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.
Status of Claims
In the amendment filed on October 10th, 2025, claims 1, 7, 8, have been amended, claims 2-4 have been cancelled and no new claim has been added. Therefore, claims 1, 5-18 are pending for examination.
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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/10/2025 has been entered.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-8, 10-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Trottier et al. (US 20170196196 A1) in view of Tran (US 20200267936 A1).
In regards to claim 1, Trottier on the other hand teaches method of determining a cognitive and physical capacity of a pet to provide cognitive and physical information to a user, the method comprising the steps of providing a cognitive and physical capacity assessment system for the pet (Paragraphs 79, 80), i.e. A CLEVERPET® Hub or other feeding device (in one aspect, a metered feeding device) is utilized as the sole (or primary) mechanism for providing food for a dog. At step 101, the Hub communicates with a dog. At step 102, the dog responds. If the dog's response is appropriate, at step 103, the CLEVERPET® Hub dispenses a treat 103, and at step 104 the dog learns that its response is appropriate, thereby getting more clever (thereby, determining cognitive capacity by way of its physical responses). The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201
The system comprises a touch screen display device having a touch screen, a wearable monitoring device having a wearable item fixable to the pet and at least one sensor mounted to the wearable item (Paragraphs 17, 25, 81), i.e. a touch screen. In one aspect, the touch screen is proximate to, or integral with, the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. the dog-borne device is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement, such as via an accelerometer, GPS, or similar technology.
Trottier teaches a processing module communicable with the touch screen display device and the wearable monitoring device; and a user device having a display screen, the user device being communicable with the processing module; wherein the wearable monitoring device is in-use fixed to the pet, and wherein the touch screen display device is in-use positioned to receive a touch response from the pet (Paragraphs 25, 80, 82, 133, 134 ), i.e. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. context of touch pads, the animal can be required to hold his paw (or nose) on a touch pad for a longer and longer period of time in order to eventually get the reward. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. Thereby for the purpose of analytics, the dog-borne device, the touchscreen display device, the user computing device and all communicably coupled via communication network.
Trottier goes on to elaborate, displaying one or more cognitive indicator stimuli on the touch screen of the touch screen display device (Paragraphs 134, 140, 151), i.e. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. A video display of another animal performing an action, optionally in conjunction with additional stimuli, may be utilized to assist the animal in determining the desired action. This may be employed after the animal was taught to attend to the video display. Observation of the animal and reaction via the video display may be used in order to increase the amount of, as well as make more precise, the animal's attention to the video display. The touching action may be interpreted as an indication of the cognitive capacity of the pet, in this case the cognitive indicating parameter being tapping precision (touching a specific color)
Determining at least one cognitive indicator parameter based on a stimulus response input made by the pet at the touch screen in response to the one or more cognitive indicator stimuli (Paragraph 131), i.e. teaching a dog how to sit down, or other postures, The CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device may provide feedback and/or rewards as the animal achieves progressively closer motions toward the desired posture. The posture may be associated with a word and/or other stimuli.
Furthermore, Trottier teaches, providing the at least one cognitive indicator parameter to the processing module determining at least one further cognitive indicator parameter and at least one physical indicator parameter based on measurements collected by the at least one sensor mounted to the wearable item of the wearable monitoring device, including walking patterns and sleep patterns (Paragraphs 17, 83, 140), i.e.
In one implementation, the dog-borne device 311 is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement. For example, the amount, cadence, speed, movement and magnitude of a dog-borne device 311 in the form of the collar 312 may be utilized to determine whether the dog is moving, resting, or engaging in other various behaviors (examples might include sleeping, walking, running, playing, fighting, etc.). The measurement may be made utilizing one or more of a variety of techniques, including imaging, sound measurement, accelerometers, sound of breathing (including rate and noise), perspiration measurement (done at a location where the animal perspires), body movement, such as tail wagging, body twisting (whether associated with tail wagging or otherwise), chewing, drinking, heart rate measurement, blood oxygenation, body temperature, etc. In one aspect, the dog-borne device may also include a water sensor (whether implemented as a circuit that is closed by the presence of water or otherwise). The actuation of the water sensor may be utilized to determine whether the animal is swimming, simply wet, or in some other status. The water sensor may be utilized in conjunction with motion sensors and/or other sensors to determine which of the activities associated with a wet dog is being engaged in. In one aspect, the presence of water and/or ambient temperature of water and/or air on or around the dog may be utilized, optionally in conjunction with an analysis of fur characteristics such as length and thickness, to determine caloric cost of maintaining body temperature.[P-83]
the dog-borne device is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement, such as via an accelerometer, GPS, or similar technology. In one aspect, the CLEVERPET® Hub provides signals for the dog indicating that the dog may engage in a game to earn food and/or that food is available for the dog. Thereafter, in the operation of teaching the dog to attend to the video display, a computer vision or other system may detect and reward an animal for positioning the head such that animal is looking at display. There may then be visual stimuli on display predictive of dog behaviors that lead to a reward. E.g., arrow right (or image of person pointing right): if dog moves right, dog gets treat. Similarly, arrow left: if dog moves left, dog gets food.[P-140]
Trottier then teaches providing the at least one further cognitive indicator parameter and at least one physical indicator parameter to the processing module (Paragraph 135), i.e. in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound every time dog is urinating/defecating (indicative of a physical indicator parameter), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward (indicative of cognitive indicator parameter), such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time
Thereafter, determining, at the processing module, cognitive and physical indicator data based on the at least one cognitive indicator parameter, the at least one further cognitive indicator parameter, and the at least one physical indicator parameter(Paragraph 135), i.e. in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound every time dog is urinating/defecating (physical indicator parameter data), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward (cognitive indicator parameter data), such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time
Lastly, Trottier teaches displaying cognitive and physical information to a user of the user device based on the cognitive and physical indicator data (Paragraphs 80, 81), i.e. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. In one aspect, video data may be utilized to observe the dog obtaining and/or eating food from other sources, and such data may be analyzed by a computer. Such data may also be incorporated into one or more of the calculations.
Trottier teaches determining of the cognitive and physical data indicator data is performed based on any or all of pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter data based on the at least one cognitive indicator parameter(Paragraph 135), i.e.
in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound (pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter) every time dog is urinating/defecating (one cognitive indicator parameter), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward (indicative of cognitive indicator parameter), such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time[P-135]
Trottier teaches the pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter data, the pre-processed further cognitive indicator parameter data, and the pre-processed physical indicator comprise diagnostic indicator data relating to one or more cognitive and/or physical capacities of the pet (Paragraph 135), i.e.
acknowledged urinating/defecating in the appropriate place, or acknowledging the urinating and defecating of the pet in an inappropriate place, thereby responding accordingly.[P-135]
Trottier fails to teach the diagnostic indicator data comprises data indicative of one or more cognitive and/or physical ailments of the pet. Tran teaches the diagnostic indicator data comprises data indicative of one or more cognitive and/or physical ailments of the pet (Paragraphs 159), i.e.
In embodiments that measure pet health with heart rate, BI, ECG, EEG, temperature, or other health parameters, if an outlier situation exists, the system can flag to the user to follow up as an unusual sustained variation from normal health parameters. While this approach may not identify exact causes of the variation, the user can seek help early. Furthermore, analysis with normal targets and outliers as warning labels. For example, a pet may be mostly healthy, but when it is sick, the information pops out as outliers from the usual data. Such outliers can be used to scrutinize and predict pet health.[P-159]
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the invention to combine Tran’s teaching with Trottier’s teaching in order to in addition to monitoring the progress of a pets training, detect the general wellbeing or the pet accordingly.
In regards to claim 5, Trottier teaches any or all of the pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter data, the pre-processed further cognitive indicator parameter data, and the pre-processed physical indicator parameter data is generated by a machine-learning algorithm (Paragraph 95), i.e. a machine learning system, such as a multi-level neural network, a Bayesian system, or otherwise, is utilized to correct predicted calorie and weight loss scenarios. For example, a dog may have a metabolism that is 20% slower than predicted. In addition, weight, food intake, and/or activity level may be measured over time and that data utilized in conjunction with machine learning to determine the metabolic rate of the animal and/or other data about the animal. Over the course of several months, the system will determine that the dog is not losing weight at the predicted rate and further decrease the number of calories of food dispensed and/or increase the incentives for and/or frequency of utilization of exercise and/or activity-encouraging functions of the device(s).
In regards to claim 6, Trottier teaches the cognitive and physical information comprises one or more probabilistic scores indicative of one or more cognitive and/or physical ailments of the pet (Paragraph 279), i.e. confidence scores are determined. For example, 0.4 sitting, 0.6 squatting. In some aspects, similar positions may be treated similarly. This is particularly useful when an animal moves from one state to another, such as moving from sitting to squatting. The confidence score may be utilized to generate a probability estimate that the animal is in a particular position.
In regards to claim 7, Trottier teaches cognitive indicator parameters determined include indicators of mental distress, such as destructive behavior, posture, whining, barking, vomiting, or panting (Paragraphs 104), i.e. another aspect, one or more cameras, microphones or other sensors may be utilized to detect when an animal is engaging in a behavior that is undesirable or that should be disrupted. For example, a dog may be barking, eating a couch, digging holes in the yard, chewing a power cable, in a room that the dog should not or should no longer be in (for example, refusing to leave a bedroom at night), or simply inactive. In one aspect, the behavior is detected with one or more of the sensors. In another aspect, the behavior may be required to exceed N seconds, where N may be zero, 5, 10, or any other number (although denomination in seconds is not necessary, and when we use the term “seconds” to denote time, it should be understood that other time measurements are included, such as milliseconds, computer clock cycles, minutes, hours, or otherwise). When the undesirable or desirable-to-disrupt behavior is taking place, the dog exercise inventions described herein may be triggered either a single time, until the dog changes behavior, or multiple times. In one aspect, the disruption is achieved by triggering a pavlovian signal in a location that the system and/or user desires the dog to move to. For example, a dog chewing a power cord in a bedroom may be attracted to a food dispensing sound coming from a living room.
In regards to claim 8, Trottier teaches the at least one further cognitive indicator parameter and indicators of mental distress, such as destructive behavior, posture, whining, barking, vomiting, pacing, or panting; number of steps taken; walking patterns or imbalances; sleep patterns; licking; eating and drinking habits; and shaking (Paragraphs 104), i.e. another aspect, one or more cameras, microphones or other sensors may be utilized to detect when an animal is engaging in a behavior that is undesirable or that should be disrupted. For example, a dog may be barking, eating a couch, digging holes in the yard, chewing a power cable, in a room that the dog should not or should no longer be in (for example, refusing to leave a bedroom at night), or simply inactive. In one aspect, the behavior is detected with one or more of the sensors. In another aspect, the behavior may be required to exceed N seconds, where N may be zero, 5, 10, or any other number (although denomination in seconds is not necessary, and when we use the term “seconds” to denote time, it should be understood that other time measurements are included, such as milliseconds, computer clock cycles, minutes, hours, or otherwise). When the undesirable or desirable-to-disrupt behavior is taking place, the dog exercise inventions described herein may be triggered either a single time, until the dog changes behavior, or multiple times. In one aspect, the disruption is achieved by triggering a pavlovian signal in a location that the system and/or user desires the dog to move to. For example, a dog chewing a power cord in a bedroom may be attracted to a food dispensing sound coming from a living room.
In regards to claim 10, Trottier teaches a cognitive aspect of the cognitive and physical indicator data is based on the at least one cognitive indicator parameter, the at least one further cognitive indicator parameter, and the at least one physical indicator parameter Paragraph 135), i.e. in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound every time dog is urinating/defecating (one cognitive indicator parameter), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward, such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time.
In regards to claim 11, Trottier teaches a cognitive and physical capacity assessment system for a pet(Paragraphs 79, 80), i.e. A CLEVERPET® Hub or other feeding device (in one aspect, a metered feeding device) is utilized as the sole (or primary) mechanism for providing food for a dog. At step 101, the Hub communicates with a dog. At step 102, the dog responds. If the dog's response is appropriate, at step 103, the CLEVERPET® Hub dispenses a treat 103, and at step 104 the dog learns that its response is appropriate, thereby getting more clever (thereby, determining cognitive capacity by way of its physical responses). The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201
The system comprising a touch screen display device having a touch screen; a wearable monitoring device having a wearable item fixable to the pet and at least one sensor mounted to the wearable item(Paragraphs 17, 25, 81), i.e. a touch screen. In one aspect, the touch screen is proximate to, or integral with, the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. the dog-borne device is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement, such as via an accelerometer, GPS, or similar technology.
Trottier teaches a processing module communicable with the touch screen display device and the wearable monitoring device; and a user device having a display screen, the user device being communicable with the processing module, wherein the wearable monitoring device is configured to be in-use fixed to the pet Paragraphs 25, 80, 82, 133, 134 ), i.e. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. context of touch pads, the animal can be required to hold his paw (or nose) on a touch pad for a longer and longer period of time in order to eventually get the reward. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. Thereby for the purpose of analytics, the dog-borne device, the touchscreen display device, the user computing device and all communicably coupled via communication network.
Wherein, the touch screen display device is in-use positioned to receive a touch response from the pet; wherein the touch screen display device is configured to display one or more cognitive indicator stimuli on the touch screen, at least one cognitive indicator parameter based on a stimulus response input made by the pet at the touch screen in response to the one or more cognitive indicator stimuli being determinable(Paragraphs 134, 140, 151), i.e. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. A video display of another animal performing an action, optionally in conjunction with additional stimuli, may be utilized to assist the animal in determining the desired action. This may be employed after the animal was taught to attend to the video display. Observation of the animal and reaction via the video display may be used in order to increase the amount of, as well as make more precise, the animal's attention to the video display.
Trottier teaches the at least one sensor mounted to the wearable item of the wearable monitoring device is configured to measure at least one further cognitive parameter and at least one physical indicator parameter (Paragraphs 17, 140), i.e. the dog-borne device is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement, such as via an accelerometer, GPS, or similar technology. In one aspect, the CLEVERPET® Hub provides signals for the dog indicating that the dog may engage in a game to earn food and/or that food is available for the dog. Thereafter, in the operation of teaching the dog to attend to the video display, a computer vision or other system may detect and reward an animal for positioning the head such that animal is looking at display. There may then be visual stimuli on display predictive of dog behaviors that lead to a reward. E.g., arrow right (or image of person pointing right): if dog moves right, dog gets treat. Similarly, arrow left: if dog moves left, dog gets food.
The processing module is configured to determine cognitive and physical indicator data based on the at least one cognitive indicator parameter, the at least one further cognitive indicator parameter and the at least one physical indicator parameter(Paragraph 135), i.e. in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound every time dog is urinating/defecating (physical indicator parameter data), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward (cognitive indicator parameter data), such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time
Lastly, Trottier teaches the user device is configured to display cognitive and physical information to a user thereof based on the cognitive and physical indicator data(Paragraphs 80, 81), i.e. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. In one aspect, video data may be utilized to observe the dog obtaining and/or eating food from other sources, and such data may be analyzed by a computer. Such data may also be incorporated into one or more of the calculations.
Trottier teaches determining of the cognitive and physical data indicator data is performed based on any or all of pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter data based on the at least one cognitive indicator parameter(Paragraph 135), i.e. in the process of potty training, a computer vision system may detect when dogs are about to “pop a squat” and interrupt. For example, the system may emit a sound (pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter) every time dog is urinating/defecating (one cognitive indicator parameter), and use this sound to cue the behavior later on. Similarly, there may be a sound or other stimulus (“failure stimulus”) that indicates that the animal has failed to earn a reward (indicative of cognitive indicator parameter), such as a “bleep” sound that indicates the animal has failed at a “remember the pads that lit up in order” game. When the animal is urinating or defecating at an inappropriate place or time, the failure stimulus may be provided, and optionally rewards terminated for a period of time
Trottier teaches the pre-processed cognitive indicator parameter data, the pre-processed further cognitive indicator parameter data, and the pre-processed physical indicator comprise diagnostic indicator data relating to one or more cognitive and/or physical capacities of the pet (Paragraph 135), i.e. acknowledged urinating/defecating in t appropriate place, or acknowledging the urinating and defecating of the pet in an inappropriate place, thereby responding accordingly.
Trottier fails to teach the diagnostic indicator data comprises data indicative of one or more cognitive and/or physical ailments of the pet. Tran teaches the monitoring of pet behavior, and based of the feedback of the pet behavior information the neural networks of the system may determine outliers in physical behavior. Thereby, the diagnostic indicator data comprises data indicative of one or more cognitive and/or physical ailments of the pet (Paragraphs 159, 236,237), i.e. In embodiments that measure pet health with heart rate, BI, ECG, EEG, temperature, or other health parameters, if an outlier situation exists, the system can flag to the user to follow up as an unusual sustained variation from normal health parameters. While this approach may not identify exact causes of the variation, the user can seek help early. Furthermore, analysis with normal targets and outliers as warning labels. For example, a pet may be mostly healthy, but when it is sick, the information pops out as outliers from the usual data. Such outliers can be used to scrutinize and predict pet health.[P-159]
One embodiment of the system operation includes receiving feedback relating to the plan, and revising the plan based on the feedback; the feedback being one or more pet behaviors that occur after the plan; the revised plan including one or more additional interventions selected based on the feedback; the one or more pet behaviors that occur after the plan include a behavior transition; determining one or more persons to associate with the identified intervention; automatically revising probabilities from the collected information; storing the revised probabilities, wherein the revised probabilities are used to determine the plan; and/or automatically make one or more inferences based on machine learning using one or more of the clinical information, behavior information, or personal information.[P-236]
The system can track health issues such as hypertension in dogs and cats, for example. More commonly referred to as high blood pressure, hypertension occurs when the dog's arterial blood pressure is continually higher than normal. When it is caused by another disease, it is called secondary hypertension; primary hypertension, meanwhile, refers to when it actually is the disease. Hypertension may affect many of the dog's body systems, including heart, kidneys, eyes, and the nervous system. The methods and systems disclosed herein may rely on one or more algorithm(s) to analyze one or more of the described metrics. The algorithm(s) may comprise analysis of data reported in real-time, and may also analyze data reported in real-time in conjunction with auxiliary data stored in a hypertension management database. Such auxiliary data may comprise, for example, historical pet data such as previously-reported hypertension metrics (e.g., hypertension scores, functionality scores, medication use), personal medical history, and/or family medical history. In some embodiments, for example, the auxiliary data includes at least one set of hypertension metrics previously reported and stored for a pet. In some embodiments, the auxiliary data includes a pet profile such as, e.g., the pet profile described above. Auxiliary data may also include statistical data, such as hypertension metrics pooled for a plurality of pets within a similar group or subgroup. Further, auxiliary data may include clinical guidelines such as guidelines relating to hypertension management, including evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on the management of acute and/or chronic hypertension or other chronic conditions.[P-237]
With Tran’s incorporation of a collar on the pet to track the physical performance of said pet, when substituted with Trottier’s operative collar, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, the yielding of a more effective means of monitoring the progress of a pets training, especially detecting the general wellbeing or the pet accordingly.
In regards to claim 12, Trottier teaches the processing module is provided onboard any of the touch screen display device, the wearable monitoring device, and the user device(Paragraphs 25, 80, 82, 133, 134 ), i.e. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. context of touch pads, the animal can be required to hold his paw (or nose) on a touch pad for a longer and longer period of time in order to eventually get the reward. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. Thereby for the purpose of analytics, the dog-borne device, the touchscreen display device, the user computing device and all communicably coupled via communication network.
In regards to claim 13, Trottier teaches the processing module is provided at a remote processing server (Paragraph 80), i.e. the system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagement of the animal. Thereby for the purpose of analytics, the dog-borne device, the touchscreen display device, the user computing device and all communicably coupled via communication network.
In regards to claim 14, though Trottier does not directly recite the wearable monitoring device is directly communicable with the user device. Trottier teaches n another implementation the dog may be equipped with a virtual dog-borne device 311 in the form of an imaging system 305 that tracks the dog. In another aspect, the dog-borne device 311 may be connected with the CLEVERPET® Hub 301 via Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (“BTLE”), WiFi, near field computing, infrared, radio, or other communications modalities. In one aspect, where the dog is out of range of the CLEVERPET® Hub, the device may communicate over a wide area network (“WAN”) and/or may store data and send it to the CLEVERPET® Hub 301 when the device returns to an area within range of the CLEVERPET® Hub 301. Alternatively, or in addition, a mesh network or peer-to-peer transmission system may be utilized, as may a system where data can be reported to a variety of receivers not directly associated with the dog 302, (Paragraph 82). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that by dog-borne device being able to communicate with other receivers via peer-to-peer communication (direct), then so may it communicate directly with the user device.
Hence, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing of the invention for direct communication in order to enable the appropriate communication and control of the user to the pet worn monitoring and training device using the user device accordingly.
In regards to claim 15, Trottier teaches the at least one sensor comprises any or all of: an audio capture device; a heartrate monitor; an accelerometer; a position tracking device; a gyroscope; and a temperature sensor (Paragraph 83), i.e. the dog-borne device 311 is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement. For example, the amount, cadence, speed, movement and magnitude of a dog-borne device 311 in the form of the collar 312 may be utilized to determine whether the dog is moving, resting, or engaging in other various behaviors (examples might include sleeping, walking, running, playing, fighting, etc.). The measurement may be made utilizing one or more of a variety of techniques, including imaging, sound measurement, accelerometers, sound of breathing (including rate and noise), perspiration measurement (done at a location where the animal perspires), body movement, such as tail wagging, body twisting (whether associated with tail wagging or otherwise), chewing, drinking, heart rate measurement, blood oxygenation, body temperature, etc.
In regards to claim 16, Trottier teaches the touch screen display device further comprises an image capture device configured to capture images of the pet during use (Paragraph 81), i.e. Another implementation may utilize the dog's body mass index (“BMI”). Another implementation may utilize an integrated or remote camera 315 or other device to estimate the BMI, estimate the healthy weight of the dog, estimate the dog's length and weight, or gather other data. Such camera 315 may be in the visual light spectrum, far infrared, near infrared, non-visual light and/or radiation spectrum, and/or a 3D imaging device such as an Xbox Kinect. The dog-borne device 311 may take the form of a device attached to the leg of the dog, the collar of the dog 312, or otherwise. It should be understood that the dog-borne device 311, while referenced in the singular, may include more than one component, such as a collar device 312 and an imaging system 3.
In regards to claim 17, Trottier teaches the touch screen display device further comprises an audio capture device configured to capture audio of the pet during use (Paragraphs 84, 323 ), i.e. there may be communications via video, audio, scent, tactile/haptics feedback, or a combination. By actuating a button, switch or similar connected device, the first dog may cause the Hub to dispense a treat to the second dog. the CLEVERPET® Hub 401, as shown in FIG. 4, provides signals for the dog indicating that the dog may engage in a game to earn food and/or that food is available for the dog. Such signals may take the form of noises that naturally occur during the process of feeding or preparing the CLEVERPET® Hub 401 for feeding, such as the sound of food entering a chamber. In another aspect, the CLEVERPET® Hub 401 provides light signals through pad 418 located on the Hub 401 and/or sound, movement, and/or smell signals associated with feeding
In regards to claim 18, Trottier teaches a method of determining a cognitive and physical capacity of a pet to provide cognitive and physical information to a user, the method comprising the steps of a providing a cognitive and physical capacity assessment system for the pet (Paragraphs 79, 80), i.e. A CLEVERPET® Hub or other feeding device (in one aspect, a metered feeding device) is utilized as the sole (or primary) mechanism for providing food for a dog. At step 101, the Hub communicates with a dog. At step 102, the dog responds. If the dog's response is appropriate, at step 103, the CLEVERPET® Hub dispenses a treat 103, and at step 104 the dog learns that its response is appropriate, thereby getting more clever (thereby, determining cognitive capacity by way of its physical responses). The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201
The system comprising a touch screen display device having a touch screen, a wearable monitoring device having a wearable item fixable to the pet and at least one sensor mounted to the wearable item (Paragraphs 17, 25, 81), i.e. a touch screen. In one aspect, the touch screen is proximate to, or integral with, the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. the dog-borne device is equipped in a manner capable of measuring the dog's energy expenditures and/or movement, such as via an accelerometer, GPS, or similar technology.
Trottier teaches a processing module communicable with the touch screen display device and the wearable monitoring device and a user device having a display screen, the user device being communicable with the processing module, wherein the wearable monitoring device is in-use fixed to the pet, and wherein the touch screen display device is in-use positioned to receive a touch response from the pet(Paragraphs 25, 80, 82, 133, 134 ), i.e. The touch screen may initially be configured to imitate the appearance of an earlier generation of the CLEVERPET® Hub or similar device. The screen need not literally be a touch-sensitive screen, as interaction with the screen may also be measured utilizing other mechanisms, such as video analysis, a Kinect-like system, a finger (or paw, or nose) tracking system, or other alternatives. context of touch pads, the animal can be required to hold his paw (or nose) on a touch pad for a longer and longer period of time in order to eventually get the reward. The CLEVERPET® Hub, first generation, has three touch pads. Other similar devices, and future iterations of the CLEVERPET® Hub may have more or fewer touchpads, display screens, flexible displays, projected displays, or other input and/or output devices. Color difference may be taught by rewarding the animal for touching the “one that's not like the others”. This can also be done with a computer vision-based system and/or a light projection system, with or without incorporation of touchpads. The system comprises a CLEVERPET® Hub 201, or similar metered feeding device, an animal 202, a user interface 205, and servers 206. The Hub 201 challenges the animal 202 and, when appropriate, rewards it with food. The Hub tracks the animal's progress and adapts to keep it engaged. The user interface may comprise a computer, portable computer, tablet, smartphone or similar device with a software application, a mobile software application or a connection to a dedicated website, allowing a user to check in to see how the animal is progressing, and in some instances, control the CLEVERPET® Hub 201. The servers 206 may store data, perform analytics and/or calculations, so as to determine, among other things, adaptations to the operation of the Hub 201 for continued engagem