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 .
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is in response to communications filed May 08, 2026. Claims 1, 10, 11, 16 and 18 have been amended. Claim 2 has been cancelled. Claims 1 and 3-20 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
All previous 35 USC § 112 rejections drawn towards the claims have been overcome by Applicant.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McAnena (US Pub No. 2022/0071512 A1) in view of Osterweil (US Patent No. 7,916,066 B1).
As per claim 1, McAnena teaches a bed exit monitoring system comprising:
a distance sensor array comprising distance sensors and a sensor array module (Fig. 2, Device 100, Range Sensor 140; paragraph [0071])… and the sensor array module operable to receive and process the distance signals output by the distance sensors and output a distance signal matrix according to all the distance signals (Fig. 5; paragraph [0008], lines 8-14);
a thermal sensor configured to measure a temperature in a range of the bed body and output a corresponding temperature signal (paragraph [0008], lines 3-8);
a processing unit, configured to process the distance signal matrix of the distance sensor array and the temperature signal of the thermal sensor to determine a human body position, and output a position state signal of the human body (Figs. 6a-6f; paragraph [0008]);
a first alarm unit, configured to identify the position state signal output by the processing unit and make corresponding feedback (paragraph [0050], lines 1-6).
McAnena does not expressly teach the distance sensors radially facing different directions, respectively, and each distance sensor operable to measure a distance between a human body and the distance sensor in a measurement angle, and output a corresponding distance signal, wherein the measurement angles of the distance sensors are different from each other and the measurement angles of all the distance sensors cover a bed body and a vicinity of the bed body.
Osterweil teaches the distance sensors radially facing different directions, respectively (Fig. 4, Beam Radars 200a, 200b), and each distance sensor operable to measure a distance between a human body and the distance sensor in a measurement angle (Fig. 4; col. 12, lines 47-67), and output a corresponding distance signal, wherein the measurement angles of the distance sensors are different from each other and the measurement angles of all the distance sensors cover a bed body and a vicinity of the bed body (Fig. 4; col. 12, lines 47-67).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the multiple radar beams as taught by Osterweil, since Osterweil states in column 12, lines 47-67 that such a modification would result in determining the location of a patient relative to a bed.
As per claim 3, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the distance sensor is a ToF lidar sensor (McAnena, paragraph [0013]).
As per claim 4, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor, wherein the temperature sensor communicates with the processing unit (McAnena, Fig. 2, Thermographic Sensor 130, Processing Unit 150), and is configured to measure a room temperature and output a corresponding temperature signal (McAnena, paragraph [0008], lines 4-8; paragraph [0031], lines 6-7: ambient temperature).
As per claim 5, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein a classification module is arranged in the processing unit, and programmed to classify a human body position into safe, abnormal, or high-risk states based on the distance signal matrix of the distance sensor array and the temperature signal output by the thermal sensor and the temperature sensor (McAnena, paragraph [0068], lines 7-13: high-risk; paragraphs [0008] & [0031]).
As per claim 6, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising a remote device, wherein the remote device comprises a second alarm unit, the second alarm unit is configured to identify the position state signal output by the processing unit and make a corresponding feedback, and the second alarm unit generates an auditory alarm and/or a visual alarm (McAnena, paragraphs [0026] & [0122]).
As per claim 7, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein the remote device further comprises a display unit, and the display unit communicated with the processing unit and is configured to present a real-time human body position states (McAnena, paragraphs [0083] & [0122]).
As per claim 8, McAnena in view of Osterweil further teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication module configured to transmit a position state signal of the human body (McAnena, paragraph [0073]).
Claim(s) 10 and 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McAnena in view of Osterweil as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shin et al. (Shin; US Pub No. 2022/0051689 A1).
As per claim 10, McAnena in view of Osterweil teaches a bed exit monitoring device, comprising… the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 1.
McAnena in view of Osterweil does not expressly teach comprising: a case…
the case is provided with a chamber set inside (Fig. 3B), and a switch set outside;
the distance sensor array, disposed on the case and face the bed body, comprises distance sensors and a sensor array module;
the thermal sensor is disposed on the case and faces the bed body;
the circuit board assembly is disposed in the chamber of the case and comprises a processor, and the processor is in communication with the distance sensor array and the thermal sensor;
the speaker assembly is disposed on the case and in communication with the processor.
Shin teaches comprising: a case (Fig. 3A)… a print circuit board assembly (paragraph [0123], line 4), and a speaker assembly (paragraph [0123], lines 4-5); wherein
the case is provided with a chamber set inside (Fig. 3B), and a switch set outside (paragraph [0221], lines 25-26);
the distance sensor array, disposed on the case and face the bed body (Fig. 9), comprises distance sensors and a sensor array module (Fig. 3B; paragraph [0003]; paragraph [0043], lines 6-8);
the thermal sensor is disposed on the case and faces the bed body (Fig. 9; paragraph [0057]: PIR Sensor 138);
the circuit board assembly is disposed in the chamber of the case and comprises a processor (Fig. 3B, Main Circuit Board 303; paragraph [0055]), and the processor is in communication with the distance sensor array and the thermal sensor (paragraph [0055]);
the speaker assembly is disposed on the case and in communication with the processor (Fig. 3B, Speaker Assembly 305; paragraph [0055]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the detection device as taught by Shin, since the use of such a detection device would allow portability between different bedsides and use where needed.
As per claim 12, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 10, wherein the case is configured as a shape of a cat (It has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a desired housing shape as a matter of obvious design choice.), and comprises a front case and a rear case, and the front case and the rear case are detachably connected (Shin, Fig. 3B); the speaker assembly comprises a speaker and a volume button, the speaker is disposed on the front case, and the volume button is disposed on the rear case (Shin, Fig. 3B; paragraph [0123], lines 4-5; paragraph [0128], lines 11-13).
As per claim 13, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 10, further comprising a temperature sensor disposed on the case and configured to measure the room temperature (Shin, paragraph [0057], lines 13-15).
As per claim 14, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 10, further comprising a remote device, wherein the remote device is in communication with the processor (Shin, paragraph [0245]: remote device).
As per claim 15, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 14, further comprising a cloud server, wherein the cloud server is in communication connection with the processor and the remote device respectively (Shin, paragraph [0065], lines 17-21).
As per claim 16, McAnena in view of Osterweil teaches a bed exit monitoring method utilizing the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 10, the method comprising:
installing the bed exit monitoring device on the bed body (McAnena, paragraph [0016]);
witching on the device (McAnena, paragraph [0019], line 5) and connecting to a… server (McAnena, paragraph [0052]);
measuring, by the distance sensor array, the distances between the human body and the distance sensors (McAnena, paragraph [0008], lines 8-14); and measuring, by the thermal sensor, the temperature in the range of (McAnena, paragraph [0010], lines 1-13); and… a room temperature (McAnena, paragraph [0031], lines 6-7);
determining, by the processor, the human body position based on distance sensor array and also a temperature difference between a thermal sensor reading of the thermal sensor and a temperature sensor reading of the temperature sensor, and determining a human body position state (McAnena, paragraph [0008]; paragraph [0031]);
uploading, by the processor, the human body position state to a… server (McAnena, paragraphs [0026], [0052] & [0122]);
sending, by the… server (McAnena, paragraph [0052]), the human body position state to a remote device (McAnena, paragraphs [0026] & [0122]);
displaying, by the remote device, the human body position state, and feeding back corresponding prompt information in different states (McAnena, paragraphs [0026] & [0122]).
McAnena in view of Osterweil does not expressly teach and connecting to a cloud server… and measuring, by a temperature sensor, a room temperature… a cloud server… sending, by the cloud server.
Shin teaches and connecting to a cloud server (paragraph [0065])… and measuring, by a temperature sensor, a room temperature (paragraph [0149]: environmental sensor for measuring temperature)… a cloud server… sending, by the cloud server (paragraph [0065]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the temperature sensor and cloud server as taught by Shin, since Shin states that the use of such components is well known in the art for gathering desired data and for sharing gathered data.
As per claim 17, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring method according to claim 16, wherein the step of measuring comprises: each distance sensor in the distance sensor array measures a distance between a human body and a sensor in different angles, and outputs a corresponding distance signal; a sensor array module of the distance sensor array receives and processes the distance signal output by each distance sensor, and outputs a distance signal matrix according to all the distance signals (McAnena, Figs. 6a-6f; paragraph [0008]).
As per claim18, McAnena in view Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring method according to claim 17, wherein the distance sensor array’s measurement range further comprises the area around the bed body (McAnena, Fig. 1).
As per claim 19, McAnena in view Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the bed exit monitoring method according to claim 16, wherein the determining which human body position state the human in comprises:
when the results of the distance sensor array readings and the temperature difference between the thermal sensor reading and the temperature sensor reading meet a first preset condition, determining, by the processor, the position of the human body as a safe state (McAnena, Figs. 6a-6b);
when the above results meet a second preset condition, determining, by the processor, the human body position as an abnormal state (McAnena, paragraph [0112]);
when the above results meet a third preset condition, determining, by the processor, the human body position as a high-risk state (McAnena, paragraph [0111]);
when the above results meet the forth preset condition, determining, by the processor, that a caregiver exists around the bed body (McAnena, paragraph [0010], lines 16-18).
As per claim 20, McAnena in view of Osterweil, and further in view of Shin, further teaches the method according to claim 19, wherein the first preset condition to the fourth preset condition are set according to a spatial size of the detection range (McAnena, paragraphs [0107]-[0118]).
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McAnena in view of Osterweil as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Lin et al. (Lin; US Patent No. 11,763,935 B2).
As per claim 9, McAnena in view of Osterweil teaches the bed exit monitoring system according to claim 6, further comprising… server sends the position state signal to the remote device (McAnena, paragraphs [0026], [0051]-[0052] & [0122]).
McAnena in view of Osterweil does not expressly teach a cloud server, wherein the processing unit uploads the position state signal to the cloud server, and the cloud server sends the position state signal to the remote device.
Lin teaches a cloud server, wherein the processing unit uploads the position state signal to the cloud server, and the cloud server sends the position state signal to the remote device (col. 11, lines 7-19).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the cloud server communication as taught by Lin, since Lin states in column 11, lines 7-19 that such a modification would result in establishing communication between two devices located remotely from one another.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McAnena in view of Osterweil and Shin as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Wiggermann et al. (Wiggermann; US Pub No. 2017/0032650 A1).
As per claim 11, McAnena in view of Osterweil and Shin teaches the bed exit monitoring device according to claim 10.
McAnena in view of Osterweil and Shin does not expressly teach further comprising a bracket disposed on the bed body
Wiggermann teaches further comprising a bracket disposed on the bed body (paragraph [0051]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the housing mountable on a bed frame as taught by Wiggermann, since Wiggermann states in paragraph [0051] that such a configuration is well known in the art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the above claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAOMI J SMALL whose telephone number is (571)270-5184. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5PM.
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/NAOMI J SMALL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
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