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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 23 is allowed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4-8, 14-22 and 24-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Elias et al. (Elias; US Pub No. 2021/0405173 A1).
As per claim 1, Elias discloses a health and safety monitoring and alert system comprising:
a main system (paragraph [0044]) including:
a processor configured to communicate health and safety information relating to occupants in a space (paragraph [0005]; paragraph [0045], lines 5-6);
a readable and writable storage medium communicatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions that are executable by the processor (paragraph [0166]); and
a visualization system configured to communicate with the processor, the visualization system including a display interface (paragraph [0141], line 20); and
a detection system (paragraph [0049], lines 1-4) including:
a controller coupled to a module configured to detect health and safety information relating to occupants in a space (paragraph [0049], lines 1-4; paragraph [0114]), the controller including a controller processor and a readable and writable controller storage medium communicatively coupled to the controller processor and storing instructions that are executable by the controller processor (paragraphs [0114] & [0166]), the module including a presence detection module configured to detect human presence and movement in the space (paragraph [0002]);
wherein the display interface is configured to represent the detected health and safety information by using at least one of symbols, numbers, or colors (paragraph [0090], lines 1-6: number of humans present), and the health and safety information includes occupancy information, the occupancy information including the presence and movement of occupants in the space (paragraph [0002]);
wherein the presence detection module comprises at least one of a radar module or a laser module (paragraph [0049], lines 1-4; paragraph [0141], lines 11-12), and the presence detection module is configured to emit signals, detect reflections of the emitted signals from multiple objects in the space, analyze the detected reflections, and determine the presence and movement of occupants in the space (paragraph [0051]); and
wherein the detection system is configured to communicate the detected health and safety information with the main system by a network connection (paragraph [0044]).
As per claim 4, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module includes a laser module, and the laser module employs LiDAR (paragraph [0141], lines 11-12).
As per claim 5, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module is configured to detect micro-tremors such that the presence detection module can distinguish occupants from objects in the monitored space (paragraph [0002]), analyze occupants' heart and/or breathing rates (paragraph [0051]), and compare the heart and/or breathing rates with heart and/or breathing patterns in a database (paragraph [0051], lines 11-14).
As per claim 6, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 5, wherein the presence detection module includes a radar module (paragraph [0049], lines 1-4), and the radar module is configured to detect the breathing rates of the occupant and compares the breathing rates with the breathing patterns (paragraph [0051]).
As per claim 7, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 6, wherein the breathing patterns stored in the database are in the case of a fall, whereby the radar module detects a fall of the occupant (paragraph [0052]).
As per claim 8, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 5, wherein the presence detection module is configured to detect a change in the heart or breathing rate, or both, of an occupant in the monitored space and compares the change with the heart and/or breathing patterns stored in the database (paragraphs [0051] & [0052]).
As per claim 14, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module is configured to track movement of occupants, the movement of occupants including detecting entrance into, and departure from the monitored space (paragraph [0045], lines 16-18) and count a number of people in the monitored space, and the occupancy information includes the number of people in the monitored space (paragraph [0090], lines 1-6).
As per claim 15, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 14, wherein the presence detection module is configured to track the movement of occupants crossing a line dividing the monitored space into subspaces and count a number of people in each subspace, the line includes one or more lines including a straight line and/or curved line, and the occupancy information includes the number of occupants in each subspace (Fig. 1A; paragraph [0134], lines 5-15).
As per claim 16, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according claim 1, wherein the visualization system is configured to represent at least one of the monitored spaces on the display interface (paragraph [0045], lines 29-34; Fig. 1A; paragraph [0134], lines 5-15).
As per claim 17, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 16, wherein the display interface includes at least one window showing one of the monitored spaces (paragraph [0045], lines 29-34; paragraph [0047], lines 1-6).
As per claim 18, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module is configured to determine the movement and nonmovement of occupants in the space and detect a standstill of an occupant in the space when the nonmovement of the occupant exceeds a predetermined threshold (paragraphs [0051] & [0085]).
As per claim 19, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 18, wherein the display interface represents the detected standstill (paragraph [0045], lines 29-34; paragraph [0051]).
As per claim 20, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module includes a first presence detection module and a second presence detection module (paragraph [0038]), the first presence detection module includes a module selected from the group consisting of a radar module, a laser module, a thermal module, an infrared module, a Bluetooth module, and combinations thereof (paragraph [0039], line 13; paragraph [0049], lines 1-4; paragraph [0141], line 12), and the second presence detection module includes a module selected from the group consisting of a radar module, a laser module, a thermal module, an infrared module, a Bluetooth module, and combinations thereof (paragraph [0039], line 13; paragraph [0049], lines 1-4; paragraph [0141], line 12), wherein each presence detection module is configured to emit signals, detect reflections of the emitted signals from multiple objects in the space, analyze the detected
reflections, and determine the presence and movement of occupants in the space (paragraphs [0038] & [0047]).
As per claim 21, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 20, wherein the second presence detection module includes the selected module different from the selected module of the first presence detection module (paragraph [0038]: different presence detection modules for different rooms or apartments).
As per claim 22, Elias discloses the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the visualization system is configured to provide physical information of the monitored space, the physical information including at least one of a floor plan, a map, or a background of the monitored space, and the display interface is configured to provide the physical information in conjunction with the detected health and safety information (paragraph [0152], lines 1-8).
As per claim 24, (see rejection of claims 1 and 15 above) a method of monitoring health and safety information of a space, the method comprising:
providing a detection system including a presence detection module and a main system including a visualization system including a display interface, wherein the presence detection module includes at least one of a radar module or a laser module;
detecting signals in a space by the detection system;
analyzing the signals and determining human presence and movement in the space by the detection system;
detecting occupancy information by the detection;
communicating the occupancy information between the detection system and the main system; and
representing, by the visualization system, the occupancy information on the display interface by using at least one of symbols, numbers, or colors;
wherein the presence detection module is configured to track the movement of occupants crossing a line dividing the monitored space into subspaces and count a number of people in each subspace, the line includes one or more lines including a straight line and/or curved line; and
wherein the occupancy information includes the human presence and movement in the space and the number of occupants in each monitored space and subspace.
As per claim 25, (see rejection of claim 15 above) the method according to claim 24, wherein the presence detection module is configured to track the movement of occupants crossing a line dividing the monitored space into subspaces and count a number of people in each subspace, the line includes one or more lines including a straight line and/or curved line, and the occupancy information includes the number of occupants in each subspace.
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) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elias in view of Assouad (US Pub No. 2024/0354446 A1).
As per claim 2, Elias teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1, wherein the presence detection module includes a radar module (paragraph [0049], lines 1-4).
Elias does not expressly teach and the radar module is configured to use millimeter wave signals, wherein the millimeter wave signals have a frequency range from about 30 GHz to about 90 GHz.
Assouad teaches and the radar module is configured to use millimeter wave signals, wherein the millimeter wave signals have a frequency range from about 30 GHz to about 90 GHz (paragraph [0153], lines 1-3).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the frequency band as taught by Assouad, since Assouad states in paragraph [0154] that such a frequency band would be operable to detect and classify human motion.
As per claim 3, Elias in view of Assouad further teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 2, wherein the frequency of the millimeter wave signal is about 60 GHz (Assouad, paragraph [0153], lines 1-3).
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elias in view Maslik et al. (Maslik; US Pub No. 2021/0398666 A1).
As per claim 9, Elias teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 8 (paragraphs [0051] & [0052]).
Elias does not expressly teach wherein the heart and/or breathing patterns stored in the database are in the case of a narcotic overdose, whereby the radar module detects a narcotic overdose.
Maslik teaches wherein the heart and/or breathing patterns stored in the database are in the case of a narcotic overdose, whereby the radar module detects a narcotic overdose (paragraphs [0007] & [0231]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the identification of an overdose as taught by Maslik, since Maslik states that such a modification would result monitoring individuals within a space for any potential signs which could lead to death.
As per claim 10, Elias in view of Maslik further teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 9, wherein the change is a decrease in the heart and breathing rate of the occupant, whereby the presence detection module detects signs of an opioid overdose (Maslik, paragraph [0231]).
Claim(s) 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elias in view of Niu et al. (Niu; US Patent No. 12,444,072 B1).
As per claim 11, Elias teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 1.
Elias does not expressly teach wherein the presence detection module is configured to track an occupant in the monitored space and measures a height of the occupant, and the occupancy information includes the height of each occupant in the monitored space.
Niu teaches wherein the presence detection module is configured to track an occupant in the monitored space and measures a height of the occupant, and the occupancy information includes the height of each occupant in the monitored space (col. 2, lines 33-40 & 44-45).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement the posture determination as taught by Niu since Niu states in column 2, lines 33-45 that such a modification would result in dynamic object classification.
As per claim 12, Elias in view of Niu further teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 11, wherein the display interface represents the height of each occupant in the monitored space (Niu, col. 2, lines 44-45; col. 43, lines 25-30).
As per claim 13, Elias in view of Niu further teaches the health and safety monitoring and alert system according to claim 11, wherein the presence detection module is configured to compare the height of an occupant in the monitored space with postures in a database, the database including various postures with corresponding heights, including postures of standing positions, postures of lying positions, and postures of sitting positions, the radar module identifies the posture of the occupant, and the occupancy information includes the posture of each occupant in the monitored space (Niu, col. 2, lines 33-35).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Trikha et al. (US Pub No. 2023/0152652 A1): similar inventive concept
Dreuillet et al. (US Pub No. 2010/0321184 A1): similar inventive concept
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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