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 Interpretation
The Office notes that Applicant has withdrawn the claims to methods and Applicant has elected
claims to the pillbox with structure which is not a method nor method of steps.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pillsy (WO
2021021686 A1) in view of Whyte (US 7107122 B1).
Pillsy discloses:
1. A pillbox (figs 1-24), comprising: a main body including a tray (such as in fig 4 with body and
tray of 110); a plurality of cells receivable in the tray of the main body (adjacent 102), each cell
configured to hold medication (the Office notes the interpretation already provided above; Applicant
has not positively claimed the intended contents; the device is capable of performing the intended use
of being configured to perform the above);a lid movably coupled to the main body and configured to
open and close the pillbox (cover in fig capable of performing the above intended use); a sensor system
comprising a lid sensor and a plurality of cell sensors, the lid sensor that senses opening and
closing of the pillbox, and the plurality of cell sensors that sense a state associated with each of
the plurality of cells (system provided in abstract, paragraphs 4-5, 11, 51, 58, 65, 67, 74-86 for example,
where for example is 125 is a lid sensor and 124 are cell sensors capable of performing the above
intended use); and circuitry comprising wireless transceiver that communicates with a user device, the circuitry operatively coupled to the sensor system and configured to perform the new amendments to the claims such as receive, determine, execute, etc. (paragraph 11, 51, 65-67, 85 for example provide a circuit, capable of performing the above intended use; the Office notes that the prior art discloses all of the same structure as Applicant’s device, the structure is capable of the intended use of being configured to programming the sensors and circuits to respond in the above manner; the Office notes that the prior art also discloses wireless device in abstract, paragraphs 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 16, 51, 65, 67-69, 75-78, 85, claim 1, 3, etc. ); with the exception of the following which is disclosed by Whyte: light emitters (col. 2: 40-50; capable of performing the intended use of wherein the action comprises a reward animation sequence that sequentially illuminates light emitters associated with the plurality of cells after detecting that a user has complied with a prescription schedule for a predetermined period for medication held in the pillbox, as the combined reference includes all of the same structure of cells, lid, sensor, circuity, light emitters, user device with processor and display required to perform the above intended use). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Pillsy in view of Whyte (by providing lights that illuminate when the desired action takes place such as compliance with dosage/prescription) in order to provide a signal to the user that a specific action has taken place, such as for example to indicate that a refill is required or to let an impaired user know that that the dosage has been successfully completed.
The Combined Reference discloses:
2. The pillbox of claim 1, wherein the prescription schedule comprises a configurable period of time over which compliance is required, the configurable period of time received from the user device (as indicated above, the Office notes that the prior art discloses all of the same structure
that Applicant has provided, the same structure is capable of the above intended use).
3. The pillbox of claim 1, wherein the reward animation sequence comprises the light emitters
lighting up sequentially for each cell in the tray from a first end of the pillbox to a second end of the
pillbox (as indicated above, the Office notes that the prior art discloses all of the same structure that
Applicant has provided, the same structure is capable of the above intended use).
4. The pillbox of claim 3, wherein light emitters light up one cell at a time(as indicated above,
the Office notes that the prior art discloses all of the same structure that Applicant has provided, the
same structure is capable of the above intended use).
5. The pillbox of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cells contains a permanent magnet,
and wherein each of the plurality of cell sensors comprises a Hall-effect sensor, and wherein within each
of the plurality of cells, the Hall effect sensor is configured to sense a magnetic field associated with the
permanent magnet and sense whether a corresponding cell is present or removed from the pillbox (Pillsy paragraph 11, 76-83, 67, claim 4).
6. The pillbox of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of Hall-effect sensors positioned beneath
the tray, wherein each Hall-effect sensor is configured to sense insertion or removal of a corresponding
cell from the plurality of cells (Pillsy paragraph 11, 76-83, 67, claim 4).
7. The pillbox of claim 1, further comprising a rechargeable lithium- ion battery sized to power
the pillbox for at least thirty days of operation at a duty cycle of one Wi-Fi synchronization per day (Pillsy
paragraph 67).
8. The pillbox of claim 1, further comprising an indication system operatively coupled to the circuitry, the indicating system comprising: an LED beacon configured to provide a visual indication of a
state associated with the pillbox; and a plurality of LED indicators, each LED indicator associated with a
cell of the plurality of cells (Whyte discloses lights col. 2: 40-50; with respect to LED beacon, LED
indicators Official Notice is taken, that it is old and conventional to provide the above Therefore, it
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made in view of
the Official Notice to provide an indication system operatively coupled to the circuitry, the indicating
system comprising: an LED beacon configured to provide a visual indication of a state associated with
the pillbox; and a plurality of LED indicators, each LED indicator associated with a cell of the plurality of
cells in order to provide a specific type of light known to provide desired brightness qualities while also
providing desired efficiency ratings).
9. The pillbox of claim 8, wherein the LED indicators comprise addressable RGB LEDs (Whyte
discloses lights col. 2: 40-50; with respect to LED beacon, LED indicators, RGB LEDS Official Notice is
taken, that it is old and conventional to provide the above Therefore, it would have been obvious to one
of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made in view of the Official Notice to provide an
indication system operatively coupled to the circuitry, the indicating system comprising: an LED beacon
configured to provide a visual indication of a state associated with the pillbox; and a plurality of LED
indicators, each LED indicator associated with a cell of the plurality of cells in order to provide a specific
type of light known to provide desired brightness qualities while also providing desired efficiency
ratings).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 10-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pillsy.
Pillsy discloses:
10. A system (figs 1-24) for monitoring a user's adherence to a medication schedule (capable of
performing the above intended use), the system comprising: a pillbox (box in figs 1-24) comprising: a
main body including a tray (such as in fig 4 with body and tray of 110), a plurality of cells receivable in
the tray of the main body (adjacent 102), each cell configured to hold medication (Capable of
performing the above intended use), a lid movably coupled to the main body and configured to open
and close the pillbox (cover in fig capable of performing the above intended use), a sensor system
comprising a lid sensor that senses opening and closing of the pillbox and a plurality of cell sensors that sense a state associated with each of the cells (system provided in abstract, paragraphs 4-5, 11, 51, 58, 65, 67, 74-86 for example, where for example is 125 is a lid sensor and 124 are cell sensors capable of performing the above intended use), and circuitry comprising wireless transceiver that communicates with a user device and the circuitry operatively coupled to the sensor system and configured to receive from the user device user interaction signals associated with actions associated with the pillbox to determine based on the user interaction signals and correlation of signals from the id sensor and the cell censors over time whether a user has complied with a medication schedule for a configurable period of time (paragraph 11, 51, 65-67, 85 for example provide a circuit, capable of performing the above intended use; the Office notes that the prior art discloses all of the same structure as Applicant’s device, the structure is capable of the intended use of being configured to programming the sensors and circuits to respond in the above manner; the Office notes that the prior art also discloses wireless device in abstract, paragraphs 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 16, 51, 65, 67-69, 75-78, 85, claim 1, 3, etc.); and the user device comprising a processor and a display, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the pillbox to transmit the user interaction signals and display information about the pillbox via the display wherein the processor is further configured to receive information indicative of compliance and display information representing a compliance status over the configurable period of time (such as in paragraphs 9, 10, 13, 72, 88, 100, 102, claim 5, and paragraphs 11, 14, 65, 67, 74, capable of performing the above intended use).
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to display, via the display,
information indicative of medication use by the user and information indicative of one or more health
outcomes associated with the user, and wherein the one or more health outcomes comprise an upward
or downward trend in average blood pressure (capable of performing the above intended use).
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the system is operatively coupled to a blood pressure
measurement device (capable of performing the above intended use, such as being coupled) and
configured to receive communication from the blood pressure measurement device regarding blood
pressure data of the user, and wherein the blood pressure data is used to determine the upward or
downward trend in average blood pressure (capable of performing the above intended use).
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to determine medication use by
the user based on information communicated with the pillbox, thereby monitoring the user's adherence
to a medication schedule (capable of performing the above intended use).
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to determine the user's
adherence to the medication schedule and display information about the adherence to the medication
schedule via the display (capable of performing the above intended use).
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the adherence to a medication schedule comprises a
consecutive streak of days where the medication was taken (capable of performing the above intended
use).
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the adherence to a medication schedule comprises a
percentage of days where the medication was taken over a single time period (capable of performing
the above intended use).
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the adherence to a medication schedule comprises a
comparison between the number of pills taken between at least two different time periods (capable of
performing the above intended use).
18. The system of claim 10, wherein the circuitry comprises a Bluetooth low energy transceiver
and a wi-fi transceiver, and wherein the circuity is configured to communicate adherence data to the
user device via the Bluetooth low energy transceiver when the user device is within a predefined range
(paragraphs 65, 74, as well as paragraphs 65, 67, claim 1 all capable of performing the above intended
use).
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the circuitry is further configured to communicate
adherence data to a remote cloud server via the wi- fi transceiver when the user device is outside the
predefined range for at least ten minutes (capable of performing the above intended use).
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the circuitry is further configured to calculate an adherence
metric locally when no network connection is available and to synchronize the metric with the remote
server upon re-establishing either Bluetooth Low Energy or Wi-Fi connectivity (capable of performing
the above intended use).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed Status 04/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant states that the prior art does not disclose the intended uses of the claims. In response to applicant's argument, a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. The prior art includes the same structure provided by Applicant in the claims of which is fully capable of performing the intended uses of the claims. The Office notes that Applicant’s claims are not to a method of steps, but rather a pillbox with structural elements. Applicant also states that the prior art does not disclose a wireless device. Pillsy discloses wireless device in abstract, paragraphs 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 16, 51, 65, 67-69, 75-78, 85, claim 1, 3, etc. Accordingly, Applicant/Appellant has not demonstrated error in the factual findings or reasoning set forth by the Office and the Office must maintain the rejections.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ANDREW D PERREAULT whose telephone number is (571)270-5427. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:00am-5:30pm. 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, Anthony Stashick can be reached at (571)272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW D PERREAULT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3735
