DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The action is in response to the application filed on 03/25/2025. Claims 1-20 are pending and examined below.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 7, 11, 15, 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210169420 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Jung”) in view of US 20170127944 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Sun”).
Regarding claims 1, 15, 19, Jung teaches a wearable device/ A temperature measurement method performed by a wearable device including a temperature sensing element, the temperature measurement method/ One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a wearable device individually or collectively (abstract) comprising:
a housing having a first surface, a second surface, and a side surface (“Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C, according to an embodiment, the wearable device 101 b (e.g., the electronic device 101 of FIG. 1A) may include a housing 110 a including a first surface (or front surface) 110A, a second surface (or rear surface) 110B, and a side surface 110C surrounding the space between the first surface 110A and the second surface 110B “; paragraphs [0051]; as shown in Figures 1B-D);
a display disposed on the first surface (120; paragraphs [0052]-[0054]; Figure 1D);
a contact part at least partially exposed to the second surface (as shown in Figures 4A);
a biometric sensor (paragraphs [0107]-[0111]);
memory storing one or more computer programs (130; paragraph [0030]; Figure 1A); and
one or more processors communicatively coupled to the display, and the memory (120; paragraph [0030]; Figure 1A).
Jung also teaches having a temperature sensor (paragraph [0039], [0056]),
but does not explicitly teach a temperature sensing element in which a parameter value designated by an object contacted through the contact part is changed; supply a constant current or a constant voltage to the temperature sensing element by using the biometric sensor, measure the parameter value of the temperature sensing element changed by the constant current or the constant voltage by using the biometric sensor, and determine a temperature of an object in contact with the contact part based on the measured parameter value.
Sun teaches a temperature sensing element in which a parameter value designated by an object contacted through the contact part is changed (100; paragraphs [0032]-[0033]; Figure 1A);
supply a constant current or a constant voltage to the temperature sensing element by using the biometric sensor (“a constant current driving circuit 221 can be provided in the control circuitry 22, so as to drive the NTC thermistor 21 with a constant current”; paragraphs [0046]-[0048]; paragraph [0033]),
measure the parameter value of the temperature sensing element changed by the constant current or the constant voltage by using the biometric sensor (paragraph [0033]; [0046]-[0048]), and
determine a temperature of an object in contact with the contact part based on the measured parameter value (paragraph [0033]; [0046]-[0048]). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Jung, to include the resistive temperature sensing element of Sun, because doing so adds additional functionality to the device of Jung which already teaches having various sensor capabilities.
Regarding claim 2, Jung, in view of Sun, teaches wherein the biometric sensor is an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor or a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) sensor (paragraphs [0081]-[0082], [0107]-[0111]; as taught by Jung).
Regarding claim 7, Jung, in view of Sun, teaches wherein the biometric sensor is a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor (paragraph [0056], [0081]; as taught by Jung).
Regarding claims 11 and 20, Jung, in view of Sun, teaches further comprising:
a sensor (contact detecting unit; paragraphs [0107]-[0113]]; as taught by Jung),
wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the wearable device to:
sense whether a user is wearing the wearable device through the sensor and performing sensing steps once the user is wearing the wearable device (paragraph [0167]-[0172]; as taught by Jung), but does not explicitly teach drive the temperature sensing element.
However, Sun teaches drive the temperature sensing element. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Jung, in view of Sun, to drive the temperature sensing element, as taught by Sun, because doing so allows for the device of Jung to measure a user’s body temperature (paragraph [0033]; [0046]-[0048]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, in view of Sun, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20230000360 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Von Bossche”).
Regarding claim 12, Jung, in view of Sun, does not explicitly teach wherein the temperature sensing element is a thermoelectric conversion element
However, Bosshe teaches wherein the temperature sensing element is a thermoelectric conversion element (PT1000; paragraph [0085]). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Jung, in view of Sun, to have a platinum RTD as the resistive temperature sensor, as taught by Von Bossche because Making this modification merely combines prior art elements according to known methods well known in the industry (see MPEP 2143, KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007)).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, in view of Sun, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20210223118 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Fujii”).
Regarding claim 13, Jung, in view of Sun, does not explicitly teach wherein the memory stores a matching table for the parameter value and a temperature value, and
wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the wearable device to determine the temperature by referring to the matching table.
However, Fujii teaches wherein the memory stores a matching table for the parameter value and a temperature value (paragraph [0027]-[0028]), and wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the wearable device to determine the temperature by referring to the matching table (paragraph [0027]-[0028]). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Jung, in view of Sun, to have a conversion table and determine temperature based of the conversion table, as taught by Fujii, because doing so doing so provides a computational efficient technique.
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jung, in view of Sun, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20200275841 A1 (hereinafter referred to as “Telfort”).
Regarding claim 14, Jung, in view of Sun, does not explicitly teach wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the wearable device to, when a distribution of the parameter value is less than or equal to a designated reference value, determine the temperature by averaging parameter values acquired a plurality of times for a designated time.
However, Telfort teaches wherein the one or more computer programs further include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the wearable device to, when a distribution of the parameter value is less than or equal to a designated reference value, determine the temperature by averaging parameter values acquired a plurality of times for a designated time (paragraphs [0064]-[0069]). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Jung, in view of Sun, to determine temperature by averaging parameter values over time, as taught by Telfort, because doing so reduces inaccurate/noisy measurements and thereby produces a more accurate temperature determination.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 8, 17, and claims dependent thereof, are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/ABID A MUSTANSIR/ Examiner, Art Unit 3791
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