DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The independent claims recite “during subsequent use of the pressure sensor, correcting, based at least on the offset, a third pressure value to account for bending of the pressure sensor during wearing of the pressure sensor,” but said limitation is not supported in the original disclosure. Further explaining, the Fig. 6 discloses that the “offset” is cancelled during the initial state setting (and turned off thereafter). However, at the time of actual usage, steps S606 to S610 discloses making correction, but it does not further disclose anything about how the correction is being done, including usage of any offset. Paragraphs [0063]-[0064] in the original disclosure, discloses that the pressure value is corrected in step S608, but there is no mention of any offset that is used during the used to make the correction.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 is indefinite as it recites both the method and apparatus limitations, specifically, it is reciting a computer” despite the fact that claim 4 is a method claim, and is therefore not clear whether it is a method or apparatus claims.
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 1-2, 4-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMillen, et al., WO/2016/070078 (hereinafter McMillen) in view of Sheng et al., US-PGPUB 2022/0057886 (hereinafter Sheng), Kaplan et al., US-PGPUB 2016/0071393 (hereinafter Kaplan) and Tomo, JP2015/223418 (hereinafter Tomo) (cited by the Applicant) (machine translated version)
Regarding Claims 1 and 4. McMillen discloses a glove-type wearable sensor in which a film-like pressure sensor is incorporated into a fingertip (Figs. 3, 5-6 and 8, glove-type wearable), comprising:
wherein three coordinate axis directions in a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system are assumed to be a vertical direction, a longitudinal direction of the pressure sensor, and a width direction of the pressure sensor (Fig. 5 and 8, Paragraph [0019], [0025]-[0026], [0029], piezoelectric materials exhibiting resistance in response to pressure), the pressure sensor is obtained by laminating one flexible printed circuit (Fig. 8, 804, printed conductive trace, Paragraph [0046], conductive traces that are printed are printed circuit), one sheet-like pressure sensitive element (Fig. 8, 806, piezoelectric), and one protective film in the vertical direction, an upper surface of the flexible printed circuit and a lower surface of the pressure sensitive element are bonded and fixed to each other (Fig. 8, upside down view), and an upper surface of the pressure sensitive element and a lower surface of the protective film are bonded and fixed to each other, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to flexibly bend to comform to a curvature of a finger (Paragraph [0048], a stiffener, which can be a film, may be inserted at any point in the stack of materials as depicted in Fig. 8, thus the film is bonded to the piezoelectric as claimed; Fig. 2’s)
McMillen does not disclose sensing data correction system that corrects sensing data acquired from, a data correction unit for correcting the sensing data, sensing data correction processing to correct the sensing data acquired from the wearable sensor at a beginning of wearing of the wearable sensor by receiving a first sensor signal corresponding to a first pressure value prior to a user wearing the pressure sensor; receiving a second sensor signal corresponding to a second pressure value that is elevated from the first pressure value indicating bending of the sensor due to wearing of the sensor, determining an offset based at least on the second pressure value increase over the first pressure value; and during subsequent use of the pressure sensor, correcting, based at least on the offset, a third pressure value to account for bending of the pressure during wearing of the pressure sensor.
Tomo discloses detecting the movement of fingers (Figs. 1-12), including correcting the pressure sensor by subtracting from the baseline (Paragraph [0011] offset from mounting, where offset is the difference between pressure before mounting (or wearing) the pressure sensor to after mounting (or wearing) the pressure sensor, [0043], force from bending; Paragraph [0063], subtract from baseline)
Sheng discloses correcting a plurality of force measurements with respect to time during usage using the baseline, where baseline is the force measurements in the absence of touch (Paragraph [0030], [0051], subsequent pressure measurements are corrected, Paragraph [0053]; Abstract)
Kaplan discloses biometric monitoring of the pressure in the form of strain gauges, wherein the sensor is incorporated into clothing such as finger (Paragraph [0022]), and gloves (Paragraph [0027]) and establishing baseline sensor condition by measuring pressure prior to wearing the sensor (Paragraph [0075]).
As such, at time of the invention filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordiary skill in the art to use the teaching of Kaplan, Sheng and Tomo in McMillen and have sensing data correction system that corrects sensing data acquired from, a data correction unit for correcting the sensing data, sensing data correction processing to correct the sensing data acquired from the wearable sensor at a beginning of wearing of the wearable sensor by receiving a first sensor signal corresponding to a first pressure value prior to a user wearing the pressure sensor; receiving a second sensor signal corresponding to a second pressure value that is elevated from the first pressure value indicating bending of the sensor due to wearing of the sensor, determining an offset based at least on the second pressure value increase over the first pressure value; and during subsequent use of the pressure sensor, correcting, based at least on the offset, a third pressure value to account for bending of the pressure during wearing of the pressure sensor, and thereby obtain accurate pressure information.
Regarding Claim 2. Shim discloses the sensing data correction processing includes processing to cancel an offset for the sensing data acquired from the wearable sensor at a time of wearing of the wearable sensor (Fig. 12, Paragraphs [0112]-[0113])
Regarding Claim 5. McMillen discloses a receiver in communication with the processor; and a transmitter in communication with the pressure sensor for transmitting
signals including sensing data to the receiver in communication with the processor (Paragraphs [0035], [0040]; Fig. 4)
Regarding Claim 7. McMillen discloses receiving, by the processor, via a receiver in communication with the processor, signals including sensing data received from a transmitter in communication with the pressure sensor (Paragraphs [0035], [0040]; Fig. 4)
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMillen, et al., WO/2016/070078 in view of Sheng, US-PGPUB 2022/0057886, Kaplan, US-PGPUB 2016/0071393 and Tomo, JP2015/223418 as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Rushbrook et al., US-PGPUB 2015/0296922 (hereinafter Rushbrook)
Regarding Claim 3. The modified McMillen does not disclose the sensing data correction processing, in a case where a pressure value represented by the sensing data is less than 0, includes processing to correct the pressure value represented by the sensing data to 0.
Rushbrook discloses zeroing out the piezoelectric sensors (Paragraph [0106], Fig. Paragraph [0056], piezoelectric sensor in various parts of the body, Fig. 22; Paragraph [0106], setting the sensor to zero, as shown in Fig. 24, 1001, which obviously includes initial pressure values being below and above the zero)
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the teaching of Rushbrook in the modified McMillen and have the sensing data correction processing, in a case where a pressure value represented by the sensing data is less than 0, includes processing to correct the pressure value represented by the sensing data to 0, so as to correctly analyze the state of the user’s hand by setting the desired reference pressure level at the beginning of the pressure measurement.
9. Claims 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McMillen, et al., WO/2016/070078 in views of Sheng, US-PGPUB 2022/0057886, Kaplan, US-PGPUB 2016/0071393 and Tomo, JP2015/223418 as applied to Claim 4 above and further in view of Adams et al., US Pat No. 9,104,271 (hereinafter Adams)
Regarding Claim 6. McMillen discloses a receiver in communication with the processor (Fig. 4), and also discloses using the sensor glove in video and online gaming (Paragraph [0053])
The modified Adams does not disclose a camera configured for recording operation of the pressure sensor, and a transmitter in communication with the camera for transmitting a video data signal received from the camera to the receiver in communication with the processor.
Adams discloses camera tracking the movement of the gloved hand with pressure sensors (Abstract; Figs. 1-2, 10, 21; Col. 5, lines 3-67; Col. 9, lines 1-16; Col. 27, lines 20-35, video camera).
At the time of the invention filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the teaching of Adams in the modified McMillen and have a camera configured for recording operation of the pressure sensor, and a transmitter in communication with the camera for transmitting a video data signal received from the camera to the receiver in communication with the processor, so as to accurately track the movement of the usage of the gloved hand.
Regarding Claim 8. The modified McMillen does not disclose receiving, by the processor, via a receiver in communication with the processor, a video data signal received from a transmitter in communication with a camera configured for recording operation of the pressure sensor
Adams discloses receiving, by the processor, via a receiver in communication with the processor, a video data signal received from a transmitter in communication with a camera configured for recording operation of the pressure sensor (Fig. 22; Abstract; Figs. 1-2, 10, 21; Col. 5, lines 3-67; Col. 9, lines 1-16; Col. 27, lines 20-35, video camera).
At the time of the invention filed, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the teaching of Adams in the modified McMillen and receive, by the processor, via a receiver in communication with the processor, a video data signal received from a transmitter in communication with a camera configured for recording operation of the pressure sensor, so as to accurately track the movement of the usage of the gloved hand.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
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 HYUN D PARK whose telephone number is (571)270-7922. The examiner can normally be reached 11-4.
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/HYUN D PARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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