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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Section [0029] refers to Fig. 1A as including “user 102”, however, no “user 102” is present in Fig. 1A
Section [0067] contains the phrase “[INVENTORS: the figure was included in the invention disclosure. Is there more to be said about it and what aspects are leveraged in the current invention?]”
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character not mentioned in the description: reference number 904 in Fig. 9. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 9 and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 9: “(i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and prepare an outgoing communication from among a group comprising: (i) an outgoing voice call; (ii) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post” should read “(i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and prepare an outgoing communication from among a group comprising: (iii) an outgoing voice call; (iv) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post”
Claim 18: “(i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and preparing an outgoing communication mode from among a group comprising: (i) an outgoing voice call; (ii) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post; and the soothing output comprises one or more output types from a group comprising: (i) a soothing audio output; (ii) a soothing visual image output; and (iii) a soothing textual message output” should read “(i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and preparing an outgoing communication mode from among a group comprising: (iii) an outgoing voice call; (iv) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post; and the soothing output comprises one or more output types from a group comprising: (i) a soothing audio output; (ii) a soothing visual image output; and (iii) a soothing textual message output
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.
Claim 17 is 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 17, claim elements “the physiological pattern” and “the physiological inputs” lack sufficient antecedent basis. It is noted, however, that if the dependency of claim 17 is changed to be dependent on claim 16 instead of claim 15, there would be sufficiently antecedent basis for these claim elements (as there is with claims 6 and 7). For the purposes of compact prosecution, the Examiner has interpreted the dependency of claim 17 to be based on claim 16 instead of claim 15.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-3, 6, 9-13, 16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan et al. (U.S. Patent # 9,483,736 B2), hereinafter “Wan”, in view of Hardi (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0339859 A1).
Consider independent claim 1, Wan teaches a method and device for filtering user actions based off a detected user mood comprising:
at least one input device (see Fig. 4 and column 6, line 64 through column 7, line 3, which recites “Example peripheral interfaces 444 include a serial interface controller 454 or a parallel interface controller 456, which may be configured to communicate with external devices such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 458”);
at least one output device (see Fig. 4 and column 6, lines 56 through 62, which recites “an interface bus 440 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., output devices 442, peripheral interfaces 444, and communication devices 446) to the basic configuration 402 via the bus/interface controller 430. Example output devices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audio processing unit 450”);
a memory (406/432) comprising a communication operation management module (see Fig. 4 and column 7, lines 9 through 14, which recites “network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media”);
a communications subsystem that links the electronic device to a communication network (see Fig. 4 and column 7, lines 3 through 8, which recites “an example communication device 446 includes a network controller 460, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices 462 over a network communication
link via one or more communication ports 464”);
and a processor communicatively coupled to the at least one input device, the at least one output device, the memory, and the communications subsystem (see Fig. 4 and column 5, lines 61 through 64, which recites “typically includes one or more processors 404 and a system memory 406. A memory bus 408 may be used for communicating between a processor 404 and the system memory 406”), and which is configured to cause the electronic device to:
Consider the feature of claim 1 reciting “in response to detecting that a user of the electronic device is in a first emotional state at a time a communication event with a second electronic device is being connected, present a soothing output via the at least one output device prior to completing a connection of the communication event”, although Wan discloses, in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 and column 3, lines 57 through 67, “a user action filtering system according to some embodiments may detect the user's mood while the user is performing or taking the user action (e.g., typing the message) and determine a system action based on the detected mood. For example, upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option. This may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as it does not explicitly mention a “soothing output” as being a system action based on the detected mood, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed delay of executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 2, which recites “wherein the processor is further configured to cause the electronic device to delay the connection of the communication event to enable the soothing output to be presented to the user for at least a pre-established cooling off period”. Though Wan discloses, in column 3, lines 61 through 65 and column 4, lines 62 through 63, “upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option” and “delaying the user action for a predefined period” respectively, as it does not explicitly mention executing a soothing output during this predefined period of delay, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 3, as applied to claim 2 above, Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses wherein the processor is further configured to cause the electronic device to:
perform background monitoring for inputs received by the electronic device correlated to an emotional state of the user (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis.”);
determine from the inputs whether the emotional state of the user is the first emotional state (see column 4, lines 30 through 34 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to assign the detected user's mood to a numeric or alphanumeric category. For example, the alphanumeric categories may include “happy”, “neutral”, “sad”, “depressed”, “angry”, and so on”);
and operate the electronic device in a normal communication mode that does not present the soothing output, in response to one of (i) determining the emotional state of the user is not the first emotional state or (ii) passage of the pre-established cooling off period to diffuse the first emotional state (see column 5, lines 26 through 30 and column 5, lines 37 through 39 of Wan, which recites “a mood based message posting filter (MPF) 336 may be activated automatically or by user demand based on the settings 334. The MPF 336 may use a mood indicator 338, which may comprise MPF values 340” and “if the MPF value is “neutral” 341, the corresponding system action may be “message sent to all friends immediately” (meaning operate normally when in neutral mood) respectively).
Consider the limitation of claim 3, which recites “set a communication mode of the electronic device to an intervention communication mode indicating that soothing the user is to be completed prior to completion of a subsequent connection while the emotional state of the user is determined to be the first emotional state”. Though Wan discloses, in column 4, lines 35 through 41, “The system action filter module 224 may be configured to determine a suitable system action among the collection of system actions 226 based on applying one or more rules that relate system actions to user's actions based on the user's mood. For example, a rule may state “if the user's mood is sad and the user action is posting a message to a broad audience, delay the user action by 12 hours”, as it does not explicitly mention executing a soothing output during the period of delay, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 6, and as applied to claim 1 above, Wan, modified by Hardi, discloses further comprising a physiological sensor communicatively coupled to the processor (see column 4, lines 18 through 22 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be associated with one or more physical detectors such as an image capture device, a biological parameter measurement device (e.g., blood temperature measurement device), and so on”), and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the electronic device to:
perform background monitoring of physiological inputs received by the physiological
sensor (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis”);
and determine from a physiological pattern contained in the physiological inputs that the user is in the first emotional state” (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis”).
Consider claim 9, and as applied to claim 1 above, Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses initiation of the communication event comprises at least one of: receipt of an incoming communication from among a group comprising: (i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and prepare an outgoing communication from among a group comprising: (i) an outgoing voice call; (ii) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post (see column 2, lines 58 through 61 of Wan, which recites “a mood based filter may identify a user action such as posting a message to a social network, a professional network, an email network, a blog, or an instant message network”).
Consider claim 10, which recites “wherein the soothing output comprises one or more output types from a group comprising: (i) a soothing audio output; (ii) a soothing visual image output; and (iii) a soothing textual message output”. Though Wan teaches the user mood detection and action filtering, as it does not explicitly teach a soothing output, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 11, which recites “in response to detecting that a user of the electronic device is in a first emotional state at a time a communication event with a second electronic device is being connected, present a soothing output via the at least one output device prior to completing a connection of the communication event”, although Wan discloses, in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 and column 3, lines 57 through 67, “a user action filtering system according to some embodiments may detect the user's mood while the user is performing or taking the user action (e.g., typing the message) and determine a system action based on the detected mood. For example, upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option. This may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as it does not explicitly mention a “soothing output” as being a system action based on the detected mood, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed delay of executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 12, which recites “further comprises delaying the connection of the communication event to enable the soothing output to be presented to the user for at least a pre-established cooling off period”. Though Wan discloses, in in column 3, lines 61 through 65 and column 4, lines 62 through 63, “upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option” and “delaying the user action for a predefined period” respectively, as it does not explicitly mention executing a soothing output during this predefined period of delay, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 13, as applied to claim 12 above, Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses
performing background monitoring for inputs received by the electronic device correlated to an emotional state of the user (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis.”);
determining from the inputs whether the emotional state of the user is the first emotional state (see column 4, lines 30 through 34 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to assign the detected user's mood to a numeric or alphanumeric category. For example, the alphanumeric categories may include “happy”, “neutral”, “sad”, “depressed”, “angry”, and so on”);
and operating the electronic device in a normal communication mode that does not present the soothing output, in response to one of (i) determining the emotional state of the user is not the first emotional state or (ii) passage of the pre-established cooling off period to diffuse the first emotional state (see column 5, lines 26 through 30 and column 5, lines 37 through 39 of Wan, which recites “a mood based message posting filter (MPF) 336 may be activated automatically or by user demand based on the settings 334. The MPF 336 may use a mood indicator 338, which may comprise MPF values 340” and “if the MPF value is “neutral” 341, the corresponding system action may be “message sent to all friends immediately” (meaning operate normally when in neutral mood) respectively).
Consider the limitation of claim 13, which recites “setting a communication mode of the electronic device to an intervention communication mode indicating that soothing the user is to be completed prior to completion of a subsequent connection while the emotional state of the user is determined to be the first emotional state”. Though Wan discloses, in in column 4, lines 35 through 41, “The system action filter module 224 may be configured to determine a suitable system action among the collection of system actions 226 based on applying one or more rules that relate system actions to user's actions based on the user's mood. For example, a rule may state “if the user's mood is sad and the user action is posting a message to a broad audience, delay the user action by 12 hours”, as it does not explicitly mention executing a soothing output during the period of delay, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 16, and as applied to claim 11 above, Wan, modified by Hardi, discloses further performing background monitoring of physiological inputs received by the physiological sensor (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis”);
and determining from a physiological pattern contained in the physiological inputs that the user is in the first emotional state” (see column 4, lines 22 through 26 of Wan, which recites “the mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis”).
Consider claim 18, which recites “wherein: initiation of the communication event comprises one of: receiving an incoming communication from among a group comprising: (i) an incoming voice call; and (ii) an incoming video call; and preparing an outgoing communication mode from among a group comprising: (i) an outgoing voice call; (ii) an outgoing video call; and (v) an outgoing text message; and (vi) an outgoing social post; and the soothing output comprises one or more output types from a group comprising: (i) a soothing audio output; (ii) a soothing visual image output; and (iii) a soothing textual message output”. Though Wan teaches the user mood detection and action filtering and, in column 2, lines 58 through 61 discloses “a mood based filter may identify a user action such as posting a message to a social network, a professional network, an email network, a blog, or an instant message network”, as it does not explicitly teach a soothing output, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider independent claim 19, Wan teaches a non-transitory computer readable memory device with instructions for filtering user actions based off a detected user mood comprising:
a computer readable storage device (see Fig. 6 and column 8, lines 56 through 60, which recites “the signal bearing medium 602 depicted in FIG. 6 may encompass a computer-readable medium 606, such as, but not limited to, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), a digital tape, memory, etc.”);
and program code on the computer readable storage device that when executed by a processor associated with an electronic device, the program code is configured to cause the electronic device to provide functionality of: (see Fig. 6 and column 8, lines 40 through 44, which recites “a computer program product 600 may include a signal bearing medium 602 that may also include machine readable instructions 604 that, when executed by, for example, a processor, may provide the functionality described above”)
Consider the limitation of claim 19 reciting “in response to detecting that a user of the electronic device is in a first emotional state at a time a communication event with a second electronic device is being connected, present a soothing output via the at least one output device prior to completing a connection of the communication event”, although Wan discloses, in Figs. 2, 3 and 5 and column 3, lines 57 through 67, “a user action filtering system according to some embodiments may detect the user's mood while the user is performing or taking the user action (e.g., typing the message) and determine a system action based on the detected mood. For example, upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option. This may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as it does not explicitly mention a “soothing output” as being a system action based on the detected mood, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed delay of executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Consider claim 20, which recites “wherein the program code is configured to cause the electronic device to provide functionality of: in response to determining from inputs that the emotional state of the user is the first emotional state: delaying the communication event to enable the soothing output to be presented to the user for at least a pre-established cooling off period”. Though Wan discloses, in column 3, lines 61 through 65 and column 4, lines 62 through 63, “upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message and/or present a confirmation option” and “delaying the user action for a predefined period” respectively, as it does not explicitly mention executing a soothing output during this predefined period of delay, Hardi is added.
Hardi, in related art, teaches a system and method for an interactive wearable device for
taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input. See section [0064], where Hardi discloses “the Motion-HP may be accompanied by a wrist band, which may detect a user's pulse to determine the user's emotional status, so that the Motion-HP may automatically select music for the user. For example, when a heavy pulse is sensed, the Motion-HP may select soft and soothing music to the user”.
Therefore, as Wan and Hardi both disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Hardi explicitly teaches outputting soft and soothing music to a user with a high pulse (indicating an emotional state), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the soothing output of Hardi in the process of Wan during Wan’s disclosed predefined period of delay in executing the user action. The delay, in combination with the soothing output, “may enable the user 102 to rethink the message, possibly when their mood has changed, and prevent a regrettable action”, as disclosed in column 3, lines 65 through 67 of Wan.
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan et al. (U.S. Patent # 9,483,736 B2), hereinafter “Wan”, in view of Hardi (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0339859 A1) and further in view of Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2008/0059393 A1), hereinafter “Lee”.
Consider claim 4, which recites “wherein the processor is further configured to cause the electronic device to:
in response to determining from the inputs that the emotional state of the user is the first
emotional state:
activate a timer configured to measure the pre-established cooling off period;
perform subsequent background monitoring for subsequent inputs received by the electronic device correlated to the emotional state of the user during the pre-established cooling off period; and
re-start the timer in response to a subsequent input indicating that the emotional state of the user remains the first emotional state”. Wan teaches, in column 3, lines 61 through 64, “upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message” and, in column 4, lines 61 through 65, “the system actions in the system action collection 226 may include blocking the user action, delaying the user action for a predefined period, directing user action to a particular predefined destination (which may be anonymous), and so on”. It can be inferred that the predefined period of delay stated above requires a timer to countdown said period and determine when said predefined period has elapsed. Though Wan does not explicitly state subsequent background monitoring of emotional state during the cooling off period, it discloses, in column 3, lines 58 through 60, “detect the user's mood while the user is performing or taking the user action”, meaning that if the user continues performing user actions, even during the delay period, the user’s mood will continue to be monitored. However, as Wan, as modified by Hardi, also does not explicitly mention the delay period resetting if the specific user emotion is still detected, Lee is added.
Lee, in similar art, teaches a method for changing emotions in a software robot. See
section [0011], which recites “In order to accomplish the above objects of the present invention, there is provided a method for changing emotion of a sobot, including generating stimulus data corresponding to a user's input, increasing an emotion value representing the current emotion of the sobot according to the stimulus data generated during a period of time, if the increased emotional value is greater than a preset short-term reference emotion value, recognizing that the sobot is experiencing the emotion corresponding to the increased emotion value, storing the short-term reference emotion value both in a short-term memory unit and in a long-term memory unit, changing and resetting the short-term reference emotion value, if a condition for terminating the operation of the short-term memory unit is not met, repeating the steps of increasing the emotion value and resetting the short-term reference emotion value, if the condition for terminating the operation of the short-term memory unit is met, initializing the short-term reference emotion value to be equal to a previously stored long-term reference emotion value, if a condition for terminating the operation of the long-term memory unit is not met, repeating the steps of increasing the emotion value, resetting the short-term reference emotion value and initializing the short-term reference emotion value, and if the condition for terminating the operation of the long-term memory unit is met, calculating the long-term reference emotion value using at least one reference emotion value stored in the long-term memory unit and storing the calculated long-term reference emotion value”. This “emotion value” could be interpreted as a sort of timer. With this, the system may reset the emotion value based off the stimulus data corresponding to user input, which could be the emotion data of Wan.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Lee all disclose taking input from a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Lee discloses resetting a value based off said user input, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the resetting of Lee into the delay period determination of Wan. This would simply be applying a known technique to a known device and would allow for the user to completely calm down before the delay period expires.
Consider claim 14, which recites “further comprising:
in response to determining from the inputs that the emotional state of the user is the first emotional state:
activating a timer configured to measure the pre-established cooling off period; performing subsequent background monitoring for subsequent inputs received by the electronic device correlated to the emotional state of the user during the pre-established cooling off period; and
re-starting the timer in response to a subsequent input indicating that the emotional state of the user remains the first emotional state”. Wan teaches, in column 3, lines 61 through 64, “upon detecting the user being in a sad or upset mood and identifying the user action as a posting to a wide audience (possibly with strong content), the system may delay the posting of the message” and, in column 4, lines 61 through 65, “the system actions in the system action collection 226 may include blocking the user action, delaying the user action for a predefined period, directing user action to a particular predefined destination (which may be anonymous), and so on”. It can be inferred that the predefined period of delay stated above requires a timer to countdown said period and determine when said predefined period has elapsed. Though Wan does not explicitly state subsequent background monitoring of emotional state during the cooling off period, it discloses, in column 3, lines 58 through 60, “detect the user's mood while the user is performing or taking the user action”, meaning that if the user continues performing user actions, even during the delay period, the user’s mood will continue to be monitored. However, as Wan, as modified by Hardi, also does not explicitly mention the delay period resetting if the specific user emotion is still detected, Lee is added.
Lee, in similar art, teaches a method for changing emotions in a software robot. See section [0011], which recites “In order to accomplish the above objects of the present invention, there is provided a method for changing emotion of a sobot, including generating stimulus data corresponding to a user's input, increasing an emotion value representing the current emotion of the sobot according to the stimulus data generated during a period of time, if the increased emotional value is greater than a preset short-term reference emotion value, recognizing that the sobot is experiencing the emotion corresponding to the increased emotion value, storing the short-term reference emotion value both in a short-term memory unit and in a long-term memory unit, changing and resetting the short-term reference emotion value, if a condition for terminating the operation of the short-term memory unit is not met, repeating the steps of increasing the emotion value and resetting the short-term reference emotion value, if the condition for terminating the operation of the short-term memory unit is met, initializing the short-term reference emotion value to be equal to a previously stored long-term reference emotion value, if a condition for terminating the operation of the long-term memory unit is not met, repeating the steps of increasing the emotion value, resetting the short-term reference emotion value and initializing the short-term reference emotion value, and if the condition for terminating the operation of the long-term memory unit is met, calculating the long-term reference emotion value using at least one reference emotion value stored in the long-term memory unit and storing the calculated long-term reference emotion value”. This “emotion value” could be interpreted as a sort of timer. With this, the system may reset the emotion value based off the stimulus data corresponding to user input, which could be the emotion data of Wan.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Lee all disclose taking input from a user and determining
an appropriate output based off the input, and as Lee discloses resetting a value based off said user input, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the resetting of Lee into the delay period determination of Wan. This would simply be applying a known technique to a known device and would allow for the user to completely calm down before the delay period expires.
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan et al. (U.S. Patent # 9,483,736 B2), hereinafter “Wan”, in view of Hardi (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0339859 A1) and further in view of Pinkus et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2020/0302952 A1), hereinafter “Pinkus”.
Consider claim 5, which recites “further comprising a microphone communicatively coupled to the processor, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the electronic device to: perform background monitoring of audio input received at the microphone; and determine from the audio inputs that the user is in the first emotional state by detecting a voice pattern contained in the audio inputs indicative of the first emotional state”. Though Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses in column 3, lines 24 through 27 and column 6, lines 60 through 62 “the client device may also be configured to enable the user 102 to post audio/visual recordings to the one or more communication networks, including pictures, videos and audio files” and “Example output devices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audio processing unit 450”, as it does not explicitly mention using audio input to predict a user’s mood, Pinkus is added.
Pinkus, in related art, discloses a method and apparatus for determining emotional
content of user speech by analyzing the audio input of the presenter. See Fig. 1 and section [0042], which recites “The feature analysis module 148 determines the sentiment data 150 that is indicative of a possible emotional state of the user 102 based on the audio feature data 146”.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Pinkus all disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Pinkus explicitly teaches determining the user’s emotional state based off audio inputs, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the audio input analysis of Pinkus in the process of Wan, as modified by Hardi, as an additional input source of mood data. This audio input would be helpful because, as stating in Pinkus section [0016], “changes over time in pitch, pace, and so forth may be indicative of various emotional states”. This additional source of input data would simply be the addition of a known process resulting in a predictable result.
Consider claim 15, which recites “performing background monitoring of audio input received at the microphone; and determining from the audio inputs that the user is in the first emotional state by detecting a voice pattern contained in the audio inputs indicative of the first emotional state”. Though Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses in column 3, lines 24 through 27 and column 6, lines 60 through 62 “the client device may also be configured to enable the user 102 to post audio/visual recordings to the one or more communication networks, including pictures, videos and audio files” and “Example output devices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audio processing unit 450”, as it does not explicitly mention using audio input to predict a user’s mood, Pinkus is added.
Pinkus, in related art, discloses a method and apparatus for determining emotional content of user speech by analyzing the audio input of the presenter. See Fig. 1 and section [0042], which recites “The feature analysis module 148 determines the sentiment data 150 that is indicative of a possible emotional state of the user 102 based on the audio feature data 146”.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Pinkus all disclose a device for taking input on a user and determining an appropriate output based off the input, and as Pinkus explicitly teaches determining the user’s emotional state based off audio inputs, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the audio input analysis of Pinkus in the process of Wan, as modified by Hardi, as an additional input source of mood data. This audio input would be helpful because, as stating in Pinkus section [0016], “changes over time in pitch, pace, and so forth may be indicative of various emotional states”. This additional source of input data would simply be the addition of a known process resulting in a predictable result.
Claims 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan et al. (U.S. Patent # 9,483,736 B2), hereinafter “Wan”, in view of Hardi (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0339859 A1) and further in view of Freckleton et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2022/0304603 A1), hereinafter “Freckleton”.
Consider claim 7, which recites “further comprising a companion device configured to be worn by the user and incorporating the physiological sensor comprising a heart rate monitor, wherein one of the electronic device and the companion device comprises a motion sensor, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the electronic device to: perform background monitoring of the motion sensor of movement inputs received by the motion sensor; determine from a motion pattern contained in the motion inputs whether the user is in an exercising state associated with an alternate cause of the physiological pattern; and determine from the physiological inputs that the user is in the first emotional state by the physiological pattern contained in the physiological inputs indicative of the first emotional state further in response to determining from that the user is not in the exercising state”. Though Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses in column 4, lines 18 through 29 “The mood indicator detection module 222 may be associated with one or more physical detectors such as an image capture device, a biological parameter measurement device (e.g., blood temperature measurement device), and so on. The mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis. The keystroke dynamics may include keystroke strength and/or keystroke speed. The biological parameters may include a blood pressure, a heartbeat, and/or a body temperature”, as it does not explicitly mention these a companion wearable device or said companion wearable device including a physiological sensor comprising a heart rate monitor, Freckleton is added, and as it does not explicitly mention a companion device with a motion sensor being used to determine if a user is in a state of exercise, Freckleton is added.
Freckleton, in related art, teaches a method and apparatus for detecting and managing
user emotions via a wearable device. See section [0035], where Freckleton discloses “the wearable device 100 can include one or more physiological sensors such as optical sensors, thermal sensors, sweat quantification sensors, pressure sensors, electrical sensors, motion sensors, and audio sensors”. Additionally, see section [0071], which recites “the one or more physiological sensors 504 can monitor the user's heart rate to determine if they are exercising”.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Freckleton all disclose a device for determining a user’s emotional state, and as Freckleton explicitly teaches determining the user’s exercise state based physiological sensors including motion sensors integrated into a wearable device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the wearable device including motion analysis of Freckleton in the process of Wan, as modified by Hardi, as an additional input source of mood data, in addition to moving the heartrate sensor from the computing device of Wan to the wearable companion devise. This would simply be the addition of a known process resulting in a predictable result to reduce false positives in mood determination.
Consider claim 17, which recites “further comprising: communicatively connecting, via a communications subsystem, to a companion device configured to be worn by the user and incorporating a physiological sensor comprising a heart rate monitor, wherein one of the electronic device and the companion device comprises a motion sensor; performing background monitoring of the motion sensor of movement inputs received by the motion sensor; determining from a motion pattern contained in the motion inputs whether the user is in an exercising state associated with an alternate cause of the physiological pattern; and determining from the physiological inputs that the user is in the first emotional state by the physiological pattern contained in the physiological inputs indicative of the first emotional state further in response to determining from that the user is not in the exercising state”. Though Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses in column 4, lines 18 through 29 “The mood indicator detection module 222 may be associated with one or more physical detectors such as an image capture device, a biological parameter measurement device (e.g., blood temperature measurement device), and so on. The mood indicator detection module 222 may be configured to detect the user's mood through one or more of keystroke dynamics detection, facial feature analysis, body composure analysis, biological parameter analysis, and/or recent communication content analysis. The keystroke dynamics may include keystroke strength and/or keystroke speed. The biological parameters may include a blood pressure, a heartbeat, and/or a body temperature”, as it does not explicitly mention these a companion wearable device or said companion wearable device including a physiological sensor comprising a heart rate monitor, Freckleton is added, and as it does not explicitly mention a companion device with a motion sensor being used to determine if a user is in a state of exercise, Freckleton is added.
Freckleton, in related art, teaches a method and apparatus for detecting and managing user emotions via a wearable device. See section [0035], where Freckleton discloses “the wearable device 100 can include one or more physiological sensors such as optical sensors, thermal sensors, sweat quantification sensors, pressure sensors, electrical sensors, motion sensors, and audio sensors”. Additionally, see section [0071], which recites “the one or more physiological sensors 504 can monitor the user's heart rate to determine if they are exercising”.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Freckleton all disclose a device for determining a user’s
emotional state, and as Freckleton explicitly teaches determining the user’s exercise state based physiological sensors including motion sensors integrated into a wearable device, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the wearable device including motion analysis of Freckleton in the process of Wan, as modified by Hardi, as an additional input source of mood data, in addition to moving the heartrate sensor from the computing device of Wan to the wearable companion devise. This would simply be the addition of a known process resulting in a predictable result to reduce false positives in mood determination.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wan et al. (U.S. Patent # 9,483,736 B2), hereinafter “Wan”, in view of Hardi (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0339859 A1) and further in view of Sobhany (U.S. Patent Application # 2025/0225415 A1 – with the portions of the disclosure relied upon having proper support on provisional application 63/619,701).
Consider claim 8, which recites “wherein the communication operation management module comprises an artificial intelligence (AI) engine trained to predict the first emotional state by detecting a pattern contained in one or more inputs, where the one or more inputs are indicative of the first emotional state, and where the AI engine is further trained to predict the first state of the user by monitoring one or more contextual conditions having one of a positive correlation or a negative correlation with the first emotional state of the user”. Though Wan, as modified by Hardi, discloses predicting the user’s emotional state based upon received physiological data, as it does not explicitly disclose this determination being made by an AI
engine trained to make a prediction of the user’s emotional state, Sobhany is added.
Sobhany, in related art, teaches a system and method for determining the emotional state of a user via AI models based on received biodata. See section [0028], which recites “Embodiments of this disclosure relate to emotionally intelligent Al that interfaces with the physical world through real-time biodata … dynamically contextualized with one or more physiological signals (e.g., heart rate, galvanic skin response, valence, vocal characteristics, facial coding, etc.), thereby allowing the improved emotionally intelligent Al of this disclosure to achieve a more nuanced recognition of emotional states”. Additionally, see section [0045], which recites “the AI module 108 utilizes one or more trained AI models to interpret or interpolate the fused data generated by the data integration and synchronization module 106 to contextualize the fused data and generate predictive personalized insight”.
Therefore, as Wan, Hardi and Sobhany all disclose a system for determining a user’s emotional state, and as Sobhany explicitly teaches determining the user’s emotional state with an AI engine, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the AI processing of Sobhany in the process of Wan, as modified by Hardi, to make the determination of user mood. This would simply be substituting one processing method for another to achieve the same result.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
Lo (U.S. Patent Application # 2018/0375809 A1) discloses system for determining muser emotion using wearable and processing devices.
Suzuki et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2015/0061825 A1) discloses a device and collecting unit for determining user emotions with biological data.
Meijer et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2010/0082751 A1) discloses system and method
for determining user perception of an electronic message.
Heneghan et al. (U.S. Patent # 11,191,466 B1) discloses a method and device for determining mental health and cognitive state with physiological data from a wearable device.
Goliszewski et al. (U.S. Patent Application # 2013/0331132 A1) discloses a method and device for controlling messaging based off user writing style and physiological data.
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/R.H.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2642
/Rafael Pérez-Gutiérrez/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2642
