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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to the applicant's communication filed on 02/03/2026. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-20 filed on 02/03/2026 are currently pending in the instant application.
Claims 1, 8, and 15 have been amended.
Claims 7 and 14 have been cancelled without adding anew subject matter.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 02/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered:
With regard to double patenting the rejection is maintained.
With regard to amendment to the claims and the arguments related the arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant Arguments: Applicants argued “ However, this section of Waxler only generally describes that "feedback may include an audible or visible indication of time information, detected text or numerals, the value of currency." Waxler is silent on all of the steps of claim 7, as amended. Applicant respectfully submits that the cited references are silent on these features, as claimed.”
Examiner Response: Examiner respectfully disagrees Examiner note the prior art Waxler, ¶[0150] discloses identifying text, or a currency value in the image and identify the amount the user still needed to complete the transaction , which means it track the user action and assist the user to complete the transaction, as a result the Waxler addresses all the new limitation and previously indicated limitation in claim 7. Waxler, ¶[0150] discloses feedback may include an audible or visible indication of time information, detected text or numerals, the value of currency, a branded product, a person's identity, the identity of a landmark or other environmental situation or condition including the street names at an intersection or the color of a traffic light, etc., as well as other information associated with each of these. For example, in some embodiments, feedback may include additional information regarding the amount of currency still needed to complete a transaction. Feedback outputting unit 230 may also include any suitable display device for visually displaying information to user 100.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper time wise extension of the "right to exclude" granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. See In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed.Cir.1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Instant independent claims 1, 8, and 15 are rejected under the judicially created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over corresponding similar independent claims 1, 6, and 10 of co-owned US Patent No.11,825,012 The conflicting claims are not identical because the embodiments of claims 1, 6, and 10 omit steps not explicitly required by the embodiment of instant claims. However, the conflicting claims are not patentably distinct from each other because:
· Instant claims 1, 8, and 15 and co-owned claims 1, 6, and 10 recite common subject matter;
· Instant claims 1, 8, and 15, which recite the open ended transitional phrase “comprising,” does not preclude the difference in steps recited by co-owned claims 1, 6, and 10 and
· the elements of instant claims 1, 8, and 15 are obvious over co-owned claims 1, 6, and 10, and completely anticipate the subject matter of instant claim, and “anticipation is the epitome of obviousness” Connell v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.,722 F.2d 1542, 1548, 220 USPQ 193, 198 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (citing In re Fracalossi, 681F.2d 792, 215 USPQ 569 (CCPA 1982).)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claim 1is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. the limitation “capturing, by the one or more cameras, images of the user and an environment of the user” has nor support in the specification. The specification ¶[0039] discloses tracking the user activity all day, not including capturing images of the user, it tracks the environment of the user in the images. There is no indication of the capturing the image of the user itself. Examiner notes the claim is rejected as best understood by Examiners.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-13, 15-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al. ( US 2016/0183014), in view of Moore et al. (US 2016/0033280), Wexler et al. (US 2021/0160624).
As per claim 1, A system comprising: “one or more earbuds configured to be inserted into one or more ears of a user;”(Guo, ¶[0005] discloses the hearing device may be provided with a housing configured for being worn by the user at an ear of the user. )
“one or more cameras coupled to the one or more earbuds;(Guo, Figures 1 and 2, camera 14, ¶[0025] discloses adding an image device such as a 3D camera to the hearing device.)
“one or more processors coupled to the one or more earbuds; and logic encoded in one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for execution by the one or more processors and when executed operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: capturing, by the one or more cameras, images of the user and an environment of the user while the user is wearing the one or more earbuds;”(Examiner notes the claim has been rejected in view of 112 issue raised above. Guo, figures 1 and 2, hearing device 10, camera 14, housing 12, processor 22 and related paragraphs, ¶[0008-0009] discloses The processor may be configured to detect presence of a face via the image capture device and looking direction. ¶[0025] discloses adding an image device such as a 3D camera to the hearing device would provide real-time 3D imaging information about the environment. See ¶[0033],¶[0034] discloses The image capture device may be used for detecting objects other than people. The image capture device may be used for detecting that an object is near the wearer. This could be useful for a warning system for the user, e.g. to be able to receive warnings or notification that the user is nearing a stationary object, such as a lamppost or wall, or for instance a curb or movable objects such as other people or cars or the like. Further¶[0065]-[0066] discloses as mentioned, the hearing device 10 further comprises an image capture device 14 in communication with the processor 22. The image capture device 14 is capable of capturing single images, sequences of images or continuously capture images or video. ¶[0074] discloses such a remote image capture device may be mounted in or on a set of glasses or in a body-worn housing, e.g. for being worn at the chest of the user, as illustrated in FIG. 7. ¶[0083] discloses Camera on the hearing devices in combination with face recognition may be used to recognize a specific talker and the hearing device processing may be adapted according to the recognized talker. )
“converting data associated with the images with audio; and providing, by the one or more earbuds, the audio to the user.” (Guo, ¶[0034] discloses the image capture device may be used for detecting objects other than people. The image capture device may be used for detecting that an object is near the wearer. This could be useful for a warning system for the user, e.g. to be able to receive warnings or notification that the user is nearing a stationary object, such as a lamppost or wall, or for instance a curb or movable objects such as other people or cars or the like. This will particular be useful if the user in addition to a hearing loss has a visual impairment. ¶[0084] discloses the cameras may be used as an alternative communication channel. Pictures recorded by the camera and decoded into an audio stream and presented to the hearing device user.)
Guo does not explicitly disclose the following which would have been obvious in view of Moore from similar field of endeavor “determining from the images a current location of the user” (Moore, ¶ [0046] discloses determining the location of user using IMU and GPS, ¶ [0158] discloses the processor determines data regarding the location or positioning of the earpiece 100 using at least one of image data); “accessing an application from a remote device (¶ [0125] discloses cloud processing support the system; data exchanged with remote processors, ¶ [0144] discloses in block 608, data is retrieved via the antenna 142 and/or I/O port 143. This data may be information indicating to the earpiece 100 that the user should be performing a particular set of actions. For example, the user may be in a hospital. The received information may be processed real time or stored for later use in the memory 112, ¶ [0146] discloses Remotely stored data may include data accessed from a remote server or another device via the antenna 142 and/or I/O port 143. A schedule of the user may be periodically transmitted to the earpiece 100 via the antenna 142);
“determining from the application that the user needs to go to another location” (Moore,¶ [0150] discloses The processor 111 may determine a desirable event or action based on the recognized object, ¶ [0151] discloses the earpiece 100 may determine whether or not the user should be at a particular location at any given time);
“and providing, by the one or more earbuds, the audio to the user, wherein the audio comprises the data associated with the images and directs the user to go to a particular target location.” (Moore,¶ [0168] discloses the output data from block 615 may be conveyed to the user using various outputs of the interface array, ¶ [0170] discloses the user may give a voice command, “Take me to building X in Y campus.” The intelligent earpiece 100 may then download or retrieve from memory a relevant map, or may navigate based on perceived images from the camera 121. As the user follows the navigation commands from the intelligent earpiece 100, the user may walk by a coffee shop in the morning, and the intelligent earpiece 100 would recognize the coffee shop).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine Moore technique of hearing aid with image recognition into Guo technique to provide the known and expected uses and benefits of Moore technique over hearing device with image capture capabilities technique of Guo. The proposed combination would have constituted a mere arrangement of old elements with each performing their known function, the combination yielding no more than one would expect from such an arrangement.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Moore to Guo in order to increase user environmental awareness and social interactions. (Refer to Moore ¶[0005]).
Guo as modified by Moore does not explicitly disclose the following which would have been obvious in view of Wexler from similar filed of endeavor “identifying at least one object in the images that has written language on the at least one object, wherein the at least one object is one or more of currency and reading material; tracking actions of the user; assisting the user in reading information on the at least one object” (Waxler, ¶[0150] discloses feedback may include an audible or visible indication of time information, detected text or numerals, the value of currency, a branded product, a person's identity, the identity of a landmark or other environmental situation or condition including the street names at an intersection or the color of a traffic light, etc., as well as other information associated with each of these. For example, in some embodiments, feedback may include additional information regarding the amount of currency still needed to complete a transaction. Feedback outputting unit 230 may also include any suitable display device for visually displaying information to user 100. Further ¶[0172] discloses tracking movement of the object int the field of view.)
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine Wexler technique of hearing aid with image recognition into Guo as modified by Moore technique to provide the known and expected uses and benefits of Wexler technique over hearing device with image capture capabilities technique of Guo as modified by Moore. The proposed combination would have constituted a mere arrangement of old elements with each performing their known function, the combination yielding no more than one would expect from such an arrangement.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Wexler to Guo as modified by Moore in order to enhance one's interaction in his environment with feedback and other advanced functionality based on the analysis of captured image and audio data. (Refer to Wexler paragraph [0003].)
Claims 8 and 15 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 1 above. Additionally, the rationale and motivation to combine the Guo, Moore, Wexler references, presented in rejection of claim 1, apply to these claims
A per claim 2, in view of claim 1, Guo as modified by Moore as modified Wexler discloses “wherein the one or more earbuds comprise a central body and one or more posts, and wherein one or more lenses of the one or more cameras are coupled to the central body or the one or more posts of the one or more earbuds.” (Guo, figures 1 and 2, show an hearing device with central body (housing 12) and a post (connector 26) and image capturing device 14 on the hearing device. Please see the related paragraphs ¶[0064-0066].)
Claims 9 and 16 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 2 above.
As per claim 3, in view of claim 1, Guo as modified by Moore as modified Wexler discloses “wherein the logic when executed is further operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: identifying at least one object in the images;”(Guo, ¶[0026] discloses A 3D camera receives electromagnetic waves, both visible light and IR light, which then could be processed and turned into positioning information about the surroundings. ¶[0026] discloses The electromagnetic waves could act as a supplement to the acoustical waves when detecting a position of an object. ¶[0031] discloses when a second hearing device including an image capture device is positioned at an opposite ear of the user, the method may include correlating images or image sequences from the two image capture devices, or at least information extracted based on the captured images, to determine distance to an object present in both the images or image sequences. The object may be an obstacle, such as wall, person, kerb, lamppost, etc. Two hearing devices, or at least the image capture device parts thereof, may be positioned at a distance between them, e.g. one at each ear, but, as mentioned, other positions are possible e.g. body-worn or the frame of a set of glasses. This allows for enhanced detection possibilities based on image analysis, e.g. determining distance to an object in the images, as the distance to the object will be reflected by the relation of the position of the object in each image and the distance between the two image capture devices. ¶[0034] discloses the image capture device may be used for detecting objects other than people. The image capture device may be used for detecting that an object is near the wearer. This could be useful for a warning system for the user, e.g. to be able to receive warnings or notification that the user is nearing a stationary object, such as a lamppost or wall, or for instance a curb or movable objects such as other people or cars or the like.)
“accessing a memory that stores data associated with the at least one object;” (Guo, ¶[0033] discloses analyzing image or image sequence may include recognizing and identifying a person as a talker known to the hearing device via a database of known talkers. One or more characteristics of a person may be stored and used for identifying the person using the image capture device. This may include eye and/or nose and/or mouth position or relative the each of the corresponding other or other suitable visual characteristic used for face detection. When a person is then recognized, the hearing device processing may be adapted according to the recognized talker, e.g. if the person is a spouse certain processing may be desired, while other members of the users family may require other types of processing, e.g. speech enhancement specifically aimed at enhancing speech from children. )
“converting at least one portion of the data to audio;” “and providing, by the one or more earbuds, the at least one portion of the data to the user.” (Guo, ¶[0033] and ¶[0034] discloses the image capture device may be used for detecting objects other than people. The image capture device may be used for detecting that an object is near the wearer. This could be useful for a warning system for the user, e.g. to be able to receive warnings or notification that the user is nearing a stationary object, such as a lamppost or wall, or for instance a curb or movable objects such as other people or cars or the like. This will particular be useful if the user in addition to a hearing loss has a visual impairment. ¶[0084] discloses the cameras may be used as an alternative communication channel. Pictures recorded by the camera and decoded into an audio stream and presented to the hearing device user. )
Claims 10 and 17 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 3 above.
As per claim 4, in view of claim 1, Guo as modified by Moore as modified Wexler discloses “wherein the logic when executed is further operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: identifying at least one object in the images, wherein the at least one object is a person; accessing a memory that stores data associated with the person; converting at least one portion of the data to audio; and providing, by the one or more earbuds, the at least one portion of the data to the user, wherein the at least one portion of the data comprises at least a name of the person.” (Guo, ¶[0033] discloses analyzing image or image sequence may include recognizing and identifying a person as a talker known to the hearing device via a database of known talkers. One or more characteristics of a person may be stored and used for identifying the person using the image capture device. This may include eye and/or nose and/or mouth position or relative the each of the corresponding other or other suitable visual characteristic used for face detection. When a person is then recognized, the hearing device processing may be adapted according to the recognized talker, e.g. if the person is a spouse certain processing may be desired ( Examiner interprets the spouse recognition as detection of name of the person and relation), while other members of the users family may require other types of processing, e.g. speech enhancement specifically aimed at enhancing speech from children. ¶[0084] discloses the cameras may be used as an alternative communication channel. Pictures recorded by the camera and decoded into an audio stream and presented to the hearing device user.¶[0102-0103] discloses the images from the analyzing image or image sequence are used for recognizing a person as a talker known to the user, e.g. via a database of known talkers. )
Claims 11 and 18 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 4 above.
As per claim 5, in view of claim 1, Guo as modified by Moore as modified Wexler discloses “wherein the logic when executed is further operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: identifying at least one object in the images; computing a location of at least one object; converting data associated with an identification and a location of the at least one object to audio; and providing, by the one or more earbuds, the identification and the location of the at least one object to a user.” (Guo, ¶[0031] discloses when a second hearing device including an image capture device is positioned at an opposite ear of the user, the method may include correlating images or image sequences from the two image capture devices, or at least information extracted based on the captured images, to determine distance to an object present in both the images or image sequences. The object may be an obstacle, such as wall, person, kerb, lamppost, etc. Two hearing devices, or at least the image capture device parts thereof, may be positioned at a distance between them, e.g. one at each ear, but, as mentioned, other positions are possible e.g. body-worn or the frame of a set of glasses. This allows for enhanced detection possibilities based on image analysis, e.g. determining distance to an object in the images, as the distance to the object will be reflected by the relation of the position of the object in each image and the distance between the two image capture devices. Further ¶[0084-0085] discloses the cameras may be used as an alternative communication channel. Pictures recorded by the camera and decoded into an audio stream and presented to the hearing device user. ¶[0100-0102].)
Claims 12 and 19 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 5 above.
As per claim 6, in view of claim 1, Guo as modified by Moore as modified Wexler discloses “wherein the logic when executed is further operable to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising identifying at least one object in the images, wherein the at least one object is a health hazard” (Guo, ¶[0034] discloses the image capture device may be used for detecting objects other than people. The image capture device may be used for detecting that an object is near the wearer. This could be useful for a warning system for the user, e.g. to be able to receive warnings or notification that the user is nearing a stationary object, such as a lamppost or wall, or for instance a curb or movable objects such as other people or cars or the like. This will particular be useful if the user in addition to a hearing loss has a visual impairment. (Examiner notes for a person with visual impairment, accident with a car or a curb or even wall is a potential health hazard and dangerous.))
Claims 13 and 20 have been analyzed and are rejected for the reasons indicated in claim 6 above.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAGHAYEGH AZIMA whose telephone number is (571)272-1459. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9:30-6:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vincent Rudolph can be reached at (571)272-8243. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHAGHAYEGH AZIMA/Examiner, Art Unit 2671