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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 18, 2025 and March 05, 2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-6 and 8-9 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-6 and 8-9 of U.S. Patent No. 12,322,273. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they all disclosed the same subject matter. The corresponding claims that contain the same subject matter are mapped below:
Patent No. 12,322,273
Application No. 18/964,323
1. A user wearable monitoring device for improving personal security, the device comprising:
a strap;
a clasp attached to the strap, the clasp configured to move the strap between a closed position and an open position;
a removable chip positioned in an opening on the strap and removably attached to the strap, wherein the removable chip includes GPS tracking and a power source;
a camera embedded in the strap adjacent to the opening, wherein the camera is exposed when the chip is removed from the strap;
a processor located within the strap, the processor configured to communicate with the camera and the removable chip, wherein the processor is configured to detect when the removable chip has been pulled out of the opening and to transmit an alert when the removable chip is removed from the strap.
1. A user wearable monitoring device for improving personal security, the device comprising:
a strap;
a clasp attached to the strap, the clasp configured to move the strap between a closed position and an open position;
a removable chip positioned in an opening on the strap and removably attached to the strap, wherein the removable chip includes GPS tracking and a power source;
a processor located within the strap, the processor configured to communicate with the removable chip, wherein the processor is configured to detect when the removable chip has been pulled out of the opening and to transmit an alert when the removable chip is removed from the strap.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the removable chip comprises an adhesive back surface that is exposed when the removable chip is removed from the strap.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the removable chip comprises an adhesive back surface that is exposed when the removable chip is removed from the strap.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the adhesive back comprises at least one of acrylic and rubber.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the adhesive back comprises at least one of acrylic and rubber.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the removable chip comprises a raised texture to facilitate removal of the chip from the opening on the strap.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the removable chip comprises a raised
texture to facilitate removal of the chip from the opening on the strap.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the clasp and the strap create an uninterrupted surface.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the clasp and the strap create an uninterrupted surface.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the alert to a user device and a third party device.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the alert to a user device and a third party device.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to activate the camera when the removable chip is pulled out of the opening in the strap.
7. Canceled.
8. The device of claim 1, further comprising contact sensors configured for rotating between a locked position and an unlocked position.
8. The device of claim 1, further comprising contact sensors configured for rotating between a locked position and an unlocked position.
9. The device of claim 8, further comprising a gyroscope configured for detecting a position of the contact sensors.
9. The device of claim 8, further comprising a gyroscope configured for detecting a position of the contact sensors.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5-6 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Panneer Selvam et al. (US 2021/0052221) in view of Guo et al. (US 2022/0174497).
As per claim 1, Panneer Selvam et al. disclose a user wearable monitoring device (100, figure 1, paragraph 0053 and 1200, figure 12) for improving personal security, the device comprising:
a strap (118, figure 1, paragraphs 0053-0054);
a clasp (120, figure 1, paragraph 0053) attached to the strap, the clasp configured to move the strap between a closed position and an open position (paragraph 0057);
a removable chip (SIM card) positioned in an opening (slot, 109, figure 1) on the strap and removably attached to the strap (paragraph 0095), a power source (battery, 130, paragraph 0089); remov
a processor (logic engine, 1210, figure 12) located within the strap, the processor being configured to detect biometric data sensed by sensors (1218) and to transmit an alert when a heart rate, blood pressure or hydration of a wearer is above a predetermined threshold to authorized parties (paragraphs 0101, 0106-0107 and 0110), wherein the sensors include a global position system (GPS) configured to determine a location of the wearable monitoring device (paragraph 0122).
Panneer Selvam et al. disclose the instant claimed invention except for the removable chip includes GPS tracking and a processor is configured to detect when the
removable chip has been pulled out of the opening and to transmit an alert when the removable chip is removed from the strap. Guo et al. disclose a communication device (figure 1) comprises a mobile equipment (ME) connecting to a SIM card (paragraphs 0169-0176), wherein when the removable SIM card has been pulled out of the opening and to transmit an alert (paragraphs 0006-0007, 0260-0262). Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to utilize the removal detection as taught by Guo et al. in a system as disclosed by Panneer Selvam et al. for the purpose of alerting the authorized parties that the monitoring device has been tampering.
As per claim 5, Panneer Selvam et al. disclose the clasp and the strap create an
uninterrupted surface (figure 1).
As per claim 6, Panneer Selvam et al. disclose the processor is configured to transmitthe alert to a user device and a third party device (paragraphs 0106-0107).
As per claim 8, Panneer Selvam et al. disclose a contact sensors configured for rotating between a locked position and an unlocked position (paragraphs 0057-0058).
The device of claim 9, Panneer Selvam et al. further disclose comprising a gyroscope configured for detecting a position of the contact sensors (paragraph 0041, 0052 and 0057-0058).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAI T. NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2961. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm.
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/TAI T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685 February 10, 2026