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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 86 is objected to because of the following informalities: a) In claim 86 lines 3-5, please change "wherein the actuator includes a housing, a coil surrounding a portion of the cylinder, and a magnet that is disposed within the housing and is moveable relative to coil responsive to movement" to:
-- wherein the actuator includes a housing, a coil surrounding a portion of a cylinder, and a magnet that is disposed within the housing and is moveable relative to the coil responsive to movement --. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 62-75 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
a) Claim 62 lines 9-11 recites the limitation "machine-readable instructions to associate the time data with motion data that is indicative of a relative orientation of the device, movement of the device, or both". It is unclear if "the device" is referring to "a motion tracking device," "an energy storage device," or some other "device." In other words, there is more than one entity referred to as a device, so it is not clear what "the device" is necessarily referring to. Appropriate correction/clarification is requested.
4. Claims 63-75 depend from claim 62 and are rejected for at least the same reasons as given for claim 62.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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 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.
6. Claim(s) 62-72, 74, and 76-77 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan").
In regards to claim 62, Bhushan teaches a system (Bhushan abstract) comprising:
a motion tracking device (Bhushan paragraph [0011] teaches a wearable device that measures body movements, and paragraph [0047] teaches where the wearable device measures movements from accelerometers) including:
a real-time clock configured to generate time data (Bhushan paragraph [0105] teaches a real time clock (RTC) on the wearable device);
an energy storage device configured to store electrical power operable to power the real-time clock (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teaches a battery configured to store electrical power that is operable to power the wearable device, including its RTC);
an energy harvester configured to charge the energy storage device (Bhushan paragraphs [0031] and [0103] teach an energy harvester to charge the energy storage device);
a memory storing machine readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0124] teach a memory chip operatively connected to a processor to provide suggested instructions (as is typical in computers) to allow the processor to record data to the memory chip and compute different metrics);
a control system including one or more processors configured to execute the machine-readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0037] teach a control system including a processor to perform different kinds of algorithms (execution of instructions)) to associate the time data with motion data that is indicative of a relative orientation of the device, movement of the device, or both (Bhushan paragraph [0041] teaches tracking the motion data that is indicative of a relative orientation of the device and the change in orientation (over time) indicating a movement of the device); and
a transceiver (Bhushan Fig. 1 Item 106 and paragraph [0123] teaches a wireless transmission module as a transceiver for receiving and transmitting processed data).
In regards to claim 63, Bhushan teaches the system, further comprising an object, wherein the motion tracking device is coupled to the object (Bhushan abstract and paragraph [011] teaches the system further comprising an object such as a chest strap or adhesive sticker, wherein the wearable motion tracking device is coupled to the object).
In regards to claim 64, Bhushan teaches the system further comprising an object, wherein the motion tracking device is at least partially disposed within a portion of the object (Bhushan abstract paragraph [011], and paragraph [0030] teaches the system further comprising an object such as a chest strap or adhesive sticker, wherein the chest strap or sticker covers a part or whole of the device).
In regards to claim 65, Bhushan teaches the system further comprising a user device, wherein the transceiver is configured to transmit at least a portion of the motion data and the associated time data to the user device (Bhushan paragraphs [0013] and [0078] teach further comprising a gateway device (user device) such as a smartphone or smartwatch, wherein the wireless communication module (transceiver) is configured to transmit the motion data and time data to the user device).
In regards to claim 66, Bhushan teaches the system wherein the user device is a smartphone or a tablet (Bhushan paragraph [0013] teaches where the gateway user device is a smartphone).
In regards to claim 67, Bhushan teaches the system wherein the user device includes a display device configured to display an indication associated with the relative orientation of the device, movement of the device, or both (Bhushan paragraphs [0041] and paragraph [0073] teach where the gateway user device includes a display screen for displaying alerts and/or notifications associated with the relative orientation or movement of the device).
In regards to claim 68, Bhushan teaches the system wherein the control system of the motion tracking device is configured to determine whether a user of the motion tracking device performed an activity based at least in part on the motion data and the associated time data (Bhushan paragraph [0078], and paragraph [0092] teach where the control system of the wearable motion tracking device is configured to determine whether a user is performing a running activity and the attributes of the run (including ground contact time, flight time, speed) based on the motion data and associated time data).
In regards to claim 69, Bhushan teaches the system wherein a user device is configured to determine whether a user of the motion tracking device performed an activity based at least in part on the transmitted motion data and the associated time data from the motion tracking device (Bhushan abstract, paragraph [0126], and paragraph [0139] teach where the data that is collected (including motion and time data) can be directly sent to the smart phone user device (instead of being processed at the microcontroller of the wearable device) where it is optionally further processed and analyzed for performance of an activity).
In regards to claim 70, Bhushan teaches the system further comprising a server including a database, wherein the user device is configured to communicate with the server (Bhushan Fig. 8 and paragraphs [0024], [0106], and [0131] teach further comprising a cloud web server including a database for storing data, wherein the smart phone user device is configured to communicate with the server).
In regards to claim 71, Bhushan teaches the system wherein the database of the server stores a user profile associated with the user of the motion tracking device (Bhushan paragraph [0109] teaches where the database of the cloud web server stores individual parameters for each user (as a user profile) associated with the user of the motion tracking device).
In regards to claim 72, Bhushan teaches the system wherein the server is configured to update the user profile stored in the database responsive to the determination that the user of the motion tracking device performed the activity (Bhushan paragraph [0109] teaches combining subjective information and information from multiple sensors (monitoring the performance of an activity) to run machine learning training (data updating) and test protocols to provide alerts that are customized for each individual).
In regards to claim 74, Bhushan teaches the system (Bhushan abstract) further comprising:
a second motion tracking device (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teach a second motion tracking accelerometer in a second wearable device) including:
a second real-time clock configured to generate time data (Bhushan paragraph [0105] teaches a real time clock (RTC) in each wearable device, including a second RTC in the second wearable device);
a second energy storage device configured to store electrical power operable to power the real-time clock (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teaches a second battery configured to store electrical power that is operable to power the second wearable device, including its RTC);
a second energy harvester configured to charge the energy storage device (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teach a second energy harvester to charge the second battery);
a second memory storing machine readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0124] teach a memory chip operatively connected to a processor to provide suggested instructions (as is typical in computers) to allow the processor to record data to the memory chip and compute different metrics);
a second control system including one or more processors configured to execute the machine-readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0037] teach a control system including a processor to perform different kinds of algorithms (execution of instructions), and paragraph [0103] teaches a second computing device control system on the second wearable device) to associate the time data with motion data that is indicative of a relative orientation of the device, movement of the device, or both (Bhushan paragraph [0041] teaches tracking the motion data that is indicative of a relative orientation of the device and the change in orientation (over time) indicating a movement of the device); and
a second transceiver configured to transmit at least a portion of the motion data and the associated time data to the user device (Bhushan Fig. 1 Item 106 and paragraph [0105] and [0123] teach a wireless transmission module as a transceiver for receiving and transmitting processed data from each wearable device, including a second wireless transmission module in the second wearable device).
76. A device (Bhushan abstract teaches a device) comprising:
a temperature sensor configured to generate temperature data associated with a user (Bhushan paragraphs [0032] and [0044] teach a temperature sensor to generate temperature data associated with a user);
an energy storage device configured to store electrical power operable to power the temperature sensor (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teaches a battery configured to store electrical power that is operable to power the wearable device, including a temperature sensor contained within the wearable device);
an energy harvester configured to charge the energy storage device (Bhushan paragraphs [0031] and [0103] teach an energy harvester to charge the energy storage device);
a memory storing machine readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0124] teach a memory chip operatively connected to a processor to provide suggested instructions (as is typical in computers) to allow the processor to record data to the memory chip and compute different metrics);
a control system including one or more processors configured to execute the machine-readable instructions (Bhushan paragraphs [0012] and [0037] teach a control system including a microprocessor to perform different kinds of algorithms (execution of instructions)) to determine a temperature of the user based at least in part on the temperature data (Bhushan paragraphs [0122] and [0123] teach processing received temperature data from the sensor at the microprocessor to determine a temperature of the user).
In regards to claim 77, Bhushan teaches the device further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit information indicative of the determined body temperature of the user to a user device (Bhushan paragraph [0013] teaches the device further comprising a wireless communication module (transceiver) configured to transmit raw data and various metrics to a gateway user device such as a smart phone), wherein the transceiver includes a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, a near-field communication (NFC) chip, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chip, or any combination thereof (Bhushan paragraphs [0013] and [0123] teaches where the wireless communication module (transceiver) includes a NFC or BLE chip).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7. 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.
8. Claim 73 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan") as applied to claim 72, and further in view of Bailly et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2016/0346609, hereinafter "Bailly").
In regards to claim 73, Bhushan teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 72 above. Bhushan fails to expressly teach wherein the updating the user profile includes associating an award with the user profile.
Bailly abstract teaches tracking and monitoring athletic activity using a wearable device to offer individuals additional motivation to continue such behavior. Bailly paragraph [0071] teaches associating activity points or currency (awards) with a user based on the activity of the user. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further associate an award such as activity points or currency whenever a user performs an activity in order to offer individuals additional motivation to continue such behavior. Therefore, a user can not only look at activity statistics from a wearable device, but also be encouraged to continue to exercise based on points accrued in his/her user profile.
9. Claim 75 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan") as applied to claim 62, and further in view of Sharpe et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0055017, hereinafter "Sharpe").
In regards to claim 75, Bhushan teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 62 above. Bhushan fails to expressly teach where in the energy storage device is a capacitor.
Sharpe paragraph [0009] teaches where a power source for a sensor assembly is a rechargeable power source, and can be a photovoltaic element, a chemical battery, a super capacitor, a fuel cell, a mechanical energy harvest system, and the like. Sharpe paragraph [0105] teaches where power can be provided by an an energy storage mechanism such as a chemical battery (electrical), super capacitor, or other suitable device to enable the reliable function and acceptable performance of the sensing system under a range of conditions.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Sharpe because multiple types of energy storage devices are well known in the art. Therefore, it would only be a matter of ordinary skill to specify the energy storage device as a capacitor as one of the known types of energy storage devices to enable the reliable function and performance of the sensing system under a range of conditions.
10. Claim 80 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan") as applied to claim 76, and further in view of Von Badinski et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2017/0235333, hereinafter "Von Badinski").
In regards to claim 80, Bhushan teaches the device further comprising a display configured to display information associated with the determined body temperature of the user (Bhushan paragraph [0012] teaches an electronic display configured to display alerts associated with the various physiological signals and computed metrics, where Bhushan paragraph [0032] defines a temperature sensor to measure physiological temperature of the user). Bhushan fails to expressly teach wherein the display includes an electrophoretic display, a memory-in-pixel display, or both.
Von Badinski paragraph [0174] teaches where a a status indicator on a wearable computing device (WCD) can include other suitable types of indicator devices, including a LED, an electrophoretic ink (or "e-ink") display, a persistent display, and the like.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Von Badinski because it is well known that various types of indicator display devices can be utilized on a wearable computing device, such as an electrophoretic display. Therefore, it would only be a matter of ordinary skill to specify the use of a an electronic display such as an electrophoretic display for conveying physiological data for viewing by a user.
11. Claim 86 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan") as applied to claim 76, and further in view of Deak (US Pat. Pub. 2021/0083552).
In regards to claim 86, Bhushan teaches the device as explained in the rejection of claim 76 above. Bhushan fails to expressly teach wherein the energy harvester includes an actuator configured to generate an electromotive force (EMF) responsive to movement of the device and, wherein the actuator includes a housing, a coil surrounding a portion of the cylinder, and a magnet that is disposed within the housing and is moveable relative to coil responsive to movement of the device.
Deak paragraph [0002] teaches where energy harvesting devices cover a wide range of low to high power generation for many applications, especially generating electrical energy from mechanical motion. Deak title, abstract, and paragraphs [0003]-[0004] teach a dual independent actuator electrical generator for energy harvesting that works with a variable speed range of motion by triggering an external push force on a plunger embodiment to cause the Faraday effect of inducing an electromotive force (EMF) voltage. Deak Figs. 1 and 6 and paragraphs [0032] teach where the actuator includes an enclosure housing of a trigger plate 101 over a base bed 103, at least one spring coil 129 (lf, lr, rf, rr) surrounding a portion of a cylinder guide 117 (lf, lr, rf, rr), and a magnet 107 that is disposed within the housing and movable relative to the coil in response to movement of the device.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Deak because many types of energy harvesting devices are recognized in the art, including those that operate with an actuator having a housing, coil, cylinder, and magnet moveable relative to a coil responsive to movement of the device. Therefore, it would be obvious to use a known physical configuration of an actuator for generating an electromotive force (EMF) responsive to a variable range of speeds of motion, as the wearable device of Bhushan may be affixed to a user during exercise (which has a variable range of speeds of motion).
12. Claim 94 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119, hereinafter "Bhushan") and further in view of Jakl (US Pat. Pub. 2016/0141908).
In regards to claim 94, Bhushan teaches a method (Bhushan abstract) comprising:
move a measurement device to cause an energy harvester to generate energy (Bhushan paragraph [0103] teaches moving a wearable device embedded in the soles of a left and right shoe of a user for harvesting energy to power the wearable device) for powering a temperature sensor of the measurement device (Bhushan paragraphs [0032] and [0044] teach a temperature sensor within the wearable device, and which would be powered when the wearable device is powered);
move the measurement device to cause the temperature sensor to generate temperature data associated with a body temperature of the user (Bhushan paragraphs [0030], [0032], and [0044] teach affixing (moving) the wearable measurement device to a user to cause the temperature sensor to generate a temperature of the skin of the user at the location where the device is affixed to the body);
automatically transmitting at least a portion of the temperature data from the measurement device to a user device (Bhushan paragraphs [0013] and [0122] teach a wireless communication module capable of communicating raw data (including raw temperature data from the temperature sensor) to a gateway device such as a smartphone user device), and paragraph [0029] teaches where the communication of data occurs automatically to provide continuous monitoring); and
causing the user device to display one or more indications indicative of the body temperature of the user based at least in part on the temperature data (Bhushan abstract, paragraphs [0024], and [0073] teach causing the gateway user device to display one or more indications of the collected data, which includes collected temperature data of the user).
Bhushan fails to expressly teach prompting a user.
Jakl paragraphs [0020] and [0022] teach communicating to a device to prompt a user to move the device for better coupling with a wireless charging power signal, in order to improve the device's efficiency of recharging (energy harvesting), where the prompt message can be a visual, audible, or vibration prompt.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide prompts to a user in order to direct a user on where to position the measurement device. Therefore visual, audible, or vibration prompt feedback can be provided to a user to optimize the movement and final placement of a measurement device in order to optimize operational efficiency based on the location of the measurement device.
Allowable Subject Matter
13. Claim 88 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 88 contains allowable subject matter because the closest prior art, Bhushan et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0358119) fails to anticipate or render obvious the device wherein the actuator includes: a first magnet disposed within the housing and coupled to a first end of the housing via a first spring; a first coil surrounding a first portion of the housing adjacent to the first magnet; a second magnet disposed within the housing and coupled to a first end of the housing via a second spring; a second coil surrounding a second portion of the housing adjacent to the second magnet; and a non-magnetic mass disposed within the housing between the first magnet and the second magnet such that the non-magnetic mass moves relative to the housing responsive to movement of the device, wherein movement of the non-magnetic mass towards (i) the first end of the housing causes the first magnet to move relative to the first coil and (ii) the second end of the housing to move relative to the second coil, in combination with the rest of the claim limitations as claimed and defined by the Applicant.
Pertinent Art
14. Applicants are directed to consider additional pertinent prior art included on the Notice of References Cited (PTOL 892) attached herewith. The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
E. McKenna (US Pat. Pub. 2011/0208010) discloses Motion Energy Harvesting with Wireless Sensors. F. Bridges et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2017/0168106) discloses Stray Current Sensor. G. Weinrauch et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2021/0022318) discloses Motion Powered Pet Tracker System and Method.
Conclusion
15. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1598. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F, 9:30 am to 6 pm.
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/PAUL D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857 6/22/2026
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