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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species II, Claims 2-3, 5-8, 10-13, 20 in the reply filed on 12/14/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-11 are dependent upon withdrawn claim 9 and are also withdrawn.
Claim 20 is drawn to fig 1, Species I or fig 3 Species III, and is therefore also withdrawn.
Claims 1, 4, 9-11, 14-20 are withdrawn and claims 2-3, 5-8, 12-13 are examined below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 2-3, 5-7, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Tchertkov (US 20170079535 A1, hereinafter Tchertkov)
Claim 2. Tchertkov teaches a wearable device comprising:
a housing which is configured to be worn on a person's wrist, arm, or finger ([0012] recites 'In some implementations, the mobile device is at least one of a watch, ring, or bracelet'); and
an array of light emitter sets ([0006] recites 'a plurality of light emitting components') and light receivers ([0006] recites 'a plurality of light collecting components') on the housing, wherein light emitted from the light emitters is reflected from and/or transmitted through the person's body tissue and received by the light receivers ([0006] recites 'a plurality of light collecting components configured to measure reflected light from the plurality of light emitting components reflected off of blood vessels within the user'), and wherein attributes of the light received by the light receivers are analyzed to measure one or more biometric parameters of the person ([0006] recites 'a processor is configured to obtain the PPG measurement based on the reflected light measured by the plurality of light collecting components').
Claim 3. Tchertkov teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the device is a smart watch or wrist band ([0012] recites 'In some implementations, the mobile device is at least one of a watch, ring, or bracelet').
Claim 5. Tchertkov teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the array is a circular, annular, or circumferential array ([0008] recites 'In some implementations, the at least one portion is a 360 degree circumference', see also fig 6, [0081] recites 'The implementation in FIG. 6 shows the light emitting component 330 as a continuous light source around the wrist ring. The continuous light source may be a ring of light within the wrist ring that extends along roughly the circumference of the wrist ring').
Claim 6. Tchertkov teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the array is a polygonal array ([0007] recites 'In some implementations, the plurality of light emitting components comprises at least three light emitting components', [0081] recites 'while the wrist ring shows one light emitting component 330 and two light collecting components 320, 325, the PPG sensor in the wrist ring may contain any number of light emitting and light collecting components').
Claim 7. Tchertkov teaches the device in claim 6 wherein the array is a hexagonal or octagonal array ([0007] recites 'In some implementations, the plurality of light emitting components comprises at least three light emitting components', [0081] recites 'while the wrist ring shows one light emitting component 330 and two light collecting components 320, 325, the PPG sensor in the wrist ring may contain any number of light emitting and light collecting components').
Claim 13. Tchertkov teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the device further comprises a data processor ([0006] recites 'a processor is configured to obtain the PPG measurement based on the reflected light measured by the plurality of light collecting components').
Claims 2, 5-8, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Mandel (US 20150018647 A1, hereinafter Mandel)
Claim 2. Mandel teaches a wearable device comprising:
a housing (500, fig 5) which is configured to be worn on a person's wrist, arm, or finger (fig 3, also [0227] recites ‘FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of a transmissive device 500 worn circumferentially around an area of exposed skin as shown in any of FIGS. 1-3’); and
an array of light emitter sets (502A-D) and light receivers (503A-D) on the housing, wherein light emitted from the light emitters is reflected (fig 5) from and/or transmitted through the person's body tissue and received by the light receivers (fig 5), and wherein attributes of the light received by the light receivers are analyzed to measure one or more biometric parameters of the person (abstract recites ‘Each photodetector measures an intensity of sensed light emitted by a respective illuminator. The signal obtained by the sensors comprises a continuous PPG signal. The continuous PPG signal analyzed for functional blood oxygen saturation levels and communicated to a remote device’).
Claim 5. Mandel teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the array is a circular, annular, or circumferential array (fig 5, 11).
Claim 6. Mandel teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the array is a polygonal array (fig 5, 11).
Claim 7. Mandel teaches the device in claim 6 wherein the array is a hexagonal or octagonal array (fig 5, 11).
Claim 8. Mandel teaches the device in claim 2 wherein there is an alternating pattern of light emitter sets and light receivers in the array (fig 5, 11).
Claim 12. Mandel teaches the device in claim 2 wherein the attributes of the light which are analyzed include spectral distribution of the light (abstract recites ‘each emitting source light at a different wavelength band. Each photodetector comprises sensors that are sensitive to a wavelength band of its respective illuminator’, see also figs 9a,9b, and [0045]).
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular elements, columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS R BURTNER whose telephone number is (571)272-0966. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/DOUGLAS R BURTNER/Examiner, Art Unit 2841 /ROCKSHANA D CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841