Obviousness

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 12216339B2

This analysis identifies combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 12216339B2 obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSA) as of the priority date, December 12, 2018.

Person Having Ordinary Skill in the Art (POSA)

A POSA in the field of smart eyewear, wearable electronics, biometric monitoring, and user assistance systems would typically possess a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field, coupled with several years of experience in designing or developing wearable electronic devices or software for such devices. Such a person would be motivated to integrate various functionalities to enhance user experience, provide more relevant information, and improve user safety and wellness.

Independent Claims of US12216339B2

The independent claims of US12216339B2 (Claims 1, 12, and 23) generally cover an eyewear device or method that:

1. Includes a voice interface (microphone and speaker) for user commands and assistance.
2. Receives data from a sensor incorporated into the eyewear that measures a user-related parameter.
3. Utilizes a processor and computer program/machine-readable medium to:
   • Determine a context for the user using the sensor data.
   • Analyze a state of the user using the sensor data.
   • Provide assistance to the user that is related to both the determined context and state.

Identified Prior Art References

The following prior art references, all with publication or priority dates preceding December 12, 2018, are drawn from the "References" section of the US12216339B2 Google Patents page:

• US9829910B2 (Villalpando et al., Granted Nov 28, 2017): Titled "Smart eyewear with sensor module," this patent discloses integrated electronics in eyewear providing enhanced functionality, including "sensors for health monitoring, biometric monitoring, environmental monitoring, etc. that monitor a user's surroundings or a user's physiology." The inventors of US9829910B2 include Ernesto Carlos Martinez Villalpando, who is also an inventor of US12216339B2, and the original assignee for both is Solos Technology Ltd (with Kopin Corporation as a prior assignee of US12216339B2).
• US20170045842A1 (Martinez Villalpando et al., Published Feb 16, 2017): Titled "Eyewear with a voice control module," this application describes eyewear featuring a voice control module with a microphone and a speaker. It teaches receiving speech commands and converting them to electrical signals for a controller to interpret as commands to control eyewear functionality.
• US20180292723A1 (Martinez Villalpando et al., Published Oct 11, 2018): Titled "Earbud with biometric sensor," this application discloses an earbud detecting biometric data and transmitting it to an external device, which "may perform various functions, such as communicating information related to the biometric data to a user."
• US20160275811A1 (Martinez Villalpando et al., Published Sep 22, 2016): Titled "Audio output device," this application describes an audio output device, which can include "micro projection speakers" that "privately directs sound to a user's ear."

Obviousness Combination and Rationale

Combination 1: US9829910B2 in view of US20170045842A1, further in view of US20180292723A1, and further in view of US20160275811A1.

A POSA would have been motivated to combine these references to create an eyewear system providing context- and state-related assistance for the following reasons:

1. Eyewear Device and Sensors (Claims 1, 12, 23):

• US9829910B2 directly teaches "Smart eyewear" equipped with "sensors for health monitoring, biometric monitoring, environmental monitoring, etc. that monitor a user's surroundings or a user's physiology." This establishes the core eyewear device with integrated sensors measuring user-related parameters.

2. Voice Interface (Microphone and Speaker) (Claims 1, 23):

• US20170045842A1 explicitly discloses "Eyewear with a voice control module" that includes "a microphone and a speaker" for receiving speech commands and controlling eyewear functionality. A POSA would readily incorporate this into the smart eyewear of US9829910B2 to enable hands-free interaction.
• US20160275811A1 further teaches "micro projection speakers" for directed audio output. Integrating such speakers (as described in US20160275811A1) into the voice interface of US20170045842A1, within the eyewear of US9829910B2, would be an obvious design choice to provide discreet and effective audio feedback or assistance without occluding the user's ears, enhancing the overall user experience.

3. Processor and Computer Program/Machine-Readable Medium (Claims 1, 23):

• The advanced functionality described in US9829910B2 (e.g., augmented reality, wireless communications, hands-free applications) inherently requires a processor and a computer program. Similarly, the "controller" in US20170045842A1 for interpreting speech commands acts as a processor executing instructions. These disclosures provide the foundational computing elements.

4. Determining User Context and Analyzing User State (Claims 1, 12, 23):

• US9829910B2's disclosure of "environmental monitoring" and "biometric monitoring" in smart eyewear lays the groundwork for data collection relevant to context and state.
• US20180292723A1, while related to an earbud, teaches the fundamental concept of detecting "biometric data" and transmitting it for an "external device" to "perform various functions, such as communicating information related to the biometric data to a user." A POSA would recognize that biometric data directly relates to a user's "state" (e.g., heart rate for exertion or stress). By 2018, it was well-known in the wearable technology field to use sensor data (e.g., from IMUs and GPS mentioned in US9829910B2) to determine a user's "context" (e.g., activity like walking, running, or location) and "state" (e.g., physiological condition). The principles of analyzing such data to derive insights into context (e.g., "physical orientation," "user activity," "environment" as defined in US12216339B2's FIG. 18) and state (e.g., "Health," "Well Being," "Physical," "Emotion" as defined in US12216339B2's FIG. 21) were common in wearable fitness and health trackers.

5. Providing Assistance Related to Context and State (Claims 1, 12, 23):

• US20170045842A1 demonstrates providing "assistance" through controlling eyewear functionality based on user input.
• US20180292723A1 teaches communicating "information related to the biometric data to a user." A POSA would find it obvious to apply the analytical capabilities for context and state (derived from the combination of US9829910B2's sensors and US20180292723A1's data interpretation principles) to generate targeted "assistance." For example, if the eyewear (US9829910B2) determines the user's context is "running" (from IMU/GPS) and their state is "high exertion" (from biometric sensors, per US20180292723A1's principles), providing an audio prompt via the voice interface (US20170045842A1 and US20160275811A1) such as "Your heart rate is high, consider slowing down" would be an obvious and desirable form of assistance directly related to both context and state.

Motivation to Combine

A POSA would have been strongly motivated to combine these prior art teachings for several reasons:

1. Synergistic Functionality: Combining sensor-rich smart eyewear (US9829910B2) with hands-free voice control (US20170045842A1) and directed audio output (US20160275811A1) creates a highly integrated and user-friendly wearable platform.
2. Enhancing Utility and Personalization: The field of wearable technology was rapidly advancing towards providing more intelligent and personalized user experiences. It would be a natural and obvious step for a POSA to leverage the sensor data already being collected by the eyewear (US9829910B2) for more sophisticated analysis of a user's context and state, drawing upon principles well-established in other biometric wearables like those in US20180292723A1.
3. Meeting Market Demands: Consumers of smart wearables desired devices that could offer proactive, relevant, and timely assistance based on their individual situations and conditions. Integrating context and state analysis to tailor assistance (e.g., health coaching, safety alerts, activity encouragement) directly into smart eyewear would address these market demands and represent a predictable improvement in the art.
4. Routine Engineering Practice: By 2018, the use of sensors (IMUs, GPS, biometrics), processors, and software to interpret physical activity (context) and physiological conditions (state) to provide alerts or feedback was a common and routine engineering practice in the broader wearable technology sector. Extending these known capabilities to an eyewear form factor, particularly when the core hardware (eyewear, sensors, voice I/O) was already disclosed by the same inventive entity, would be an obvious integration for a POSA.

Given these motivations and the explicit disclosures in the cited prior art, the claimed invention of US12216339B2, particularly the aspects of determining user context, analyzing user state, and providing assistance related to both, would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to December 12, 2018.