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 .
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.
Terminal Disclaimer
The terminal disclaimer filed on 23 June 2026 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of U.S. 11,644,799 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
Specification
The amendments to the Specification received 23 June 2026 are accepted.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-14, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forutanpour et al. (hereinafter “Forutanpour” US 2013 / 0265229) in view of Yuen et al. (hereinafter “Yuen” US 2014 / 0107493).
(It should be noted that the Yuen reference was submitted by the applicant via the Information Disclosure Statement received 20 March 2026).
As pertaining to Claim 1, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) a wearable apparatus (220) for gesture control (see Page 1 through Page 2, Para. [0017]), comprising:
one or more first sensors (see (330) as EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist (210) of a user when the wearable apparatus (220) is worn by the user, wherein the one or more first sensors (330) are configured to generate first signals (i.e., EMG signals) associated with muscle activity of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]);
an inertial sensor (310) configured to generate second signals (i.e., motion signals) associated with a motion of the user (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0022]-[0025]); and
one or more processors (320; see Page 3, Para. [0026]) configured to:
receive the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) generated by the one or more first sensors (330);
receive the second signals (i.e., the motion signals) generated by the inertial sensor (310);
determine a gesture of the user (see (540) in Fig. 5) based at least in part on an analysis (see (520, 530) in Fig. 5) of the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) and the second signals (i.e., the motion signals); and
perform an action (i.e., a command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) associated with the gesture (see Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose a structural configuration associated with the wearable apparatus (220). That is, Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose that the wearable apparatus (220) comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the back-plate comprises the one or more first sensors configured to contact skin on the wrist of the user, and the inertial sensor and the one or more processors are disposed in the housing.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yuen discloses (see Fig. 3) a wearable apparatus analogous to that of Forutanpour, for determining gestures of a user and performing actions associated with those gestures (see Page 1, Para. [0002]; and Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]), wherein the wearable apparatus comprises a housing (see “Device Housing”) and a back-plate (i.e., an underside of the “Device Housing”) coupled to the housing (again, see “Device Housing”), wherein the back-plate (i.e., the underside of the “Device Housing”) comprises one or more first sensors (see “Sensor Protrusion” corresponding to EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist of a user and generate signals associated with muscle activity, and an inertial sensor (i.e., an accelerometer) configured to generate signals associated with a motion of the user and one or more processors configured to process the sensor signals disposed in the housing (again, see “Device Housing”; see Page 7, Para. [0067] and [0070]; Page 11, Para. [0096]-[0097]; Page 12, Para. [0108]; and Page 16, Para. [0116]). It is a goal of Yuen to provide an effective means for biological monitoring in a wrist-worn device, analogous that that of Forutanpour, that combines the sensing of muscle activity and the sensing of motion to support any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user (again, see Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]). Further, Yuen discloses a structural configuration of a wearable apparatus that is implicit in the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Forutanpour with the teachings of Yuen, such that the wearable apparatus (220) of Forutanpour comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the back-plate comprises the one or more first sensors configured to contact skin on the wrist of the user, and the inertial sensor and the one or more processors are disposed in the housing, as suggested by Yuen, in order to provide an effective means for implementing the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour in a manner that supports any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user.
As pertaining to Claim 2, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) are positioned on the back-plate (i.e., an underside), and the wearable apparatus (220) is a wristwatch (220; see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]; also see Fig. 3 of Yuen).
As pertaining to Claim 3, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) comprise at least two contact sensors (i.e., multiple EMG sensors and/or multiple EMG electrodes) configured to contact the skin on the wrist (210) of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]).
As pertaining to Claim 4, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) comprise an electromyography (EMG) sensor configured to detect electrical signals generated by the muscle activity of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]).
As pertaining to Claim 7, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the second signals (i.e., the motion signals; see (310)) comprise rotation information (i.e., hand motion information) associated with the motion of the user (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0022]-[0025] and Page 5, Para. [0048]).
As pertaining to Claim 8, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the analysis of the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals; see (330)) and the second signals (i.e., the motion signals; see (310)) uses a machine learning algorithm (i.e., processing functionality) to determine the gesture (see Page 3, Para. [0026] and Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
As pertaining to Claim 9, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the action (i.e., the command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) comprises outputting a flag (i.e., a gesture-identifier) that identifies a gesture (see Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
As pertaining to Claim 10, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the action (i.e., the command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) comprises controlling an electronic device distinct from the wearable apparatus (see Page 3, Para. [0026] and Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
As pertaining to Claim 11, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) a method of gesture control with a wearable apparatus (220; see Page 1 through Page 2, Para. [0017]), the method comprising:
generating, by one or more first sensors (see (330) as EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist (210) of a user when the wearable apparatus (220) is worn by the user, first signals (i.e., EMG signals) associated with muscle activity of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]);
generating, by an inertial sensor (310), second signals (i.e., motion signals) associated with a motion of the user (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0022]-[0025]);
receiving (i.e., via one or more processors (320; see Page 3, Para. [0026]) the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) generated by the one or more first sensors (330);
receiving (i.e., via (320)) the second signals (i.e., the motion signals) generated by the inertial sensor (310);
determining (i.e., via (320)) a gesture of the user (see (540) in Fig. 5) based at least in part on an analysis (see (520, 530) in Fig. 5) of the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) and the second signals (i.e., the motion signals); and
performing (i.e., via (320)) an action (i.e., a command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) associated with the gesture (see Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose a structural configuration associated with the wearable apparatus (220). That is, Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose that the wearable apparatus (220) comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the one or more first sensors are positioned on a back-plate of the wearable apparatus, and the inertial sensor is disposed in the housing.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yuen discloses (see Fig. 3) a wearable apparatus analogous to that of Forutanpour, for determining gestures of a user and performing actions associated with those gestures (see Page 1, Para. [0002]; and Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]), wherein the wearable apparatus comprises a housing (see “Device Housing”) and a back-plate (i.e., an underside of the “Device Housing”) coupled to the housing (again, see “Device Housing”), wherein the back-plate (i.e., the underside of the “Device Housing”) comprises one or more first sensors (see “Sensor Protrusion” corresponding to EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist of a user and generate signals associated with muscle activity, and an inertial sensor (i.e., an accelerometer) configured to generate signals associated with a motion of the user and one or more processors configured to process the sensor signals disposed in the housing (again, see “Device Housing”; see Page 7, Para. [0067] and [0070]; Page 11, Para. [0096]-[0097]; Page 12, Para. [0108]; and Page 16, Para. [0116]). It is a goal of Yuen to provide an effective means for biological monitoring in a wrist-worn device, analogous that that of Forutanpour, that combines the sensing of muscle activity and the sensing of motion to support any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user (again, see Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]). Further, Yuen discloses a structural configuration of a wearable apparatus that is implicit in the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Forutanpour with the teachings of Yuen, such that the wearable apparatus (220) of Forutanpour comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the wearable apparatus (220) comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the one or more first sensors are positioned on a back-plate of the wearable apparatus, and the inertial sensor is disposed in the housing, as suggested by Yuen, in order to provide an effective means for implementing the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour in a manner that supports any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user.
As pertaining to Claim 12, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) are positioned on the back-plate (i.e., an underside), and the wearable apparatus (220) is a wristwatch (220; see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]; also see Fig. 3 of Yuen).
As pertaining to Claim 13, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) comprise at least two contact sensors (i.e., multiple EMG sensors and/or multiple EMG electrodes) configured to contact the skin on the wrist (210) of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]).
As pertaining to Claim 14, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the one or more first sensors (330) comprise an electromyography (EMG) sensor configured to detect electrical signals generated by the muscle activity of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]).
As pertaining to Claim 17, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the second signals (i.e., the motion signals; see (310)) comprise rotation information (i.e., hand motion information) associated with the motion of the user (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0022]-[0025] and Page 5, Para. [0048]).
As pertaining to Claim 18, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the analysis of the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals; see (330)) and the second signals (i.e., the motion signals; see (310)) uses a machine learning algorithm (i.e., processing functionality) to determine the gesture (see Page 3, Para. [0026] and Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
As pertaining to Claim 19, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that the action (i.e., the command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) comprises outputting a flag (i.e., a gesture-identifier) that identifies a gesture (see Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
As pertaining to Claim 20, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) a non-transitory computer-readable medium (see Page 6, Para. [0058]-[0059]) comprising one or more computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device (220; see Page 1 through Page 2, Para. [0017]), cause the computing device to:
generate, by one or more first sensors (see (330) as EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist (210) of a user when the wearable apparatus (220) is worn by the user, first signals (i.e., EMG signals) associated with muscle activity of the user (see Page 2, Para. [0019]-[0021]);
generate, by an inertial sensor (310), second signals (i.e., motion signals) associated with a motion of the user (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0022]-[0025]);
receive (i.e., via one or more processors (320; see Page 3, Para. [0026]) the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) generated by the one or more first sensors (330);
receive (i.e., via (320)) the second signals (i.e., the motion signals) generated by the inertial sensor (310);
determine (i.e., via (320)) a gesture of the user (see (540) in Fig. 5) based at least in part on an analysis (see (520, 530) in Fig. 5) of the first signals (i.e., the EMG signals) and the second signals (i.e., the motion signals); and
perform (i.e., via (320)) an action (i.e., a command action; see (550) in Fig. 5) associated with the gesture (see Page 4 through Page 5, Para. [0039]-[0042]).
Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose a structural configuration associated with the wearable apparatus (220). That is, Forutanpour does not explicitly disclose that the wearable apparatus (220) comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the one or more first sensors are positioned on a back-plate of the wearable apparatus, and the inertial sensor is disposed in the housing.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Yuen discloses (see Fig. 3) a wearable apparatus analogous to that of Forutanpour, for determining gestures of a user and performing actions associated with those gestures (see Page 1, Para. [0002]; and Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]), wherein the wearable apparatus comprises a housing (see “Device Housing”) and a back-plate (i.e., an underside of the “Device Housing”) coupled to the housing (again, see “Device Housing”), wherein the back-plate (i.e., the underside of the “Device Housing”) comprises one or more first sensors (see “Sensor Protrusion” corresponding to EMG sensors) configured to contact skin on a wrist of a user and generate signals associated with muscle activity, and an inertial sensor (i.e., an accelerometer) configured to generate signals associated with a motion of the user and one or more processors configured to process the sensor signals disposed in the housing (again, see “Device Housing”; see Page 7, Para. [0067] and [0070]; Page 11, Para. [0096]-[0097]; Page 12, Para. [0108]; and Page 16, Para. [0116]). It is a goal of Yuen to provide an effective means for biological monitoring in a wrist-worn device, analogous that that of Forutanpour, that combines the sensing of muscle activity and the sensing of motion to support any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user (again, see Page 15 through Page 16, Para. [0179] and [0182]). Further, Yuen discloses a structural configuration of a wearable apparatus that is implicit in the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Forutanpour with the teachings of Yuen, such that the wearable apparatus (220) of Forutanpour comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the wearable apparatus (220) comprises a housing and a back-plate coupled to the housing, such that the one or more first sensors are positioned on a back-plate of the wearable apparatus, and the inertial sensor is disposed in the housing, as suggested by Yuen, in order to provide an effective means for implementing the wearable apparatus of Forutanpour in a manner that supports any variety of applications and/or interfacing functions specific to the user.
Claims 5-6 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forutanpour in view of Yuen and further in view of Beck et al. (hereinafter “Beck” US 2010 / 0317958).
As pertaining to Claim 5, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that an EMG sensor comprises one or more electrodes to detect electrical activity (see Page 2, Para. [0019]). However, neither Forutanpour nor Yuen explicitly shows that the EMG sensor comprises a first sensor electrode comprising a first electrically conductive plate and a second sensor electrode comprising a second electrically conductive plate.
Still, in the same field of endeavor, Beck discloses (see Fig. 2a) a wearable apparatus (100) comprising one or more first sensors (102, 104) configured to contact skin of a user when the wearable apparatus (100) is worn by the user, wherein the one or more first sensors (102, 104) comprise an electromyography (EMG) sensor configured to detect electrical signals generated by the muscle activity of the user (see Page 1, Para. [0009]). In this regard, Beck discloses that it was well-known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that an electromyography (EMG) sensor comprises a first sensor electrode (102) comprising a first electrically conductive plate (see (102)) and a second sensor electrode (104) comprising a second electrically conductive plate (see (104)) that are structurally arranged to provide accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0034]-[0037] and [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Forutanpour and Yuen with the teachings of Beck, such that that the EMG sensor comprises a first sensor electrode comprising a first electrically conductive plate and a second sensor electrode comprising a second electrically conductive plate, as suggested by the structural configuration of Beck, in order to provide a wrist-wearable apparatus for gesture control that supports accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection.
As pertaining to Claim 6, Beck discloses (see Fig. 2a) that the second sensor electrode (104) is a ground electrode (again, see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0037]; and again note that the structure suggested by Beck provides accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection).
As pertaining to Claim 15, Forutanpour discloses (see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, and Fig. 5) that an EMG sensor comprises one or more electrodes to detect electrical activity (see Page 2, Para. [0019]). However, neither Forutanpour nor Yuen explicitly shows that the EMG sensor comprises a first sensor electrode comprising a first electrically conductive plate and a second sensor electrode comprising a second electrically conductive plate.
Still, in the same field of endeavor, Beck discloses (see Fig. 2a) a wearable apparatus (100) comprising one or more first sensors (102, 104) configured to contact skin of a user when the wearable apparatus (100) is worn by the user, wherein the one or more first sensors (102, 104) comprise an electromyography (EMG) sensor configured to detect electrical signals generated by the muscle activity of the user (see Page 1, Para. [0009]). In this regard, Beck discloses that it was well-known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that an electromyography (EMG) sensor comprises a first sensor electrode (102) comprising a first electrically conductive plate (see (102)) and a second sensor electrode (104) comprising a second electrically conductive plate (see (104)) that are structurally arranged to provide accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection (see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0034]-[0037] and [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Forutanpour and Yuen with the teachings of Beck, such that that the EMG sensor comprises a first sensor electrode comprising a first electrically conductive plate and a second sensor electrode comprising a second electrically conductive plate, as suggested by the structural configuration of Beck, in order to provide a wrist-wearable apparatus for gesture control that supports accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection.
As pertaining to Claim 16, Beck discloses (see Fig. 2a) that the second sensor electrode (104) is a ground electrode (again, see Page 2 through Page 3, Para. [0037]; and again note that the structure suggested by Beck provides accurate neuromuscular-signal sensing while simultaneously rejecting unwanted electric signals, or noise, to thereby further improve neuromuscular signal detection).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to Claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on a combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The applicant has argued that none of the references relied upon by the examiner in the prior Office Action, particularly Forutanpour, teach or fairly suggest the newly claimed structural configuration of a wearable device comprising “a housing with a structural back-plate” wherein the “back-plate” comprises the claimed “one or more first sensors” and the claimed “inertial sensor” is “disposed in the housing” as newly recited, in varying form, in independent Claims 1, 11, and 20 (see Remarks at Pages 8 and 9). Respectfully, the applicant’s argument is moot in view of at least the combined teachings of Forutanpour and Yuen as newly relied upon in the above rejections.
Therefore, the rejection of Claims 1-20 is maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Assad (US 2013 / 0317648) and Bouton et al. (US 2015 / 0306373) disclose a wearable apparatus combining EMG sensing with inertial sensing to determine associated gestures.
Applicant's amendment, and submission of an information disclosure statement under 37 CFR 1.97(c) with the timing fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(p) on 20 March 2026, necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a) and MPEP § 609.04(b). 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 JASON M MANDEVILLE whose telephone number is (571)270-3136. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 7:30AM-4:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chanh Nguyen can be reached at 571-272-7772. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON M MANDEVILLE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2623
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