DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The action is in response to the application filed on 01/25/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by US 20160113529 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Aoyagi”) in view of US 20170119266 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Wong”).
Regarding claims 1, 8, 15, Aoyagi teaches a method/an apparatus/non-transitory computer readable medium storing code for noise filtering for a wearable device (abstract; paragraph [0035]), comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code (32; paragraph [0036]; Figure 1); and
one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories (31; paragraph [0036]; Figure 1) and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the apparatus to cause:
emitting light from a first set of light emitting elements of the wearable device, wherein the first set of light emitting elements comprises at least a first light emitting element associated with a first wavelength and a second light emitting element associated with a second wavelength different than the first wavelength (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]);
emitting light from a second set of light emitting elements of the wearable device, wherein the second set of light emitting elements comprises at least the first light emitting element and a third light emitting element associated with a third wavelength (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]);
measuring a first signal comprising a first representation of one or more physiological phenomenon, a first noise component, and a second noise component from the first set of light emitting elements, wherein the first noise component is a common noise component based at least in part on a first penetration depth associated with the first wavelength and the second noise component is based at least in part on a second penetration depth associated with the second wavelength (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]);
measuring a second signal comprising a second representation of one or more physiological phenomenon, the first noise component, and a third noise component from the second set of light emitting elements, wherein the third noise component is based at least in part on a third penetration depth association with the third wavelength (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]);
removing the first noise component from the first signal and the second signal based at least in part on comparing the first signal and the second signal (paragraph [0035], [0055], [0058]-[0059]); and
calculating a third signal based at least in part on removing the first noise component from the first signal and the second signal (paragraph [0035], [0055], [0058]-[0059]); but does not explicitly teach the wearable device is a ring.
However, Wong an optical physiological sensor device, teaches the wearable device is a ring that is configured to emit light at depths within a user’s finger (102; paragraph [0071]; Figure 1). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Aoyagi, to have a wearable ring device, as taught by Wong, because the finger provides an effective part of the body to measure a user’s heart rate.
Regarding claims 2, 9, 16, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the first penetration depth is substantially limited to a dermis skin layer of a finger and the second penetration depth substantially reaches an artery within a hypodermis skin layer of the finger (paragraphs [0202]-[2024]; as taught by Wong).
Regarding claims 3, 10, 17, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the first penetration depth is substantially limited to an epidermis skin layer of a finger and the second penetration depth substantially reaches a dermis skin layer of the finger (paragraphs [0202]-[2024]; as taught by Wong).
Regarding claims 4, 11, 18, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the first penetration depth is substantially limited to an epidermis skin layer of a finger and the second penetration depth substantially reaches a dermis skin layer of the finger (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]; as taught by Aoyagi).
Regarding claims 5, 12, 19, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the first penetration depth is substantially limited to an epidermis skin layer of a finger and the second penetration depth substantially reaches a dermis skin layer of the finger (paragraph [0031], [0067]-[0069]; as taught by Aoyagi).
Regarding claims 6, 13, 20, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the one or more physiological phenomenon comprises blood oxygen levels, heart rate measurements, or both. (paragraph [0062]; as taught by Aoyagi).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Aoyagi, in view of Wong, teaches wherein the first noise component corresponds with motion artifacts associated with motion of the wearable ring device (paragraph [0033]).
Conclusion
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/ABID A MUSTANSIR/ Examiner, Art Unit 3791