Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/737,082

ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC DATA DETECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD

Non-Final OA §101
Filed
Jun 07, 2024
Examiner
MORALES, JON ERIC C
Art Unit
3796
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
85%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 85% — above average
85%
Career Allow Rate
1057 granted / 1238 resolved
+15.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+9.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
1277
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.8%
-36.2% vs TC avg
§103
34.1%
-5.9% vs TC avg
§102
34.7%
-5.3% vs TC avg
§112
6.6%
-33.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1238 resolved cases

Office Action

§101
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 § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claim 1-11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception without significantly more. The judicial exception being an abstract idea. The claim(s) recite(s) electrodes a memory and processor that generate and selecting difference signals similar to Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Electronics for Imaging, Inc., 758 F.3d 1344, 1350, 111 USPQ2d 1717, 1721 (Fed. Cir. 2014) which was directed generating first and second data by taking existing information, manipulating the data using mathematical functions, and organizing this information into a new form and found to be patent ineligible. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because when the claims are considered as a whole, there is no element or combination of elements in the claims that are sufficient to ensure that the claims amount to significantly more that the abstract idea itself. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the claims fail to recite any improvements to another technology or technical field, improvements to the functioning of the processor itself, and/or meaningful limitation beyond generally link the use of an abstract idea to a particular environment (i.e. there is not structural relationship between the abstract idea of selecting difference signals). The use of a processor, circuit and electrodes is merely generic. Therefore, because there is no meaningful limitations in the claim to transform the exception into a patent eligible application such that the claim amounts to significantly more than the exception itself, the claim is rejected under 35 USC 101 as being directed to non-statutory subject matter. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20110125002 A1 Ershov; Sergey et al. US 20170224243 A1 Katra; Rodolphe et al. The prior arts disclose generating difference signals from multiple sets of electrodes but is lacking specfically the second difference signal being optimum for measurement of the heartbeat among the multiple difference signals generated from signals of the multiple electrodes remaining by excluding, from the multiple electrodes, a pair of first electrodes that output original signals of the first difference signal. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JON ERIC C MORALES whose telephone number is (571)272-3107. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 830AM-530PM CST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, David Hamaoui can be reached at 571-270-5625. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JON ERIC C MORALES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796 /J.C.M/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3796
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 07, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 12, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §101 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
85%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+9.8%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1238 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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