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 .
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 1-7 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.
Claim 1 recites “a processing section configured to acquire a distance between two points among the multiple occupancy sensors in advance to store the distance in the storage section, store reaction time as reaction data in the storage section in a case where any of the multiple occupancy sensors reacts, and calculate a movement distance of the monitoring target person per unit time based on data stored in the storage section.” It is not clear what “in advance” is related to and is therefore indefinite. Claims 1, 7 recite “store reaction time as reaction data in the storage section in a case where any of the multiple occupancy sensors reacts” It is not clear what the metes and mounds are for “in a case”, since a broadest reasonable interpretation would include a case where such a situation in not required and thus the claim would not be limiting and is therefore indefinite. Claim 4 recites “wherein the multiple occupancy sensors are respectively provided in multiple rooms of the house, and the processing section in configured to, in a case where any of the multiple occupancy sensors reacts, counts the number of times of entries of the monitoring target person into each room to store the number of times of entries in the storage section.” It is not clear what the metes and mounds are for “in a case”, since a broadest reasonable interpretation would include a case where such a situation in not required and thus the claim would not be limiting and is therefore indefinite. Claim 6 recites “to output a warning in a case where the number of times of entries into the room decreases by a predetermined number of times or more in time series. It is not clear what the metes and mounds are for “in a case”, since a broadest reasonable interpretation would include a case where such a situation in not required and thus the claim would not be limiting and is therefore indefinite. Claims that depend on the above rejected claims are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ota JPH10257204 A.
With respect to Claim 1 Ota teaches A behavior monitoring system configured to monitor a behavior of a monitoring target person living in a house, the behavior monitoring system comprising (See Abstract To provide a remote daily behavior confirmation device that monitors the health of a resident and ensures the safety): a detection section installed in the house and including multiple occupancy sensors configured to detect the monitoring target person in a non-contact manner in detection ranges different with each other (See Para[0006] A living activity remote confirmation apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a plurality of sensor means for detecting the presence of a person in a house to be monitored and around the house, and a home monitor processing means. And Para[0015] In the present invention, in addition to the sensor shown in FIG. 2, various types of sensors such as a photoelectric tube, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser light reflection type sensor, and a capacitance type sensor can be used. There are various methods for connecting to the sensor. Sensors connected by cables can be further divided into several types depending on the types of signals transmitted and received. If there is intelligence on the sensor side, RS-232C, RS-422, R A standardized communication method such as S-485 or CSMA method LAN can be used. In the case of a sensor that simply turns on and off like the door switch 28, the signal of the sensor is converted to a voltage level and read directly by the interface circuit. In the case of a sensor having a continuous signal level, the sensor signal is converted into digital data through an analog-digital converter and then read. Further, for a sensor having a built-in wireless transmitting / receiving device, wireless transmission can be performed using, for example, a specific low-power wireless transmitting / receiving device.); a storage section configured to store data; (See Para[0010] Reference numeral 12 is used as a work area or a data buffer. The RAM 12 is backed up by a battery 13 so that past detection data and the like are not erased even when a power failure or the like occurs. Note that an EEPROM (flash ROM) may be used instead of using the RAM backed up by a battery.)and a processing section configured (See Para[0010] The CPU 10 is the home monitor device) to acquire a distance between two points among the multiple occupancy sensors in advance to store the distance in the storage section, store reaction time as reaction data in the storage section in a case where any of the multiple occupancy sensors reacts, and calculate a movement distance of the monitoring target person per unit time based on data stored in the storage section (See Para[0018],[0020,[0027] and Fig 8. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of "in-home moving distance" which is another index. The amount of movement in the house can be obtained from the above-mentioned transition matrix and the distance between the places where the sensors are installed. The distance traveled per day indicates whether the elderly alone are active. The amount of movement (distance) may gradually decrease due to a decrease in athletic ability or mental instability.). (Examiner notes that in a case is not viewed as a positive recitation and therefore not given patentable weight.) With respect to Claim 2 Ota teaches The behavior monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the processing section is further configured to compare an increase or decrease in the movement distance per unit time in time series. (See Para[0018],[0020,[0027]) With respect to Claim 3 Ota teaches The behavior monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising: an output section configured to output a warning in a case where the movement distance per unit time decreases by a predetermined distance or more in time series. (See Para[0006] . An index for determining the living behavior of the resident is obtained from the information output means and the data detected by the plurality of sensor means, and a current index is compared with a past index to satisfy a predetermined condition. If not, it is characterized by including a home monitor processing means for judging "not normal" and outputting information "not normal" to the information output means. Further, the living activity remote confirmation system of the present invention includes a communication control device connected to a public communication network as information output means, and transmits the “unusual” information to a remote center device. ) With respect to Claim 4 Ota teaches The behavior monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the multiple occupancy sensors are respectively provided in multiple rooms of the house, and the processing section in configured to, in a case where any of the multiple occupancy sensors reacts, counts the number of times of entries of the monitoring target person into each room to store the number of times of entries in the storage section. (See Fig 4 and 6 and The thermal sensor 23 is, for example, a sensor device having intelligence, and is installed in each room or passage in a house as shown in FIG) With respect to Claim 5 Ota teaches The behavior monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the processing section is further configured to compare an increase or decrease in the number of times of entries into each room in time series. (See Fig 6 and 7) With respect to Claim 6 Ota teaches The behavior monitoring system according to claim 5, further comprising: an output section configured to output a warning (See Fig 9 and Para[0006]-[0030] With the above configuration and operation, for example, the daily behavior of a solitary elderly person is monitored, and when the detected behavior pattern is different from the normal behavior pattern, this change is reliably detected and reported to the center. If not, it is characterized by including a home monitor processing means for judging "not normal" and outputting information "not normal" to the information output means.If you stay in the toilet for more than an hour and do not move, you can definitely consider it an abnormal situation. Therefore, Set a maximum stay time for each location in advance, If it exceeds this, it is determined that "it is not normal". These indicators are measured unknowingly by the elderly. In the home monitor device 1, only one index may be employed, but a plurality of indices may be calculated at appropriate intervals, and it may be determined whether or not each index is normal. For example, “transition matrix” and “distribution function” are every 10 minutes, the amount of movement is every 24 hours, and “stay time” is 1 )in a case where the number of times of entries into the room decreases by a predetermined number of times or more in time series. (Examiner notes that in a case is not viewed as a positive recitation and therefore not given patentable weight.) With respect to Claim 7 Ota teaches A behavior monitoring method of monitoring a behavior of a monitoring target person living in a house, the behavior monitoring method comprising: (See Abstract To provide a remote daily behavior confirmation device that monitors the health of a resident and ensures the safety): detecting the monitoring target person by using multiple detection units in the house; (See Para[0006] A living activity remote confirmation apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a plurality of sensor means for detecting the presence of a person in a house to be monitored and around the house, and a home monitor processing means. And Para[0015] In the present invention, in addition to the sensor shown in FIG. 2, various types of sensors such as a photoelectric tube, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser light reflection type sensor, and a capacitance type sensor can be used. There are various methods for connecting to the sensor. Sensors connected by cables can be further divided into several types depending on the types of signals transmitted and received. If there is intelligence on the sensor side, RS-232C, RS-422, R A standardized communication method such as S-485 or CSMA method LAN can be used. In the case of a sensor that simply turns on and off like the door switch 28, the signal of the sensor is converted to a voltage level and read directly by the interface circuit. In the case of a sensor having a continuous signal level, the sensor signal is converted into digital data through an analog-digital converter and then read. Further, for a sensor having a built-in wireless transmitting / receiving device, wireless transmission can be performed using, for example, a specific low-power wireless transmitting / receiving device.); acquiring a distance between two points among the multiple detection units in advance to store the distance in a storage section; and (See Para[0018],[0020,[0027] and Fig 8. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of "in-home moving distance" which is another index. The amount of movement in the house can be obtained from the above-mentioned transition matrix and the distance between the places where the sensors are installed. The distance traveled per day indicates whether the elderly alone are active. The amount of movement (distance) may gradually decrease due to a decrease in athletic ability or mental instability.). storing reaction time as reaction data in the storage section in a case where any of the multiple detection units reacts, and calculating a movement distance of the monitoring target person per unit time based on data stored in the storage section. (See Para[0018],[0020,[0027] and Fig 8. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of "in-home moving distance" which is another index. The amount of movement in the house can be obtained from the above-mentioned transition matrix and the distance between the places where the sensors are installed. The distance traveled per day indicates whether the elderly alone are active. The amount of movement (distance) may gradually decrease due to a decrease in athletic ability or mental instability.). (Examiner notes that in a case is not viewed as a positive recitation and therefore not given patentable weight.)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YOSHIHISA ISHIZUKA whose telephone number is (571)270-7050. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 11:00-7:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Catherine Rastovski can be reached at (571) 270-0349. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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YOSHIHISA . ISHIZUKA
Examiner
Art Unit 2857
/YOSHIHISA ISHIZUKA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
Prosecution Insights