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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered, and the Non-Final Rejection mailed on 04/07/2026 has been withdrawn, but the claims are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Ang et al (US 2018/0153430) in view of Villarreal et al (US 2020/0129081).
As to claims 1-4, 8, 9, 11-14 and 18, Ang teaches an Electromyography (EMG) system (system shown in fig.1 and/or fig.10-16, abstract) containing:
an Electromyography (EMG) sensor installed in an electronic device (EMG electrodes/sensors 826 having electrodes 873-877 installed in electronic wrist device 802, par.91-par.116, fig.10 and 16), the EMG sensor containing:
electrodes (electrodes 873 and 875 facing the wrist, par.116, fig.10 and 16) adapted to be attached to an external surface of skin of a limb, and configured to sense signals from the external surface of the skin (par.91-117, fig.10-16);
a first amplifier (instrumentation amplifier 879 the output of which is the value of the difference of the electrical potentials at the two electrodes of the differential pair, par.118, fig.16) coupled to the electrodes, and configured to generate a first amplified signal based on a differential signal associated with the electrodes;
a second amplifier (gain amplifier 888, par.123, fig.16) coupled to the first amplifier, and configured to generate a second amplified signal based on the first amplified signal;
a second filter (notch filter 874 coupled between electrodes 873-875 and amplifier 87, par.118, fig.16) coupled to each electrode of the electrodes and the first amplifier, and configured to provide, to the first amplifier, the differential signal associated with the electrodes based on the sensed signals,
wherein the second filter is further configured to reject at a specific time instant, a common signal associated with the electrodes based on the sensed signals (par.118); and
further containing a third filter (band pass filter 884 coupled between amplifier 879 and amplifier 888, par.122, fig.16) coupled to the first amplifier and the second amplifier, and configured to provide the first amplified signal to the second amplifier such that the first amplified signal has a predefined frequency (par.122),
generate an output signal (generating processed digital signal values 868 received from the electrodes, par.14-116, fig.16); and
control circuitry (processor 866, par.114-116, fig.16 and/or circuit board 808 holding electronic components, par.92, par.101 and par.113, fig.10-16) coupled to the EMG sensor and configured to control an operation of the electronic device based on the output signal (the EMG output signal is used to control stimulation of a muscle, par.155, par.169, machine learning component identifies control sequences or tracks body motions based on the processed bio-potential signals, abstract, and control of a device or process based on the data values or characterizations (e.g., gestures or intent) derived by the technology, par.177-186), and
configured to process the output of the EMG system for clinical analysis and electronic control units (par.177-186).
Still, regarding claims 1-4, 8, 9, 11-14 and 18, Ang discloses the invention substantially as claimed above, but failed to explicitly teach a first filter coupled to the second amplifier, and configured to reject high-frequency noise from the second amplified signal to generate an output signal.
However, Villarreal teaches EEG measuring system (abstract) in the same filed of endeavor of measuring biological parameters, wherein each amplifier (amplifier 300 used for amplifying EEG signals recorded from a patient's brain) is coupled/includes a filter (low pass filter 308 filters out high frequency noise, par.72, fig.3), wherein the filter configured to generate an output signal (par.46 and par.72).
Since Ang’s invention teaches using multiple filters in EMG/EEG signal processing system, 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. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8, so it would have been obvious to one having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include another filter to generate a filtered biological signal to the output circuit/controller in Aug’s invention, as taught by Villarreal’s invention, for the same purpose of generating more accurate biological signal free from noise artefacts, as taught by Villarreals invention (par.72).
As to claims 5 and 15, Ang teaches the Electromyography (EMG) system and sensor, wherein the predefined frequency is in a range from about 1 Hertz (Hz) to about 500 Hz (par.118 and par.122).
As to claims 6 and 16, Ang teaches the Electromyography (EMG) system and sensor, further containing a reference electrode adapted to be attached to a reference point at the external surface of the skin and configured to provide a reference signal such that the sensed signals are measured with respect to the reference signal (a ground potential at a third electrode 877 positioned at a reference point of the wrist, as best seen in fig.10-11 and 16, par.116, par.118 and par.120).
As to claims 7 and 17, Ang in view of Stordopoulos fails to teach wherein the first amplifier has (i) a gain in a range of about 100-1000 and (ii) a large input impedance in a range of 100-1000 Mega-ohms or higher. However, it would have been obvious to one having an ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have the amplifier to have a gain in a range of about 100-1000 and (ii) a large input impedance in a range of 100-1000 Mega-ohms or higher, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art, In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
As to claims 10 and 19, Ang teaches the Electromyography (EMG) system and sensor, wherein each electrode of the electrodes is selected from one of, a silver-plated copper electrode and an aluminum electrode (electrodes can be formed of a variety of metals, metal alloys, or conductive materials, but certain ones are more effective than others. Regarding metal and metal alloy, silvers, coppers, golds, aluminums, zincs, nickels, and brasses are several of the more conductive ones, or silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl), par.106).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAY A ABOUELELA whose telephone number is (571)270-7917. The examiner can normally be reached 8-5.
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/MAY A ABOUELELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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