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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 40,45 are objected to because of the following informalities: see below. Appropriate correction is required.
In claim 40, line 2, the word ‘second’ should be inserted before the word ‘temperature’.
In claim 45, the word ‘one’ should be inserted after the word ‘any’ to clarify that claim 45 only depends from one other claim at a time. Further, claim 45 is set forth as depending from claims 1-44. However, claims 1-27 have been cancelled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claim(s) 28-33,39,40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Telfort et al (2023/0087671).
28. (Original) A wearable device comprising:
a dock comprising one or more substrates configured to be secured to skin of a
subject; (see at least figure 3a of Telfort that shows a dock 200 with substrates for attaching to skin)
a hub (see at least figure 3a of Telfort that shows hub 300) configured to be removably secured to the dock, the hub comprising:
a housing comprising an interior, a top portion, a bottom portion, and an
opening extending through said bottom portion, said bottom portion positioned
closer to the subject's skin when the hub and dock are secured to one another and
the dock is secured to the subject's skin; (see at least figure 5g ,5h,5T of Telfort)
a circuit board arranged within the interior of the housing, the circuit board
comprising a first surface, a second surface, and at least one hole extending through
the circuit board between the first and second surfaces; (see at least figures 5k,5l of Telfort)
one or more hardware processors coupled to the circuit board and arranged
within the interior of housing; (see at least ¶7 of Telfort)
a temperature sensor mounted to the first surface of the circuit board
adjacent said at least one hole; (see at least ¶70 of Telfort)
a thermally conductive probe extending through said opening of the
housing, the thermally conductive probe comprising a first end and a second end
opposite the first end, the first end positioned adjacent the second surface of the
circuit board and said at least one hole; (see at least ¶72 of Telfort)
a wall (300c of figure 5T) extending outward from the bottom portion (331 of figure 5T) of the housing and extending around at least a portion of the thermally conductive probe; (figure 5T shows the wall 300c extending around the thermally conductive probes 344a,344b)
wherein, when the hub and the dock are secured to one another and the dock is
secured to the subject's skin: (see at least abstract of Telfort)
the second end of the thermally conductive probe contacts at least one of
said one or more substrates of the dock; (see at least ¶135 of Telfort)
the thermally conductive probe is configured to receive thermal energy
emanating from the subject's skin through the one or more substrates and transmit
said thermal energy towards said temperature sensor via the at least one hole of the
circuit board. (see at least ¶135 of Telfort)
29. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, wherein the hub further comprises a
battery coupled to the circuit board and arranged within the interior of the housing. (see at least ¶27 of Telfort)
30. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, wherein the wall surrounds an entire
cross-section of the thermally conductive probe. (see at least figure 5T)
31. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, wherein the wall surrounds an entire
perimeter of the thermally conductive probe. (see at least figure 5T)
32. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, wherein the wall encircles the
thermally conductive probe. (see at least figure 5T)
33. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, wherein the thermally conductive probe extends beyond the wall. (see figure 5 and ¶77)
39. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein said temperature sensor is a first temperature sensor of the wearable device, and wherein the wearable device further comprises a second temperature sensor mounted to the first surface of the circuit board spaced from the first temperature sensor. (see at least ¶70 which teaches first and second temperature sensors)
40. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 39, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive one or more signals from the first and temperature sensors and determine a body temperature of the subject based on said received signals. (see at least ¶7 which teaches multiple processors connected to the multiple temperature sensors)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 34-38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Telfort et al (2023/0087671).
34. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein less than about 30% of a length of the thermally conductive probe extends beyond the wall. (Telfort is silent as to this feature. However, the ordinarily skilled artisan is expected to experiment to determine the dimensions of the probe in order to provide the best sensing capability for the particular patient, yielding predictable results. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955)
35. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein the thermally conductive probe extends beyond the wall an amount that is less than about 1.5 mm. (Telfort is silent as to this feature. However, the ordinarily skilled artisan is expected to experiment to determine the dimensions of the probe in order to provide the best sensing capability for the particular patient, yielding predictable results. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955)
36. (Original)The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein the thermally conductive probe extends beyond the wall an amount that is between about 0.2 mm and about 1.5 mm. (Telfort is silent as to this feature. However, the ordinarily skilled artisan is expected to experiment to determine the dimensions of the probe in order to provide the best sensing capability for the particular patient, yielding predictable results. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955)
37. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein the wall is cylindrical and the thermally conductive probe is cylindrical. (at least figure 5t shows cylindrical temperature probes. Further, although not clear from the drawings of Telfort, to make the Wall cylindrical would have been obvious since it would allow for the wall to surround the probe, so that the probe can extend therefrom, in a predictable manner)
38. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 33, wherein a gap between the thermally conductive probe and the wall is between about 0.2 mm and about 1.5 mm. (Telfort is silent as to this feature. However, the ordinarily skilled artisan is expected to experiment to determine the dimensions of the probe in order to provide the best sensing capability for the particular patient, yielding predictable results. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955)
Claim(s) 41,42,45 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Telfort et al (2023/0087671) and Banet et al (2020/0054246).
41. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 28, further comprising:
a plurality of electrodes for monitoring cardiac activity of the subject; and
a plurality of cables configured to facilitate electrical communication between the
plurality of electrodes and the circuit board of the hub via an electrical connection between
the dock and the hub when the hub and the dock are secured to one another. (at least ¶67 and figure 1 of Banet teach electrodes and cables. It would have been obvious to use the electrodes and cable since it would provide ECG signals and thus a more complete picture of the patient’s health in a predictable manner.)
42. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 41, wherein the dock further comprises a
circuit layer, and wherein said plurality of cables are configured to facilitate electrical
communication between the plurality of electrodes and the circuit layer. (it is considered to have been obvious to connect the cable of Banet to the circuit board of Telfort since that is where the processors are located to process the signals from the electrodes, as is well known in the art.)
45. (Original) A system comprising any of the wearable devices of Claims 1-44 and a
charging device. (As mentioned supra, Telfort teaches all of the subject matter of claims 28-32 except for a charging device. Banet teaches rechargeable batteries, and thus inherently a charging device that can charge them, see at least ¶143.
Claim(s) 43,44 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Telfort et al (2023/0087671) and Banet et al (2020/0054246), and further in view of Arne et al (2015/0248833).
43. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 41, wherein said plurality of electrodes
are external electrodes configured to be secured to the subject's skin away from the dock, and
wherein the wearable device further comprises at least one internal electrode operably positioned by the dock. (see at least figure 1 of Banet. Further, Arne teaches at least one internal electrode, see at least figure 4 and ¶30 which teach electrodes 114a,114b. It would have been obvious to use the internal electrodes of Arne with the device of Telfort since it would allow for more parameters to be sensed, and thus more complete evaluation of the patient, in a predictable manner)
44. (Original) The wearable device of Claim 43, wherein the wearable device
comprises two internal electrodes spaced from one another and operably positioned by the dock. (see at least figure 4 of Arne. When combined with Telfort, the electrode of Arne will be positioned by the dock so that they can be adhered to the patient)
Claim(s) 46 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Telfort et al (2023/0087671) and Banet et al (2020/0054246), and further in view of Al-Ali et al (2020/0321793).
46. (Original) The system of Claim 45, wherein the charging device comprises a
plurality of charging cavities, each of the plurality of charging cavities configured to receive at
least a portion of the hub and charge a battery of the hub. (Al-Ali teaches a charging device with cavities, see at least figure 10A and ¶534-536. It would have been obvious to use such a charging device with the device of Telfort since it would allow for recharging the rechargeable batteries in a convenient and predictable manner)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott M. Getzow whose telephone number is (571)272-4946. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/Scott M. Getzow/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3792