DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 12 recites the limitation "an the occurrence of the event/situation" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, since no previous occurrence of an event/situation was recited in any of the previous claims that claim 12 is dependent on.
Appropriate correction is required.
ART REJECTION:
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.
Claim(s) 1-4,6-9, and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin et al(USPGPUB 2012/0308971 A1) in view of Gold et al(USPat 10,798,547).
-- In considering claim 1, the claimed subject matter that is met by Shin et al(Shin) includes:
1) measuring values of personal parameters linked to the user body and/or of environmental parameters linked to the environment of the user is met by the emotion recognition device(110) including a multi-channel(bio-signal) sensor unit(121) for sensing physiological signals of a human body that are formed during the reaction of the autonomic nervous system, for example, Photoplethysmography (PPG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Skin Conductivity (SC), and Skin Temperature (ST) signal;
2) analyzing the values obtained by the measurement step with respect to trends of values in time is met by the emotional sensed information management unit(223) for analyzing and managing the processed emotional signals(see: Shin, sec[0037]),
3) depending on the result of the analysis, determining whether the measured values correspond to a predetermined indicator or indicators of an attack is met by the danger/criminal emotion recognition management unit(240), which receives the emotional factors sensed by the sensing unit(220), and recognizes and manages the danger and criminal emotions based on the received emotional factors(see: Shin, sec[0040]).
- Shin does not teach:
1) wherein said indicator(s) comprise(s) at least a first-class indicator indicating high probability attack and a second-class indicator indicating lower probability of attack.
Shin does teach that the danger emotion threshold management unit(242), which defines and manages a threshold for a danger emotion(see: Shin, sec[0041]). Wherein emotion transition thresholds are detected by the management unit(242), such that mapping of the detected signals toa danger emotional signal is performed. The management unit(242) extracts optimal thresholds of danger emotional signals for relevant multiple signals, such that an algorithms based on multiple emotional signals is analyzed(see: Shin, sec[0062]).
Use of systems which indicate high probability and lower probability of attacks is well known. In related art, Gold et al(Gold) teaches physiologic sensors for sensing, measuring, transmitting, and processing signals, wherein, physiologic data is sensed and analyzed, and wherein a confidence level is attached to the data. Wherein the confidence levels is associated with particular data, so that the level is based on accuracy or reliability of a particular sensor, such that the physiologic data may include an indication that specifies the confidence level, based on the known accuracy and reliability of the data from the sensor(see: Gold, column 31, lines 31-50). This would equate with a determination of levels of probability, since a confidence level as taught in Gold, would inherently indicate a probability of the level of accuracy of the detected data.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the confidence level including indication as taught by Gold, into the system of Shin, since this would have provided separate distinct indications, based on level of probability.
-- With regards to claim 2,
2) wherein a predetermined first reaction is triggered by the detection of at least one first class indicator of the event is met by the danger/criminal emotion recognition management unit(240), which receives the emotional factors sensed by the sensing unit(220), and recognizes and manages the danger and criminal emotions based on the received emotional factors(see: Shin, sec[0040]).
-- With regards to claim 4,
1) wherein the detection is carried out over a certain period of time is met by the spanning over minutes. hours, or days is met by the relevant physiologic data being correlated for a predetermined period of time(see: Gold, column 30 lines 1-32), upon incorporation of Gold into Shin, as discussed above.
-- With regards to claim 6,
1) wherein said first class indicators comprise high acute stress, sustained high acute stress, high driving speed, harsh braking, harsh driving, abnormal stop, out-of-normal routes, specific sounds, man-down detection, and bullet impacts is met by the recording images and sounds for determining dangerous situations(see: Shin, sec[0045]).
-- With regards to claim 7,
1) wherein second-class indicators comprise sustained acute stress, unknown stop, abnormal driving state, abnormal speed state, unusual body movements is met by the emotion recognition device(110), sensing signals from the body of the wearer, including sensing motions from acceleration and tilt sensors in step S510(see: Shin, sec[0056]), which would have been indicative of unusual body movements.
-- With regards to claim 8,
1) wherein the user is a conveyor is met by the user of the system being monitored by the sensors of the system based on user bio signals of a surrounding environment(see: Shin, sec[0008]).
-- With regards to claim 9,
1) wherein said values are measured by sensors worn by the conveyor comprising:
i) accelerometers, Gyroscope, Magnetometers, person-activity level detections, and abnormal driving events detection;
ii) ECG/PPG;
iii) skin temperature sensors;
iv) body core temperature sensors;
v) skin conductance sensors;
vi) respiration sensors;
vii) GPS sensors;
viii) speed sensors;
ix) sound sensors;
x) shock sensors;
xi) person activity type recognition sensors;
xii) person physical activity level sensors;
xiii) sensors able to detect the behavior of the user's surroundings;
xiv) cameras;
xv) radiation sensors;
xvi) gas composition sensors are met by the various sensors included in Shin, including acceleration sensor, tilt sensor(sec[0091]), skin sensors, temperature, time, environment, location, etc, as included in the bio-signal sensing units(see: Shin, secs0037-0038]).
-- With regards to claim 12,
1) wherein the measurement of values of personal parameters are used to anticipate an the occurrence of the event/ situation or for forensic analysis is met by the mapping to a danger emotional or criminal emotional signal being performed based on analysis that is personal to the particular person being monitored(see: Shin, sec[0090]).
-- With regards to claim 13,
1) wherein a predetermined reaction is triggered depending on the result of the analysis is met by the dangerous and criminal situation action unit configured to activate depending on the danger or criminal emotion, any one of a warning situation processing unit configured to output a warning sound, a location tracking management, automatic reporting configured to report a dangerous situation by calling emergency numbers(see: Shin, sec[0045]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, and 10-11 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
In related art, Shrivastave et al(USPGPUB 2012/0116186) teaches a method and apparatus o for evaluation of a subject’s emotional physiological and physical state, wherein the system observes a speaking rate during a time duration, to determine the stress or distress that the subject is dealing with at the time(see: sec[0043-0044]).
Bunn et al(USPGPUB 2006/0028556 A1) teaches a voice lip reading face and emotion stress analysis and fuzzy logic camera syste3m, wherein a computer analysis pattern recognition of stress analysis of a person, to determine potential threat of or by a person, or crowd or activity, so as to determine potentially dangerous situations(see: sec[0031]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARYL C POPE whose telephone number is (571)272-2959. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM M-F.
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/DARYL C POPE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686
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