Patent-in-suit

Prior Art 1 – Stethoscope + Mic

Prior Art 2 – Tactile Sensor

Evaluating Validity (Obviousness) over Prior Art

Capacitive Microphone in Stethoscope(‘849 patent, filed 1992)

Capacitive Touch Sensor(‘389 patent, filed 1997)

Prior Art 1 Prior Art 2+

Patented Technology (‘854)

4 Movable, Flexible DiaphragmElectrically Conductive Surface of Diaphragm

Electric Field

Electrically Conductive Plate

Attachment Means to Mount to Housing

Claim 13An electronic stethoscope including an acoustic-to-electrical transducer for detecting body sounds, the

transducer comprising:- a stethoscope diaphragm

having an electrically conductive surface,the diaphragm being mounted

in a stethoscope chestpiece such that the diaphragm

can contact the body for body sound detection and

vibrate in response to body sounds;- a fixed conductive plate

substantially parallel to the diaphragm, mounted within the chestpiece,

the conductive plate being positioned at a distance about or exceeding 0.5 mm from the diaphragm,

the diaphragm conductive surfaceand fixed conductive plate

forming two plates of a capacitor and

connected in the form of an electrical capacitance to electrical circuitry;- a capacitance-to-electrical signal conversion means

to convert diaphragm-plate capacitance changes due to body sound vibrations to electrical signals;

- the stethoscope further comprising signal amplification means

and at least one electrical-to-acoustic transducer

connected to signal amplification means, to reproduce body sounds as detected by said transducer.

What is a capacitive sensing?

+ + + + + + + +

- - - - - - - -

Mechanical Signal Electrical Signal

Prior Art 1 – Microphone inside Stethoscope

Capacitive Microphone in Stethoscope

(‘849 patent, filed 1992)

Prior Art 1

Brief History of Stethoscopes 1816

Monaural

1851 Binaur

al

1926 Bell/Diaphragm

Modes1962

Electronic Stethoscope with Piezo-electric

Sensor

1986 Electronic Stethoscope

with HydrophoneSensor

1992 Electronic

Stethoscope with Microphone

1999 ‘854 Patent Filed

(Time-line NOT drawn to scale)

Prior Art 1 – Stethoscope +Mic

Electret (Capacitive) Microphone

(3.49:3.54)

Patent-in-suit - 6,498,854

‘Transducer for Sensing Body Sounds”

4

What is tactile sensing?

Prior Art 2 – Tactile Sensors

Capacitive Touch Sensor(‘389 patent, filed 1997)

Prior Art 2

Prior Art 2 – Tactile SensorFinger Flexible,

Insulating Layer

Flexible, Insulating

Layer

Stylus

(Rigid, in a typical embodiment) Ground Plane

“X-Y Matrix”

X-trace

Y-trace

Key Dates

Patent-in-suitPrior Art 1 Prior Art 2

Prior Art 2 – Tactile Sensor

(3.36:3.52)

Insulating Film

Ground Plane

Prior Art 2 – Tactile Sensor

Flexible, Displaceable,

Insulating Layer “X-Y Matrix”

(4.31:4.37)