Prior art — US Patent 11806120

Based on my analysis of the patent document and its listed citations, here is a summary of the most relevant prior art for US patent 11,806,120. This analysis focuses on references cited by the USPTO examiner, as they were deemed most pertinent during the examination process.

Analysis of Examiner-Cited Prior Art

The following references were considered by the patent examiner during the prosecution of the application for US patent 11,806,120. The analysis details their potential relevance to the patent's independent claims (1, 9, and 17), which form the core of the invention.

1. US20140073486A1 - "Systems, devices and methods for continuous heart rate monitoring and interpretation"

Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. US20140073486A1
Publication Date: March 13, 2014 (Filed September 4, 2012)
Brief Description: This application by Bobo Analytics, Inc. describes a system using a wearable device for continuous heart rate monitoring. It discloses collecting and interpreting both heart rate and motion data to provide users with metrics about their physical activity and fitness levels. The system aims to translate raw sensor data into meaningful feedback about exertion and overall health.
Potential Anticipation of Claims (1, 9, 17): This reference is highly relevant as it teaches the collection of heart rate and motion data over a monitoring period to assess a user's activity. However, it does not appear to disclose two key elements of claim 1:
1. Variable Sampling Rate: It does not explicitly teach modifying the heart rate sampling rate based on a comparison of a previous heart rate measurement to the user's overall heart rate range (maximum minus resting).
2. Specific Weighting Method: It does not describe the specific process of determining an expected heart rate from motion data and then weighting the actual heart rate values based on a comparison between the two.
  Therefore, while this reference anticipates the general concept of combining motion and heart rate data for health analysis, it likely does not anticipate the specific methodology claimed in patent 11,806,120.

2. US20120316456A1 - "Sensory user interface"

Full Citation: US Patent Application Publication No. US20120316456A1
Publication Date: December 13, 2012 (Filed June 10, 2011)
Brief Description: This application, assigned to Aliphcom (Jawbone), describes a wearable device that captures physiological data (including heart rate) and motion data. The focus is on using this combined data to provide a comprehensive picture of a user's health and activity, which is then presented through a user interface.
Potential Anticipation of Claims (1, 9, 17): This reference establishes the state of the art for wearable fitness trackers prior to the priority date of patent 11,806,120. It clearly discloses obtaining both heart rate and motion information from a user. However, like the reference above, it does not appear to detail the specific claimed methods of adjusting the sampling rate based on the user's heart rate range or calculating an aggregate value by weighting heart rate against a motion-derived expected heart rate. Its disclosure is more general, focusing on the collection and presentation of data rather than the specific algorithmic manipulation claimed in patent 11,806,120.

3. WO2013166341A1 - "Physiological characteristic detection based on reflected components of light"

Full Citation: WIPO Patent Application Publication No. WO2013166341A1
Publication Date: November 7, 2013 (Filed May 2, 2012)
Brief Description: Also from Aliphcom, this application details methods for improving the accuracy of optical (PPG) heart rate sensors. It specifically discusses using motion data from an accelerometer to filter out noise and motion artifacts from the heart rate signal.
Potential Anticipation of Claims (1, 9, 17): This reference strongly links the use of motion information with heart rate sensing. However, it uses motion data for a different purpose: to correct the raw heart rate signal and ensure its accuracy. In contrast, patent 11,806,120 uses motion data to generate a physiological benchmark (the expected heart rate) against which the measured heart rate is compared to calculate a health score. This is a fundamentally different application of the motion data. The reference also does not discuss a variable sampling rate tied to the user's heart rate range.

4. US5243992A - "Pulse rate sensor system"

Full Citation: US Patent No. 5,243,992
Publication Date: September 14, 1993 (Filed March 30, 1990)
Brief Description: An early patent describing a pulse rate sensor that can adjust its operation. It discloses a system that can change its mode of measurement, which could be interpreted as a form of variable operation.
Potential Anticipation of Claims (1, 9, 17): While this patent is older, it was cited for its teachings on sensor systems that can adapt their functionality. It could be relevant to the "variable sampling rate" limitation. However, it does not describe varying the sampling rate based on a comparison to the user's max/rest heart rate range. Furthermore, it is far removed from the modern context of wearable technology and does not disclose the combination of motion data and the specific weighting algorithm claimed in patent 11,806,120. It is therefore unlikely to anticipate the claims as a whole.