DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
In the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, claims 1-20 have been considered and examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 08/26/2024 are in compliance with the provision of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by Examiner.
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 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schrock et al. (Schrock – US 2010/0063779 A1) in view of Arora et al. (Arora – US 2022/0180725 A1).
As to claim 1, Schrock discloses a footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system comprising:
a shoe (Schrock: FIG. 1-2 the shoe 100) comprising:
a data gathering module (Schrock: [0052]-[0056], [0071], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16: The sensor system 12 includes a force sensor assembly 13, having a plurality of sensors 16, and a communication or output port 14 in communication with the sensor assembly 13 (e.g., electrically connected via conductors). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the system 12 has four sensors 16: a first sensor 16A at the big toe (first phalange) area of the shoe, two sensors 16B-C at the forefoot area of the shoe, including a second sensor 16B at the first metatarsal head region and a third sensor 16C at the fifth metatarsal head region, and a fourth sensor 16D at the heel.);
a data storage module (Schrock: [0070]-[0071], [0123], and FIG. 6 the memory 204: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system);
a communication module (Schrock: [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 6 the TX-RX element 106: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system); and
a microprocessor (Schrock: [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 6 the processing system 202: The electronic component 22 of this example further includes a processing system 202 (e.g., one or more microprocessors), a memory system 204, and a power supply 206 (e.g., a battery or other power source)); and
a first mobile device (Schrock: FIG. 6 the external device 110) comprising:
a data analysis module (Schrock: [0014]-[0015], [0066], [0074], [0109]-[0110], and FIG. 6: the sole structure 130 can be provided with multiple foot contacting members 133 having sensor assemblies 513 in different configurations. These other foot contacting members 133 can be removed and interchanged by removing the foot contacting member 133 and replacing it with another foot contacting member 133 having sensors 516 in a different configuration. This allows a single article of footwear to be used with different sensor 516 configurations as desired, for different applications, including programs running on the external device 110, as described above);
a communication module (Schrock: [0074], [0117], and FIG. 6 the transmitting/receiving element 108);
wherein:
the data gathering module comprises a plurality of sensors wherein said plurality of sensors comprises a light sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056] and FIG. 3-6: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc.), a load sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056]: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc., [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16), and a temperature sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056], [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system)
the communication module of the shoe comprising a wireless communication device wherein said wireless communication device is a data transmitter and receiver (Schrock: [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 6 the TX-RX element 106: the module 22 may interface with the port 14 and/or sensors 16 through the TX-RX element 106. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the module 22 may be external to the footwear 100, and the port 14 may comprise a wireless transmitter interface for communication with the module 22. The electronic component 22 of this example further includes a processing system 202 (e.g., one or more microprocessors), a memory system 204, and a power supply 206 (e.g., a battery or other power source));
the plurality of sensors communicate data to the microcontroller (Schrock: [0052]-[0056], [0071], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16 in communication with the processing system 202: The sensor system 12 includes a force sensor assembly 13, having a plurality of sensors 16, and a communication or output port 14 in communication with the sensor assembly 13 (e.g., electrically connected via conductors). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the system 12 has four sensors 16: a first sensor 16A at the big toe (first phalange) area of the shoe, two sensors 16B-C at the forefoot area of the shoe, including a second sensor 16B at the first metatarsal head region and a third sensor 16C at the fifth metatarsal head region, and a fourth sensor 16D at the heel.).
Schrock does not explicitly disclose the microcontroller communicates data collected by the plurality of sensors to a cloud network; the first mobile device comprises a computer executable method by which said data retrieved from the cloud network and processed.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring conditions of a user to implement the microcontroller communicates data collected by the plurality of sensors to a cloud network; the first mobile device comprises a computer executable method by which said data retrieved from the cloud network and processed, as suggested by Arora, which discloses
the microcontroller communicates data collected by the plurality of sensors to a cloud network (Arora: [0026]-[0027], [0029], [0031]-[0034], [0039]-[0041], [0045]-[0050], and FIG. 9 the cloud server 122);
the first mobile device comprises a computer executable method by which said data retrieved from the cloud network and processed (Arora: [0026]-[0027], [0029], [0031]-[0034], [0039]-[0041], [0045]-[0050], and FIG. 9 the cloud server 122: the system 100 can include a cloud server 122 that is remote from the wearable device 120 and that can confirm or reject the hazard, monitor the hazard for positive or detrimental changes, solicit feedback from the user of the wearable device 120 to confirm or reject the hazard, and initiate various mitigation measures based on the current severity of the hazard. For example, in some embodiments, the cloud server 122 can send different alert levels to various notification devices 124 and, when the alert level is critical, can send a notification to an emergency provider).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock and Arora, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor system of Schrock to include the microcontroller communicates data collected by the plurality of sensors to a cloud network; the first mobile device comprises a computer executable method by which said data retrieved from the cloud network and processed, as suggested by Arora. The motivation for this is to implement a known alternative system for processing data and providing feedback using sensing information from wearable devices.
As to claim 2, Schrock and Arora disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056] and FIG. 3-6: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc.) is positioned within an interior portion of the shoe (Schrock: [0052]-[0056], [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16: in one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc).
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schrock et al. (Schrock – US 2010/0063779 A1) in view of Arora et al. (Arora – US 2022/0180725 A1) and further in view of Case, Jr. et al. (Case – US 2007/0006489 A1).
As to claim 3, Schrock and Arora disclose the limitations of claim 1 except for the claimed limitations of the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of floor sensor wherein said floor sensors gathers data to determine the presence of a ground surface.
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring activities/conditions of a user to implement a plurality of floor sensor wherein said floor sensors gathers data to determine the presence of a ground surface, as suggested by Case, which discloses a plurality of floor sensor wherein said floor sensors (Case: [0038], [0054], [0075], [0079], and FIG. 2 the sensing device 204: The sensing device that supplies signals to the control system and/or the monitoring system may be of any suitable or desired form without departing from the invention, including, for example, pressure sensors, force transducers, Hall effect sensor systems, strain gauges, piezoelectric elements, load cells, proximity sensors, optical sensors, accelerometers, capacitance sensors, inductance sensors, ultrasonic transducer and receiver systems, radio frequency transmitter and receiver systems, magneto-resistive elements, etc.) gathers data to determine the presence of a ground surface (Case: Abstract, [0029], [0035]-[0036], [0054], [0073], [0081]-[0082], [0090], FIG. 2, and FIG. 6-7: As a more specific example, one or more features relating to contact between an article of footwear and a contact surface or a user's foot may be sensed as the article of footwear is used (e.g., as the user steps down), such as one or more of the various features described above in connection with FIGS. 1-9 (e.g., contact pressure, midsole compression, degree of flex, degree of slip or slide, etc.). The sensed information may be fed to a control system, which in turn may send signals to another device e.g., to change a configuration of the article of footwear to thereby control a characteristic of the article of footwear when appropriate (e.g., when the sensed parameters fall within a predetermined range, when they fall above or below threshold values, depending on a predetermined algorithm, etc.). Optionally, user input may be provided and used, at least in part, to set one or more of the characteristics and/or parameters associated with setting the characteristic(s). The changed characteristic(s) may include, for example: changing impact attenuation characteristics, changing traction characteristics, changing flexibility characteristics, changing fit characteristics, changing securing system tightness characteristics, etc).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, and Case, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor system of Schrock and Arora to include a plurality of floor sensor wherein said floor sensors gathers data to determine the presence of a ground surface, as suggested by Case. The motivation for this is to monitor activities of a user based on sensing information.
As to claim 4, Schrock, Arora, and Case disclose the limitations of claim 3 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plurality of floor sensors are flex sensors (Case: Abstract, [0029], [0035]-[0036], [0038], [0054], [0073], [0075], [0079], [0081]-[0082], [0090], FIG. 2 the sensing device 204, and FIG. 6-7: As a more specific example, one or more features relating to contact between an article of footwear and a contact surface or a user's foot may be sensed as the article of footwear is used (e.g., as the user steps down), such as one or more of the various features described above in connection with FIGS. 1-9 (e.g., contact pressure, midsole compression, degree of flex, degree of slip or slide, etc.). The sensed information may be fed to a control system, which in turn may send signals to another device e.g., to change a configuration of the article of footwear to thereby control a characteristic of the article of footwear when appropriate (e.g., when the sensed parameters fall within a predetermined range, when they fall above or below threshold values, depending on a predetermined algorithm, etc.). Optionally, user input may be provided and used, at least in part, to set one or more of the characteristics and/or parameters associated with setting the characteristic(s). The changed characteristic(s) may include, for example: changing impact attenuation characteristics, changing traction characteristics, changing flexibility characteristics, changing fit characteristics, changing securing system tightness characteristics, etc).
As to claim 5, Schrock, Arora, and Case disclose the limitations of claim 3 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plurality of floor sensors are ultrasonic sensors (Case: Abstract, [0029], [0035]-[0036], [0038], [0054], [0073], [0075], [0079], [0081]-[0082], [0090], FIG. 2 the sensing device 204, and FIG. 6-7: the sensing device that supplies signals to the control system and/or the monitoring system may be of any suitable or desired form without departing from the invention, including, for example, pressure sensors, force transducers, Hall effect sensor systems, strain gauges, piezoelectric elements, load cells, proximity sensors, optical sensors, accelerometers, capacitance sensors, inductance sensors, ultrasonic transducer and receiver systems, radio frequency transmitter and receiver systems, magneto-resistive elements, etc.).
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schrock et al. (Schrock – US 2010/0063779 A1) in view of Arora et al. (Arora – US 2022/0180725 A1) and Case, Jr. et al. (Case – US 2007/0006489 A1) and further in view of Kurata (Kurata – US 2020/0388136 A1).
As to claim 6, Schrock, Arora, and Case disclose the limitations of claim 3 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 3, wherein the data gathering module further comprises an ultrasonic sensor (Case: Abstract, [0029], [0035]-[0036], [0038], [0054], [0073], [0075], [0079], [0081]-[0082], [0090], FIG. 2 the sensing device 204, and FIG. 6-7: the sensing device that supplies signals to the control system and/or the monitoring system may be of any suitable or desired form without departing from the invention, including, for example, pressure sensors, force transducers, Hall effect sensor systems, strain gauges, piezoelectric elements, load cells, proximity sensors, optical sensors, accelerometers, capacitance sensors, inductance sensors, ultrasonic transducer and receiver systems, radio frequency transmitter and receiver systems, magneto-resistive elements, etc.), a geo-positioning device (Schrock: [0071], [0110], FIG. 3-6, and FIG. 22: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc.), and a vibration sensor (Schrock: [0071], [0110], [0117], and FIG. 1: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system. The additional sensor(s), if present, may also include an accelerometer (e.g., for sensing direction changes during steps, such as for pedometer type speed and/or distance information, for sensing jump height, etc.) and Case: [0038], [0054], [0057], [0076], [0078], and FIG. 7 the sensing devices 602: As a more specific example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, an article of footwear 600 may be equipped with one or more sensing devices 602, such as an accelerometer and/or other devices, that is positioned so as to be capable of sensing when a user's foot slides or slips in making a step. When a slip or slide is detected (e.g., more than a predetermined amount of slip or slide, as determined by an algorithm provided in a microprocessor and/or other portion of the control system 604), the microprocessor and/or other portion of the control system 604 (or another microprocessor or system) may be programmed and adapted to change one or more characteristics of the article of footwear 600 in an effort to provide better traction), except for the claimed limitations of a water detection sensor.
However, it has been known in the art of wearable devices to implement a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata, which discloses a water detection sensor (Kurata: Abstract, [0008]-[0009], [0019]-[0020], [0025]-[0026], [0030], [0070], and FIG. 7 the water detector 21: For example, the main controller 16 determines whether the power of the water detector 21, the water detection controller 22 and the inter-device communicator 23 attached to the life jacket 6, the weight detector 25, the left weight detection controller 27 and the inter-device communicator 28 attached to the left shoe 7, and the weight detector 31, the right weight detection controller 33, and the inter-device communicator 34 attached to the right shoe 8 is on, whether the battery that supplies power to these devices has a sufficient life, whether communication between the inter-device communicators 23, 28, 34 and the inter-device communicator 14 can be performed normally, or the like).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, Case, and Kurata, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor of Schrock, Arora, and Case to include a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata. The motivation for this is to determine a water fallen condition of a user.
As to claim 16, Schrock and Arora disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor (Arora: [0025], [0030], FIG. 1, and FIG. 12-13: when the abnormal condition includes the water-based hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include a water contact sensor, a humidity sensor, and/or an atmospheric pressure sensor; when the abnormal condition includes the ambient temperature hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include an ambient temperature sensor; when the abnormal condition includes the fall hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include an impact sensor and/or an accelerometer; and, when the abnormal condition includes the geo-fence breach, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include a location monitoring module), and a vibration sensor (Schrock: [0071], [0110], [0117], and FIG. 1: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system. The additional sensor(s), if present, may also include an accelerometer (e.g., for sensing direction changes during steps, such as for pedometer type speed and/or distance information, for sensing jump height, etc);
wherein:
data gathered by the light sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056] and FIG. 3-6: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc.), the load sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056]: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130. For example, the sensors 16 may be force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors or other sensors utilizing a force-sensitive resistive material (such as a quantum tunneling composite, a custom conductive foam, or a force-transducing rubber, described in more detail below), magnetic resistance sensors, piezoelectric or piezoresistive sensors, strain gauges, spring based sensors, fiber optic based sensors, polarized light sensors, mechanical actuator based sensors, displacement based sensors, and any other types of known sensors or switches capable of measuring compression of the foot contacting member 133, midsole 131, outsole 132, etc., [0069]-[0071], [0074], and FIG. 3-6 the plurality of sensors 16), and the vibration sensor (Schrock: [0071], [0110], [0117], and FIG. 1: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc., and this data may be stored in memory 204 and/or made available, for example, for transmission by the transmission/reception system 106 to some remote location or system. The additional sensor(s), if present, may also include an accelerometer (e.g., for sensing direction changes during steps, such as for pedometer type speed and/or distance information, for sensing jump height, etc.) in combination with data gathered by at least one of the water detection sensor, and the temperature sensor (Arora: Abstract, [0030], [0035]-[0036], [0039], [0042], [0057]-[0062], FIG. 1, and FIG. 14-15: in some embodiments the abnormal condition can include one or more of a water-based hazard, an ambient temperature hazard, a fall hazard, and/or a geo-fence breach. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 that detect the abnormal condition can be different depending on the specific abnormal condition) is processed to determine at least one of the following events including:
a water hazard (Arora: [0025], [0030], [0051]-[0055], and FIG. 12-13: when the abnormal condition includes the water-based hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include a water contact sensor, a humidity sensor, and/or an atmospheric pressure sensor; when the abnormal condition includes the ambient temperature hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include an ambient temperature sensor; when the abnormal condition includes the fall hazard, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include an impact sensor and/or an accelerometer; and, when the abnormal condition includes the geo-fence breach, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 can include a location monitoring module);
a temperature hazard (Arora: Abstract, [0030], [0035]-[0036], [0039], [0042], [0057]-[0062], FIG. 1, and FIG. 14-15: For example, in some embodiments the abnormal condition can include one or more of a water-based hazard, an ambient temperature hazard, a fall hazard, and/or a geo-fence breach. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the one of the plurality of sensors 126 that detect the abnormal condition can be different depending on the specific abnormal condition); and
a true fall event (Arora: [0025], [0030], [0051]-[0055], and FIG. 12-13: In particular, FIG. 12 shows portions of the method 300 carried out by the wearable device 120 and includes starting the method 300 by having the wearable device 120 monitor the plurality of sensors 126 for an abnormal condition such as a fall based anomaly, as in 302 and 304. Then, the method 300 can include the wearable device 120 detecting a fall by for example detecting a sudden change in the value of the accelerometer sensor 126C, as in 306. Next, the method 300 can include the wearable device 120 processing the values from at least the accelerometer sensor 126C with the onboard AI process to determine whether a fall based anomaly is likely occurring to the user of the wearable device 120);
upon determination of the at least one event, an alert is sent to at least one of: the first mobile device belonging to the user (Arora: [0026]-[0027], [0029], [0034], [0040]-[0041], [0046]-[0047]-[0049], [0052]-[0055], [0058]-[0061], and ); and
a second mobile device wherein said second device is a mobile device belonging to a third party (Arora: [0026]-[0027], [0029], [0031]-[0034], [0039]-[0041], [0045]-[0050], and FIG. 9 the cloud server 122: the system 100 can include a cloud server 122 that is remote from the wearable device 120 and that can confirm or reject the hazard, monitor the hazard for positive or detrimental changes, solicit feedback from the user of the wearable device 120 to confirm or reject the hazard, and initiate various mitigation measures based on the current severity of the hazard. For example, in some embodiments, the cloud server 122 can send different alert levels to various notification devices 124 and, when the alert level is critical, can send a notification to an emergency provider).
The combination of Schrock and Arora does not explicitly disclose the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor and a floor sensor;
the floor sensor determining the presence of a ground surface..
However, it has been known in the art of monitoring activities/conditions of a user to implement the plurality of sensors further comprises a floor sensor; and the floor sensor determining the presence of a ground surface, as suggested by Case, which discloses the plurality of sensors further comprises a floor sensor (Case: [0038], [0054], [0075], [0079], and FIG. 2 the sensing device 204: The sensing device that supplies signals to the control system and/or the monitoring system may be of any suitable or desired form without departing from the invention, including, for example, pressure sensors, force transducers, Hall effect sensor systems, strain gauges, piezoelectric elements, load cells, proximity sensors, optical sensors, accelerometers, capacitance sensors, inductance sensors, ultrasonic transducer and receiver systems, radio frequency transmitter and receiver systems, magneto-resistive elements, etc.), and the floor sensor determining the presence of a ground surface (Case: Abstract, [0029], [0035]-[0036], [0054], [0073], [0081]-[0082], [0090], FIG. 2, and FIG. 6-7: As a more specific example, one or more features relating to contact between an article of footwear and a contact surface or a user's foot may be sensed as the article of footwear is used (e.g., as the user steps down), such as one or more of the various features described above in connection with FIGS. 1-9 (e.g., contact pressure, midsole compression, degree of flex, degree of slip or slide, etc.). The sensed information may be fed to a control system, which in turn may send signals to another device e.g., to change a configuration of the article of footwear to thereby control a characteristic of the article of footwear when appropriate (e.g., when the sensed parameters fall within a predetermined range, when they fall above or below threshold values, depending on a predetermined algorithm, etc.). Optionally, user input may be provided and used, at least in part, to set one or more of the characteristics and/or parameters associated with setting the characteristic(s). The changed characteristic(s) may include, for example: changing impact attenuation characteristics, changing traction characteristics, changing flexibility characteristics, changing fit characteristics, changing securing system tightness characteristics, etc), upon determination of the at least one event, an alert is sent to at least one of: the first mobile device belonging to the user (Case: [0031]-[0032], [0037], [0042], [0049], [0052], and FIG. 1 the communication device 112: This same peripheral device or a different device also may be used to provide information to the user, such as information as to the status or settings of the control system; information gathered, detected, or produced by the monitoring system (e.g., speed or distance information); map, track, or route warning or other information; and/or any other desired audio, video, alphanumeric, or other information).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, and Case, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor system of Schrock and Arora to include the plurality of sensors further comprises a floor sensor; and the floor sensor determining the presence of a ground surface, upon determination of the at least one event, an alert is sent to at least one of: the first mobile device belonging to the user, as suggested by Case. The motivation for this is to monitor activities of a user based on sensing information.
The combination of Schrock, Arora, and Case does not explicitly disclose the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor.
However, it has been known in the art of wearable devices to implement the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata, which the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor (Kurata: Abstract, [0008]-[0009], [0019]-[0020], [0025]-[0026], [0030], [0070], and FIG. 7 the water detector 21: For example, the main controller 16 determines whether the power of the water detector 21, the water detection controller 22 and the inter-device communicator 23 attached to the life jacket 6, the weight detector 25, the left weight detection controller 27 and the inter-device communicator 28 attached to the left shoe 7, and the weight detector 31, the right weight detection controller 33, and the inter-device communicator 34 attached to the right shoe 8 is on, whether the battery that supplies power to these devices has a sufficient life, whether communication between the inter-device communicators 23, 28, 34 and the inter-device communicator 14 can be performed normally, or the like).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, Case, and Kurata, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor system of Schrock, Arora, and Case to include the plurality of sensors further comprises a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata. The motivation for this is to determine a water fallen condition of a user.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schrock et al. (Schrock – US 2010/0063779 A1) in view of Arora et al. (Arora – US 2022/0180725 A1) and further in view of Sharma et a. (Sharma – US 2014/0266570 A1) and Kurata (Kurata – US 2020/0388136 A1).
As to claim 7, Schrock and Arora disclose the limitations of claim 1 further comprising the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shoe comprises:
an upper portion (Schrock:[0045]-[0047], and FIG. 2 the upper 120: the upper 120 is secured to sole structure 130 and defines a void or chamber for receiving a foot. For purposes of reference, upper 120 includes a lateral side 121, an opposite medial side 122, and a vamp or instep area 123. Lateral side 121 is positioned to extend along a lateral side of the foot (i.e., the outside) and generally passes through each of regions 111-113. Similarly, medial side 122 is positioned to extend along an opposite medial side of the foot (i.e., the inside) and generally passes through each of regions 111-113. Vamp area 123 is positioned between lateral side 121 and medial side 122 to correspond with an upper surface or instep area of the foot. Vamp area 123, in this illustrated example, includes a throat 124 having a lace 125 or other desired closure mechanism that is utilized in a conventional manner to modify the dimensions of upper 120 relative the foot, thereby adjusting the fit of footwear 100);
a sole (Schrock: [0048], [0052], [0054], [0059], [0068], [0075], [0086]-[0092], and FIG. 1-2 the sole structure 130: Sole structure 130 is secured to a lower surface of upper 120 and may have a generally conventional shape. The sole structure 130 may have a multipiece structure, e.g., one that includes a midsole 131, an outsole 132, and a foot contacting member 133, which may be a sockliner, a strobel, an insole member, a bootie element, a sock, etc. (See FIGS. 4-5));
the interior portion (Schrock: [0071], [0110], FIG. 3-6, and FIG. 22: Connection to the one or more sensors can be accomplished through TX-RX element 106, but additional sensors (not shown) may be provided to sense or provide data or information relating to a wide variety of different types of parameters, such as physical or physiological data associated with use of the article of footwear 100 or the user, including pedometer type speed and/or distance information, other speed and/or distance data sensor information, temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, humidity, GPS data, accelerometer output or data, heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, EKG data, EEG data, data regarding angular orientation and changes in angular orientation (such as a gyroscope-based sensor), etc.);
wherein: the upper portion of the shoe (Schrock: FIG. 21 the one or more sensors 1216: one or more sensors 1216 can additionally or alternately be incorporated into the upper 120 of the shoe 100) comprises the temperature sensor (Schrock: [0071] and FIG. 21), a ultrasonic sensor, a geo-positioning device (Schrock: [0071], [0110], and FIG. 21), and a vibration sensor (Schrock: [0071], [0110], and FIG. 21); and the sole comprising a water detection sensor and the load sensor (Schrock: [0052]-[0056]: In one embodiment, the sensors 16 are force sensors for measuring compression of the sole 130 and/or force on the sole 130).
The combination of Schrock and Arora does not explicitly disclose the upper portion of the shoe comprises a plurality of floor sensors and a ultrasonic sensor, and the sole comprising a water detection sensor.
However, it has been known in the art of shoe design to implement the upper portion of the shoe comprises a plurality of floor sensors and a ultrasonic sensor, as suggested by Sharma, which discloses the upper portion of the shoe comprises a plurality of floor sensors and a ultrasonic sensor (Sharma: [0039], [0098]-[0099], FIG. 3, and FIG. 6: Each of sensors 304, 306, and 308 can be further configured to give a distance measure of one or more obstacles that can lie within their respective cone. In some embodiments, by monitoring the data received from one or more of sensors 304, 306, and 308, MCU 302 can alert the user via one or more exemplary AU's 204, 206, 208, ad 210 (not shown in FIG. 3a) of the presence of one or more obstacles… information received from ultrasonic sensors 304 and 306 can be used to detect obstacles between knee and head height of a user, while information received from image sensor 310 can be used to detect obstacles below knee height and above head height of a user, and structured light pattern information corresponding to structured light unit 313 and received via image sensor 310 can be used to detect surface features of the path ahead).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, and Sharma, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the shoe design of Schrock and Arora, to include the upper portion of the shoe comprises a plurality of floor sensors and a ultrasonic sensor, as suggested by Sharma. The motivation for this is to detect obstacles on surface during walk of a user using known alterative sensing devices.
The combination of Schrock, Arora, and Sharma does not explicitly disclose the sole comprising a water detection sensor.
However, it has been known in the art of wearable devices to implement the sole comprising a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata, which discloses the sole comprising a water detection sensor and the load cell (Kurata: Abstract, [0008]-[0009], [0019]-[0020], [0025]-[0026], [0030], [0070], and FIG. 7 the water detector 21: For example, the main controller 16 determines whether the power of the water detector 21, the water detection controller 22 and the inter-device communicator 23 attached to the life jacket 6, the weight detector 25, the left weight detection controller 27 and the inter-device communicator 28 attached to the left shoe 7, and the weight detector 31, the right weight detection controller 33, and the inter-device communicator 34 attached to the right shoe 8 is on, whether the battery that supplies power to these devices has a sufficient life, whether communication between the inter-device communicators 23, 28, 34 and the inter-device communicator 14 can be performed normally, or the like).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, Sharma, and Kurata, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the sensor system of Schrock, Arora, and Sharma to include the sole comprising a water detection sensor, as suggested by Kurata. The motivation for this is to determine a water fallen condition of a user to incorporate a water detection sensor in an available surface of a pair of shoe.
Claims 8-9, 14-15, 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schrock et al. (Schrock – US 2010/0063779 A1) in view of Arora et al. (Arora – US 2022/0180725 A1) and further in view of Kageyama et al. (Kageyama – US 5,937,443).
As to claim 8, Schrock and Arora disclose the limitations of claim 1 except for the claimed limitations of the footwear integrated hazard avoidance and fall detection system, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a user worn inflation device, wherein said user worn flotation device comprises:
a bladder;
an air pump; and
a microcontroller.
However, it has been known in the art of wearable devices to implement a user worn inflation device, wherein said user worn flotation device comprises:
a bladder;
an air pump; and
a microcontroller, as suggested by Kageyama, which discloses a user worn inflation device (Kageyama: FIG. 6), wherein said user worn flotation device comprises:
a bladder (Kageyama: Abstract, column 2 lines 47-column 3 lines 22, column 3 lines 46-57, and FIG. 5: In the thus configured shock absorbing aid for human body, if a wearer B with the work clothes 1 falls inadvertently from an aerial place, the pressure sensors 6 of the shoes A and work clothes 1 of the wearer B detect that both feet and buttocks of the wearer B have come off scaffolds which are objects of contact, whereupon the releasers 5a of the gas cans 5 are activated in response to the activating signals from the control unit 7, allowing a high-pressure gas to be discharged from the gas cans 5. As a result of this, as shown in FIG. 6, the air bags 2, 3 and 4 are inflated to thereby absorb a drop impact to the human body even though the wearer B has directly dropped on the ground or the like);
an air pump (Kageyama: column 3 lines 12-22, and FIG. 5 the gas cans 5: the gas cans 5 are filled with a high-pressure gas and are housed within the air bags 2, 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 2, each gas can 5 has at its extremity a releaser 5a serving to release a discharge port of the gas can 5. The releaser 5a is adapted to release a stopper of the discharge port by an explosion of powder, and is provided with an igniter causing the powder to explode in response to an activating signal from the control unit 7. It is to be noted that the gas cans 5 may be positioned partly in the air bags 2, 3 and 4 in the case where the air bags 2, 3 and 4 are placed in fluid communication with one another); and
a microcontroller (Kageyama: column 3 lines 40-45, and FIG. 5 the control unit 7: The control unit 7 is comprised of a micro-computer including an integrated circuit or an electronic circuit and, as shown in FIG. 5, is connected to the releasers 5a of the gas cans 5 and to the detecting sections 6d of the pressure sensors 6).
Therefore, in view of teachings by Schrock, Arora, and Kageyama, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the shoe system of Schrock and Arora to include a user worn inflation device, wherein said user worn flotation device comprises:
a bladder;
an air pump; and
a microcontroller, as suggested by Kageyama. The motivation for this is to absorb shock to human body in response to a fallen condition.
As to claim 9, Schrock, Arora, and Kageyama disclose the limi