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
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pandya et al. (US 11,676,291) in view of Suto et al. (US 2024/0071112).
Regarding claims 1, 11, 12, Pandya discloses a method for implementing personal safety functionalities (abstract), the method comprising: executing by a processing unit of the device a safety risk prediction Algorithm (fig. 1-fig. 5), the algorithm using inputs comprising the sensor data to determine a safety risk indicator (col. 2, lines 7-48), the safety risk indicator being indicative of whether a user of the device is exposed to a safety risk presented by at least one person in the vicinity of the user of the device (fig. 1-fig. 2; col. 2, lines 7-48; col. 9, lines 30-67; col. 10, lines 1-4); and taking at least one action by the processing unit of the device when the indicator indicates that the user is exposed to a safety risk (upon detection of a safety infraction, workers may notified via haptic feedback on their personal alert device in col. 2, lines 7-48; col. 9, lines 30-67; col. 10, lines 1-4).
Pandya discloses all the limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose collecting sensor data from at least one sensor of a device.
However, Suto discloses collecting sensor data from at least one sensor of a device (data collected by the one or more sensors on the smart phone 250 in page 6, [0038-0039]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was first filed to incorporate the features of Suto within the system of Pandya in order to identify activities engaged in by a user in the physical environment thereby improving the reliability of the system.
Regarding claims 2, 13, Pandya discloses wherein the sensor data comprise at least one of the
following: visual behavioral changes of the at least one person extracted from images generated by an imaging sensor of the device, voice pattern changes of the at least one person extracted from sounds recorded by a sound sensor of the device, heart rate measurements of the user generated by a heart rate sensor of the device, and blood pressure measurements of the user generated by a blood pressure sensor of the device (imaging devices may be deployed on structures, mobile equipment in col. 11, lines 30-55).
Regarding claims 3, 14, Pandya discloses wherein the inputs further comprise at least one of the
following: contextual data collected by the device and additional data received from a server implementing server-side personal safety functionalities (col. 8, lines 58-67).
Regarding claim 4, Pandya discloses wherein the action is at least one of the following:
configurable and personalized based on contextual data collected by the
device (col. 8, lines 58-67).
Regarding claims 5, 15, Pandya discloses wherein the at least one action comprise at least one
of the following: warning the user of the exposition to a safety risk through an interaction of the device with the user, generating a deterring sound sequence by a speaker of the device to deter the at least one person, sending an alert via a wireless communication interface of the device to a server in charge of forwarding the alert to one or more contact devices, and directly sending the alert via the wireless communication interface of the device to the one or more contact devices (col. 2, lines fig. 1-fig. 2; col. 2, lines 7-47; col. 10, lines 17-67).
Regarding claims 6, 16, Pandya discloses wherein the device is one of the following: a
smartphone, a smart watch or a smart bangle (col. 9, line 59).
Regarding claims 7, 17, Pandya discloses wherein the algorithm is a machine learning algorithm
using a predictive model for determining the safety risk indicator based on the
inputs (fig. 1-fig. 5).
Regarding claims 8, 18, Pandya discloses wherein the processing unit of the device
determines a ranking and a localization of a plurality of contacts of the user, the
ranking of each contact being based on at least one data element associated to the
contact, the at least one data element associated to the contact comprising at least
one of the following: a trust relationship of the contact, a response capacity of the
contact, a proximity of the contact and a response history of the contact (fig. 1-fig. 5; col. 9, lines 38-67).
Regarding claims 9, 19, Pandya discloses wherein a map based on the ranking and localization of the plurality of contacts of the user is displayed on a screen of the device (col. 9, lines 56-67, col. 10, lines 1-4).
Regarding claims 10, 20, Pandya discloses wherein determining the ranking of the plurality of contacts of the user comprises calculating each ranking by the device based on data received from a server or receiving each ranking from the server (fig. 1-fig. 5; col. 12, lines 4-59).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tran et al. (US 2018/0001184) discloses smart device.
Haynes (US 2023/0339395) discloses artificially ….system.
Asghar et al. (US 2023/0106673) discloses vehicle…..assistance.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL PREVIL whose telephone number is (571)272-2971. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:30 AM -6:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wang Quan-Zhen can be reached at 571 272 3114. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
DP
January 31, 2026
/DANIEL PREVIL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685