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 .
Specification
The specification is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph 59 of the specification, “left” should be changed to --right-- in line 5.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 9-11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 9, --,-- should be added after “claim 1” in line 1.
In claims 10 and 11, --sensor-- should be added after “temperature” in respective lines 2.
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.
Claim 9 is 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.
In claim 9, it is not clear what is being performed as recited in line 1 because base claim 1 claims a device (not a method).
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, 5, 6, 9-12, 14, 17, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent 10,993,657 to Miller et al [hereinafter Miller].
Referring to claim 1, Miller discloses an electronic device (column 30, lines 20-27, 52-54, 61-62; column 31, lines 4-13), comprising:
a first temperature sensor (column 30, lines 52-54);
a second temperature sensor (column 30, lines 61-62); and
processing circuitry (column 30, lines 20-27) configured to:
detect first temperature data from the first temperature sensor (column 31, lines 4-13);
detect second temperature data from the second temperature sensor (column 31, lines 4-13); and
determine one or more temperature gradients, including a temperature gradient external to a user of the electronic device, using the first temperature data and the second temperature data (column 31, lines 4-13).
Miller does not explicitly disclose that the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and is configured to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria.
However, Miller discloses an electronic device (column 5, lines 6-12, 47-60; column 6, lines 50-54; column 7, lines 7-29), comprising processing circuitry (150) configured to detect temperature data from a temperature sensor and determine one or more temperatures external to a user of the electronic device using the temperature data; in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a first orientation (correct position); and in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more second criteria, different from the first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a second orientation (slipped or shifted) different from the first orientation (correct position) of the electronic device in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position (column 7, lines 7-29).
Therefore, 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 processing circuitry of Miller by configuring it to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and configure it to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position, which Miller suggests is desirable.
Referring to claim 5, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 5, as stated above with respect to claim 1, and further discloses that the electronic device is worn on a portion of the user (column 5, lines 6-12; column 12, lines 13-14), and the first orientation of the electronic device is relative to the portion of the user (column 7, lines 12-29).
Referring to claim 6, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 6, as stated above with respect to claim 5, and further discloses that the second orientation of the electronic device is relative to the portion of the user (column 7, lines 12-29).
Referring to claim 9, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 9, as stated above with respect to claim 1, and further discloses that the electronic device is worn on a wrist of a user of the electronic device (column 5, lines 6-12).
Referring to claim 10, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 10, as stated above with respect to claim 1, and further discloses that the first temperature sensor (507) and the second temperature sensor (508) are horizontally aligned in the electronic device (figure 5A).
Referring to claim 11, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 11, as stated above with respect to claim 1, and further discloses that the first temperature sensor (507) and the second temperature sensor (508) are not horizontally aligned in the electronic device (figure 5B).
Referring to claim 12, Miller discloses a device having all of the limitations of claim 12, as stated above with respect to claim 1, except for the electronic device including a third temperature sensor, and the processing circuitry being further configured to detect third temperature data from the third temperature sensor and determine the one more temperature gradients using the first temperature data, the second temperature data, and the third temperature data.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Miller by providing a third temperature sensor and configurating the processing circuitry to detect third temperature data from the third temperature sensor and determine the one more temperature gradients using the first temperature data, the second temperature data, and the third temperature data in order to determine a more accurate temperature gradient in Miller; and since it has been held that the mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. See St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Referring to claim 14, Miller discloses a method (column 30, lines 20-27, 52-54, 61-62; column 31, lines 4-13) comprising, at an electronic device including a first temperature sensor (column 30, lines 52-54) and a second temperature sensor (column 30, lines 61-62):
detecting first temperature data from the first temperature sensor (column 30, lines 52-54; column 31, lines 4-13);
detecting second temperature data from the second temperature sensor (column 30, lines 61-62; column 31, lines 4-13); and
determining one or more temperature gradients, including a temperature gradient external to a user of the electronic device, using the first temperature data and the second temperature data (column 31, lines 4-13).
Miller does not explicitly disclose that the second temperature sensor is different from the first temperature sensor; and that the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and is configured to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria.
However, Miller discloses an electronic device (column 5, lines 6-12, 47-60; column 6, lines 50-54; column 7, lines 7-29) comprising processing circuitry (150) configured to detect temperature data from a temperature sensor and determine one or more temperatures external to a user of the electronic device using the temperature data; in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a first orientation (correct position); and in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more second criteria, different from the first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a second orientation (slipped or shifted) different from the first orientation (correct position) of the electronic device in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position (column 7, lines 7-29).
Therefore, 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 processing circuitry of Miller by configuring it to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and configure it to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position, which Miller suggests is desirable.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Miller by having the second temperature sensor be different from the first temperature sensor in order to allow a user to use readily available temperature sensors to determine the temperature gradients as in Miller; and since the particular type of temperature sensors claimed by the applicant (different sensors) are considered to be nothing more than a choice of engineering skill, choice, or design, because the particular temperature sensors claimed by the applicant are considered to be the use of numerous and known alternate temperature sensors that a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been able to provide using routine experimentation in order to provide temperature sensors for determining temperature gradients as already suggested by Miller.
Referring to claim 17, Miller discloses a method having all of the limitations of claim 17, as stated above with respect to claim 14, and further discloses that the electronic device is worn on a portion of the user (column 5, lines 6-12), and that the first orientation of the electronic device is relative to the portion of the user (column 7, lines 12-29).
Referring to claim 19, Miller discloses (column 47, lines 9-31) a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by processing circuitry of an electronic device including a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, cause the electronic device to:
detect first temperature data from the first temperature sensor (column 30, lines 52-54; column 31, lines 4-13);
detect second temperature data from the second temperature sensor (column 30, lines 61-62; column 31, lines 4-13); and
determine one or more temperature gradients, including a temperature gradient external
to a user of the electronic device, using the first temperature data and the second temperature
data (column 31, lines 4-13).
Miller does not explicitly disclose that the processing circuitry causes the electronic device to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and is configured to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria.
However, Miller discloses an electronic device (column 5, lines 6-12, 47-60; column 6, lines 50-54; column 7, lines 7-29) comprising processing circuitry (150) configured to detect temperature data from a temperature sensor and determine one or more temperatures external to a user of the electronic device using the temperature data; in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a first orientation (correct position); and in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperatures satisfy one or more second criteria, different from the first criteria, determine that the electronic device has a second orientation (slipped or shifted) different from the first orientation (correct position) of the electronic device in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position (column 7, lines 7-29).
Therefore, 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 processing circuitry of Miller by configuring it to cause the electronic device to determine that the electronic device has a first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, and configure it to determine that the electronic device has a second orientation that is different from the first orientation in accordance with a determination that the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more second criteria that are different from the first criteria in order to alert a user that the electronic device has slipped or shifted from a proper position, which Miller suggests is desirable.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4, 7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, and 20 are 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:
The prior art of record does not disclose or suggest the following in combination with the remaining limitations of the claims:
An electronic device, wherein determining the one or more temperature gradients using the first temperature data and the second temperature data includes determining a first set of the one or more temperature gradients along a first axis in the electronic device (claim 2); wherein determining the first orientation of the electronic device includes determining the portion of the user based on at least the one or more temperature gradients (claim 7); wherein the one or more first criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients of the one or more determined temperature gradients in a direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a positive value, and the one or more second criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients in the direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a negative value (claim 8); and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in accordance with a determination that the third temperature data satisfies one or more third criteria and the one or more temperature gradients satisfy the one or more first criteria, determine the first orientation of the electronic device, and in accordance with a determination that the third temperature data does not satisfy the one or more third criteria and the one or more temperature gradients satisfy one or more first criteria, determine the second orientation of the electronic device (claim 13).
A method wherein the step of determining the one or more temperature gradients using the first temperature data and the second temperature data includes determining a first set of the one or more temperature gradients along a first axis in the electronic device (claim 15); and wherein the one or more first criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients of the one or more determined temperature gradients in a direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a positive value, and the one or more second criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients in the direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a negative value (claim 18).
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein the one or more first criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients of the one or more determined temperature gradients in a direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a positive value, and the one or more second criteria include a criterion that is satisfied when a set of temperature gradients in the direction corresponding to from the first location to the second location has a negative value (claim 20).
Conclusion
The references made of record and not relied upon by the examiner are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure by disclosing an electronic device that determines temperature gradients, but do not disclose the allowable subject matter stated above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MIRELLYS JAGAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2247. The examiner can normally be reached Tuesday-Friday 8-6.
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/MIRELLYS JAGAN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
4/13/26
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