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 Amendment
This Action is in response to the Amendment filed December 18, 2025. In view of the Amendment, the objections to the drawings and the specification and the rejection of the claims under 35 USC 112, as set forth in the Office Action dated 09/18/2025, are withdrawn.
Claims 1-12, 17-18, and 20 are amended.
Claim 21 is added.
Claims 1-21 are pending.
Priority
Claims 1-20 are deemed to have an effective filing date of September 5, 2023.
While a certified copy of the Japanese priority application was received in this application, the Japanese priority application is not in the English language. Thus, for purposes of examination, the effective filing date is September 5, 2023. If a prior art reference is found between the filing date of the Japanese priority application and the instant application, an English language translation of the Japanese priority application would be necessary to overcome the date of the prior art reference. See 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/18/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to Applicant’s argument that Park fails to teach or suggest “a sound generator that … includes a piezoelectric element”, the Examiner disagrees. The 09/18/2025 Office Action cites paragraph [0100] of Park which states: the pressure sensor … may be combined with a haptic device, a piezoelectric buzzer, a piezoelectric speaker. That is, the sound generator (piezoelectric buzzer or piezoelectric speaker) may be combined with the pressure sensor that has a circuit board. The piezoelectric buzzer or piezoelectric speaker have a piezoelectric element.
With respect to the new limitation “wherein the sound generator fixes the circuit board to a predetermined position”, the arrangement shown in Park’s Fig. 14 meets this limitation as the height of the sound generator/piezoelectric device fixes the circuit board of the pressure sensor 1000 to a predetermined position.
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.
Claims 1-8 and 12-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0328799 to Park et al. (hereinafter referred to as “Park”) in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0215768 to Belfiori.
Referring to claim 1, Park discloses a module (e.g., Fig. 14) comprising: a circuit board that is loaded with a biological sensor (e.g., paragraph [0120]: a printed circuit board or a flexible printed circuit board for supply power to pressure sensors 1000 where the pressure sensor obtains biological information – detect touch or non-touch of the human body [0004]); a sound generator that overlaps the circuit board and includes a piezoelectric element (e.g., paragraphs [0100] and Fig. 14, PCB of 1000 overlaps a piezoelectric buzzer/sound generator 2000 which may be formed on a vibration plate 3000; and [0065]); and a cushion that is provided between the circuit board and the piezoelectric sounder (e.g., paragraphs [0100], [0105] and Fig. 14: elastic layer/support 4000 is between the circuit board of 1000 and the piezoelectric buzzer 2000), and wherein the sound generator fixes the circuit board to a predetermined position (e.g., Fig. 4, the sound generator 2000 fixes the circuit board to a predetermined height/position), but does not expressly disclose that the sound generator is arranged so that a center position of a surface of the piezoelectric element is offset from a center position of a surface of the circuit board. However, Belfiori, in a related art: wearable controller for wrist, teaches a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) that connects piezoelectric devices to a processing/computer module where the piezoelectric device is arranged so that a center portion of a surface of the piezoelectric body is offset from a center position of a surface of the circuit board (e.g., paragraphs [0100] and [0108]-[0109] and Figs. 10 and 18-19: piezoelectric bodies 1007 (1001), 1008 (1002), 1009 (1003), 1010 (1004) of the side view on the right side of the Figure each have a center that is offset from the center of the PCB 1012). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the benefits of arranging a piezoelectric element so that its center position is offset from the center of the PCB that the piezoelectric device overlaps in view of the teachings of Belfiori. Consequently, one of ordinary skill would have modified the piezoelectric elements of Park so that their center positions are offset from the center position of the PCB in order to allow the piezoelectric device to detect the location 1902/1902 of the applied pressure in view of the teachings of Belfiori, and because the combination would have yielded a predictable result.
With respect to claim 2, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 1, wherein the sound generator fixes the circuit board so that the biological sensor faces and approaches an external living body (e.g., paragraphs [0001]-[0004] of Park: Park’s invention is directed to pressure sensors which detect touch or non-touch of the human body – thus the biological sensor faces and approaches an external living body).
As to claim 3, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 1, wherein the sound generator has a unimorph structure in which the piezoelectric element is bonded to a metal plate (e.g., paragraph [0101] of Park: piezoelectric device 2000 may be formed in a unimorph structure having a piezoelectric layer on a surface of a metal substrate).
With respect to claim 4, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 2, wherein the sound generator has a unimorph structure in which the piezoelectric element is bonded to a metal plate (e.g., paragraph [0101] of Park: piezoelectric device 2000 may be formed in a unimorph structure having a piezoelectric layer on a surface of a metal substrate).
As to claim 5, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 1, wherein the circuit board and the sound generator are not in direct contact with each other (see Fig. 14 of Park: circuit board of 1000 is not in direct contact with the piezoelectric sounder 2000).
With respect to claim 6, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 2, wherein the circuit board and the sound generator are not in direct contact with each other (see Fig. 14 of Park: circuit board of 1000 is not in direct contact with the piezoelectric sounder 2000).
As to claim 7, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 3, wherein the circuit board and the sound generator are not in direct contact with each other (see Fig. 14 of Park: circuit board of 1000 is not in direct contact with the piezoelectric sounder 2000).
With respect to claim 8, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 4, wherein the circuit board and the sound generator are not in direct contact with each other (see Fig. 14 of Park: circuit board of 1000 is not in direct contact with the piezoelectric sounder 2000).
As to claims 13-16, Park in view of Belfiori teaches a wearable device comprising the module according to claims 1-4, respectively (see paragraphs [0094], [0137] and Figs. 4 and 32 of Belfiori – the pressure sensor module is part of a watchband, which is a wearable). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that a piezoelectric pressure sensor is capable of being worn (i.e., a wearable device) in view of the teachings of Belfiori. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would have modified the pressure sensor of Park in view of Belfiori further so that it is attached to a wristband as taught by Belfiori that such was a well-known use of a pressure sensor, and because the combination would have yielded a predictable result.
With respect to claim 17, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the wearable device according to claim 13, further comprising: a device case that holds the circuit board and the sound generator (e.g., paragraphs [0114]-[0115] and Figs. 18-19 of Park: a complex device 6000 (shown in Fig. 14) may be included within a front case 7110 – thus, Park teaches a device case that holds the circuit board and piezoelectric sounder together).
As to claim 18, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the wearable device according to claim 17, further comprising: a case back attached to a side of the device case (e.g., paragraph [0114]-[0115] of Park: case back 7120 is attached to a side of the device case 7110), wherein the side of the device case is facing a living body from which biological information is obtained (the complex device side of case 7110 is capable of facing a living body from which biological information is obtained).
With respect to claim 19, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the wearable device according to claim 18, wherein the circuit board is fixed to a predetermined position on the case back (e.g., paragraph [0114] of Park: since the PCB is disposed within the front case 7110 it is fixed to a predetermined position on the rear case 7120).
As to claim 20, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the wearable device according to claim 19, wherein the sound generator further comprises a metal plate (e.g., paragraph [0102]: vibration plate 3000 may be metal), and wherein at least a part of a piezoelectric element is adhered to a fixing surface of a portion of the metal plate (e.g., paragraphs [101]-[0102]: piezoelectric device 2000 formed of a plurality of piezoelectric element is adhered with an adhesive on the upper surface of the metal vibration plate), and the portion of the metal plate is fixed to the case back (e.g., paragraph [0102] of Park: metal vibration plate 3000 may be adhered with adhesive to piezoelectric device 2000, which would be fixed to the case back 7120 discussed above).
With respect to claim 21, Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 1, wherein the sound generator is arranged to misalign from the circuit board so that the center position of the surface of the piezoelectric element is offset from the center position of the surface of the circuit board (see rejection of claim 1 w/r/t sound generator being arranged so that one of its elements is offset from the circuit board), and wherein the biological sensor of the circuit board, misaligned from the sound generator, faces and approaches an external living body (e.g., Figs. 18-19 of Belfiori). The Examiner notes that claim 21 is not directed to a wearable device and thus, a finger of a living body can be approached by the biological sensor.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park in view of Belfiori as applied to claims 1-4 above, and further in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0258407 to Shirai et al. (hereinafter referred to as “Shirai”).
Park in view of Belfiori teaches the module according to claim 1, wherein the biological sensor includes a touch sensor and a pressure sensor, but does not expressly teach that the obtaining includes at least one of a heart rate sensor, a blood pressure sensor, and a blood oxygenation sensor. However, Shirai, in a related art: biological information processing system and wearable device, teaches that it was known in the art to collect biological information, such as pulse rate (heart rate), body temperature, blood pressure, amount of blood flow, activity time, and activity state by providing sensors in a wearable device worn by the subject (e.g., paragraphs [0068] and [0073] of Shirai). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized the benefits of a wearable module with a biological information obtaining that includes a heart rate sensor and/or a blood pressure sensor. Consequently, one of ordinary skill in the art would have modified the module of Park in view of Belfiori to be wearable and to include a heart rate sensor and/or a blood pressure sensor in view of the teachings of Shirai that such was a known engineering technique in the biological information art, and because the combination would have yielded a predictable result: a wearable module with a touch sensor, a pressure sensor, and at least one of a heart rate sensor and a blood pressure sensor.
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 CATHERINE M VOORHEES whose telephone number is (571)270-3846. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
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/CATHERINE M VOORHEES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792