DETAILED ACTION
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/12/2025 has been entered.
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 claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection n addresses the argument by citing new prior art pertinent to the amended features for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Prevoir teaches a deformable material (100 in figure 1A) that is configured to deform to conform to the user based at least in part on a glass transition temperature of the deformable material being within a threshold of a temperature of the user’s body temperature ([Paragraph 0036] “The glass transition temperatures can be set to temperatures that are close to body temperature, for example, in the range of 38-48 degrees Celsius or 100.4-118.4 degrees Fahrenheit.”). This deformable material could easily be incorporated into the deformable material of Just. The suggestion/motivation to do so would be to allow the material to conform to the user to increase user comfort… ([0047] of Prevoir).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 3-4, 6-7, and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Just et al (US 20150366475 A1; hereinafter “Just”) in view of Prevoir et al (US 20200077192 A1; hereinafter “Prevoir”).
Regarding Claim 1, Just discloses a wearable ring device (610 in figure 14), comprising:
a housing (620a and 620b in figure 17) comprising one or more sensors (616 in figure 17) configured to acquire physiological data from a user ([Paragraph 0124] “…the physiological signals collected by the sensing element 416.”); and
a deformable material (612 in figure 17) extending along one or more portions of an inner curved surface (620a in figure 14) of the housing and configured to exert pressure on a digit of the user by conforming to an outer curved surface of the digit ([Paragraph 0140] “The biasing element 612 is configured to compress and conform to the appendage of a subject when the band is worn on the appendage.”) to form an interference fit with the digit of the user when the wearable ring device is worn by the user (Does not repeat the details for 620, 520 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0133] “…a band 520 that is configured to be secured to an appendage (e.g., an arm, wrist, finger, toe, leg, neck, etc.) of a subject.”), wherein the deformable material (612) is arranged to enhance a signal quality of measurements by the one or more sensors (616) through an application of pressure on the digit of the user within an area of the digit adjacent to the one or more sensors (Does not repeat the details for 612, 512 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0134] “The biasing elements 512 help keep the sensing element 516 in place in proximity to (or against) an appendage.”), wherein the deformable material (612) is disposed along the one or more portions of the inner curved surface of the housing omitting portions of the one or more sensors (the biasing element 612 is disposed along the inner curved surface of the band 620 omitting the sensing element 616 in figures 17 and 17A).
Just does not teach wherein the deformable material is configured to deform to conform to the outer curved surface of the digit based at least in part on a glass transition temperature of the deformable material being within a threshold of a temperature of the outer curved surface of the digit.
However, Prevoir teaches wherein the deformable material (100 in figure 1A) is configured to deform ([Paragraph 0032] “At suitable temperatures above T.sub.g1, T.sub.g2, and T.sub.g3, tip body 102, umbrella 103, and wing 104 are more elastic and their geometries can be manipulated.”) to conform to the outer curved surface of the digit ([Paragraph 0032] “Customizable ear tip 100 can be made of a thermoset shape memory polymer having the same glass transition temperature as a single unit or as separate components.”) based at least in part on a glass transition temperature of the deformable material being within a threshold of a temperature of the outer curved surface of the digit ([Paragraph 0036] “The glass transition temperatures can be set to temperatures that are close to body temperature, for example, in the range of 38-48 degrees Celsius or 100.4-118.4 degrees Fahrenheit.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate wherein the deformable material is configured to deform to conform to the outer curved surface of the digit based at least in part on a glass transition temperature of the deformable material being within a threshold of a temperature of the outer curved surface of the digit into Just, as taught by Prevoir. The thermoset shape memory polymer of Prevoir could easily be incorporated into the deformable material of Just to fit around the digit of a user. The suggestion/motivation to do so would be to allow the material to form to the user to increase user comfort… ([0047] of Prevoir).
Regarding Claim 3, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of claim 1, Just in view of Prevoir further teach wherein, based at least in part on the glass transition temperature of the deformable material, an elasticity of the deformable material ([Paragraph 0032] “At suitable temperatures above T.sub.g1, T.sub.g2, and T.sub.g3, tip body 102, umbrella 103, and wing 104 are more elastic and their geometries can be manipulated.” Of Prevoir) changes with skin or body temperature to change a shape, a thickness, or both of the deformable material (100 of Prevoir in place of 612 of Just) when the wearable ring device is worn by the user ([Paragraph 0036] “The glass transition temperatures can be set to temperatures that are close to body temperature, for example, in the range of 38-48 degrees Celsius or 100.4-118.4 degrees Fahrenheit.” The glass transition temperature of the thermoset shape memory polymer of Prevoir would change shape and thickness when wore by the user).
Regarding Claim 4, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material (612 in figure 17) is elastically deformable (Does not repeat the details for 612, 512 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0134] “The biasing elements 512 may be formed from silicone, polymeric material, rubber, soft plastic, other elastomeric materials, or other compressible materials that can act as cushions.”) such that the deformable material contracts to form the interference fit around the digit of the user (Does not repeat the details for 620, 520 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0138] “The illustrated monitoring device 510 includes a band 520 that is configured to be secured to an appendage (e.g., an arm, wrist, finger, toe, leg, neck, hand, foot, etc.) of a subject.”) when the wearable ring device is worn by the user ([Paragraph 0140] “The biasing element 612 is configured to compress and conform to the appendage of a subject when the band is worn on the appendage.”) and the deformable material expands when the wearable ring device is off of the digit of the user (Does not repeat the details for 612, 512 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0134] “The biasing elements 512 may be formed from silicone, polymeric material, rubber, soft plastic, other elastomeric materials, or other compressible materials that can act as cushions.” The biasing element 612 are compressed when attached to the user and would decompress when removed from the user’s appendage in figure 17).
Regarding Claim 6, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, wherein the deformable material (612 in figure 17) is disposed along the one or more portions of the inner curved surface (620a in figure 14) of the housing (620 in figure 14) opposite of the one or more sensors (the biasing element 612 are disposed along the inner surface 620a of the band 620 which has some biasing element 612 opposite of the sensor 616 in figure 17).
Regarding Claim 7, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, wherein the deformable material (612 in figure 17) is disposed along the one or more portions of the inner curved surface (620a in figure 17) of the housing (620 in figure 17) adjacent to the one or more sensors (the biasing element 612 are disposed along the inner surface 620a of the band 620 which has a biasing element 612 on both sides of the sensor 616 in figure 17).
Regarding Claim 9, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, wherein the deformable material (Does not repeat the details for 612, 512 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0133] “A sensing element 516 is secured within one of the biasing elements 512.”) comprises optical properties that propagate light from the one or more sensors (Does not repeat the details for 616, 516 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0135] “The sensing element 516 may include all of the functionality of the sensing device 16 described above.”) into the digit of the user ([Paragraph 0083] “In some embodiments, the at least one energy emitter comprises at least one optical emitter and the at least one detector comprises at least one optical detector.” The sensing element 616 contains an optical emitter and optical detector which operates while it is secured inside the biasing element 612 in figure 17).
Regarding Claim 10, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, further comprising one or more antenna elements disposed within the wearable ring device that wirelessly couple one or more components of the wearable ring device to a user device (Does not repeat the details for 610, 510 is equivalent item from related embodiment and is thought to [Paragraph 0136] “The monitoring device 510 may also include at least one wireless module (not shown) for communicating with a remote device, and/or at least one memory storage device (not shown). An exemplary wireless module may include a wireless chip, antenna, or RFID tag.”).
Regarding Claim 11, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors (616) are configured to perform measurements ((Paragraph 0141] “For example, the sensing element 616 may include at least one energy emitter 20 (FIG. 3) configured to direct energy at a target region of the ear and at least one detector 22 (FIG. 3) configured to detect an energy response signal from the target region or a region adjacent the target region, as described above.”).
Regarding Claim 12, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, wherein the deformable material (612 in figure 17) is arranged to avoid interfering with measurements by the one or more sensors (the sensing element 616 perform measurements through the biasing element 612 in figure 17).
Regarding Claim 13, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of Claim 1, Just in view of Prevoir further teach wherein the deformable material (100 of Prevoir in place of 612 of Just) comprises a memory shape polymer material ([Paragraph 0032] “Customizable ear tip 100 can be made of a thermoset shape memory polymer having the same glass transition temperature as a single unit or as separate components.” of Prevoir).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Just et al (US 20150366475 A1; hereinafter “Just”) in view of Prevoir et al (US 20200077192 A1; hereinafter “Prevoir”).
Regarding Claim 5, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material (612 in figure 17) is configured to form around the outer curved surface of the digit of the user ([Paragraph 0140] “The biasing element 612 is configured to compress and conform to the appendage of a subject when the band is worn on the appendage.”)
Just teaches substantially all the limitations of the claims except the deformable material is configured to eliminate air gaps between the outer circumferential surface of the digit of the user and the inner circumferential surface of the housing. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to make the deformable material configured to eliminate air gaps by having it completely encircle the digit of the user, since a change in form or shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art, absent any showing of unexpected results. In re Dailey et al., 149 USPQ 47. See also In re Seid, 161 F.2d 229, 73 USPQ 431 (CCPA 1947). The suggestion/motivation to do so would be to have the deformable material press further into the digit of the user to allow the sensors to obtain the physiological data with greater accuracy.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Just et al (US 20150366475 A1; hereinafter “Just”) in view of Prevoir et al (US 20200077192 A1; hereinafter “Prevoir”) and further in view of von Badinski et al (US 20200401183 A1; hereinafter “von Badinski”).
Regarding Claim 2, Just in view of Prevoir teach the wearable ring device of claim 1, Just does not teach further comprising:
a hard material extending along one or more portions of the inner curved surface of the housing, wherein the deformable material is disposed on a surface of the hard material, disposed adjacent to the one or more portions of the hard material, or both.
However, von Badinski teaches a hard material ([Paragraph 0129] “the material of the inner housing 1212 is conductive and nonferrous, such as aluminum, titanium, or stainless steel. In other examples, the internal housing can be formed of a polymer, such as plastic.” These materials can be a hard material.) extending along one or more portions of the inner curved surface of the housing (the inner housing 1212 extends along the inner circumference of the ring in figure 10E).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate a hard material extending along one or more portions of the inner curved surface of the housing into Just, as taught by von Badinski. If incorporated then the deformable material could be disposed on a surface of the hard material, disposed adjacent to the one or more portions of the hard material, or both. The suggestion/motivation to do so would be to make the housing more resistant to damage from an impact.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAKOTA MICHAEL TALBERT whose telephone number is (703)756-4673. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00.
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/ALLEN L PARKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2841
/DAKOTA M TALBERT/Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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