NON-FINAL REJECTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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 1 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu Zhi et al. (CN 106307719 A, cited by Applicants, “Liu”).
Regarding Claim 1, Liu teaches a wearable sensing device (Fig.1) comprising: a sensor (fig.1; element 4, [0068]) provided on clothing worn by a worker wearing conductive work clothes ([0066]: discloses “an insulating glove for power system maintenance”); and an electronic device (fig.2; element 6, a power supply) connected to the sensor ([0085] discloses that the sensor is connected to the power supply. Further, [0031] discloses that the glove body is provided with a power supply battery current acquisition circuit, a time circuit, a voltage stabilization circuit, and a power supply battery voltage acquisition circuit.), wherein the electronic device (Fig.8) includes a ground connection part (connected to element 3) that makes contact with the conductive work clothes to be electrically connected to the conductive work clothes (Fig.4, 6-9, specifically Fig.8, disclose the feature. [0085]; [0091] disclose that the processor of power system is grounded.).
Regarding Claim 4, the wearable sensing device according to Claim 1 is taught by Liu.
Liu further teaches wherein the clothing is a glove (fig.1), and the sensor unit (element 4) is attached to a thumb of the glove (shown in fig.1).
Regarding Claim 5, the wearable sensing device according to Claim 1 is taught by Liu.
Liu further teaches wherein the electronic device is a communication module (element 12) that transmits a detection result of the sensor to an external device ([0074]: “the electrician can transmit the data stored in the storage module 11 to the terminal or computer via the wireless communication module 12.” [0085]: “the processor receives the excess data information and transmits it to the host computer through the wireless communication module”).
Regarding Claim 6, the wearable sensing device according to Claim 1 is taught by Liu.
Liu further teaches wherein the sensor is a vibration sensor or a microphone ([0040]: “a vibration module”, [0041]; fig.11; [0105]).
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 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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Huang (US 2022/0337780 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, the wearable sensing device according to Claim 1 is taught by Liu.
Liu further teaches that the conductive work clothes include a long sleeve (element 3) (shown in fig.1 that the glove 1 has a long sleeve as arm part 3).
Liu does not explicitly teach that the electronic device is attached to a worker's arm that is under the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes by a band.
As to the limitation, “the electronic device is attached to a worker's arm that is under the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes by a band,” Liu’s electronic device 6 is attached to the sensor 4 internally, as depicted in fig.1-2,8 and discussed in [0085]. Liu’s glove body is flexible in nature. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Liu to arrive at the instant invention because Liu’s flexible glove body could be shaped into any desired form where a band or any such attachment means could be used to attach the electronic device.
Further, Liu discloses the claimed invention except for the electronic device being attached to the worker's arm that is under the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes by a band, more specifically, usage of a band to attach the electronic device. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to use such a band or any such attaching means, since applicant has not disclosed that usage of such band solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the teaching Liu.
In any event, Huang teaches a wrist-wearable device wherein the electronic device is attached to a worker's arm that is under the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes by a band [0262].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the band of Huang in the device of Liu since usage of such connecting band is known in the art.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu.
Regarding Claim 3, the wearable sensing device according to Claim 1 is taught by Liu.
Liu further teaches that the conductive work clothes include a long sleeve (element 3) (shown in fig.1 that the glove 1 has a long sleeve as arm part 3).
Liu does not explicitly teach that the ground connection part is a conductive band that is wound around the worker's arm from above the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes.
As to the limitation, “the ground connection part is a conductive band that is wound around the worker's arm from above the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes,” Liu’s ground connection part must be a conductive band/part, as depicted in Fig.8 and discussed in [0085]. Liu’s glove body is flexible in nature. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Liu to arrive at the instant invention because Liu’s flexible glove body could be shaped into any desired form where the ground connecting part could be wound around the worker's arm from above the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes. Further, Liu discloses the claimed invention except for the ground connection part is a conductive band that is wound around the worker's arm from above the long sleeve of the conductive work clothes. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to use such a band or any such attaching means, since applicant has not disclosed that usage of such band solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with the teaching Liu.
Conclusion
The following prior arts made of record and not relied upon, are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Fort (US 2015/0230752 Al) teaches a system for collecting physiological data comprising a data collection device comprising at least one sensor module so configured as to capture physiological measurements; the data collection device comprising a garment wherein the sensor module and the monitoring system are integrated, with the monitoring system comprising at least two housings connected together mechanically in a flexible manner so as to conform to the shape of a part of the body whereon the monitoring system is able to be positioned; at least one flexible connecting member for mechanically connecting the at least two housings; a data acquisition and wireless communication module positioned in one of the two housings [Abstract].
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUMAN NATH whose telephone number is (571)270-1443. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/SUMAN K NATH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855