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 . 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. There are a total of 15 claims and claims 1-15 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/13/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7, 10, 11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leiss et al. (US 2003/0016365 A1) in view of Juijve et al. (US 2005/01571) A1).
Regarding claim 1, Leiss discloses A self-mixing interferometry sensor module([0080]-self-mixing sheet sensor) comprising at least two light emitters of the same type([0107 and see in Fig. 10]- This sensor comprises two sensor branches 82 and 84, each with their own electronic circuit 82 and 84, respectively), a detector unit([0080]- Tl1is sensor comprises a diode laser, which may form part of a laser/diode unit 2, i.e. a unit comprising a diode laser and a detector in the form of a photo diode) and an electronic processing unit([0081]- electronic circuit 9 for processing this signal) wherein each light emitters is operable to: emit coherent electromagnetic radiation out of the sensor module([0080]- "radiation emitted by the diode laser ); and undergo self-mixing interference, SMI, interference (SMI) caused by reflections of the emitted electromagnetic radiation from an external object outside the sensor module([0083]- the reflected radiation 26 undergoes a Doppler shift. This means that the frequency of this radiation changes or that a frequency shift occurs. This frequency shift is dependent on the velocity with which the sheet moves and is of the order of a few kHz to MHz. The frequency-shifted radiation re-entering the laser cavity interferes with the optical wave, i.e. the radiation, generated in this cavity 20. This means that a self-mixing effect occurs in this cavity); wherein the detector unit is operable to: - generate output signals indicative of the SMI of the light emitters([0081]- the radiation returning in the cavity induces changes in this cavity, which results in, inter alia, a change of the intensity of the laser radiation emitted by the diode laser. This change can be detected by means of a photo diode, which converts the radiation variation into an electric signa), respectively; and wherein the electronic processing unit is operable to: generate a difference signal from the output signals indicative of a movement of the external object([para 0036]- By means of these two sensor branches a difference in movement of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the sheet can be detected see also [0106] "the amount of movement can be determined by subtracting the detector signals of the two branches from each other" for the embodiment of Fig. 9)).
However, Leiss does not explicitly discloses wherein the light emitters are arranged in pairs at a distance from each other, and the distance is set to enable a noise component to become common mode and a signal component to be differential mode in the corresponding output signals.
In an analogous art, Juijve discloses wherein the light emitters are arranged in pairs at a distance from each other, and the distance is set to enable a noise component to become common mode and a signal component to be differential mode in the corresponding output signals([Fig. 4 and 0089 and 099]- input device of FIG. 4, which device comprises two diode lasers and associated photodiodes in a perpendicular orientation. Adding a third diode laser and an associated photodiode to the device enables this device to measure also the movement along a third, Z-, direction, or measuring axis. The third diode laser may be arranged on the optical axis of the lens 40 so that the third illumination beam is perpendicularly incident on the window finger 42 and the object, or finger, 45 and has no components in the other directions. An optimum measuring signal for the Z direction may then be obtained. In order to increase the reliability and accuracy of the X and Y measuring signals, three diode lasers may be arranged on one circle and at a mutual angular distance of 120.degree.. This configuration is shown in FIG. 11 wherein the third diode laser and third photodiode are denoted by the reference numerals 37 and 38, respectively. When the output signals of the photodiodes 34, 36 and 38, or the resistance measuring signals, are represented by S.sub.34, S.sub.36 and S.sub.38, respectively, the object velocities V.sub.x, V.sub.y and V.sub.z along the X, Y and Z measuring axes, respectively, can be calculated). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of Juijve to the modified system of Leiss an optical input device controlled by a moving object and also comprising at least one further optical device to be supplied with electromagnetic radiation, in this way, space and cost can be saved, which makes the apparatus very suitable for small and battery-powered mobile apparatus, like a mobile phone, a hand-held computer, a laptop computer, etc. [ Juijve; abstract].
Regarding claim 2, Leiss discloses wherein the light emitters have the same configuration, including the same emission wavelengths ([0107]- This sensor comprises tvvo sensor branches 82 and 84, each with their own electronic circuit 82 and 84, respectively. The axes of the sensor branches may be at the same angle with respect to the normal on the sheet and these axes point to different sides of the sheets, Leiss does not mention that they have the same emission wavelengths. Therefore, the skilled person would consider it obvious to select the same wavelengths).
Regarding claim 3, Leiss discloses wherein the light emitters are rigidly coupled to each other([see in Fig. 10 and 0107]- This sensor comprises two sensor branches 82 and 84, each with their own electronic circuit 82 and 84, respectively).
Regarding claim 4, Leiss discloses wherein the distance is chosen such that the output signals indicative of the SMI of the pair of light emitters differ by a pre-determined amount([see in Fig. 10]- This sensor comprises two sensor branches 82 and 84, each with their own electronic circuit 82 and 84, respectively. The signals of the circuits 82 and 84 are supplied to a paper, or sheet, transport-controlling circuit wherein the signals are compared with each other. If the signals are the same).
Regarding claim 5, Leiss discloses comprising an array of the light emitters, wherein the electronic processing unit is operable to generate difference signals from the output signals of pairs of the light emitters([Fig. 10 and 0036]- ]- By means of these two sensor branches a difference in movement of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the sheet can be detected see also [0106] "the amount of movement can be determined by subtracting the detector signals of the two branches from each other).
Regarding claim 6, Leiss discloses wherein the light emitters comprises: semiconductor laser diodes, and/or resonant cavity light emitting devices([0080]- "radiation emitted by the diode laser ).
Regarding claim 7, Leiss discloses wherein the light emitters comprise vertical cavity surface emitting laser diodes([0047]- a diode laser of the type VCSEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser) may be used. Such a laser emits radiation in the vertical direction).
Regarding claim 10, Leiss discloses wherein the detector unit is operable to: -detect a junction voltage of the light emitters respectively, and -generate the output signals as a function of said junction voltages, respectively([0094]- method of measuring the gain variation, and thus the movement of the sheet, makes use of the fact that the intensity of the laser radiation is proportional to the number of electrons in the conduction band in the junction of the laser. This number in turn is inversely proportional to the resistance of the junction. By measuring this resistance, the movement of the object can be determined. An embodiment of this measuring method is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this Figure, the active layer of the diode laser is denoted by the reference numeral 35 and the current source for supplying this laser is denoted by reference numeral 36. The voltage across the diode laser is supplied to an electronic circuit 40 via a capacitor 38. This voltage, which is normalized with the current through the laser, is proportional to the resistance).
Regarding claim 11, Leiss discloses wherein the detector unit is operable to: - detect an optical power output of the light emitters, respectively([0093]- Measuring the variation of the laser cavity gain caused by the object movement by measuring the intensity of the radiation at the rear laser facet by a monitor diode is the simplest, and thus the most attractive way. Conventionally, this diode is used for keeping the intensity of the laser radiation constant, but now it is also used for measuring the movement of the object.), and -generate the output signals as a function of said optical power outputs, respectively([0093]- Measuring the variation of the laser cavity gain caused by the object movement by measuring the intensity of the radiation at the rear laser facet by a monitor diode is the simplest, and thus the most attractive way. Conventionally, this diode is used for keeping the intensity of the laser radiation constant, but now it is also used for measuring the movement of the object).
Regarding claim 15, the claim is interpreted and rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1. Hence; all limitations for method claim 15 have been met in claim 1.
Claims 8,9, 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leiss in view of Juijve as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of McKenna (US 2010/0081940 A1).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Leiss and Juijve do not disclose wherein the electronic processing unit is operable to: conduct a fast Fourier transformation on the output signals to extract a dominant frequency, and generate the difference signal as a function of the dominant frequency.
In an analogous art, McKenna discloses disclose wherein the electronic processing unit is operable to: conduct a fast Fourier transformation on the output signals to extract a dominant frequency, and generate the difference signal as a function of the dominant frequency([Fig. 5 and 0020]- FIG. 5 shows an exemplary frequency spectrum 500 that may be derived from self-mixed laser Doppler measurements of blood flow velocity and arterial wall velocity. The cavity laser signal with amplitude fluctuations occurring at the Doppler shift frequency is observed by the monitor photodiode 104, which converts the light signal into an electric signal 124 with amplitude values proportional to the light signal amplitude. The electric signal 124 may be transformed into the frequency domain by the processor 206. This may be accomplished by methods such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) or any other time-domain to frequency-domain transformation. The exemplary frequency spectrum 500 shown in FIG. 5 depicts the frequency-domain data that may be collected from two laser sensors 402 and 404). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of McKenna to the modified system of Leiss and Juijve methods for biological sensing with laser self-mixing sensors where blood pressure may be calculated based at least in part on blood flow velocity or based at least in part on blood flow velocity and blood vessel compliance. In one embodiment, common mode noise may be removed from one or more laser signals [McKenna; abstract ].
Regarding claim 9, McKenna discloses wherein the light emitters are arranged in parallel such that the light emitters have the same direction of emission([Fig. 3]- FIG. 3 shows an illustrative view of an exemplary support structure 306, in this example a wristband, integrating two laser sensors 302 and 304. The laser sensors 302 and 304 may, as for laser sensors 202 and 204, emit light at different wavelengths. Laser sensors 302 and 304 may be fastened or secured to support structure 306 in a permanent or temporary fashion).
Regarding claim 12, a self-mixing interferometry sensor module according claim 1 and McKenna discloses a housing comprising the sensor module and a support surface to be arranged on the skin of a user, wherein the housing is configured to position the light emitters at a distance for the skin([Fig. 3]- FIG. 3 shows an illustrative view of an exemplary support structure 306, in this example a wristband, integrating two laser sensors 302 and 304. The laser sensors 302 and 304 may, as for laser sensors 202 and 204, emit light at different wavelengths. Laser sensors 302 and 304 may be fastened or secured to support structure 306 in a permanent or temporary fashion. For example, laser sensors 302 and 304 may be directly integrated into the support structure 306 and may not be removable. The sensors 302 and 304 may also be secured to the structure 306 with suitable fasteners. The support structure 306 may be a flexible or rigid band that may fit around the extremity of a patient. The support structure 306 may include fasteners and/or may be stretchable or deformable, allowing the structure 306 to be secured in a suitable configuration for measurement purposes). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the technique of McKenna to the modified system of Leiss and Juijve methods for biological sensing with laser self-mixing sensors where blood pressure may be calculated based at least in part on blood flow velocity or based at least in part on blood flow velocity and blood vessel compliance. In one embodiment, common mode noise may be removed from one or more laser signals [McKenna; abstract].
Regarding claim 13, McKenna discloses wherein the light emitters are arranged in the housing such is essentially perpendicular or perpendicular to the support surface ([see in Fig. 4]- FIG. 4 illustrates the exemplary coupling of two laser sensors 402 and 404 with an artery 409 comprised of a blood vessel wall 410 and blood 412. The flow of blood 412 occurs in the direction indicated by 416, and the arterial wall 410 moves in the directions indicated by 414. Laser sensors 402 and 404 may emit lasers of different wavelengths; for example, the laser 406 emitted from laser sensor 402 may be of a wavelength that allows penetration of the arterial wall 410 into the blood 412, whereas the laser 408 emitted from laser sensor 404 may be of a different wavelength that does not allow penetration through the blood vessel wall 410).
Regarding claim 14, McKenna discloses wherein the light emitters are arranged in the housing such that the direction of emission of the light emitters is tilted with respect to the support surface([see in Fig. 4]- FIG. 4 illustrates the exemplary coupling of two laser sensors 402 and 404 with an artery 409 comprised of a blood vessel wall 410 and blood 412. The flow of blood 412 occurs in the direction indicated by 416, and the arterial wall 410 moves in the directions indicated by 414. Laser sensors 402 and 404 may emit lasers of different wavelengths; for example, the laser 406 emitted from laser sensor 402 may be of a wavelength that allows penetration of the arterial wall 410 into the blood 412, whereas the laser 408 emitted from laser sensor 404 may be of a different wavelength that does not allow penetration through the blood vessel wall 410).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art are made of record and not relied upon but considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
1. Chenet al., US 2024/0004073 A1, discloses a wearable device including a band and a set of one or more SMI sensors.
2. Cihan et. al., US 2021/0010797 A1, discloses devices that include self-mixing interferometry sensors and, more particularly.
3. Mutlu et al., US. 2021/0011559 A1, discloses input devices that use self-mixing interferometry to determine movement within an enclosure.
4. Sesko; David W., US. 2006/0012772 A1, discloses an absolute distance measuring device that uses wavelength-dependent external cavity feedback control of a laser diode. 2.
5. Chen et al., US 2022/0099431 A1, discloses structures and configurations of self-mixing interferometry (SMI) sensors that may be used to detect, measure, or determine an object location, speed, velocity, distance, motion, and/or displacement. In particular.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MD NAZMUL HAQUE whose telephone number is (571)272-5328. The examiner can normally be reached IFW.
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/MD N HAQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2487
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