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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 7/20/24 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. The NPL “NFC for wireless charging” was not submitted and has not been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim refers to "enable I2C communication" - the acronym I2C should be written in full expanded form denoting what the acronym corresponds to.. 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.
Claims 18 and 20 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.
Regarding claim 18, the claim recites that the ring body is constructed from “ a partially metallic material or a non-metal.” This language is indefinite as it is unclear as to what partially metallic or non-metal encompasses.
Regarding claim 20, the preamble recites “the method as claimed in claim 18.” However, Claim 18 is a system claim and not a method claim. This renders the claim indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-17, 19, 21 are allowed.
Claims 18 and 20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the closest prior art (SU) discloses a wearable ring device which includes a physiological sensor to determine whether the user is wearing the ring device. Su also discloses the use of NFC or wireless charging supported by a single antenna structure. Ryu discloses changing a wireless charging mode based on a user's status (sleeping or active). However, none of the cited prior art discloses nor fairly suggests using the physiological sensor to control switching between the wireless charging mode and the NFC communication mode based on the signal output from the physiological sensor..
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Priyantha (9,696,802) discloses a ring which senses communication for NFC devices and has a low-power mode.
Li (11,764,619) discloses charging and NFC communication windows in a wireless ring.
Su (2023/0134920) discloses a smart ring that has a physiological sensor and the ability to turn on and off wireless/NFC communications based on user request.
Ryu (2023/131461) discloses sensing a user status of a device, and adjusting the charging protocol depending on the user status.
Min (2022/0256984) discloses a wearable ring that supports NFC communication and physiological sensors.
Yu (CN 112471712) discloses a wearable ring that has NFC communications and sensing of user data.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM GEORGE TROST IV whose telephone number is (571)272-7872. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7a-4p, Fridays 7a-2p.
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WILLIAM GEORGE TROST IV
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2641
/WILLIAM G TROST IV/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641
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