DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the communication filed on 16 October, 2025.
Claims 1, 17 and 1 have been amended.
Claims 18 has been cancelled.
Claims 1 – 4, 9 – 10, 14 – 17 and 19 - 27 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 16 October, 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 – 3, 17 and 19 – 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020.
CLAIMS 1, 17, 19 and 20
Micko discloses a monitoring apparatus that includes the following limitations:
A contactless patient monitoring system; (Miko 0003, 0018); comprising:
a sensor array having a housing and a plurality of sensors; (Micko Abstract, 0028, 0037, 0039, 0042);
the housing is positioned on a ceiling of a room; (Micko 0021, 0024, 0042, 0049);
Micko discloses a room monitoring apparatus having a plurality of sensors and a housing that may be ceiling mounted. The housing comprises an outer shell (Fig 2D #205) and a base surface mount (Fig 2A #230). The apparatus may include a plurality of sensors including: audio, video, LIDAR and IR sensors; as well as sensors for air temperature, radiated temperature, relative humidity, ambient light level, VOC concentration, motion, smoke, CO, combustible gas and the like.
With respect to the following limitation:
the housing has a recess extending into the housing and an interior housing space, one of the plurality of sensors extends from the interior housing space into the recess; (Micko 0075 - 0078, 0082)
The specification does not use the term “recess”, as it is recited in the claims. As best understood by the Examiner, the “recess” may be reasonably construed as a hole or opening in the housing. For example, Figure 8 and 9 appear to show thermal sensors (# 64) that extend out of holes in the housing. Similarly, the light sensor extends to the light sensor lens (# 84). Micko discloses a room monitoring apparatus that includes a housing having a hole in the outer shell. The shell and base surface mount define an interior housing space where various components are mounted (Fig. 2D). A number of sensors may extend through the outer shell including a motion sensor (Fig. 2B #240); visible and IR sensors (Fig. 2B #220); and microphones (Fig. 2B # 252, 254).
With respect to the following limitation:
a central processing unit, the sensor array establishes a link with the central processing unit; (Micko 0018, 0021, 0024, 0027, 0051);
when one of the plurality of sensors is triggered the sensor array sends data to the central processing unit for analyzing the data; (Micko 0019, 0023, 0024, 0038);
the central processing unit issues an actionable event depending on which sensor of the plurality of sensors is triggered; (Micko 0022, 0023, 0024, 0038, 0053, 0055); and
a web-based central interface receives the actionable event and displays a report; (Micko 0018, 0020, 0038, 0053, 0060, 0070 – 0072).
Micko discloses a monitoring apparatus for monitoring the health and welfare of a person in a room using monitoring device having a sensor array that is ceiling mounted, and having a local processor. The device is also in communication with a central processor over a network. Sensors monitor various characteristics, and the processor can detect potentially life-threatening situations for the person, and alert caregivers to respond. For example, the device may identify anomalous situations based on the sensor data and send the data to a central processor for further analysis. If the central processor recognizes an urgent or emergency medical situation, it can escalate the situation by notifying a designated caregiver, using internet connected devices, to analyze the data and form a conclusion – i.e. a web based interface. With respect to the following limitations:
displays a report on a user dashboard, the user dashboard includes a display portraying an amount of critical alarms daily frame, an amount of pending alarms frame, an amount of total alarms for a given day frame, a most active patient triggering the sensor array frame, a most common alarm raised for the given day frame and an average time per alarm frame; (Malleshappa entire article).
Micko discloses a web-based central interface that receives and displays reports of actionable events. Micko does not expressly disclose a dashboard that includes a display portraying various statistics in a set of “frames”.
Here, Examiner notes that the specification does not use the term “frame” in the context of displaying a dashboard. Figure 2 is a diagram of the dashboard screen showing 6 graphical elements for displaying data. The specification teaches that the “dashboard . . . includes a plurality of user-configurable layouts.” The “dashboard can show . . . pending alarms” and “display relevant statistics”. Notably, the specification is utterly silent with respect to how the various statistics are determined; however, Examiner concludes that counting alarms of various types is well within the skill of an ordinary person. Nonetheless, the claims only require a dashboard portraying “frames”. The various names for the frames is non-functional.
Malleshappa discloses a Dashboard application that includes indicators and gauges of count statistics of the number of features in data, that match a set of filters. In particular, Malleshappa discloses a dashboard with a plurality of frames for containing the desired counts. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a dashboard that includes a plurality of frames, in accordance with the teaching of Malleshappa, in order to provide better data insights.
With respect to Claim 17, Micko discloses the following additional limitations:
a communication(s) gateway having an in-room processing unit; the sensor array is connected to the central processing unit by the communications gateway; when one of the plurality of sensors is triggered the sensor array sends data to the in-room processing unit prior to sending the data to the central processing unit for analyzing the data. (Micko 0051, 0059, 0060, 0062).
Micko discloses communication using a communication interface – i.e. a gateway. The gateway receives the sensor data and then sends it to a central processor.
CLAIMS 2, 3 and 21
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa discloses a discloses the limitations above relative to claims 1 and 20. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the user dashboard includes an alarm manager;
wherein the central processing unit triggers an alarm based on data from the sensor array,
an indicator is displayed on a queue-like user interface on the alarm manager once an alarm is triggered; (Micko 0072).
Micko discloses an interface that allows caregivers to receive, act on, and dismiss alerts.
Claims 4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Wellig et al.: (US PGPUB 2023/0101344 A1).
CLAIM 4
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa discloses a discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 3. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the plurality of sensors includes a thermal measurement unit; an environment multi-sensor; a radio frequency device; a light sensor lens; a sound level measurement device; (Micko 0003, 0019, 0021 - 0023, 0027, 0031, 0039, 0056);
Micko discloses the recited sensors – i.e. thermal or temperature, environmental, light and sound, as well as detecting motion using a microwave transceiver (i.e. an radio frequency device).
the thermal measurement unit is received in the recess; (Wellig 0004 – 0006, 0009, 0028 – 0031, 0041 – 0043, 0046, 0052).
Micko discloses a thermal measurement unit, but does not expressly disclose receiving the unit in a recess of the housing. Wellig discloses a system for monitoring environmental characteristics of a residential or commercial building using a sensing assembly that includes a plurality of sensors, including a temperature sensor, coupled to a control system. Sensor arrays of diverse sensors are provided as an assembly of pluggable devices within a ceiling-mounted housing. In particular, the housing defines one or more sensor windows – i.e. an aperture or slot that extends through the material forming the housing - that expose the temperature sensor to the environment by orienting and aligning the sensor with the sensor window. The size, shape and location of the window depends on the particular sensors in the unit. The sensor assembly is operable to detect a motionless person, which may indicate a health problem, and an alarm management block raises an alarm when appropriate. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a housing with a recess to receive a thermal measurement unit, in accordance with the teaching of Wellig, in order to allow for effective measurements by the thermal measurement unit.
CLAIM 9
The combination of Micko/ Malleshappa/Wellig discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 4. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the alarm includes a plurality of states; (Micko 0025, 0038, Table 1).
Micko discloses alarms having a plurality of states (i.e. Alert, Concern, Alarm states).
Claims 10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Wellig et al.: (US PGPUB 2023/0101344 A1) in view of Gunaratnam et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0040069 A1).
CLAIM 10
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Wellig discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 9. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the alarm includes a new state when a sensor of the plurality of sensors is triggered; an active state when the alarm is acknowledged by a user; (Micko 0038, 0072);
wherein the alarm includes an archived state when the alarm is moved into an archive of the alarm manager; (Micko 0072).
Micko discloses alarms having a plurality of states (i.e. Alert, Concern, Alarm states) including a new alarm, such as when the state is escalated to a Concern level, a caregiver is notified. The alarm is active until dismissed by a user (i.e. acknowledged).
With respect to the following:
wherein the alarm includes an overdue state; (Gunaratnam 0019, 0028 – 0031).
Micko discloses alarms having various states, but does not expressly disclose an overdue state. Gunaratnam discloses a user interface for tracking health behaviors including an event that has not been logged by the user or otherwise acknowledged, or has not been addressed by the user, defining an event that is “overdue”; and displaying the event icon with an overdue indicator. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included overdue alarms, in accordance with the teaching of Gunaratnam, in order to allow for effective patient management.
CLAIM 14
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Wellig/Gunaratnam discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 10. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein the central processing unit further comprises a reporting manager; (Micko 0053).
Micko discloses dismissing alerts, storing records and reporting results.
Claims 22 – 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Oleson et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0061891 A1)
CLAIM 22
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa discloses a discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 21. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein the communication(s) gateway is a smart mirror; (Oleson 0007, 0076, 0078, 0079).
Micko discloses a communication interface/gateway, but does not expressly disclose a smart mirror to perform this function. Oleson discloses a performance monitoring system for an individual that includes a smart mirror with a processor, memory and transceiver, for transmitting and receiving information over a network. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a smart mirror, in accordance with the teaching of Oleson, in order to allow for the use of well-known devices.
CLAIM 23
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Oleson discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 22. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein the central processing unit further comprises a reporting manager; (Micko 0053).
Mako discloses generating reports.
Claims 15 – 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Wellig et al.: (US PGPUB 2023/0101344 A1) in view of Gunaratnam et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0040069 A1) and in the of Bechtel et al.: (US PGPUB 2012/0323591 A1).
CLAIMS 15 - 16
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Wellig/Gunaratnam discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 14. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein the central processing unit further comprises a library of music associated with an individual patient or triggered by a specific actional event; wherein the central processing unit relays a signal to the sensor array to transmit a proper song or noise from the library of music; (Bechtel 0017, 0018, 0022, 0056, 0066).
Micko discloses a communication interface that allows audio communication, but does not disclose music. Bechtel discloses a smart clinical care room that includes a providing music from a library in response to a triggering event. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included providing music in response to a triggering event, in accordance with the teaching of Bechtel, in order to provide a relaxing environment.
Claims 24 – 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Oleson et al.: (US PGPUB 2015/0061891 A1) and in the of Bechtel et al.: (US PGPUB 2012/0323591 A1).
CLAIMS 24 - 25
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Oleson discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 23. With respect to the following limitations:
wherein the central processing unit further comprises a library of music associated with an individual patient or triggered by a specific actional event; wherein the central processing unit relays a signal to the sensor array to transmit a proper song or noise from the library of music; (Bechtel 0017, 0018, 0022, 0056, 0066).
Micko discloses a communication interface that allows audio communication, but does not disclose music. Bechtel discloses a smart clinical care room that includes a providing music from a library in response to a triggering event. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included providing music in response to a triggering event, in accordance with the teaching of Bechtel, in order to provide a relaxing environment.
Claims 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Wellig et al.: (US PGPUB 2023/0101344 A1) in view of Hunter: (US PGPUB 2020/0196105 A1).
CLAIM 26
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Wellig discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 4. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the housing is formed of a top cover of the sensor array; (Micko Fig. 2D # 205) and a bottom cover of the sensor array, (Micko Fig. 2C # 230); - disclosing a shell and base mounting plate;
the light sensor lens is positioned at a top of the outer layer; (Micko 0028, 0039, 0045, 0082, Fig. 2B # 220); - disclosing an opening with a glass lens for ambient light entry.
With respect to the following limitation:
the recess extends through the outer layer; (Wellig 0004 – 0006, 0009, 0028 – 0031, 0041 – 0043, 0046, 0052).
Micko discloses a thermal measurement unit, but does not expressly disclose a recess of the housing. Wellig discloses a system for monitoring environmental characteristics of a residential or commercial building using a sensing assembly that includes a plurality of sensors, including a temperature sensor, coupled to a control system. Sensor arrays of diverse sensors are provided as an assembly of pluggable devices within a ceiling-mounted housing. In particular, the housing defines one or more sensor windows – i.e. an aperture or slot that extends through the material forming the housing - that expose the temperature sensor to the environment by orienting and aligning the sensor with the sensor window. The size, shape and location of the window depends on the particular sensors in the unit. The sensor assembly is operable to detect a motionless person, which may indicate a health problem, and an alarm management block raises an alarm when appropriate. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a housing with a recess in the outer layer to receive a thermal measurement unit, in accordance with the teaching of Wellig, in order to allow for effective measurements by the thermal measurement unit.
the top cover has an outer layer having a plurality of cooling vents and a plurality of sound and sensor vents; (Hunter 0060, 0075).
Micko discloses a housing with a top and bottom cover, but does not disclose any vents. Hunter discloses a personal monitoring system, where the housing defines one or more openings to permit air to enter the device for sampling by sensors, or for cooling and ventilation air flow. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a housing with vents, in accordance with the teaching of Hunter, in order to allow for effective measurements by the sensors, and to prevent overheating.
Claims 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Micko et al. (US PGPUB 2021/0074138 A1) in view of Malleshappa: “Making it Count with the ArcGIS Dashboards”; 9 April, 2020 in view of Wellig et al.: (US PGPUB 2023/0101344 A1) in view of Hunter: (US PGPUB 2020/0196105 A1) and in view of Futran et al.: (US 11,359,941 B1)
CLAIM 27
The combination of Micko/Malleshappa/Wellig/Hunter discloses the limitations above relative to Claim 26. Additionally, Micko discloses the following limitations:
wherein the interior housing space is defined by the top cover and the bottom cover; (Micko Fig. 2D # 205), (Micko Fig. 2C # 230); - disclosing a shell and base mounting plate which form an interior space.
With respect to the following limitations:
a lower level of the sensor array attached to the bottom cover and an upper level of the sensor array attached to the lower level are contained in the interior housing space; (Wellig Abstract, 0004 – 0009, 0032, 0044);
the lower level includes a mount (Wellig 0044),.
Wellig discloses a sensing assembly having a housing that contains a mounting surface for a baseboard, (i.e. a lower level); where the baseboard is configured to accommodate a number of daughterboards, (i.e. an upper level); each having a variety of sensors and connectors. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included a lower and upper level sensor array, in accordance with the teaching of Wellig, merely as a matter of design choice.
With respect to the following limitations:
the lower level includes a divider, the divider extend away from the mount; (Futran col. 5 line 51 – 64, col. 7 line 38 to col. 8 line 14, Fig. 3, 5 and 6);
the lower level includes a plurality of connectors each connector extends away from the mount; (Futran col. 7 line 3 – 37).
Futran discloses structural elements of a ceiling mounted detector housing that includes a plurality of sensors. The housing comprises a base (i.e. lower level), and a body. The base includes fins for directing air flow. The base also includes various physical connection mechanisms for attaching the upper level (i.e. connectors). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing data of the claimed invention, to have modified the monitoring system of Micko so as to have included physical air flow and attachment features, in accordance with the teaching of Futran, merely as a matter of design choice.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 16 October, 2025, with respect to the U.S.C. §102 rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn. The cited references do not disclose a dashboard including a plurality of frames. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Malleshappa.
CONCLUSION
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. In particular the prior art teaches determining and displaying the various statistics included in the dashboard. For example:
US PGPUB 2002/0154170 A1 to Dawson discloses a GUI that includes a report window for a statistical report of alarms from a plurality of residences including total number of alarms in a time period, average response time and number of pending alarms.
US PGPUB 2012/0287773 A1 to Zang et al. discloses an alarm management system that includes generating a report for current number of alarms, number of critical alarms and number of pending alarms.
US PGPUB 2017/0329292 A1 to Piakowski et al. discloses an alarm management system that includes a GUI for displaying a total number of alarms, number of critical alarms and number of pending alarms.
US PGPUB 2010/0141421 A1 to Lagnelov et al. discloses an alarm analysis system that includes determining and displaying alarm statistics including the most common alarm.
US PGPUB 2009/0076401 A1 to Mazar et al. discloses patient monitoring system that includes determining and displaying the patient having the greatest number of alarms.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to John A. Pauls whose telephone number is (571) 270-5557. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon. - Fri. 8:00 - 5:00 Eastern. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Robert Morgan can be reached at (571) 272-6773.
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/JOHN A PAULS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3683
Date: 14 November, 2025