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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended claim 1 have been considered but are moot because in view of new grounds of rejection to address the newly added limitations.
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, 7-9, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680).
Regarding claim 1, Dijkstra discloses a system comprising:
a fixture mounted on a platform (Fig. 2: housing 220);
at least one motor configured to move the platform (Col. 8, lines 39-44: “The second housing 220 is including a rotation unit 150, a display unit 160, and a power unit 170. A first end 231 of the spindle 230 is connected to a motor mounted inside the rotation unit 150 and a second end 232 of the spindle 230 is connected to the rotatable head 250. Further, the motor rotates the spindle 230 as per the controlling unit 130 input.”);
a directed light source, coupled to a processor, configured to emit a light signal directed to an adjustable focal point (Col. 8, lines 45-49: “The light projection unit 110 is having a light head 111, a light direction controller 112, and a light source 113. In this, the light source 113 projects a light on the light direction controller 112 which is able to control and divert the light as per the controlling unit 130 input.”);
a camera, coupled to the processor, configured to detect a presence of a user and provide an image of the user's face to the processor, wherein the processor signals the at least one motor to orient the platform to bring an eye into a center of a frame of the camera and to begin to adjust the adjustable focal point of the directed light source (Fig. 2: camera unit 120; Col. 9, lines 50-55: “The Object detection module provides a way to identify specifically trained objects within the current image. Once the module is trained with sample template images it will identify those objects within the current image depending on the filtered parameters of confidence, size, rotation, etc.”); and
a distance sensor, coupled to the processor, configured to estimate a distance between the fixture and the eye to ensure that an appropriate optical energy density is applied to the eye, wherein at least one of the camera, the directed light source, and the distance sensor is embedded in the fixture (Col. 4, lines 49-51: “the light therapy device allows the user to select a type of treatment, treatment time, intensity of light projection and shape of a light projection based on his/her body condition.”; Col. 4, lines 59-61: “the light projected from the light head continuously follows the at least one treatment portion of the user body within a predefined distance.”; Col. 11, lines 53-58: “According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensors used for detecting the movement of the treatment portion of the user body could be Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensors, Ultrasonic Sensors, Microwave Sensors or any other suitable sensors that can be used for motion detection.”).
Dijkstra does not disclose the camera is configured to take periodic pictures of a field of view of the camera; the processor configured to run a person-detect algorithm to determine whether an object in the field of view is a person; and based on a determination that the object is the person, determine whether the person is a user; and based on a determination that the person is the user, the camera provides an image of the user's face to the processor.
Carstensen discloses an analogous light therapy device comprising a camera (Fig. 3 #18) configured to take periodic pictures of a field of view of the camera; a processor configured to run a person-detect algorithm (face detected block #34) to determine whether an object in the field of view is a person (determine if face present or “user absence”) [pars. 0079-0082]; and based on a determination that the object is the person, determine whether the person is a user; and based on a determination that the person is the user, the camera provides an image of the user's face to the processor (when a user is identified further processing occurs to obtain proper facial alignment) [par. 0080; Fig. 3].
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to configure the device of Dijkstra to use pictures taken by the camera to perform face detection to identify a user prior to further alignment processing as taught by Carstensen in order to reduce power by preventing use of the device unless a user is detected and aligned.
Regarding claim 2, Dijkstra discloses wherein the directed light source comprises at least one of a violet light source and an infrared light source (Col. 15, lines 5-10: “According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the light source 113 projecting the light on the light direction controller 112 is selected from a group of LED light, a laser light, an Infrared light, UV Light, an electromagnetic light or any other suitable light that helps in body treatment.”).
Regarding claim 3, Dijkstra discloses wherein the distance sensor comprises an ultrasound emitter, a light emitter, or an infrared emitter (Col. 11, lines 53-58: “According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensors used for detecting the movement of the treatment portion of the user body could be Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensors, Ultrasonic Sensors, Microwave Sensors or any other suitable sensors that can be used for motion detection.”).
Regarding claim 4, Dijkstra discloses wherein the at least one motor is configured to move the platform in at least one degree of freedom (Col. 4, lines 57-59: “Further, a rotation unit comprises a motor and a spindle connected to the rotation head for rotating the rotation head in all directions.”).
Regarding claim 5, Dijkstra discloses wherein the at least one motor is configured to move the platform left/right and/or tilt the platform up/down (Col. 4, lines 57-59: “Further, a rotation unit comprises a motor and a spindle connected to the rotation head for rotating the rotation head in all directions.”).
Regarding claim 7, Dijkstra discloses wherein the base further comprises a non-transitory memory storing instructions coupled to the processor (Fig. 1: processor 131, memory unit 140), the processor configured to execute the instructions to:
recognize the presence and identity of the user from a stored group of one or more users of the system (Col. 3, lines 22-24: “The memory unit is having a database that includes a pre-stored data related to various skin or body conditions, treatment profile and user profile”); and
provide a directed therapeutic light treatment to the at least one eye of the user (Col. 12, lines 45-46: “the light therapy device 200 uses low wavelength light projection for treating the area near the user's eye.”; Col. 9, lines 22-24: “The light projection unit 110 project a light of a 100-1600 nm wavelength which is suitable for various skin and/or body condition treatments” – “[T]he discovery of a previously unappreciated property of a prior art composition, or of a scientific explanation for the prior art’s functioning, does not render the old composition patentably new to the discoverer.” Atlas Powder Co. v. IRECO Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1347, 51 USPQ2d 1943, 1947 (Fed. Cir. 1999). Thus the claiming of a new use, new function or unknown property which is inherently present in the prior art does not necessarily make the claim patentable (MPEP §2112, I). The device of Dijkstra is capable of producing the required parameters and therefore meets the structural limitations of the device of Claim 7).
Regarding claim 8, Dijkstra discloses wherein the processor is configured to identify the user based on the image of the user's face detected by the camera and to determine a treatment length for the user (Col. 10, lines 15-18: “The camera unit 120 starts scanning the at least one portion of the user body, at step 310, the at least one portion of the user body includes a face…”; Col. 10, lines 1-9: “if a user uses UV light of a particular intensity and shape for a predefined time period on a particular body disorder the light therapy device uses artificial intelligence and machine learning module to learn and record all the events happened during the treatment and in future if the light therapy device is presented with similar skin disorder or body problem it uses its learning from the previous similar treatment and can automatically provide treatment based on the learning.”).
Regarding claim 9, Dijkstra discloses wherein the treatment length is based on an amount of at least one type of light received by the user that day stored in the non-transitory memory (Col. 10, lines 1-9: “if a user uses UV light of a particular intensity and shape for a predefined time period on a particular body disorder the light therapy device uses artificial intelligence and machine learning module to learn and record all the events happened during the treatment and in future if the light therapy device is presented with similar skin disorder or body problem it uses its learning from the previous similar treatment and can automatically provide treatment based on the learning.”).
Regarding claim 11, Dijkstra discloses the base further comprising at least one of: a power source and/or a charging port, a user interface, a display, a speaker, and circuitry (Fig. 2: display unit 160; Col. 5, lines 1-7: “According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a power unit is also mounted inside the device to provide power to the rotation unit, camera unit, light projection unit, controlling unit, the memory unit, and the display unit. The power unit includes a rechargeable battery, a direct plug-in for household power socket, USB charging or any other suitable power supply means.”).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Broeng (US PGPUB 2020/0164220).
Regarding claim 6, Dijkstra discloses the system further comprising:
a base attached to the platform and housing the processor and one or more of the at least one motor, the base further comprising:
at least a second camera, coupled to the processor, configured to detect the user (Fig. 2: camera unit 120; Col. 9, lines 5-9: “Wherein, the camera 121 is selected from a group of a normal optical camera, a thermographic camera, an infrared spectroscopy camera, an IP camera and a combination thereof.”);
Dijkstra does not disclose
an ambient light detector, coupled to the processor, configured to detect an illuminance of ambient light to adjust an exposure time and an intensity of the light signal emitted by the directed light source.
However, Broeng, in the same field of endeavor of phototherapy, discloses “Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the phototherapy system may comprise one or more personal environment sensors configured to be worn by a human, e.g. selected from the group consisting of … ambient light sensor… and wherein the phototherapy device controller is configured for controlling the phototherapy device in response to parameter values output by one or more personal environment sensors.” (Par. 295) and “The controller may also adjust the brightness and/or color temperature of the phototherapy device in response to changes in ambient lighting conditions.” (Par. 266). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include an ambient light sensor, as taught and suggested by Broeng, for the purpose of “respon[ding] to changes in ambient lighting conditions” (Par. 266).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680) and Broeng (US PGPUB 2020/0164220), as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Samec (US PGPUB 2016/0270656).
Regarding claim 10, Dijkstra does not disclose wherein the at least the second camera is a wide angled camera. However, Samec, in the same field of endeavor of patient diagnostics, monitoring, and/or light therapy, discloses “the wavefront of ambient light in front of the user, for example, light that is passed from the surrounding world in front of the user through the ophthalmic system to the user's eye, is modified to provide optical correction.” (Par. 1476) and “two wide-field-of-view machine vision cameras (16) are coupled to the housing (108) to image the environment around the user” (Par. 1444). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include a wide angled camera, as taught and suggested by Samec, for the purpose of “ image the environment around the user” (Par. 1444).
Claim(s) 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680) and further in view of Ricketts (US PGPUB 2019/0326018).
Regarding claim 12, Dijkstra discloses a method comprising:
recognizing, by a system comprising a processor, the presence of a user via at least one camera in communication with the processor (Col. 12, lines 4-13: “the light therapy device is having a calibration protocol to identify the 3D co-ordinates (X, Y, and Z) of the portion of the user body to be treated. Further, the calibration protocol uses a 3D (3-dimensional) object detection method to extract the 3D co-ordinates (X, Y, and Z) of the treatment portion. Based upon the 3D co-ordinates the light direction controller 112 projects the light 114 on the treatment portion and follows the motion of the treatment portion of the user to a predefined distance.”);
providing, by the system, a directed therapeutic light treatment to at least one eye of the user via a directed light source of the system, wherein at least one of the directed light source and the at least one camera are moveable by at least one motor in communication with the processor (Col. 3, lines 36-43: “Further, the controlling unit with the help of the artificial intelligence module, localization module, image processing module and object detection module retrieves the similar treatment profile from the database and allows the light projection unit to project a light on the external body condition and/or the internal body condition of the user body based on an treatment information stored in the treatment profile.”).
Dijkstra does not disclose identifying, by the system, the user from a stored group of one or more users of the system. However, Ricketts, in the same field of endeavor of storing patient data for clinical procedures, discloses “The facial recognition algorithm can process the plurality of images to identify one or more facial features, and compare the identified one or more facial features to one or more facial feature templates associated with each of a plurality of subjects (e.g., maintained in subject database 440)” (Par. 73). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include accessing a database of faces, performing facial recognition, and identifying the user, as taught and suggested by Ricketts, for the purpose of “identify[ing] the subject using the plurality of images” (Abstract).
Dijkstra does not disclose the camera is configured to take periodic pictures of a field of view of the camera; the processor configured to run a person-detect algorithm to determine whether an object in the field of view is a person; and based on a determination that the object is the person, determine whether the person is a user; and based on a determination that the person is the user, the camera provides an image of the user's face to the processor.
Carstensen discloses an analogous light therapy device comprising a camera (Fig. 3 #18) configured to take periodic pictures of a field of view of the camera; a processor configured to run a person-detect algorithm (face detected block #34) to determine whether an object in the field of view is a person (determine if face present or “user absence”) [pars. 0079-0082]; and based on a determination that the object is the person, determine whether the person is a user; and based on a determination that the person is the user, the camera provides an image of the user's face to the processor (when a user is identified further processing occurs to obtain proper facial alignment) [par. 0080; Fig. 3].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to configure the device of Dijkstra to use pictures taken by the camera to perform face detection to identify a user prior to further alignment processing as taught by Carstensen in order to reduce power by preventing use of the device unless a user is detected and aligned.
Regarding claim 13, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts discloses the method of claim 12. Dijkstra further discloses wherein the recognizing the presence of the user via the at least one camera in communication with the processor further comprises:
detecting, via the at the at least one camera, a moving object (Col. 11, lines 53-58: “the sensors used for detecting the movement of the treatment portion of the user body could be Passive Infrared (PIR) Sensors, Ultrasonic Sensors, Microwave Sensors or any other suitable sensors that can be used for motion detection.”);
determining, by the system, that the moving object is a human (Col. 9, lines 50-55: “The Object detection module provides a way to identify specifically trained objects within the current image. Once the module is trained with sample template images it will identify those objects within the current image depending on the filtered parameters of confidence, size, rotation, etc.”); and
detecting, via the at least one camera, that a face of the human is in a range of the directed light source (Col. 9, lines 50-55: “The Object detection module provides a way to identify specifically trained objects within the current image. Once the module is trained with sample template images it will identify those objects within the current image depending on the filtered parameters of confidence, size, rotation, etc.”; Col. 4, lines 59-62: “Furthermore, the light projected from the light head continuously follows the at least one treatment portion of the user body within a predefined distance.”).
Regarding claim 14, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts discloses the method of claim 13. Dijkstra does not disclose wherein the identifying the user from the group of one or more users of the system further comprises:
accessing, by the system, a database containing information about faces of the stored group of one or more users of the system;
performing, by the system, facial recognition of the face of the human compared to the information about faces of the stored group of one or more users of the system;
identifying, by the system, the human as the user of the system if the face of the human matches with information about one of the faces of the stored group of one or more users of the system.
However, Ricketts, in the same field of endeavor of storing patient data for clinical procedures, discloses “The facial recognition algorithm can process the plurality of images to identify one or more facial features, and compare the identified one or more facial features to one or more facial feature templates associated with each of a plurality of subjects (e.g., maintained in subject database 440)” (Par. 73). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include accessing a database of faces, performing facial recognition, and identifying the user, as taught and suggested by Ricketts, for the purpose of “identify[ing] the subject using the plurality of images” (Abstract).
Claim(s) 15-17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680) and Ricketts (US PGPUB 2019/0326018) and further in view of Tedford (US PGPUB 2016/0067086).
Regarding claim 15, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts disclose the method of claim 12. Dijkstra in view of Ricketts does not disclose the method further comprising:
locating, by the processor via the at least one camera, the at least one eye of the user;
orienting, via the at least one motor in communication with the processor, the at least one camera to focus on the at least one eye of the user; and
establishing, by the system, a focal point for the directed light source at the pupil of the at least one eye of the user.
However, Tedford, in the same field of endeavor of ophthalmic phototherapy, discloses “targeting of the light source on a particular portion of the eye of the patient can be performed using the spatial light modulator, a camera to observe the patient's eye to allow manual or automatic adjust of the direction of the light beam, pupil tracking sensor, or any combination thereof.” (Par. 77) and “, this is performed in an automated fashion, with the device automatically adjusting the focus, exposure, size, or location for the image.” (Par. 98) and “the programmable controller can be programmed to activate a subset of the light sources to focus on a particular target region.” (Par. 83). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include locating the eye, orienting the camera, and establishing a focal point, as taught and suggested by Tedford, for the purpose of “deliver a therapeutic, independently controlled, multi-wavelength combination of low level light to ophthalmologic tissue” (Par. 32).
Regarding claim 16, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts in further view of Tedford discloses the method of claim 15. Dijkstra does not disclose wherein the providing the directed therapeutic light treatment to the at least one eye of the user via the directed light source of the system further comprises:
measuring, by the system, a distance between the directed light source and the at least one eye of the user at a given time;
orienting, via the at least one motor, the directed light source and the at least one camera to maintain the focal point for the directed light source at the pupil of the at least one eye of the user if the user moves; and
adjusting, by the system, a focal length of the directed light source based on the measured distance so a pupil-sized light bead is centered on a pupil of the at least one eye of the user.
However, Tedford, in the same field of endeavor of ophthalmic phototherapy, discloses “targeting of the light source on a particular portion of the eye of the patient can be performed using the spatial light modulator, a camera to observe the patient's eye to allow manual or automatic adjust of the direction of the light beam, pupil tracking sensor, or any combination thereof.” (Par. 77) and “In at least some embodiments, the device contains one or more cameras (for example, camera 754 of FIG. 7) and associated software algorithms for measuring the diameter of a patient's pupil. This measurement may be performed once, periodically, or continually. The logic circuit may then use the pupil diameter measurement signal to adjust treatment parameters to achieve the desired dosage on the retina.” (Par. 101). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include orienting the camera and light source to the pupil and adjusting the focal length of the light source, as taught and suggested by Tedford, for the purpose of “deliver a therapeutic, independently controlled, multi-wavelength combination of low level light to ophthalmologic tissue” (Par. 32).
Regarding claim 17, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts in further view of Tedford discloses the method of claim 16. Tedford discloses the method further comprising: adjusting an intensity of the directed therapeutic light treatment based on the measured distance to the pupil of the at least one eye (Par. 80: “To tailor one or more of the light energy emission, light energy intensity, light energy duration, frequency, area or sequence of application of light energy to a subject's ocular tissue, or other treatment parameters, at least some embodiments include a programmable controller”; Par. 73: “selection of the appropriate irradiance of the light beam emitted from the emission surface to achieve a desired irradiance at the level of the target ocular tissue preferably includes, among other factors, the wavelength or wavelengths of light selected, the type of disease (if any), the clinical condition of the subject, and the distance to the target region.”). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include adjusting an intensity of light treatment, as taught and suggested by Tedford, for the purpose of “deliver a therapeutic, independently controlled, multi-wavelength combination of low level light to ophthalmologic tissue” (Par. 32).
Regarding claim 20, Dijkstra discloses wherein providing the directed therapeutic light treatment to the at least one eye of the user via the directed light source of the system further comprises:
applying, by the system, the directed therapeutic light treatment to a first eye of the user for a first time period; and
applying, by the system, the directed therapeutic light treatment to a second eye of the user, for a second time period after the first time period, wherein the applications are repeated for a preprogrammed number of times.
Dijkstra discloses “identifying at least one treatment portion based on the comparison result 350” (Fig. 3) and “projecting a light on the at least one external body condition and/or the at least one internal body condition based on the treatment profile 380” (Fig. 3). The first and second eye of the claimed invention could be separate treatment portions. Dijkstra also discloses “In this, the light is administered for a prescribed amount of time and intensity on an application surface.” (Col. 2, lines 52-53).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680) and Ricketts (US PGPUB 2019/0326018), and further in view of Broeng (US PGPUB 2020/0164220).
Regarding claim 18, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts discloses the method of claim 12. Dijkstra in view of Ricketts does not disclose the method further comprising:
measuring, via an ambient light sensor in communication with the processor, ambient violet light levels near the system;
determining, by the system, an intensity of the directed therapeutic light treatment to account for the ambient violet light levels; and
adjusting, by the system, the intensity of the directed therapeutic light treatment by adjusting the luminance of the directed light source.
However, Broeng, in the same field of endeavor of phototherapy, discloses “Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the phototherapy system may comprise one or more personal environment sensors configured to be worn by a human, e.g. selected from the group consisting of … ambient light sensor… and wherein the phototherapy device controller is configured for controlling the phototherapy device in response to parameter values output by one or more personal environment sensors.” (Par. 295) and “The controller may also adjust the brightness and/or color temperature of the phototherapy device in response to changes in ambient lighting conditions.” (Par. 266). Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include an ambient light sensor, as taught and suggested by Broeng, for the purpose of “respon[ding] to changes in ambient lighting conditions” (Par. 266).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dijkstra (US Patent No. 11,247,068) in view of Carstensen et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0126680) and Ricketts (US PGPUB 2019/0326018) and further in view of Dirani (WO 2018/009144).
Regarding claim 19, Dijkstra in view of Ricketts discloses the method of claim 12. Dijkstra in view of Ricketts further discloses providing, by the system, the directed therapeutic light treatment to the at least one eye of the user when no eyewear including the component configured to block the light of the at least one given wavelength range is detected (Col. 12, lines 7-13: “the calibration protocol uses a 3D (3-dimensional) object detection method to extract the 3D co-ordinates (X, Y, and Z) of the treatment portion. Based upon the 3D co-ordinates the light direction controller 112 projects the light 114 on the treatment portion and follows the motion of the treatment portion of the user to a predefined distance”).
Dijkstra in view of Ricketts does not disclose the method further comprising:
detecting, by the system, whether the user is wearing eyewear that includes a component configured to block light of at least one given wavelength range;
when the user is wearing the eyewear, notifying, by the system, the user to remove the eyewear that includes the component configured to block the light of the at least one given wavelength range via a display and/or speaker associated with the system
However, Dirani, in the same field of endeavor of myopia treatment, discloses “processor 102 may provide additional embodiments for example general face recognition capabilities, such as face, eyes, pupils and/or glasses recognition algorithms may be included” (Par. 56) and “Once the processor 104 identifies that the user is not wearing glasses, it may provide an alert if the user is or is not required to wear glasses during the operation of the device” (Par. 76). Therefore, it would have been obvious, to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include detection of eyewear and a notification, as taught and suggested by Dirani, for the purpose of “ identify on a continuous basis, if the user of the device 108 is wearing glasses or if the user is not wearing glasses” (Par. 76).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
(1) Kosecoff (US PGPUB 2022/0370822) discloses an analogous light therapy device comprising a camera configured to take periodic pictures of a field of view of the camera; a processor (Fig. 8 #802) configured to run a person-detect algorithm (face detection/mapping module) to determine whether an object in the field of view is a person (determine if a face is present) [par. 0038]; based on a determination that the object is the person, determine whether the person is a user (the computer system may store feature data for a number of faces, such that the computer system is able to detect and identify the face present in the field of view of the camera) [par. 0074]; and based on a determination that the person is the user, the camera provides an image of the user's face to the processor (such identification may benefit the system by reducing the resource demand associated with generating face mappings and projections) [par. 0074].
(2) Garg et al. (US PGPUB 2023/0133529) discloses a microcontroller 112 performs face recognition on a captured image, to identify a user profile of a user whose image is captured. In particular, the microcontroller 112 runs a face recognition algorithm to identify the user profile of the user whose image is captured. Specifically, the microcontroller 112 stores algorithm for face recognition algorithm to perform the face recognition on the captured image. Furthermore, the microcontroller 112 also has a database of user database that stores information for a number of users, including a user profile (for example a user profile ID) and a dosage value delivered in a defined amount of dosage time period, for each user. At this step, the microcontroller 112 performs face recognition relative to the entire database, to identify a user profile of the user positioned opposite to or in front of the camera unit 110. The method 104 then proceeds to step 208 [par. 0024].
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 NATHAN J JENNESS whose telephone number is (571)270-5055. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00 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, Edward Lefkowitz can be reached at 571-272-2180. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHAN J JENNESS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3733 5 May 2026
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