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 .
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kamimura, U.S. Patent No. 11,350,198, patented on May 31, 2022 (Kamimura).
As to Claim 1, Kamimura discloses an earphone housing comprising: a main body [1, 2]; and an inserter [13] extending from the main body [1, 2] and configured to be inserted into an outer ear hole [Ea] of an ear (col. 4, lines 61-63), wherein the main body [1] includes a bottom surface [21, 23] and a side surface [11a, 11b] that are configured to contact a surface of a cavum concha of the ear (see Fig. 7A), wherein the side surface [11a, 11b] includes a first region [11a, 11b] configured to contact a side wall [Eb1] of an antihelix [Eb] of the ear (see Fig. 7A), and wherein the first region [11a, 11b] includes a protrusion [22] configured to contact an inner side [Eb2] of the antihelix [Eb] (see Fig. 7A).
As to Claim 3, Kamimura remains as applied above to Claim 1. Kamimura further discloses that the bottom surface [21, 23] of the main body [1, 2] is elliptically shaped (see Fig. 4).
As to Claim 6, Kamimura discloses an earphone comprising: a main body [1, 2]; an inserter [13] extending from the main body [1, 2] and configured to be inserted into an outer ear hole [Ea] of an ear (col. 4, lines 61-63); and an earpiece [3] covering the inserter [13], wherein the main body [1] includes a bottom surface [21, 23] and a side surface [11a, 11b] that are configured to contact a surface of a cavum concha of the ear (see Fig. 7A), wherein the side surface [11a, 11b] includes a first region [11a, 11b] configured to contact a side wall [Eb1] of an antihelix [Eb] of the ear (see Fig. 7A), and wherein the first region [11a, 11b] includes a protrusion [22] configured to contact an inner side [Eb2] of the antihelix [Eb] (see Fig. 7A).
As to Claim 7, Kamimura remains as applied above to Claim 6. Kamimura further discloses that the inserter [13] includes a nozzle [13b], and the earpiece [3] is replaceable and shrouds over the nozzle [13b] (col. 3, lines 46-47; see Fig. 3).
As to Claim 8, Kamimura remains as applied above to Claim 7. Kamimura further discloses that the nozzle [13b] extends outwardly from a side of the bottom surface [21, 23] of the main body [1, 2] (see Fig. 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 nonobviousness.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamimura, U.S. Patent No. 11,350,198, patented on May 31, 2022 (Kamimura), in view of Forrest et al., U.S. Patent No. 11,722,828, filed on November 17, 2021 (Forrest).
As to Claim 9, Kamimura remains as applied above to Claim 6. Kamimura does not explicitly disclose a user interface disposed on an outer side of the main body. However, providing a user interface on an earphone in such a manner was well known. Forrest discloses an earphone [2] similar to Kamimura, comprising a user interface [8] disposed on an outer side of the main body [4] (there is a button [8] on the outer side of main body [4]; col. 9, lines 30-31; see Fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of Applicant’s invention, to incorporate a user interface on the outer side of the main body, in the earphone disclosed by Kamimura, for the added functionality of user control of playback.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4, and 5 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: Claim 2 recites the unique features of the main body including a second region located opposite to the first region, and the second region contacts a tragus of the ear. Claim 5 recites the unique feature of a height of the protrusion gradually reducing from the bottom surface toward an outer surface opposite to the bottom surface. The closest prior art does not disclose or suggest such features.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryan Robinson whose telephone number is (571) 270-3956. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Fan Tsang, can be reached on (571) 272-7547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/RYAN ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2694