signal maximization).
Regarding Claim 5, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 3 above. LeBoeuf et. al.’637 also discloses wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to determine at least one of a heart rate, a blood oxidation level, or a blood glucose level based on a signal obtained from the second optical sensor (Paragraph [0143] - processed physiological signal data from a headset having one or more light-guiding earbuds 30, according to some embodiments of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 15 shows the analysis results 400 of the data summaries 300a-300d presented in FIGS. 14A-14D of blood flow (y-axis) versus time (x-axis) following two data processing sequences to extract heart rate; Paragraph [0144] - This process may utilize a combination of signal conditioning filters in addition to peak finding (such as beat finding) algorithms to calculate properties of interest (e.g. heart rate, blood flow, heart rate variability, respiration rate, blood gas/analyte level, and the like). The method 500 of FIG. 16 may be encoded in the firmware of a microprocessor (or similar electronics) to facilitate real-time processing of physiological information).
Regarding Claim 6, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 3 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the first optical sensor is disposed closer than the second optical sensor to the protrusion (Paragraph [0093] - collect light external to the earbud 30 and deliver the collected light to the optical detectors 26; see annotated Figure 1 below).
PNG
media_image2.png
258
178
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Figure 1
Regarding Claim 7, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 3 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor are configured to detect light generated by a same LED (Paragraph [0093] - The light transmissive material in light-guiding region 19 is configured to deliver light from the optical emitter 24 into an ear canal of the subject at one or more predetermined locations and to collect light external to the earbud 30 and deliver the collected light to the optical detectors 26).
Regarding Claim 8, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the LED is configured to emit light having at least two distinguishable wavelengths (Paragraph [0089] - The optical emitter 24 may be a light-emitting diode (LED); Paragraph [0137] - The optical source-detector assembly 71 contains one or more optical sources emitting one or more optical wavelengths; Paragraph [0149] - The optical detectors 26 and emitters 24 may be of multiple wavelengths, with the goal of providing specialized physiological information for each wavelength).
Regarding Claims 9 and 10, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 8 above but fails to disclose further comprising a first light path connected to the light emitting diode and configured to transmit light toward the discoloration member or wherein the light emitting module comprises a second light path spaced apart from the first light path, the second light path being configured to transmit light reflected from the discoloration member to the first optical sensor. Ye et. al.'887 teaches emitting light towards a thermochromic temperature sensing element through a first light path (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20. With such a configuration, light can travel along the first proximal branch 16, through the distal branch 20, and reach the temperature sensing element 14) as well as detecting light from a thermochromic temperature sensing element through a second light path (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20…This light can then reflect off of the temperature sensing element 14, or a reflective element associated with the sensing element, and the reflected light can travel along the distal branch 20 and to the second proximal branch 18 so that the reflected light can be detected and analyzed). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 to include emitting light towards a thermochromic sensing element via a first pathway and detecting the reflected light via a second pathway in order to assist the device in correlating the detected light to a specific temperature as seen in Ye et. al.’887.
Regarding Claim 11, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above but fails to disclose wherein the discoloration member is disposed as a coating on the inner surface of the eartip. Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a temperature-dependent, color-changing sensor that consists of thermochromic composition (Paragraph [0106] - Temperature-indicating element 750 typically includes a thermochromic composition). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include a temperature-dependent, color-changing member with thermochromic composition that change color based on temperature within an earpiece in order to allow a user to visually observe their body temperature as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0106] - such that temperature-indicating element 750 undergoes a readily discernible change in appearance in response to a pre-defined change in temperature, e.g., at one or more thermochromic transition temperatures of the thermochromic composition).
Regarding Claim 12, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to determine a temperature of the discoloration member using symbolic regression (Paragraph [0147] - Principal component analysis, multiple linear regression, or other statistical or machine learning techniques can then be used to generate statistical relationships between the data outputs 604).
Regarding Claim 13, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the eartip includes silicone (Paragraph [0097] - In some embodiments, a light-guiding cover 18 is formed from a soft, resilient material, such as silicone, which deforms when inserted within an ear canal of a subject).
Regarding Claim 15, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses comprising: a speaker disposed in the housing (Paragraph [0088] - Collectively, the earbud housing 16, cover 18, and various electronic components (e.g., speaker 22, optical emitter 24, optical detectors 26, thermopile 28) located within the earbud housing 16 of the illustrated headset 10); and
a battery disposed in the housing, the battery being configured to supply power to the one or more processors and the speaker (Paragraph [0088] - a speaker 22, optical emitter 24, optical detectors 26, and thermopile 28 (described below) are mounted onto a secondary circuit board 32 which is secured to the main circuit board 20; Paragraph [0090] - The circuit boards 20, 32 also may include at least one signal processor; Paragraph [0091] - A battery 36, such as a lithium polymer battery or other portable battery, may be mounted to the main circuit board 20 and may be charged via a USB charge port 38).
Regarding Claim 16, LeBoeuf et. al.'637 discloses a housing including a protrusion; an eartip configured to be connected to the protrusion (Paragraph [0099] - an earbud housing 16 extending outwardly from the base 50 that is configured to be positioned within an ear E of a subject);
a polymer containing material on an inner piece of an earbud able to reflect visible wavelengths of light (Paragraph [0123] - the earbud housing 16 may be comprised of a polymer, plastic, glass, composite material, or resin that reflects visible wavelengths and transmits IR wavelengths);
a light emitting diode (LED) disposed in the housing and configured to emit light outside of the housing and through an air gap (Paragraph [0089] - The optical emitter 24 may be a light-emitting diode (LED); see Annotated Figure 8D below);
PNG
media_image1.png
358
324
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotated Figure 8D
a processor configured to determine a user’s temperature based on a hue of light detected by the first optical sensor (Paragraph [0096] - The alignment member 40 may facilitate stable measurements of optical scattered light from the ear region, which can be important for PPG measurements and tympanic temperature measurements);
a second optical sensor disposed in the housing and configured to detect light reflected from the user’s body (Paragraph [0109] - If the optical detector 26 is configured to measure this black body radiation, then the earbud can be used to measure tympanic temperature);
memory, comprising one or more storage media, storing instructions (Paragraph [0141] - The data was recorded by a chip and memory card embedded in an earbud 30, having electrical connectivity with the sensor module 70 within the earbud 30);
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory (Paragraph [0090] - The circuit boards 20, 32 also may include at least one signal processor (not shown), at least one wireless module (not shown) for communicating with a remote device, and/or at least one memory storage device (not shown)); and
one or more processors able to determine biometric information of the user based on a signal detected by the second optical sensor (Paragraph [0132] - This sensor module 70 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 12a-12B, and is described below. Three benefits of locating the sensor module 70 near the periphery of the light-guiding earbud 30 are: 1) PPG signals near the antitragus are less corrupted by motion artifacts than are PPG signals in other blood-vessel-rich regions of the ear; 2) the sensor module 70 may be designed somewhat independently of the earbud 30, liberating earbud comfort maximization from PPG signal maximization).
LeBoeuf et. al.'637 fails to disclose the discoloration member configured to change hue without contacting a body of a user based on a temperature of the body of the user in contact with an outer surface of the eartip; a first optical sensor disposed in the housing and configured to detect light reflected from the discoloration member; or wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to determine the temperature of the user based on a hue of the light reflected from the discoloration member, the reflected light detected by the first optical sensor.
Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a thermochromic discoloration member disposed on an inner tube configured to go into a subject’s orifice such as an ear and change hue based on a temperature of the subject’s orifice without directly contacting a body of the subject (Paragraph [0044] - The present invention is also useful for procedures in the head and neck, e.g., targeting the ear; Paragraph [0076] - It may be desirable to place provide some type of protective covering for the temperature element. For example, the thermochromic materials for use with the present invention may be applied to an external surface of a device and then covered by a biocompatible sheath, e.g., comprising a transparent or translucent plastic; Paragraph [0109] - According to another embodiment, sheath 770 may comprise a transparent or translucent colored material having a first color (e.g., blue), while indicating element 750 may be colored (e.g., yellow) at body temperature and may become colorless and translucent at an elevated temperature, such that the appearance of element 750, as seen through sheath 770, changes in color (e.g., from green to blue) at the elevated temperature. As an example, certain thermochromic compositions are known to exhibit a thermochromic transition from opaque and colored to colorless and translucent with changing temperature; Figure 7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637 to include covering a discoloration member in order to shield the discoloration members from targeted tissue areas as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0098] - the temperature-indicating element may be covered by a sheath of biocompatible material (see, e.g., FIG. 7), which may be transparent or translucent. In such instances, the patient's tissue is shielded from direct contact with components of the temperature-indicating element during a procedure).
Ye et. al.'887 teaches emitting light towards a thermochromic temperature sensing element (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20. With such a configuration, light can travel along the first proximal branch 16, through the distal branch 20, and reach the temperature sensing element 14) as well as using a computer to analyze detected light from a thermochromic temperature sensing element (Paragraph [0022] - The measured reflectance spectra are analyzed with software (i.e., one or more algorithms comprising logic and executable instructions) that is stored within memory (i.e., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) resident on the computer 36; Paragraph [0014] - the temperature sensing element is a thermochromic sensing element, such as a thermochromic liquid crystal, that changes color in response to changes in temperature. When the light delivered by the optical waveguide is reflected back from the temperature sensing element, the spectra and/or intensity of the light can be detected and correlated with a particular temperature). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 to include emitting light towards a thermochromic sensing element and using a computer to detect the reflected light from the thermochromic sensing element in order to assist the device in correlating the light to a specific temperature as seen in Ye et. al.’887.
Regarding Claim 17, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 16 above but fails to disclose wherein the discoloration member includes thermochromic liquid crystals. Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a temperature-dependent, color-changing sensor that consists of thermochromic composition (Paragraph [0106] - Temperature-indicating element 750 typically includes a thermochromic composition). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include a temperature-dependent, color-changing member with thermochromic composition that change color based on temperature within an earpiece in order to allow a user to visually observe their body temperature as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0106] - such that temperature-indicating element 750 undergoes a readily discernible change in appearance in response to a pre-defined change in temperature, e.g., at one or more thermochromic transition temperatures of the thermochromic composition).
Regarding Claim 18, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 16 above. LeBoeuf et. al.’637 also discloses wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to perform photoplethysmography of the user based on a signal detected using the second optical sensor (Paragraph [0132] - This sensor module 70 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 12a-12B, and is described below. Three benefits of locating the sensor module 70 near the periphery of the light-guiding earbud 30 are: 1) PPG signals near the antitragus are less corrupted by motion artifacts than are PPG signals in other blood-vessel-rich regions of the ear; 2) the sensor module 70 may be designed somewhat independently of the earbud 30, liberating earbud comfort maximization from PPG signal maximization).
Regarding Claim 19, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 16 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the LED is configured to emit light having at least two distinguishable wavelengths, but fails to disclose wherein the electronic device further comprises: a first light path connected to the LED and configured to transmit light toward the discoloration member, or a second light path spaced apart from the first light path, and configured to transmit light reflected from the discoloration member to the first optical sensor. Ye et. al.'887 teaches emitting light towards a thermochromic temperature sensing element through a first light path (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20. With such a configuration, light can travel along the first proximal branch 16, through the distal branch 20, and reach the temperature sensing element 14) as well as detecting light from a thermochromic temperature sensing element through a second light path (Paragraph [0016] - the optical waveguide 12 includes two proximal optical fiber branches 16 and 18 that are connected to a distal optical fiber branch 20…This light can then reflect off of the temperature sensing element 14, or a reflective element associated with the sensing element, and the reflected light can travel along the distal branch 20 and to the second proximal branch 18 so that the reflected light can be detected and analyzed). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 to include emitting light towards a thermochromic sensing element via a first pathway and detecting the reflected light via a second pathway in order to assist the device in correlating the detected light to a specific temperature as seen in Ye et. al.’887.
Regarding Claim 20, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 16 above but fails to disclose the discoloration member is disposed as a coating on the inner surface of the eartip. Woloszko et. al.'128 teaches a temperature-dependent, color-changing sensor that consists of thermochromic composition (Paragraph [0106] - Temperature-indicating element 750 typically includes a thermochromic composition). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include a temperature-dependent, color-changing member with thermochromic composition that change color based on temperature within an earpiece in order to allow a user to visually observe their body temperature as seen in Woloszko et. al.'128 (Paragraph [0106] - such that temperature-indicating element 750 undergoes a readily discernible change in appearance in response to a pre-defined change in temperature, e.g., at one or more thermochromic transition temperatures of the thermochromic composition).
Regarding Claim 22, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the eartip substantially encloses a periphery around the protrusion of the housing (Paragraph [0088] - The illustrated headset 10 includes a base 12, a headset housing 14, an earbud housing 16, and a cover 18 that surrounds the earbud housing 16; Annotated Figure 1).
PNG
media_image3.png
296
416
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Annotated Figure 1
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LeBoeuf et. al.'637 (U.S. Patent Publication 20160128637 – previously cited), in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 (U.S. Patent Publication 20080077128), and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 (U.S. Patent Application 20180192887 – previously cited), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Farrell et. al.'090 (WO Patent Publication 2010040090 – previously cited).
Regarding Claim 14, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 1 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses a temperature sensor disposed in the housing (Paragraph [0091] - Secondary circuit board 32 may also include a temperature sensor, such as a thermopile 28 mounted thereto), but fails to disclose wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to calibrate a temperature of the discoloration member by using the temperature sensor when the electronic device is being charged or wherein the processor is configured to calibrate a temperature of the discoloration member based on the temperature of the discoloration member detected by the temperature sensor, and a hue of the discoloration member. Farrell et. al.'090 teaches storing a reference temperature received from the device during charging (Paragraph [0167] - a stored temperature value that is saved when the meter is removed from a PC or wall charger or as a reference temperature, measured before the meter is turned off at the end of charging, but stored and retained to estimate whether there has been an environmental change). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include a reference temperature obtained from the device during charging and before the device is used in order to monitor any change in temperature once unplugged from the charging station as a way to better understand the user’s temperature as seen in Farrell et. al.’090.
Ye et. al.'887 teaches calibrating temperature of a user based on detected light and known temperatures (Paragraph [0022] - The measured reflectance spectra are analyzed with software (i.e., one or more algorithms comprising logic and executable instructions) that is stored within memory (i.e., a non-transitory computer-readable medium) resident on the computer 36 and the shift of the peak of the reflectance spectrum can be correlated to a particular local temperature. This correlation can be determined from calibrations performed prior to use of the system). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.'637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 to include a reference temperature obtained from the device during charging and before the device is used in order to monitor any change in temperature once unplugged from the charging station as a way to better understand the user’s temperature as seen in Farrell et. al.’090.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LeBoeuf et. al.'637 (U.S. Patent Publication 20160128637 – previously cited), in view of Woloszko et. al.'128 (U.S. Patent Publication 20080077128), and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 (U.S. Patent Application 20180192887 – previously cited), as applied to Claim 16 above, and further in view of Sun et. al.’610 (U.S. Patent Publication 20100159610).
Regarding Claim 21, LeBoeuf et. al.'637, in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 discloses the device outlined in Claim 16 above. LeBoeuf et. al.'637 also discloses wherein the first optical sensor is configured to detect red light, green light, and blue light (Paragraph [0149] - Green, red, and IR wavelengths may have deeper penetration and provide information on the blood vessels and blood analyte levels. Blue wavelengths may be particularly useful for gauging changes in the size of the blood vessels). LeBoeuf et. al.'637 fails to disclose wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, further cause the electronic device to determine the temperature of the user based on a ratio of red light, green light, and blue light reflected from the discoloration member.
Sun et. al.’610 teaches determining temperature of a user based on different ratios of reflected red, green, and blue light (Paragraph [0082] - As the TCLC changes from red to green to blue with increasing temperatures, the ratios R.sub.r:R.sub.b and R.sub.r:R.sub.g decrease with the increase in temperature. Thus, the temperature of the TCLC may be determined from the ratio R.sub.r:R.sub.g:R.sub.b. Other ratios between R.sub.r, R.sub.g, and R.sub.b may be employed by other embodiments. In addition, a calibration feature may be required for this embodiment). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the device of LeBoeuf et. al.’637 in view of Woloszko et. al.'128, and further in view of Ye et. al.'887 to include observing ratios of red, green, and blue light in order to properly associate each level of color changing to an accurate temperature as a form of calibration as seen in Sun et. al.’610 (Paragraph [0078] -The data is used to evaluate the ratios rg and rb. The ratios are then matched to the mapping file which has the calibration data red, green, blue and temperature data r.sub.c, g.sub.c, b.sub.c and T.sub.c. FIG. 11B illustrates a general algorithm to process optical data to convert RGB data into temperature data).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12 December 2025 have been fully considered and they are not entirely persuasive.
Applicant’s explanations and reasonings behind why the applicant believes the IDS is in an appropriate format have been found to be persuasive and overcome prior concerns.
Applicant’s amendments have overcome the prior specification objections.
Applicant’s amendments have overcome the prior claim objections.
Applicant’s amendments have overcome the prior 35 U.S.C. 112b rejections.
Application’s amendments have overcome the prior 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections.
Claims 1-22 are newly rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as necessitated by amendments, as discussed in Paragraphs 3-5 above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH ANN WESTFALL whose telephone number is (571) 272-3845. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:30pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jennifer Robertson can be reached at (571) 272-5001. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SARAH ANN WESTFALL/Examiner, Art Unit 3791
/ETSUB D BERHANU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791