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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 05/12/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of a new grounds of rejection. Nevertheless, to advance prosecution Examiner addresses the following argument.
Applicant argues that Yoo does not disclose, teach or suggest “the heat flux sensor” being “mounted to the backside of the sensors printed circuit board”. Examiner respectfully disagrees, as indicated by Applicant paragraphs [0075, 0080] of Yoo the sensor being “mounted” to the backside of a printed circuit board (460; sensor is mounted via element 421). Examiner notes that there is nothing in the claim requiring that the sensor be mounted directly to the circuit board. In other words, there is nothing in the claim that precludes the sensor being mounted to the circuit board via a connecting element.
Claim Interpretation
While not necessarily unclear, it is conceivable that the following terms could be interpreted in ways other than the manner in which they are interpreted herein. Accordingly, Examiner seeks correction or confirmation of the following claim interpretations.
The term “geometric shape” is being interpreted as precise shape that can be described using mathematical formulas. Examiner believes that the use of the term “geometric” is intended to exclude organic shapes i.e., shapes that are non-uniform/irregular and often associated with objects in nature (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_and_form_(visual_arts)).
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, 4-6, 10 and 2-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351).
In re claim 1, Yoo discloses a wearable device (FIG. 9: 400) configured to be positioned on a user’s wrist [0047], the wearable device comprising:
-a case back (500) configured to be at least partially in contact with the user's wrist (FIG. 9)
wherein the case back comprises a lens (501; [0068]: first area 501 may be formed of material capable of transmitting light”) to be in contact with the wrist (FIG. 9),
-*a heat flux sensor (440; [0106]), configured to measure a heat flux coming from the user's wrist (FIG. 9), reaching the heat flux sensor (apparent),
- an optical sensor (430) comprising
at least one light emission assembly (432) to emit light and
at least one light reception assembly (431a, 431b) to receive light from the at least one light emission assembly,
a sensors printed circuit board (FIGS. 7-8; 460) comprising
a top side (top surface of 460) and
a back side (bottom surface of 460), the backside being oriented towards the case back (apparent as FIG. 9 shows the case back oriented in the “-Z” direction),
wherein the heat flux sensor (FIG. 7, FIG. 8), each of the at least one light emission assembly (FIG. 7, FIG. 8) and each the at least one light reception assembly [0114] are attached to the backside of the sensors printed circuit board (FIGS. 7-8).
wherein positions of each of the at least one light emission assembly and each of the at least one light reception assembly collectively form a geometrical shape (shape created by connecting the center points of each light emission assembly and light reception assembly) on the case back, as projected orthogonally on the case back (FIG. 9),
wherein the heat flux sensor is arranged within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back (FIG. 9), and
wherein
the lens is a light-transmitting element [0068] of the case back
Yoo does not disclose
measuring heat flux crossing the lens and reaching the heat flux sensor
wherein the optical sensor and the heat flux sensor are positioned behind said lens so that light emitted by the at least one light emission assembly, light received by the at least one light reception assembly and the heat flux are transmitted through said lens.
Mehra discloses an analogous wearable device (abstract, FIG. 1B) that, like the wearable device of Yoo, includes a plurality of geometrically arranged light receiving and light emitting elements (FIG. 2: col. 9, lines 44-56). As disclosed by Mehra, the wearable device also includes a light transmitting cover (116, alternate view shown in FIG. 5A (cover represented by reference marker 516)) that is positioned in front of the light receiving and light emitting elements (FIG. 5A, col. 9, lines 49-56). The cover can optionally include light blocking filters, light blocking coating, or other light blocking elements to help reduce or prevent interference caused by reflected light (col. 9, lines 2-11).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wearable device of Yoo such that the sensors of are positioned behind the lens, as taught by Mehra. One would have been motivated to make this modification to help protect the light emitting elements, light receiving elements and other sensors from external interference- which can cause a reduction in measurement accuracy. Accordingly, such a modification would yield the following: “the optical sensor and heat flux sensor” being positioned behind said lens, measuring the heat flux “crossing the lens” and “light emitted by the at least one light emission assembly, light received by the at least one light reception assembly and the heat flux are transmitted through said lens”.
*Regarding the limitation “heat flux sensor” it is apparent that the temperature sensor of Yoo could be a heat flux sensor [0106]. However, in so far as this is not explicitly stated claim 1 is alternatively rejected under as follows: It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the temperature sensor of Yoo to be a heat flux sensor. One would have been motivated to make this modification because heat flux sensors are known to be used in such devices, as evidenced by an alternative embodiment of Yoo (Yoo: FIG. 14; [0106]).
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In re claim 2, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein the heat flux sensor is arranged at a center of the geometric shape (Examiner FIG. 1: dotted hexagon).
In re claim 4, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein at least one light emission assembly and at least one light reception assembly are disposed on either side of the heat flux sensor, as projected orthogonally on the case back (Examiner FIG. 1).
In re claim 5, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein the optical sensor comprises a plurality of light emission assemblies (431a, 431b) and a plurality of light reception assemblies (432) that are collectively arranged to form the geometrical shape, the formed geometrical shape being a polygon (Examiner FIG. 1), the heat flux sensor being within the polygon (Examiner FIG. 1).
In re claim 6, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein the optical sensor comprises two light emission assemblies (431a, 431b) and four light reception assemblies (432 includes 6 total light reception assemblies) that are collectively arranged to form the geometrical shape, the formed geometrical shape being a hexagon (Examiner FIG. 1; apparent as the geometric shape has 6 sides).
In re claim 10, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein the optical sensor comprises an optical module ([0026]: “processor”) the optical module being configured to generate instructions for the light emission assemblies and to recover electrical signals from the light reception assemblies [0026, 0083, 0135].
In re claim 20, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), wherein each of the at least one light emission assembly is configured to emit light towards each of the at least one light reception assembly (FIG. 9; [0086]).
In re claim 21, the proposed combination does not yield further comprising
an opaque mask deposited on an inner surface of the lens,
the opaque mask being etched to remove matter at prescribed locations corresponding to the at least one light emission assembly and the at least one light reception assembly so that light rays are emitted and received for a PPG function at said prescribed locations.
As disused above the cover disclosed by Mehra optionally include masked sections created via light blocking filters, light blocking coating, or other light blocking elements (col. 9, lines 1-12). As discussed in Mehra the “masked sections” can take a variety of forms (col. 9, lines 1-12). One example is shown in FIG. 5A, where the cover is comprised of a series of masked sections (521) arranged at specific locations (FIG. 5A).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the lens of the proposed combination to further comprise and opaque mask deposited on an inner surface, as taught by Mehra. One would have been motivated to make this modification to help prevent or reduce reflected light from entering other portions of the cover which could cause interference with other sensors in the wearable device (col. 9, lines 2-10).
Regarding the limitations “being etched to remove matter at prescribed locations corresponding to the at least one light emission assembly and the at least one light reception assembly” this limitation comprises functional language and is given patentable weight only in how it materially alters or adds structure to the apparatus of the claims. See MPEP 2114. The prior art need only be able to perform this function in order to anticipate the claimed invention. It is clear that the system of Mehra could be operated in the claimed manner if desired (see Fig. 5A which shows several “masked sections” (521) at specific locations). Accordingly, any system capable of being operated in this manner would also yield “so that light rays are emitted and received for PPG functions at said prescribed locations”.
In re claim 22, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Mehra unless indicated otherwise), wherein the lens has an outer periphery that entirely surrounds the optical sensor and the heat flux sensor so that light emitted by the at least one light emission assembly, light received by the at least one light reception assembly and the heat flux are transmitted through a material of said lens (see proposed modification above (In re claim 1); Examiner notes that cover disclosed by Mehra entirely surrounds all sensors (FIG. 1B; FIG. 5A; col 9. lines 1-12)).
Claims 3, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Lee et al. (US 2024/0302223).
In re claim 3, the proposed combination does not yield
wherein the device further comprises a skin temperature sensor, to determine a skin temperature of the user,
wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back.
Lee discloses an analogous wearable device (FIG. 1: 100) configured to be worn on a user’s wrist (FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 1, the device is comprised of a main body (110), a sensor (120) and a processor (130). Lee further discloses the sensor including both a temperature sensor (121) and a heat flux sensor (122). The processor uses information collected by the temperature sensor and the heat flux sensor to estimate a core body temperature of the user [0041].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of the proposed combination to further comprise a skin temperature sensor, to determine a skin temperature of the user, as taught by Lee. One would have been motivated to make this modification to provide the wearable device with the necessary data to calculate the users core body temperature (Lee, [0059, 0060]; Examiner notes that determining core body temperature requires a surface temperature measurement and heat flux (Lee, [Equation 1])); Accordingly, such a modification would yield “wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back”.
In re claim 11, the proposed combination does not yield further comprising a core body temperature module configured to receive data from the heat flux sensor to determine a core body temperature of the user.
As discussed in paragraph 26 above, the processor of Lee uses information collected by the heat flux sensor to estimate the core body temperature of a user [0041].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the wearable device of the proposed combination to further comprise a core body temperature module configured to receive data from the heat flux sensor to determine a core body temperature of the user, as taught by Lee. One would have been motivated to make this modification because body temperature is a key vital sign that can be used to detect infections and monitor overall heath (Lee, [0003]).
In re claim 12, the proposed combination does not yield
wherein the device further comprises a skin temperature sensor, to determine a skin temperature of the user,
wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometric shape as projected orthogonally on the case back, and
wherein the core body temperature module further receives data from the skin temperature sensor to determine the core body temperature of the user.
For substantially the same reasons as described above In re claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the proposed combination to further comprise a skin temperature sensor, as taught by Lee. Accordingly, such a modification would yield “wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back”.
Regarding the limitations “wherein the core body temperature module further receives data from the skin temperature sensor to determine the core body temperature of the user”, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the core body temperature module of the proposed combination to further receive data from the skin temperature sensor to determine the core body temperature of the user, as taught by Lee. One would have been motivated to make this modification because calculating a patient’s core body temperature requires both a measured heat flux and a measured skin surface temperature (Lee, [0059, 0061]; [Equation 1]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Uhm (US 10,230,256).
In re claim 8, the proposed combination does not yield, further comprising a thermal exhaust made from a thermally conductive material and arranged on the top side of the sensors printed circuit board .
Uhm discloses an electronic device (abstract, FIG. 3A) with a printed circuit board (281p) that includes a heat dissipation member (281e; col. 17, lines 3-8) attached to a top surface of the printed circuit board (FIG. 3A). As disclosed by Uhm, the heat dissipation member functions to remove heat that is generated by the printed circuit board during device operation (col. 16, lines 63-67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the top side of the sensors printed circuit board of the proposed combination to include a thermal exhaust made from a thermally conductive material, as taught by Uhm. One would have been motivated to make this modification because doing so would prevent the printed circuit board from overheating or experiencing thermal damage.
Claims 9, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Si et al. (WO 2022/127628).
In re claim 9, the proposed combination does not yield
wherein the sensors printed circuit board comprises at least an insulating slot filled with a thermal insulator and arranged between the heat flux sensor and the optical sensor.
Si discloses an analogous wearable device (FIG. 2) that like Yoo is capable of measuring a user’s body temperature (abstract). The wearable device includes a temperature sensor (FIG. 22: 214) and a heat flux sensor (221) attached to a printed circuit board (218). As discussed in Si, the printed circuit board includes a slot ([0694]: “the slot opened on the motherboard”) that receives an insulating structure (215, shown in greater detail in FIG. 23). The insulating structure thermally isolates the temperature sensor and the heat flux sensor, improving measurement accuracy [0699].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensors printed circuit board of the proposed combination to comprise at least an insulating slot filled with a thermal insulator, as taught by Si. One would have been motivated to make this modification because doing so would thermally isolate the heat flux sensor, thereby improving the temperature measurement accuracy (Si, [0699]). Accordingly, such a modification would yield an insulating slot filled with a thermal insulator that is “arranged between the heat flux sensor and the optical sensor”.
In re claim 16, the proposed combination yields, the thermal insulator (see above In re claim 9).
The proposed combination does not yield: wherein the thermal insulator is air.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use air as the thermal insulator, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use or purpose MPEP 2144.07.
Claims 13, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Mouradian (US 2018/0235483).
In re claim 13, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo),
wherein the device comprises a cavity (FIG. 7: 510 which includes 511, 512)
wherein the heat flux sensor is arranged in the cavity (FIG. 7; [0106]),
wherein the cavity is arranged between the sensor printed circuit board and the lens (FIG. 7; regarding limitation “the lens” see proposed modification above (In re claim 1)).
The proposed combination does not yield
wherein the device comprises -a spacer with a plurality of cavities
wherein the heat flux sensor and the optical sensor are arranged in respective cavities of the plurality of cavities.
wherein the spacer is arranged between the sensor printed circuit board and the lens.
Mouradian discloses an analogous wearable device (FIG. 7: 700) configured to fit a patient’s wrist [0066]. Like Yoo, the wearable device includes a heat flux sensor (720; [0053]) and an optical sensor comprised of light emitting elements (714) and light receiving elements (716). As discussed in Mouradian, the wearable device also includes a spacing element (722) that creates several cavities separating the light emitting elements from the light receiving elements (FIG. 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the proposed combination to further comprise a spacer with a plurality of cavities, as taught by Mouradian. One would have been motivated to make this modification because doing so would prevent the direct transmission of light (either from the light emitting elements or outside environment) to the light receiving elements (Mouradian, [0058]). Accordingly, such a modification would yield “wherein the heat flux sensor and the optical sensor are arranged in respective cavities of the plurality of cavities” and “wherein a spacer is arranged between the sensor printed circuit board and the lens”.
In re claim 14, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo)
wherein one of the cavities is a central cavity (510), located centrally on the case back as projected orthogonally on the case back (FIG. 7),
the central cavity having a wide dimensions than the heat flux sensor (FIG. 7)
the central cavity being configured to accommodate the heat flux sensor (FIG. 7)
In re claim 15, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo) wherein the central cavity comprises a thermal conductive gap filler (514a) made from a thermally conductive material [0078] and surrounding partially the heat flux sensor (FIG. 7).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Mouradian (US 2018/0235483), in view of Si et al. (WO 2022/127628).
In re claim 17, the proposed combination does not yield
wherein the at least one insulating slot is arranged all around the heat flux sensor (Regarding the limitation “the at least one insulating slot” see above section Claim Rejection 112 (In re claim 17)).
For substantially the same reasons as described above In re claim 9, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sensors printed circuit board of the proposed combination to comprise at least one insulating slot that is arranged all around the heat flux sensor, as taught by Si.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Mouradian (US 2018/0235483), in view of Si et al. (WO 2022/127628), in view of Lee et al. (US 2024/0302223).
In re claim 18, the proposed combination yields, wherein at least one insulating slot is arranged all around the heat flux sensor (see above In re claim 17).
The proposed combination does not yield
wherein the device further comprises a skin temperature sensor, to determine a skin temperature of the user,
wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back and,
wherein the at least one insulating slot is arranged all around the heat flux sensor and the skin temperature sensor.
For substantially the same reasons as described above In re claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the device of the proposed combination, to include a temperature sensor, as taught by Lee. Accordingly, such a modification would yield “wherein the skin temperature sensor is located within the geometrical shape, as projected orthogonally on the case back”. Additionally, such a modification would also yield at least one insulating slot arranged all around the heat flux sensor “and the skin temperature sensor”. Moreover, one would have been motivated to have at least on insulating slot around the heat flux sensor and the skin temperature sensor to thermally isolate both the heat flux sensor and the temperature sensor, as doing so has been shown to improve temperature measurement accuracy (Si, [0699]).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo et al. (US 2023/0204432), in view of Mehra et al. (US 11,573,351), in view of Si et al. (WO 2022/127628).
In re claim 19, the proposed combination yields (all mapping directed to Yoo), comprising:
physiological sensors comprising the optical sensor and the heat flux sensor (see above In re claim 1),
at least two electrodes (FIG. 5: 450 top, 450 bottom) and
wherein the case back comprises a first electrode (450 top) which at least partially surround the physiological sensors (FIG. 5).
The proposed combination does not yield
at least two electrocardiogram, ECG, electrodes and
an ECG module, electrically connected to the ECG electrodes and configured to perform an electrocardiogram,
wherein the case back comprises a first ECG electrode which at least partially surround the physiological sensors.
As previously discussed, Si discloses an analogous wearable device (FIG. 2) that like Yoo is capable of measuring a user’s body temperature (abstract). Si further discloses the wearable device having an ECG monitoring function (FIG. 42). As shown in FIG. 42, the users ECG is recorded using a first ECG electrode (245), a second ECG electrode (246) and a third ECG electrode (247). The wearable device includes an ECG module electrically connected to the ECG electrodes that controls the monitoring function and enables ECG detection (FIG. 43, [0901]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wearable device of the proposed combination to include electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and an ECG module, electrically connected to the ECG electrodes and configured to perform an electrocardiogram, as taught by Si. One would have been motivated to make this modification because it is known that most wearable devices include some type of electrocardiograph sensor used to monitor a patient’s heart in real time (Si, [0888]). Accordingly, such a modification would yield the case back comprising “a first ECG electrode”.
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.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLIVIA WALKER whose telephone number is (571)272-7052. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 7-4pm CT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Hamaoui can be reached at (571)-270-5625. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OLIVIA WALKER/Examiner, Art Unit 3796
/DAVID HAMAOUI/SPE, Art Unit 3796
Prosecution Insights