DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the amendments filed 2/12/2026.
Claims 1 and 25-41 are pending. Claim 1 is currently amended; Claims 25-41 are new, and Claims 2-24 are canceled.
All prior rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 102 are withdrawn as necessitated by amendment.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1 and 25-41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nukaya, et al., Noninvasive Bed Sensing of Human Biosignals Via Piezoceramic Devices Sandwiched Between the Floor and Bed (“Nukaya”), in view of Alaziz, et al., MotionScale: A Body Motion Monitoring System Using Bed-Mounted Wireless Load Cells (“Alaziz”).
With regard to Claim 1, Nukaya, in view of Alaziz teaches a method for determining item specific parameters, the method comprising:
receiving, from each of multiple sensors, digital sensor data frames, wherein each of the multiple sensors is associated with a unique one of multiple legs of a frame and configured to sense load applied to a bed system of the frame by a subject (Nukaya, Section IIA, sensors are placed under each of the four feet of a bed, where the displacement and output voltage of each sensor are device variables. Heartbeat, respiration, and changes in position are all calculated using values of these variable received over time);
generating noise-reduced data from the multiple sensors by applying at least one noise reduction operation to the digital sensor data frames (Nukaya, Section IIIA describes that a noise level of the sensor data is reduced by passive low-pass filtering);
creating, from the noise-reduced data, subsampled data (Nukaya, Section IIIB shows that the signals are sampled from a period of time);
creating, from the subsampled data, enhanced data with at least one signal enhancement operation that increases a signal-to-noise ratio of the subsampled data (Nukaya, Section IIIB describes that the acquired signals are bandpass filtered from 3 to 7 Hz, thereby removing noise from outside that frequency range. Signals for heartbeat and respiration are likewise);
creating, from the subsampled data, augmented data with at least one signal augmentation operation that increases energy in the subsampled data (Alaziz, Section IVA, mean removal of a local mean from data amplifies oscillations caused by movement measured using load cells on each leg of a bed (Fig. 5));
creating, from the augmented data and the subsampled data, input data that comprises multiple dimensions of information for each of the multiple sensors (Nukaya, Section IIIB describes that the acquired and processed signal data is used to generate information for multiple dimensions, indicting a heartbeat, respiration, and movement); and
determining, from the input data, presence on the bed system of at least one identified item (Nukaya, Section IVB, the signals are used to identify a person in a bed that is moving); and for each identified item:
determining relationships between the multiple sensors based on characteristics of the input data (Nukaya, Section IVB describes that the movement profile is generated by integrating the received signals, which identifies relative movements as sensed at different parts of the bed and indicates the motion by the relative changes at each location);
determining a location of the item on the bed system based on at least the determined relationships between the multiple sensors (Nukaya, Section IVB describes that the position and movement of the person are identified using the relative changes at each of the bed locations);
determining an angular orientation of the item on the bed system based on at least the determined relationships between the multiple sensors (Nukaya, Section V teaches that the system can determine various orientations of a body, where Figs. 8-10 show various angular configurations such as lying on a particular side, or sitting up); and
determining a body position of the item on the bed system based at least the determined relationships between the multiple sensors, the location of the subject, and the angular orientation of the item (Nukaya, Section V describes that the shift in the center of gravity is estimated from the outputs, and is proportional to the displacement from the movement of a person, and is determined based on the posture determined for the person).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this application was filed to combine Alaziz with Nukaya. One of skill in the art would have sought the combination, to improve system functioning by amplifying certain data which is useful in discerning movement in a bed, thereby improving the ability to detect movement using the data.
Claim 28 recites a bed system which carries out the method of Claim 1, and is similarly rejected. Claim 36 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 1, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 25, Nukaya teaches that the noise reduction operation comprise both an external noise cancelation operation and a common mode noise reduction operation. Section IIIA describes that a noise level of the sensor data is reduced by passive low-pass filtering. Therefore, any low frequency noise that is either common more or external is removed.
Claim 29 recites a bed system which carries out the method of Claim 25, and is similarly rejected. Claim 37 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 25, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 26, Nukaya teaches that the external noise cancelation operation is performed before the common mode noise reduction operation. IIIB describes that for certain dimensions, signals can be further bandpass filtered and lowpass filtered. Therefore, depending on the frequencies of the noise, an external noise can be cancelled prior to common node noise, in some instances.
Claim 30 recites a bed system which carries out the method of Claim 26, and is similarly rejected. Claim 38 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 26, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 27, Nukaya teaches that the external noise cancelation operation attenuates noise that has different impact on each of the multiple sensors; and the common mode noise reduction operation attenuates noise that is captured similarly by each of the sensors. Section IIIA describes that a noise level of the sensor data is reduced by passive low-pass filtering. Therefore, noise with both disparate and similar levels of impact at each sensor can be canceled by the operation.
Claims 31 and 32 together recite a bed system which carries out the method of Claim 27, and are similarly rejected. Claim 39 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 27, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 33, Nukaya, in view of Alaziz teaches that the signal augmentation operation and the signal enhancement operation are performed in parallel. Nukaya teaches at Section IIIB that various different operations can bandpass filter signals at different frequencies. Alaziz at IVA describes that processing for the movement detection specifically uses the mean removal for movement detection, thereby creating a parallel path of signal processing for the one particular set of operations.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this application was filed to combine Alaziz with Nukaya. One of skill in the art would have sought the combination, to improve system functioning by amplifying certain data which is useful in discerning movement in a bed, thereby improving the ability to detect movement using the data.
Claim 40 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 33, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 34, Nukaya, in view of Alaziz teaches that the signal augmentation operation and the signal enhancement operation are performed on the same subsampled data contemporaneously. Nukaya teaches at Section IIIB that various different operations can bandpass filter signals at different frequencies. Alaziz at IVA describes that processing for the movement detection specifically uses the mean removal for movement detection, thereby enabling for the signal data to be processed using both operations contemporaneously.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this application was filed to combine Alaziz with Nukaya. One of skill in the art would have sought the combination, to improve system functioning by amplifying certain data which is useful in discerning movement in a bed, thereby improving the ability to detect movement using the data.
Claim 41 recites a controller which carries out the method of Claim 34, and is likewise rejected.
With regard to Claim 35, Nukaya teaches that the bed system further comprising network means for transmitting information to another computer. Fig. 1 shows the bed transmitting signals top a computer; one of skill in the art would understand that the PC likewise contains network means for transmitting information to another computer.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues that the amendments distinguish over the previously cited prior art. Applicant’s argument is moot, as the newly cited Alaziz reference cures any deficiencies with regard to Nukaya teaching or suggesting the elements of the amended claims.
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 KEITH D BLOOMQUIST whose telephone number is (571)270-7718. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30-5 PM.
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/KEITH D BLOOMQUIST/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2171
5/26/2026
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