DETAILED ACTION
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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10 September 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-8, 10, 15-17, 19 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Simbruner et al (US # 4,488,558). The Simbruner reference discloses a system for monitoring temperature of a subject, the system comprising:
a heat conducting layer (4);
a heat flux sensor (plate 1 combined with thermocouples 17 & 18; Col. 4, ll. 4-17) positioned to be between the heat conducting layer (4) and the subject when the subject is placed directly or indirectly in contact with the heat flux sensor (Figs. 3 & 5), the heat flux sensor configured to provide signals representative of a temperature difference between the heat conducting layer and the subject (Col. 4, ll. 4-62);
a temperature controller (19) to affect the temperature of the heat conducting layer (Col. 4, ll. 39-52);
a temperature sensor (3, 5) to sense temperature of the heat conducting layer (Col. 3, ll. 49-52; Col. 5, ll. 2-8); and
a process controller (20) coupled to the temperature controller (19), the temperature sensor (3), and the heat flux sensor, wherein the process controller (20) is configured to control the temperature controller based on the signals to affect the temperature of the heat conducting layer until the signals indicate that the temperature of the heat conducting layer is substantially equal to the temperature of the subject and then to determine the temperature of the heat conducting layer using the temperature sensor (Col. 4, ll. 29-32 & 39-52).
With respect to claim 2, see column 5, ll. 1-4.
With respect to claim 3, see column 4, lines 29-32.
With respect to claim 4, although the reference does not expressly say so, it is obvious that heater plate 4 is a resistive element, otherwise it would not work.
With respect to claim 6, see column 5, lines 1-4.
With respect to claim 7, the heater plate 4 is a metal foil or plate (Col. 4, ll. 1-3).
With respect to claim 8, Figure 3 indicates that the heater plate 4 is surrounded by an insulative material (Col. 5, ll. 38-42) which serves to prevent heat from flowing laterally out of the measurement region.
With respect to claim 10, the heater plate (4) is inherently a “thermal mass”.
With respect to claim 15, see column 4, lines 33-32.
With respect to claim 16, see Figure 5. The heat flux sensor is in direct contact with the infant.
With respect to claim 17, the entire device, including the heat conducting layer 4, is covered by an insulating layer of silicone rubber (Col. 5, Lines 38-42).
With respect to claim 19, the Simbruner reference shows a heat spreader layer (1).
With respect to claim 25, the subject is an infant.
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 9, 11-14, 18, and 20-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Simbruner et al (US # 4,488,558).
With respect to claim 9, the overall shape of the body sensor shown in Figure 3 is “bowl” shaped, but the heat conducting layer (4) is illustrated as being substantially flat, but it would have been obvious to the ordinary practioner to make the layer 4 more rounded to make the device better conform to the infant’s head.
With respect to claims 11-13, it is clear that the signals being conveyed to signal circuit 20 are electrical signals; whether the electrical signals are voltage, current, or digital signals would been an obvious matter of design choice since these formats were essentially interchangeable as they were functional equivalents in the digital controller art.
With respect to claim 14, Proportional, Derivative, Integral (PID) Control was a commonly used feedback control algorithm1, and it would have been obvious to the ordinary practioner to program the signal circuitry 20 with a commonly used control algorithm motivated by its art recognized suitability for its intended purpose.
With respect to claim 18, the insulating layer (12) of silicone rubber does not contain air, but the insulating properties of materials containing air pockets was known2, and it would have been obvious to the ordinary practioner to manufacture the insulating layer 12 from a material that had internal air pockets (such as Styrofoam or aerogels) as an insulator.
With respect to claim 20, it would have been obvious to the ordinary practioner to provide a cushioning pad of some sort to the spreader layer (1) for the comfort of the infant.
With respect to claims 21-24, the intended use of the heat flux sensor would dictate its shape3, and its incorporation into a device that a pet would normally rest upon if the device was adapted to measure the body heat of other mammals, besides humans.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RANDY W GIBSON whose telephone number is (571)272-2103. The examiner can normally be reached Tue-Friday 10AM-6PM.
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RANDY W. GIBSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2856
/RANDY W GIBSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
1 See Figure 1 of US PG Pub # 2004/0073394 (Lee et al.); or, column 2, lines 1-28 , of US # 6,188,050 (Duffer et al); for examples.
2 See paragraphs # 0042 & 0049 of US PG Pub # 2018/0049646 (Ellis et al), for example.
3 See paragraphs # 0025-0027 of US PG Pub # 2017/0000347 (Meftah et al), for example.
