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 § 102
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) 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by London (US 2017/0220040).
London teaches
Regarding claim 1,
a luggage tag comprising:
a coupling device (luggage housing) for coupling the luggage tag to a piece of luggage;
a computer processor (processors 202);
a memory (memory module 206) in communication with the computer processor, the memory storing inertial data; and
at least one sensor (one of more inertial measurement units 242) that captures the inertial data of the motion of the luggage in response to an external stimuli and outputs the inertial data to the memory, wherein the computer processor determines a mass of the luggage from the captured inertial data (see paragraph 0025);
Regarding claim 2, the luggage tag of claim 1, wherein, the computer processor uses the at least one sensor to calculate the weight by comparing movement data of the luggage when it is empty and movement data when the luggage includes items in the luggage;
Regarding claim 3, the luggage tag of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) (see paragraph 0021);
Regarding claim 4, the luggage tag of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor includes an accelerometer and a force sensor, and wherein the mass is determined by measuring the acceleration and a force in response to external stimuli (see paragraph 0046);
Regarding claim 5, the luggage tag of claim 4, wherein the at least one sensor further includes a gyroscope (see paragraph 0046);
Regarding claim 6, the luggage tag of claim 1, further comprising a mechanism that imparts a force on the luggage attached to it;
Regarding claim 7, the luggage tag of claim 1, wherein at a manufacturing time of the luggage, the tag is attached to the luggage and multiple readings of impact and movement at different weights of the luggage, wherein the data from the multiple readings is used to estimate the weight of the object based on the sensor readings from any impact;
Regarding claim 8,
an electronic tag comprising:
a coupling device for coupling a electronic tag to an object;
a computer processor;
a memory in communication with the computer processor, the memory storing inertial data; and at least one sensor that captures inertial data in response to a motion of the object and outputs the inertial data to the memory, wherein the computer processor determines a mass of the object from the captured inertial data;
regarding claim 9, the electronic tag of claim 8, wherein the electronic tag is a wearable mobile device the object is a human, and wherein the computer processor determines a weight of the human;
regarding claim 10, the electronic tag of claim 8, wherein the object has rigidity-related features;
regarding claim 11, The electronic tag of claim 8, wherein the object is a piece of luggage;
regarding claim 12, the electronic tag of claim 8, further comprising a mechanism that imparts a force on the object attached to it;
regarding claim 13,
a weight measuring system, comprising:
a wearable smart device comprising at least one sensor that captures impact and movement data of an object, the wearable smart device positioned on a user applying a force to the object; and
a tag coupled to the object for registering the impact and movement as a consequence of the force applied by the user to the object.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMARA ALZAIDA FRANKLIN whose telephone number is (571)272-2389. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael G. Lee can be reached at 571-272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
December 27, 2025
/JAMARA A FRANKLIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876