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 § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stewart et al. (US 2019/0063864 A1 hereinafter Stewart) in view of Lee (US 7,292,026 B2 hereinafter Lee).
As to claim 1, Stewart discloses in Figs. 1 and 6, a sensor device (see telematics sensor 102 in Fig. 1, which is the overall sensor device attached to holster 104; abstract describes the sensor device for detecting holstering), comprising: a control unit (see companion circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, which includes processing and calibration components for controlling sensing operations); and a sensing module electrically connected with the control unit, the sensing module comprising a reference coil set and an induction coil set (see inductive coil 602 in Fig. 6 as part of the sensing module on circuit board 604, configured as a dual-antenna/coil system where one coil/antenna acts as ambient/reference and the other as proximity/induction for inductive coupling or dielectric-shift sensing); wherein the sensor device is disposed on a side of an object, the induction coil set of the sensing module is adjacent to the object, and the reference coil set is distant from the object and provides a reference level (see sensor 102 in Fig. 1 disposed on the side/exterior of holster/object 104 via interposer, with the proximity induction coil positioned adjacent/closer to the holstered firearm barrel/asset, and the ambient reference coil positioned further/distant for baseline measurement); wherein the control unit determines whether a metal item on another side of the object is present based on a physical quantity difference between a sensing value generated by the induction coil set and the reference level provided by the reference coil set (see companion circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, which processes differential signals from the dual coils to detect presence/absence of the metal firearm/item via changes in dielectric/inductance between proximity and ambient/reference coils, with software compensation for environmental effects).
Stewart does not explicitly disclose wherein an inductive area of the reference coil set is smaller than an inductive area of the induction coil set.
However, Lee teaches an analogous inductive position sensor with a reference coil set and an induction coil set (see reference coil (DD) and receiver/transmitter coil (RE/DE) in Fig. 1B as part of the differential inductive sensing system, also shown in the overall sensor assembly in Fig. 2), wherein an inductive area of the reference coil set is smaller than an inductive area of the induction coil set (see reference coil DD in Fig. 1B configured with a smaller inside diameter (DDi) relative to the transmitter/induction coil's outside diameter (DEo), creating a reduced effective inductive area through self-cancellation structure for noise reduction; the differential structure in Fig. 1B results in induced voltages canceling to near zero, making the sensitive area effectively smaller and independent of position but adjustable with gap for compensation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Stewart's reference coil set to have a smaller inductive area than the induction coil set, as taught by Lee, in order to enhance noise cancellation and baseline compensation for environmental variations (e.g., humidity or gap tolerances), as Stewart already employs differential compensation for similar effects like water/humidity disrupting fields, and Lee's structure provides automatic correction for common mode noise, EMI, and mechanical tolerances without altering primary detection sensitivity. This modification is a predictable use of known differential coil designs in inductive sensors to improve accuracy in variable environments, such as law enforcement holsters.
As to claim 2, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 1.
Stewart further discloses wherein the reference coil set comprises two first coils disposed on two sides of a first substrate (see inductive coil 602 in Fig. 6 on circuit board/substrate 604, configured as ambient/reference with possible multi-layer traces or opposing side placements for differential sensing in the dual-antenna setup), the induction coil set comprises two second coils disposed on two sides of a second substrate (see inductive coil 602 in Fig. 6 similarly on circuit board/substrate 604, configured as proximity/induction with multi-layer or opposing side placements), and the reference coil set and the induction coil set are arranged in a stacked structure (see circuit board 604 in Fig. 6 with integrated/stacked coil and circuitry layers for compact sensor design; the dual coils are part of the stacked or multi-layer PCB structure in the sensor assembly).
To the extent not explicit, Lee teaches stacked coil arrangements on substrates (see coils DD, RE, DE in Fig. 1B arranged in axial/stacked configuration on planar structures for differential operation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the coils in a stacked structure on substrates as taught by the combination, for the same reasons as claim 1, to achieve compact, noise-resistant sensing in a holster-mounted device (see sensor 102 in Stewart's Fig. 1).
As to claim 3, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 2.
Stewart further discloses wherein the physical quantity difference is an inductance change between the induction coil set and the reference coil set (see differential changes processed by circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, based on inductance/dielectric shifts between the dual coils in the sensing module), and the control unit determines whether the metal item is present according to an electrical signal formed by the inductance change (see companion circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, where software processes the differential electrical signal from the coils to detect metal presence, with the signal varying higher/lower based on proximity).
As to claim 4, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 1.
Stewart further discloses further comprising a communication unit that is electrically connected with the control unit (see companion circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, which includes integrated wireless communication components, e.g., Bluetooth, connected to the control), wherein the communication unit is used to transmit a trigger signal generated by the control unit based on the physical quantity difference (see circuitry 606 in Fig. 6 transmitting trigger signals from sensor 102 in Fig. 1, based on differential sensing results, to external devices like cameras for unholstering/holstering events).
As to claim 5, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 4.
Stewart further discloses further comprising a power unit that is electrically connected with the control unit (see battery/power source integrated with circuitry 606 in Fig. 6, connected to the control for power management), wherein the power unit is controlled by the control unit to supply current signals to the sensing module, such that the induction coil set and the reference coil set are enabled to induce magnetic fields (see power supplied via circuitry 606 in Fig. 6 to coil 602 for pulse induction or VLF operations, generating magnetic fields under control-adjusted frequencies).
As to claim 6, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 5.
Stewart further discloses wherein the sensing module of the sensor device implements a proximity sensor or a differential inductive switch (see inductive coil 602 and circuitry 606 in Fig. 6 implementing proximity/differential inductive or dielectric-shift sensing/switching for asset detection); wherein the power unit supplies the current signals to the reference coil set and the induction coil set of the sensing module, and the reference coil set and the induction coil set form two different effective sensing ranges for respectively generating a reference inductance and an inductive inductance (see power from circuitry 606 in Fig. 6 enabling the dual coils to produce fields with different ranges: ambient/reference coil for wider baseline inductance, proximity/induction coil for targeted/close-range inductive inductance).
As to claim 7, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 6.
The combination discloses wherein the inductive area of the reference coil set is smaller than the inductive area of the induction coil set for reducing an inductance change generated when the metal item approaches the reference coil set (as modified by Lee's reference coil DD in Fig. 1B with smaller area to reduce sensitivity and unwanted changes; this aligns with Stewart's ambient/reference coil in Fig. 6 for compensation against distant environmental effects like humidity, reducing interference from approaching metal).
As to claim 8, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 1.
Stewart further discloses wherein the metal item approaches or moves away from a side of the induction coil set, inductances formed by the induction coil set and the reference coil set are subject to change, and the inductance of the induction coil set is lower or higher than the inductance of the reference coil set, so as to generate the physical quantity difference received by the sensing module and output a sensing result (see metal firearm/item interacting with proximity coil near sensor 102 in Fig. 1 and coil 602 in Fig. 6, causing inductance changes relative to the ambient/reference coil, generating a higher/lower differential for output results like holstering status via circuitry 606).
As to claim 9, Stewart in view of Lee discloses the sensor device according to claim 8.
Stewart further discloses wherein the control unit performs a clock control through pulse-width modulation, so as to implement a frequency control and enable the sensing module to detect inductance values generated by the induction coil set and the reference coil set (see companion circuitry 606 in Fig. 6 using timing/PWM-like control for pulse induction at adjustable frequencies, enabling clocked sampling and detection of inductance values from the dual coils).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-20 allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claims 10-20, the prior art in record alone or in combination does not disclose wherein an inductive area of the reference coil set is smaller than an inductive area of the induction coil set, the induction coil set of the sensing module is adjacent to the holster, and the reference coil set is distant from the holster; wherein the control unit determines whether the sensing metal disposed on the gun is present in the holster based on a physical quantity difference between a sensing value generated by the induction coil set and a reference level provided by the reference coil set, as recited in claim 10-15; and wherein the sensing metal approaches or moves away from a side of the induction coil set, an inductance generated by the induction coil set is lower or higher than an inductance generated by the reference coil set, and the sensing module receives the physical quantity difference and outputs a sensing result; wherein when the sensing result shows that the gun is pulled out of the holster, the control unit transmits a trigger signal to the communication module of the recording device, so as to activate the photographing module to start recording, as recited in claims 16-20
Conclusion
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/TUNG X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 2/20/2026