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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on June 20, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 2 and 4-15 are pending, with claims 11-14 being withdrawn.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the charging device further comprises one or more openings for receiving moisture, water droplets, and/or cerumen from the device being charged (the newly added limitations to claim 1); and one or more channels are formed underneath the one or more openings for guiding the moisture, water, and/or cerumen away from the device being charged (the limitations of new claim 15) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Forrester et al (US 2023/0208193 A1, previously cited).
Regarding claim 1, Forrester et al teaches (see Figs. 2G and 3) a charging device (350) configured to charge a hearing aid (306), wherein the hearing aid has a hearing aid housing having a side surface (top side 329 and bottom (skin-facing) surface 327, see paras. 0085 and 0091), the hearing aid being an ear level device (a behind-the-ear (BTE)), the charging device comprising: a housing (base 354 and lid 352) having a reception area (insert 364 with central region 367) configured to receive the hearing aid (306), wherein the reception area is configured so that the hearing aid will be lying with the side surface in contact with the reception area during charging (see Fig. 3), a charge supply (inductive charging circuitry, see para. 0097) configured to provide a charge current to the hearing aid, wherein said charge current is provided to the hearing aid as a wireless charge signal (see para. 0098), and said charge supply comprises at least one coil (360) arranged at said reception area (when the case lid 352 is closed, the case coil 360 is at the reception area), the reception area comprising a first retention area (central region 367) configured to engage with a first part of the hearing aid which then guide the hearing aid to have a specific orientation relative to the reception area (as shown in Fig. 3), wherein the first retention area comprises a protrusion and/or a groove configured to mechanically engage said first part of the hearing aid (the central region includes a groove, as shown in Fig. 3), the first part of the hearing aid is a sound hook (see Fig. 3), and the side surface (329 or 327) is a surface of the hearing aid configured to face towards the head of a user (bottom, skin-facing, side 327) while the hearing aid is worn or a surface (top surface 329) of the hearing aid configured to be opposite a surface of the hearing aid facing towards the head of the user while the hearing aid is worn (also see paras. 0085-0100), said charging device further comprises one or more openings (openings at the lid seam/split, see para. 0097) for receiving moisture, water droplets, and/or cerumen from the device being charged (Note that this limitation is given the broadest reasonable interpretation of “or”. As described in para. 0097, air is pulled in through openings in the base of the bottom-side of the charger, flows through holes in the insert and is then expelled through the lid seam/split to remove moist air out of the case. Thus, at least the openings at the lid seam/split are openings configured for receiving moisture from the device being charged. Also see para. 0076 for a discussion of moisture being created by the device being charged).
Regarding claim 2, Forrester et al teaches the charger device according to claim 1, further comprising a magnet arranged at the reception area and configured to provide a magnetic field that intercept a magnetizable component in said hearing aid (see paras. 0036 and 0072).
Regarding claim 7, Forrester et al teaches the charger device according to claim 1, further comprising a communication interface configured to communicate with a device being positioned at the reception area, wherein the communication is wired or wireless (communication and charging circuitry, see paras. 0046 and 0085. The communication circuitry would necessarily be either wired or wireless).
Regarding claim 8, Forrester et al teaches the charger device according to claim 7, wherein the communication interface is configured to communicate interleaved with charging the hearing aid or the communication interface is configured to communicate using a channel different from a charging channel (communication and charging circuitry, see paras. 0046 and 0085. The communication circuitry would necessarily be either interleaved or using a different channel).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forrester et al (US 2023/0208193 A1, previously cited) in view of Jackson et al (US 11,670,962 B2, previously cited).
Regarding claim 6, the teachings of Forrester et al as applied to claim 1 have been discussed above.
Forrester et al does not appear to teach wherein the charger device is configured to determine that the hearing aid is in a position to be charged, and that the charger device comprises an output transducer configured to provide haptic feedback upon determination that the hearing aid is in the position to be charged.
Jackson et al teaches (see Fig. 11B) a charger device (storage case 1128) configured to determine that a hearing device (earbuds 1120) is in a position to be charged, wherein the charger device comprises an output transducer configured to provide haptic feedback upon determination that the hearing device is in the position to be charged (see col. 24, lines 46-60).
In view of Jackson et al’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date to include, with the charger device of Forrester et al, the charger device comprises an output transducer configured to provide haptic feedback upon determination that the hearing device is in the position to be charged, since a haptic output would provide the user an additional notification without the user having to view a display or indicator light (see col. 5, lines 3-6).
Claim(s) 9 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forrester et al (US 2023/0208193 A1, previously cited) in view of Sjoeroos et al (US 11,700,472 B1, previously cited).
Regarding claims 9 and 10, the teachings of Forrester et al as applied to claim 1 have been discussed above.
Forrester et al does not teach (claim 9) further comprising a communication interface configured to communicate with an external computer device so as to receive instructions from said external computer device, (claim 10) wherein the external computer device is a smartphone or a personal computer or a server device.
Sjoeroos et al teaches (see Figs. 2-5): A charging device (electronic apparatus 300, wireless charger 400)) configured to charge a hearing device (earbuds 310), further comprising a communication interface (radio 217) configured to communicate with an external computer device (a smartphone, a table computer or laptop, see col. 7, line 54-60) so as to receive instructions from said external computer device (the radio 217 enables the enclosure to transmit and receive data communications, see col. 7, lines 54-60), wherein the external computer device is a smartphone or a personal computer or a server device (a smartphone, a table computer or laptop, see col. 7, line 54-60).
In view of the teachings of Sjoeroos et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to include with the charging device of Forrester et al, (claim 9) further comprising a communication interface configured to communicate with an external computer device so as to receive instructions from said external computer device, (claim 10) wherein the external computer device is a smartphone or a personal computer or a server device; in order to provide the charging device with the ability to communicate with other devices that would provide a user interface for data and control purposes.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5 and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, the prior art of record does not teach the charger device according to claim 1, wherein said coil is arranged in a cylindrical or helical shape, and wherein at least part of the reception area is arranged in a volume inside the cylinder or helix.
Regarding claim 5, the prior art of record does not teach the charger device according to claim 1, wherein charge supply comprises a first coil arranged at a lower part of the reception area, and the charge supply further comprises a second coil arranged at a top part of the reception area.
Forrester et al teaches that the charge supply coil (case coil 260, Fig. 2G, or case coil 360, Fig. 3) is provided in the lid of the case. Since Forrester et al intentionally placed the charging coil in the lid, for the reasons stated in paras. 0004, 0032, and 0034, one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date would not have been motivated to modify Forrester et al to have at least part of the reception area being arranged in a volume inside a cylinder or helix of the coil (as recited in claim 4), or include a coil arranged at a lower part of the reception area in addition to a coil arranged at a top part of the reception area (as recited in claim 5).
Regarding claim 15, the prior art of record does not teach the charger device according to claim 1, wherein one or more channels are formed underneath the one or more openings for guiding the moisture, water, and/or cerumen away from the device being charged.
Wang et al (CN 110312183 A) teaches (see Fig. 4) a charging device for a hearing device (an earphone), where the charging device comprises at least one opening (an opening in the lower shell bracket 08) and at least one channel (drain passage 04) formed underneath the one or more openings for guiding at least moisture & water away from the device being charged (see Fig. 4 and the description of Fig. 4 on page 9 of the attached machine translation). However, given that Forrester et al uses a fan to expel moist air through the lid/seam, one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date would not have been motivated to combine the channel of Wang et al with the charging device of Forrester et al in a manner so as to create the invention of claim 15.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on June 30, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Forrester et al does not teach the feature of amended claim 1, that said charging device further comprises one or more openings for receiving moisture, water droplets, and/or cerumen from the device being charged. This argument is not persuasive, since Forrester et al teaches the removal of moisture from the device being charged. As described in para. 0097, air is pulled in through openings in the base of the bottom-side of the charger, flows through holes in the insert and is then expelled through the lid seam/split to remove moist air out of the case. Thus, at least the openings at the lid seam/split are openings configured for receiving moisture from the device being charged. Also see para. 0076 for a discussion of moisture being created by the device being charged.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The relevance of Wang et al (CN 110312183 A) has been discussed above.
Wu (CN 113709615 A) teaches an earphone charging chamber with a cleaning function. The charging chamber includes a liquid outlet pipe 51 and inner hole 47 liquid (see Fig. 4 and the description on page 4 of the attached machine translation).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jared Fureman whose telephone number is (571)272-2391. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JARED FUREMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
