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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to amendment filed on 02/20/2026.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 7, 9 – 14, 40 and 42 are amended.
Claims 18 – 39 and 43 – 45 are cancelled.
Claims 1 – 17 and 40 – 42 are pending and ready for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 01/26/2026 with respect to claims 1 – 17 and 40 – 42 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant amended the independent claims 1 and 40. The amendment changes the scope of the claims; therefore, a new ground of rejection has been made in view of new prior arts CHO (KR 20160064756 A) and Griffin et al. (US 2020/0004347 A1).
Applicant argued on page 2: middle paragraph of the remark, " Applicant respectfully asserts that the proposed amendments overcome the § 102 rejection by explicitly reciting the separate, wirelessly-paired, dual-wearable architecture that Chen does not disclose. Accordingly, withdrawal of the § 102 rejection of claims 40-42 is requested".
Examiner respectfully agrees that Chen does not teach the currently amended claim 40; but the new prior art CHO discloses separate, wirelessly-paired, dual-wearable architecture (Fig.2 and 3 and ¶ [0090]). Accordingly, claims 40 – 42 are not allowable.
Applicant argued on page 2: last paragraph of the remark, " Applicant respectfully submits that the combination of Chen, Subramanian, and Alameh fails to render the claimed invention obvious because it does not teach or suggest the specific dual on-body wearable architecture required by the amended claims”.
Examiner respectfully agrees that the combination of Chen and Subramanian does not teach the currently amended claim 1; but the combination of CHO and Griffin discloses all the limitation of the currently amended independent claim 1; therefore, the argument is moot.
Applicant argued on pages 3 - 4 of the remark: regarding gap in prior art (previous citation), rejected dependent claims and objected dependent claims.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with applicant’s argument. Since, the combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the limitations of the currently amended independent claims, therefore, the dependent claims are not patentable by virtue of their dependency from the independent claims.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with all the arguments filed by the applicant. All arguments and remarks are replied in detail in the rejection section below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 40 – 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CHO (KR 20160064756 A) (Cited in IDS).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 40, CHO teaches (Title, WEARABLE DEVICE) a method of switch-enabled communication (Fig.3 and [0086], When user input unit 330 is configured as a mechanical input unit, at least three control commands are input through an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger and a push operation of the switch 335. Here, the control commands are based on the switch movement; therefore, it is a switch enabled communication) performed by a wearable enhanced ring (Fig.3 and [0081], a ring type wearable device 300 is a smart ring), the method comprising:
establishing wireless pairing with a paired second wearable device (Fig.2 and [0071], smart watch 200 is configured to be worn on a wrist. Here, the smart watch 200 is a second wearable device) via a short-range communication radio of the wearable enhanced ring ([0090], the smart watch 200 connects short distance wireless communication with the smart ring 300. Here, the short distance wireless communication means they are wirelessly paired with each other via a short-range communication. Since, the smart ring communicates with the smart watch via the short distance wireless communication; therefore, it is understood that there is a short-range communication radio in the wearable enhanced ring);
periodically exchanging, by the wearable enhanced ring, one or more confirmation signals (Fig.4 and [0090], the smart watch 200 connects the short distance wireless communication with the smart ring 300; and exchanges simple data with the smart ring 300 through connected short-range wireless communication. Here, the simple data is considered as one or more confirmation signals) with the paired second wearable device while wirelessly paired (As mentioned above, the wearable enhanced ring is wirelessly paired with the second wearable device);
detecting, by the wearable enhanced ring, physical switch input of a physical switch interface of the wearable enhanced ring ([0093], when the user input unit 330 of the smart ring 300 is composed of a mechanical input means, the first or second control signal is input through the up/ down movement of the switch 335 using the thumb. Here, the movement of the switch 335 using the thumb is a physical switch input from the user at the physical switch interface), wherein the physical switch input is indicative of activation of the switch-enabled communication (Fig.3 and [0086], When user input unit 330 is configured as a mechanical input unit, at least three control commands are input through an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger and a push operation of the switch 335. Here, the control commands are based on the switch movement; therefore, it is a switch enabled communication); and
transmitting, by the wearable enhanced ring via the short-range communication radio, an activation signal ([0093], When the first or second control signal is input, the smart ring 300 transmits the control signal to the smart watch 200 through the connected short-range wireless communication. Here the control signal is an activation signal between the two wearable devices) associated with the physical switch input to the paired second wearable device in response to the physical switch input (As mentioned above, the control/ activation signal is based on the movement of the switch 335; therefore, the activation signal indicates activation of the switch-enabled communication).
(Original) Regarding claim 41, CHO teaches all the features with respect to claim 40 as outlined above.
CHO further teaches
wherein the detecting the physical switch input includes one of:
detecting movement of the physical switch interface between one of two switch points (Fig.3 and [0086], an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger. Here, the up/ down movement of the switch is movement between one of two switch points); or
detecting movement of the physical switch interface between one of a plurality of switch points; or
detecting a sequence of movement of the physical switch interface between one of: the two switch points or the plurality of switch points (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 42, CHO teaches all the features with respect to claim 41 as outlined above.
CHO further teaches
wherein the activation signal includes one of (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only):
a single activation signal triggered in response to the detecting the movement of the physical switch interface between the one of two switch points, wherein the single activation signal flags activation of the switch-enabled communication to the paired second wearable device; or
a selected activation signal from a plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals (Fig.3 and [0086], When user input unit 330 is configured as a mechanical input unit, at least three control commands are input through an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger and a push operation of the switch 335. [0093], When the first or second control signal is input, the smart ring 300 transmits the control signal to the smart watch 200 through the connected short-range wireless communication. Here, the control signal is a selected activation signal) selected in response to the detecting one of (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only): the movement of the physical switch interface between the one of the plurality of switch points, or the sequence of movement of the physical switch interface between the one of: the two switch points (As mentioned in claim 41, the up/ down movement of the switch is movement between one of two switch points) or the plurality of switch points, wherein each candidate activation signal of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals is one of: a distinct predetermined action ([0086], at least three control commands are input through division of touch areas (e.g., Up, Down, Select, 331, 332, and 333), or distinct predetermined information.
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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1 – 4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO in view of Griffin et al. (Griffin hereinafter referred to Griffin) (US 2020/0004347 A1).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 1, CHO teaches (Title, WEARABLE DEVICE) a method of switch-enabled communication (Fig.3 and [0086], When user input unit 330 is configured as a mechanical input unit, at least three control commands are input through an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger and a push operation of the switch 335. Here, the control commands are based on the switch movement; therefore, it is a switch enabled communication) by a virtual communication device including a wearable enhanced ring (Fig.3 and [0081], a ring type wearable device 300 is a smart ring; the smart ring 300 includes features similar to the features of a mobile terminal. Here, the smart ring works as a virtual communication device, since it has similar features of a mobile terminal), with a physical switch interface (Fig.3 and [0086], switch 335), and a paired device, that is a second wearable device (Fig.2 and [0071], smart watch 200 is configured to be worn on a wrist. Here, the smart watch 200 is a second wearable device) physically separate from the wearable enhanced ring (Regarding Fig.2 and Fig.3 the wearable devices are physically separated), wirelessly paired to the wearable enhanced ring ([0090], the smart watch 200 connects short distance wireless communication with the smart ring 300. Here, the short distance wireless communication means they are wirelessly paired with each other), wherein the wearable enhanced ring and the paired second wearable device are, at least initially, maintained on a body of a user ([0071], smart watch 200 is worn on a wrist; [0090], the smart ring 300 is mounted on user's finger), the method comprising:
detecting a physical switch input from the user at the physical switch interface, wherein the physical switch input is indicative of activation of the switch-enabled communication ([0093], when the user input unit 330 of the smart ring 300 is composed of a mechanical input means, the first or second control signal is input through the up/ down movement of the switch 335 using the thumb. Here, the movement of the switch 335 using the thumb is a physical switch input from the user at the physical switch interface);
exchanging, via a short-range radio access technology (RAT), an activation signal between the wearable enhanced ring and the paired second wearable device of the virtual communication device ([0093], When the first or second control signal is input, the smart ring 300 transmits the control signal to the smart watch 200 through the connected short-range wireless communication. Here the control signal is an activation signal between the two wearable devices), wherein the activation signal indicates activation of the switch-enabled communication (As mentioned above, the control/ activation signal is based on the movement of the switch 335; therefore, the activation signal indicates activation of the switch-enabled communication); and
transmitting, via a long-range RAT, a predetermined transmission from the paired second wearable device to one or more designated recipients ([0073], The smart watch 200 is configured to enable wireless communication, and an antenna for the wireless communication; [0074], the smart watch 200 is configured to exchange (or interwork) data with other wearable devices as well as other mobile terminals. Here, the other wearable devices or the other mobile terminals are one or more designated recipients, that receives the wireless transmission from the smart watch 200).
CHO does not specifically teach
transmitting, in response to the activation signal.
However, Griffin teaches a method (Title, WEARABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVING USER INTERFACE MIRRORING BASED ON DEVICE POSITION) by a wearable enhanced ring (Fig.3 and [0058], second wearable electronic device is an electronic ring 120), and a paired device, that is a second wearable device (Fig.3 and [0058], first wearable electronic device is a head mounted electronic display unit 110. Here, the electronic display unit is a second wearable device) physically separate from the wearable enhanced ring (Regarding Fig.3 the wearable devices are physically separated), wirelessly paired to the wearable enhanced ring (Fig.2 and [0056], a communication network 32, which is a wired connection, a Wi-Fi network, WiMAX, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth™, Bluetooth™ Low Energy, near-field communication, or any other type of connection capable of providing uni-directional or bi-directional communication between the second wearable electronic device 34 and the first wearable electronic device 30), wherein the wearable enhanced ring and the paired second wearable device are, at least initially, maintained on a body of a user ([0058], The head mounted electronic display unit 110 is a pair of glasses; [0060], The electronic ring 120 is worn around a finger of a user), the method comprising:
exchanging, via a short-range radio access technology (RAT), an activation signal (Fig.5 and [0078], the second wearable electronic device transmits the device orientation signal; [0079], the first wearable electronic device receives the device orientation signal that indicates the orientation of the second wearable electronic device to the first wearable electronic device. Here, the device orientation signal is considered as an activation signal) between the wearable enhanced ring and the paired second wearable device (Fig.2 and [0056], First wearable electronic device 30 communicates with second wearable electronic device 34 via a communications channel, e.g. a Wi-Fi network, WiMAX, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth™, Bluetooth™ Low Energy, near-field communication. Here, the communications channel provides a short-range RAT); and
transmitting, via a long-range RAT, a predetermined transmission from the paired second wearable device to one or more designated recipients (Fig.1 and [0050], The one or more communication interfaces 16 receive and send signals; convert electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicate with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals; The one or more communication interfaces 16 optionally communicate with networks, e.g. Internet, an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. Here, the other communication devices are designated recipients and the communication networks are long-range RAT. Since, the communication interfaces 16 receives, sends and/ or convert signals; therefore, it is obvious that the second wearable device transmits a predetermined transmission via a long-range RAT to one or more designated recipients) in response to the activation signal (Fig.5 and [0080], an orientable user interface generated and/or presented on a display of the first wearable electronic device is dynamically oriented in response to the first wearable electronic device receiving the orientation signal. Here, displaying of orientation information is in response to the orientation signal/ activation signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified CHO as mentioned above and further incorporate the teaching of Griffin. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide systems, devices, and methods relate to wearable electronic devices having user interface mirroring based on device position (Griffin, Title and [0001]).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 2, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
CHO further teaches
wherein the wearable enhanced ring includes a first short-range communication circuit configured for the exchanging the activation signal ([0093], When the first or second control signal is input, the smart ring 300 transmits the control signal to the smart watch 200 through the connected short-range wireless communication. As mentioned above, the control signal is an activation signal between the two wearable devices; therefore, it is obvious that the enhanced ring includes a first short-range communication circuit), and
wherein the paired second wearable device includes a second short-range communication circuit configured for the exchanging the activation signal (Fig.2 and [0074], the smart watch 200 is configured to exchange (or interwork) data with other wearable devices; The short range communication module (not shown) detects (or recognizes) a wearable device that can communicate around the smart watch 200. Here, the short range communication module is a second short-range communication circuit) and a first long-range communication circuit configured for the transmitting the predetermined transmission ([0073], The smart watch 200 is configured to enable wireless communication, and an antenna for the wireless communication. Since, the smart watch does wireless communications via antenna; therefore, it is obvious that it includes a first long-range communication circuit configured for the transmitting the predetermined transmission).
Griffin further teaches
wherein the wearable enhanced ring includes a first short-range communication circuit (Fig.2 and [0056], First wearable electronic device 30 communicates with second wearable electronic device 34 via a communications channel, e.g. a Wi-Fi network, WiMAX, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth™, Bluetooth™ Low Energy, near-field communication. Here, the communications channel provides a short-range RAT; therefore, it is obvious that the wearable enhanced ring includes a first short-range communication circuit) configured for the exchanging the activation signal ([0078] and [0079], device orientation signal), and
wherein the paired second wearable device includes a second short-range communication circuit (same as above, since the first and the second wearable devices communicates with each other via the short-range communication; therefore, it is obvious that the wearable second device includes a second short-range communication circuit ) configured for the exchanging the activation signal ([0078] and [0079], device orientation signal) and a first long-range communication circuit configured (Fig.1 and [0050], The one or more communication interfaces 16 receive and send signals; communicates with networks, e.g. Internet, an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. Here, the communication networks are long-range RAT. Since, the second wearable devices communicates long range; therefore, it is obvious that the wearable second device includes a first long-range communication circuit) for the transmitting the predetermined transmission ([0050], signals).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 1 and further incorporate the teaching of Griffin. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide systems, devices, and methods relate to wearable electronic devices having user interface mirroring based on device position (Griffin, Title and [0001]).
(Original) Regarding claim 3, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
CHO further teaches
wherein the detecting the physical switch input includes one of:
detecting movement of the physical switch interface between one of two switch points (Fig.3 and [0086], an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger. Here, the up/ down movement of the switch is movement between one of two switch points); or
detecting movement of the physical switch interface between one of a plurality of switch points; or
detecting a sequence of movement of the physical switch interface between one of: the two switch points or the plurality of switch points (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 4, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 3, respectively as outlined above.
CHO further teaches
wherein the activation signal includes one of (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only):
a single activation signal triggered in response to the detecting the movement of the physical switch interface between the one of two switch points, wherein the single activation signal flags activation of the switch-enabled communication to the paired second wearable device; or
a selected activation signal from a plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals (Fig.3 and [0086], When user input unit 330 is configured as a mechanical input unit, at least three control commands are input through an up/ down movement of the switch 335 using a finger and a push operation of the switch 335. [0093], When the first or second control signal is input, the smart ring 300 transmits the control signal to the smart watch 200 through the connected short-range wireless communication. Here, the control signal is a selected activation signal) selected in response to the detecting one of (Due to alternative language “one of” in the claims, examiner addresses one limitation only): the movement of the physical switch interface between the one of the plurality of switch points, or the sequence of movement of the physical switch interface between the one of: the two switch points (As mentioned in claim 41, the up/ down movement of the switch is movement between one of two switch points) or the plurality of switch points, wherein each candidate activation signal of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals is one of: a distinct predetermined action ([0086], at least three control commands are input through division of touch areas (e.g., Up, Down, Select, 331, 332, and 333), or distinct predetermined information.
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 9, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein the predetermined transmission includes transmission data that includes one or more of:
identification (ID) information associated with the user;
location data;
video data;
audio data;
image data;
orientation information of one or more of the wearable enhanced ring and the second wearable paired device;
direction information of movement of one or more of the wearable enhanced ring and the second wearable paired device; or
ID information associated with one or more neighboring wireless user devices in proximity to the second wearable paired device.
However, Griffin teaches
wherein the predetermined transmission includes transmission data that includes one or more of (Due to alternative language “one or more of” in the claim, examiner addresses one limitation only):
identification (ID) information associated with the user;
location data;
video data;
audio data;
image data;
orientation information of one or more of the wearable enhanced ring and the second wearable paired device (Fig.5 and [0080], an orientable user interface generated and/or presented on a display of the first wearable electronic device is dynamically oriented in response to the first wearable electronic device receiving the orientation signal. Here, the orientation signal is orientation information of the wearable enhanced ring);
direction information of movement of one or more of the wearable enhanced ring and the second wearable paired device; or
ID information associated with one or more neighboring wireless user devices in proximity to the second wearable paired device.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 1 and further incorporate the teaching of Griffin. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide systems, devices, and methods relate to wearable electronic devices having user interface mirroring based on device position (Griffin, Title and [0001]).
Claims 5 – 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO in view of Griffin and further in view of Chen et al. (Chen hereinafter referred to Chen) (US 2019/0339652 A1).
(Original) Regarding claim 5, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 4 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein predetermined transmission includes a selected predetermined transmission from a plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions, wherein each of the plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions is associated with one of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals.
However, Chen teaches (Title, WEARABLE DEVICE, AND NOTIFICATION SYSTEM AND NOTIFICATION METHOD THEREOF)
wherein predetermined transmission ([0024], mode signal) includes a selected predetermined transmission from a plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions ([0027], switches 120_A, 120_B, and 120_C have different preset voltages), wherein each of the plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions is associated with one of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals (Fig.3A and [0030], a mode signal in response to 4V (that is, a signal for indicating the first mode); Fig.3B and [0031], a mode signal in response to 8V (that is, a signal for indicating the second mode); Fig.3C and [0032], a mode signal in response to 6V (that is, a signal for indicating the third mode)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 4 and further incorporate the teaching of Chen. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a wearable device with smart notification, and a notification system and a notification method (Chen, Title and [0002]).
(Original) Regarding claim 6, combination of CHO, Griffin and Chen teaches all the features with respect to claim 5 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein each of the plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions includes one or more of:
request of a service for the user;
identification of an emergency situation;
identification of one of information or communication of the user; or
indicating presence of the user to the one or more designated recipients.
However, Chen teaches
wherein each of the plurality of candidate predetermined transmissions includes one or more of (Due to alternative language “one or more of” in the claim, examiner addresses one limitation only):
request of a service for the user;
identification of an emergency situation;
identification of one of information or communication of the user (Fig.5 and [0037], a plurality of mode names, such as “SELECTED”, “ALL”, and “OFF”, are printed on a surface of the first rotating plate 510; The user rotates the rotatable ring 110 to drive the first rotating plate 510 to rotate, so as to display one of the mode names in the first opening 410 and trigger the switches 120 to generate the control signal (i.e. the total voltage level); [0044], if the current mode of the electronic apparatus 20 is “SELECTED”, the application determines whether to transmit the notification message, such as a call notification, an SMS notification, a schedule notification, or a mail notification); or
indicating presence of the user to the one or more designated recipients.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO, Griffin and Chen as mentioned in claim 5 and further incorporate the teaching of Chen. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a wearable device with smart notification, and a notification system and a notification method (Chen, Title and [0002]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO in view of Griffin and further in view of KHOSHKAVA et al. (KHOSHKAVA hereinafter referred to KHOSHKAVA) (US 2019/0325716 A1).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 7, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 4 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
providing, by the wearable enhanced ring, a haptic response to the user in response to the exchanging of the activation signal.
However KHOSHKAVA teaches (Title, HAPTIC-ENABLED WEARABLE DEVICE)
providing, by the wearable enhanced ring, a haptic response to the user (Fig.4 and [0034], haptic-enabled wearable devices 400A, 400B are configured as a ring to provide haptic feedback to fingers or toes. Here, haptic feedback/ response is provided by the wearable devices 400A, 400B (i.e. enhanced ring) to fingers or toes of a user) in response to the exchanging of the activation signal (Fig.6 and [0036], measured acceleration versus time in response to a drive signal of the haptic-enabled wearable device. Here, the drive signal is considered as an activation signal; therefore, acceleration/ haptic response is generated because of the activation signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 4 and further incorporate the teaching of KHOSHKAVA. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide electronic devices configured to produce haptic effects that substantially improve upon the related art (KHOSHKAVA, [0005]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO, Griffin and KHOSHKAVA in view of KIM et al. (KIM hereinafter referred to KIM) (US 2022/0123605 A1).
(Original) Regarding claim 8, combination of CHO, Griffin and KHOSHKAVA teaches all the features with respect to claim 7 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein the haptic response includes one of a plurality of haptic response patterns associated with the each candidate activation signal of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals.
However KIM teaches (Title, WIRELESS CHARGING DEVICE FOR PROVIDING TOUCH PAD AND HAPTIC)
wherein the haptic response includes one of a plurality of haptic response patterns associated with the each candidate activation signal of the plurality of predetermined candidate activation signals (Fig.2 and [0136], processor 240 transmits various control signals (e.g., the vibration voltage, the vibration frequency, the vibration period and/or the vibration time) to the plurality of the piezoelectric elements 230 through the haptic sensor circuit 510, and the plurality of the piezoelectric elements 230 output haptic feedbacks having various haptic patterns. Here, a plurality of haptic response patterns are associated with the plurality of control signals/ candidate activation signals; therefore, it is obvious that one of a plurality of haptic response patterns is associated with the each candidate activation signal).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO, Griffin and KHOSHKAVA as mentioned in claim 7 and further incorporate the teaching of KIM. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an electronic device capable of providing haptic feedbacks having various haptic patterns in response to various control signals (KIM, [0108] and [0136]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO in view of Griffin and further in view of Wu et al. (Wu hereinafter referred to Wu) (US 2019/0104409 A1).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 10, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 9 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein the location data includes one or more of :
global navigational satellite system (GNSS) coordinates obtained from one of: a GNSS receiver at the paired second wearable device, the one or more neighboring wireless user devices, a neighboring cellular base station in communication with the paired second wearable device, or a neighboring wireless access point in communication with the paired second wearable device; and
location information associated with one of the neighboring cellular base station or the neighboring wireless access point.
However Wu teaches (Title, LOCATION/THINGS AWARE CLOUD SERVICES DELIVERY SOLUTION)
wherein the location data includes one or more of (Due to alternative language “one or more of” in the claim, examiner did not address all limitations):
global navigational satellite system (GNSS) coordinates obtained from one of: a GNSS receiver at the paired second wearable device ([0045], The location data includes, for example, a latitude and longitude pair (e.g., as obtained by the device from a GNSS receiver such as a GPS receiver)), the one or more neighboring wireless user devices, a neighboring cellular base station in communication with the paired second wearable device, or a neighboring wireless access point in communication with the paired second wearable device; and
location information associated with one of the neighboring cellular base station or the neighboring wireless access point ([0045], location of an access point or radio antenna for the provider network).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 9 and further incorporate the teaching of Wu. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide systems and methods for policy-based authentication, where the policy designates locations and/or forms of proof of locations, for use in authentication (Wu, Abstract).
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CHO in view of Griffin and further in view of Alameh et al. (Alameh hereinafter referred to Alameh) (US 10,506,650 B1).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 11, combination of CHO and Griffin teaches all the features with respect to claim 9 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
establishing a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between the paired second wearable device and one or more external devices including one or more of: one or more neighboring mobile devices, one or more wireless access points, and one or more cellular base stations; and
retrieving, by the paired second wearable device, one or more portions of the transmission data from the one or more external devices.
However Alameh teaches (Title, Methods And Systems For Pairing Electronic Devices Based Upon Proximity)
establishing a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between the paired second wearable device and one or more external devices (Fig.1 and Col.9: Line 53 – 56, data sharing process includes engaging, with a wireless communication circuit of electronic device 100, in a pairing procedure to establish a peer-to-peer wireless communication link with external electronic device 104. Here, the electronic device 100 is a paired second wearable device) including one or more of (Due to alternative language “one or more of” in the claim, examiner addresses one limitation only): one or more neighboring mobile devices (Fig.1, Fig.3 and Col.10: line 1-4, Only one external electronic device, i.e., external electronic device 104, is shown in FIG. 3 for ease of illustration. However, were there more external electronic devices operating within the environment 105), one or more wireless access points, and one or more cellular base stations; and
retrieving, by the paired second wearable device, one or more portions of the transmission data from the one or more external devices (Fig.3 and Col.9: line 65 – Col.10: line 1, electronic device 100 receives, with its wireless communication circuit, one or more local area wireless communication signals 304 from the external electronic device 104).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO and Griffin as mentioned in claim 9 and further incorporate the teaching of Alameh. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an improved methods and systems for establishing communication with other electronic devices by providing simple, intuitive methods and systems for selecting an electronic device with which to perform a discovery, pairing, or communication operation (Alameh, Col.1: line 19-20 and Col.3: line 29-32).
(Currently Amended) Regarding claim 12, combination of CHO, Griffin and Alameh teaches all the features with respect to claim 11 as outlined above.
CHO does not specifically teach
wherein the transmitting the predetermined transmission includes transmission via the paired second wearable device and one or more of the one or more external devices within the P2P connection with the paired second wearable device.
However Alameh teaches
wherein the transmitting the predetermined transmission includes transmission via the paired second wearable device and one or more of the one or more external devices within the P2P connection with the paired second wearable device (Fig.1 and Col.9: Line 53 – 56, data sharing process includes engaging, with a wireless communication circuit of electronic device 100, in a pairing procedure to establish a peer-to-peer wireless communication link with external electronic device 104. Here, the data sharing process is between the paired device and the one or more external devices; therefore, it is obvious that the predetermined transmission includes transmission via the paired device and one or more of the one or more external devices).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified combination of CHO, Griffin and Alameh as mentioned in claim 11 and further incorporate the teaching of Alameh. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an improved methods and systems for establishing communication with other electronic devices by providing simple, intuitive methods and systems for selecting an electronic device with which to perform a discovery, pairing, or communication operation (Alameh, Col.1: line 19-20 and Col.3: line 29-32).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 – 17 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROWNAK ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8009. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Thier can be reached on 571-272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROWNAK ISLAM/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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