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 .
A new examiner has been assigned to U.S. Application No. ***. Per MPEP 704.01, full faith and credit will be given to the searches and actions of the previous examiner where appropriate.
In the response to this Office action, the Office respectfully requests that support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line numbers in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the Office in prosecuting this application.
The Office has cited particular figures, elements, paragraphs and/or columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing the responses, to fully consider each of the cited references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage disclosed by the Office.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 May 12, 2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
- Applicant’s Amendment filed May 12, 2026 is acknowledged.
- Claim(s) 1 is/are amended
- Claim(s) 2, 9 is/are canceled
- Claim(s) 1, 3-8 is/are pending in the application.
Priority
The application has claimed priority based on U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63186482 filed on May 10, 2021, U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63332078 filed on April 18, 2022, prior filed U.S. Application Serial No. 17740141 (now abandoned) filed on May 9, 2022.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-6, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rochford et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 10366691 in view of Moser et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20170149943), Gong et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20210319782, Aoyanagi Japanese Patent Publication 2004297256, Walder et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. 20130048341, Wood et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20100058053 and Thrower, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20200218817.
Consider claim 1, Rochford teaches a mobile confidential and secure communication environment (see Rochford col. 5, lines 65-67 where HMD 116 transmits information securely and efficiently to another device, such as, for example, server 104, or any other client device 106-114), system, comprising: a headset configured to be worn by a user (see Rochford figure 5B);
eyewear coupled to the headset (see Rochford figure 5B, element 505), wherein the eyewear comprises a display that is configured to display images for viewing by the user while preventing such imagery to be viewed by others;
headphones coupled to the headset and configured to provide audio to the user while preventing sounds from being overheard by others (see Rochford figure 5B, element 530);
a mouthpiece
a secure communication interface configured to provide a secure communication link to a mobile device or desktop computer (see Rochford figures 1-3, 5B and column 7, lines 6-21 where RX processing circuitry 225 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 230, such as for voice data, or to the processor 240 for further processing, such as for web browsing data or image processing, or both and col. 5, lines 65-67 where HMD 116 transmits information securely and efficiently to another device, such as, for example, server 104, or any other client device 106-114);
a control unit (see Rochford figure 2, element 240 and column 7, lines 34-37 where processor 240 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 261 stored in the memory 260 in order to control the overall operation of the electronic device) coupled to the eyewear, headphones, mouthpiece and secure communication interface, wherein the control unit is configured to control operations of the eyewear, headphones and mouthpiece to enable secure communications during a secure communication session (see Rochford figures 1-3, 5B and column 7, lines 6-21 where RX processing circuitry 225 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 230, such as for voice data, or to the processor 240 for further processing, such as for web browsing data or image processing, or both and col. 5, lines 65-67 where HMD 116 transmits information securely and efficiently to another device, such as, for example, server 104, or any other client device 106-114),
Rochford is silent regarding a microphone configured to receive speech spoken by the user while preventing such speech from being overheard by others.
In a related field of endeavor, Moser teaches a microphone configured to receive speech spoken by the user while preventing such speech from being overheard by others so as to maintain privacy and clarity of communications over communication devices while avoiding the disturbance of others in the vicinity (see Moser figure 1, figure 4, element 1270, figure 6 and paragraph 0018, 0065, 0068).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have modified Rochford to have a microphone configured to receive speech spoken by the user while preventing such speech from being overheard by others so as to maintain privacy and clarity of communications over communication devices while avoiding the disturbance of others in the vicinity using known techniques with predictable results.
Rochford is silent regarding a proximity sensor configured to detect when the headset or at least one component thereof is positioned on the head of the user; wherein the proximity sensor is configured to provide a signal to the control unit when the headset or the at least one component thereof is removed from the head of the user, wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session by disconnecting the secure communication link in direct response to the signal that the headset or a component thereof is removed from the head of the user.
In a related field of endeavor, Gong teaches a proximity sensor (see Gong figure 3, element 204) configured to detect when the headset or at least one component thereof is positioned on the head of the user (see Gong paragraph 0224-0229 where optical proximity sensor 204 is disposed at a side that is in contact with the user when the user wears the Bluetooth headset); wherein the proximity sensor is configured to provide a signal to the control unit when the headset or the at least one component thereof is removed from the head of the user, wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session by disconnecting the secure communication link in direct response to the signal that the headset or a component thereof is removed from the head of the user (see Gong paragraphs 0224-0229, 0279, 0320 where optical sensor is used to detect wearing state so as to transition from dormant state to working state and headset may enter a dormant state so as to reduce power consumption).
Gong does not explicitly disclose turning off when not in a worn state. In a related field of endeavor, Aoyanagi teaches disconnecting a wireless communication connection when detecting that a headset has been removed from a user (see Aoyanagi figure 1, element 18 and paragraphs 0013, 0020-0021 where a detecting unit that detects whether the headset is worn by the user. And a control unit that establishes a wireless communication connection with the music playback device and disconnects the wireless communication connection with the music playback device when detecting that the headset has been removed from the user)
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have further modified Rochford with the teachings of Gong and Aoyanagi to incorporate a proximity sensor configured to detect when the headset or at least one component thereof is positioned on the head of the user; wherein the proximity sensor is configured to provide a signal to the control unit when the headset or the at least one component thereof is removed from the head of the user, wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session by disconnecting the secure communication link in direct response to the signal that the headset or a component thereof is removed from the head of the user so as to reduce power consumption when not in use using known techniques with predictable results.
Rochford is silent regarding wherein the secure communication interface comprises a shielded transmission cable incorporating a ferrite choke configured to attenuate radio-frequency emissions and electromagnetic interference generated during the secure communication session.
In a related field of endeavor, Walder teaches a shielded transmission cable incorporating a ferrite choke configured to attenuate radio-frequency emissions and electromagnetic interference generated during a secure communication session (see Walder paragraph 0073 where ferrite beads or chokes that may be installed on wires for high frequency noise suppression are disclosed).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have further modified Rochford with the teachings of Walder to have a shielded transmission cable incorporating a ferrite choke configured to attenuate radio-frequency emissions and electromagnetic interference generated during the secure communication session using known techniques with predictable results.
Rochford is silent regarding wherein the control unit is further configured to terminate the secure communication session in response to determining that a separation distance to the mobile device or desktop computer exceeds a threshold distance, wherein the separation distance is determined based on a detected signal strength of a wireless communication link between the headset and the mobile device or desktop computer.
In a related field of endeavor, Wood teaches a distance-oriented heartbeat signal (such as an NFC or Bluetooth signal) could be lost if, for example, the security device were to move a certain distance away from the computer system such that the security device was out of range of the communicating technology between the computer system and the security device (see Wood paragraph 0024).
Thrower teaches automatically terminating a wireless communication session when a detected distance has been exceeded by detection of wireless signal strength so as to ensure security (see Thrower figure 4 and paragraph 0035).
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to incorporate terminating the secure communication session in response to determining that a separation distance to the mobile device or desktop computer exceeds a threshold distance, wherein the separation distance is determined based on a detected signal strength of a wireless communication link between the headset and the mobile device or desktop computer as disclosed by Wood and Thrower so as to end a session when it is determined that distance between devices exceed a distance-oriented heartbeat signal (such as an NFC or Bluetooth signal) such that signal could be lost.
Claim 2 canceled
Consider claim 3, Rochford as modified by Moser, Gong, Aoyanagi, Walder, Wood and Thrower teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein the eyewear (see Rochford figure 5B, element 505) is the at least one component of the headset and
the proximity sensor (see Gong figure 3, element 204) is configured to detect when the eyewear is being worn by the user and provide the signal to the control unit when the eyewear is removed by the user (see Gong paragraph 0224-0229 where optical proximity sensor 204 is disposed at a side that is in contact with the user when the user wears the Bluetooth headset),
wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session in response to the signal that the eyewear is removed by the user (see Aoyanagi figure 1, element 18 and paragraphs 0013, 0020-0021 where a detecting unit that detects whether the headset is worn by the user. And a control unit that establishes a wireless communication connection with the music playback device and disconnects the wireless communication connection with the music playback device when detecting that the headset has been removed from the user).
Consider claim 4, Rochford as modified by Moser, Gong, Aoyanagi, Walder, Wood and Thrower teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein the mouthpiece (see Rochford figure 5B, element 520) is the at least one component of the headset and
the proximity sensor (see Gong figure 3, element 204) is configured to detect when the mouthpiece is being worn by the user and provide the signal to the control unit when the mouthpiece is removed by the user (see Gong paragraphs 0224-0229, 0279, 0320 where optical sensor is used to detect wearing state so as to transition from dormant state to working state and headset may enter a dormant state so as to reduce power consumption),
wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session in response to the signal that the mouthpiece is removed by the user (see Aoyanagi figure 1, element 18 and paragraphs 0013, 0020-0021 where a detecting unit that detects whether the headset is worn by the user. And a control unit that establishes a wireless communication connection with the music playback device and disconnects the wireless communication connection with the music playback device when detecting that the headset has been removed from the user).
Rochford does not explicitly disclose placing the proximity sensor on the mouthpiece. However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill that a proximity sensor can be placed at any suitable location with respect to the headset so as to determined when the headset is in use.
Consider claim 5, Rochford as modified by Moser, Gong, Aoyanagi, Walder, Wood and Thrower teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein the headphones(see Rochford figure 5B, element 530) are the at least one component of the headset and
the proximity sensor (see Gong figure 3, element 204) is configured to detect when the headphones are being worn by the user and provide the signal to the control unit when the headphones are removed by the user (see Gong paragraphs 0224-0229, 0279, 0320 where optical sensor is used to detect wearing state so as to transition from dormant state to working state and headset may enter a dormant state so as to reduce power consumption),
wherein the control unit is configured to terminate the secure communication session in response to the signal that the headphones are removed by the user (see Aoyanagi figure 1, element 18 and paragraphs 0013, 0020-0021 where a detecting unit that detects whether the headset is worn by the user. And a control unit that establishes a wireless communication connection with the music playback device and disconnects the wireless communication connection with the music playback device when detecting that the headset has been removed from the user).
Consider claim 6, Rochford as modified by Moser, Gong, Aoyanagi, Walder, Wood and Thrower teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Rochford is silent regarding wherein the control unit is configured to authenticate the user using a biometric authentication method prior to enabling commencement of the secure communication session.
Gong teaches a control unit is configured to authenticate the user using a biometric authentication method prior to enabling commencement of the secure communication session (see Gong figure 10, paragraph 0004, 0258-0260) so as to unlock a device for an authorized user.
One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to have further modified Rochford with the teachings of Gong to have a control unit is configured to authenticate the user using a biometric authentication method prior to enabling commencement of the secure communication session so as to unlock a device for an authorized user using known techniques with predictable results.
Consider claim 8, Rochford as modified by Moser, Gong, Aoyanagi, Walder, Wood and Thrower teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and further teaches wherein the control unit comprises:
a transceiver configured to send and receive audio and visual communications via one of a wireless or wired communication link (see Rochford figure 2, element 225, 215, 210, 205);
a memory (see Rochford figure 2, element 260); and
a microcontroller unit coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured with processor-executable instructions stored in the memory to perform operations (see Rochford figure 2, element 240) comprising: managing data communications with the eyewear, headphones, and mouthpiece; decrypt received encrypted audio and visual data for presentation on the headphones and eyewear, respectively; encrypt speech sounds received from the microphone for secure transmission via the transceiver (see Rochford column 7, line 34-column 8, line 58 where The processor 240 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 261 stored in the memory 260 in order to control the overall operation of the electronic device 200.);
determining based on signals from the proximity sensor (see Gong figure 3, element 204) whether the headphones, eyewear and mouthpiece are being worn by the user (see Gong paragraphs 0224-0229, 0279, 0320 where optical sensor is used to detect wearing state so as to transition from dormant state to working state and headset may enter a dormant state so as to reduce power consumption);
enabling communications via the transceiver, sending audio to the headphones, sending video to the eyewear, and receiving sound from the mouthpiece in response to determining that the headphones, eyewear and mouthpiece are being worn by the user (see Rochford column 7, line 34-column 8, line 58 where The processor 240 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 261 stored in the memory 260 in order to control the overall operation of the electronic device 200.); and
disable communications via the transceiver, preventing sending audio to the headphones, preventing sending video to the eyewear and preventing receiving sound from the mouthpiece in response to determining that any one of the headphones, eyewear and mouthpiece are not being worn by the user (see Aoyanagi figure 1, element 18 and paragraphs 0013, 0020-0021 where a detecting unit that detects whether the headset is worn by the user. And a control unit that establishes a wireless communication connection with the music playback device and disconnects the wireless communication connection with the music playback device when detecting that the headset has been removed from the user).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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 claimed invention recites
Claim 7 “ The mobile confidential and secure communication environment system of claim 1, wherein: the control unit is positioned within the headphones; the eyewear is separable from the headphones; the headphones include slots into which temples of the eyewear can fit when both are worn by the user; the slots include first electrical contacts coupled to circuitry within the headphones; and the temples of the eyewear include second electrical contacts configured to make electrical connections with the first electrical contacts in the slots when the temples are positioned in the slots. ”
The following prior arts are representative of the state of the prior art:
Sugiyama et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20100060551 (figure 1)
Fisher et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 8902315 (figure 20-21)
The prior arts cited fails to fairly teach or suggest the combined features of the invention including the eyewear is separable from the headphones; the headphones include slots into which temples of the eyewear can fit when both are worn by the user; the slots include first electrical contacts coupled to circuitry within the headphones; and the temples of the eyewear include second electrical contacts configured to make electrical connections with the first electrical contacts in the slots when the temples are positioned in the slots.
These features find support at least at paragraph 0059 and figure 5 of Applicant’s original specification.
As such, modification of the prior art of record can only be motivated by hindsight reasoning, or by changing the intended use and function of the prior art themselves. Therefore, it is not clear that one of ordinary skill in the art would have made the necessary modifications to the prior art of record to encompass the limitations set forth in the present application. Moreover, none of the prior arts of record, taken either alone or in combination, anticipate nor render obvious the claimed inventions. Hence, claims 7 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chao et al, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20130141514 (switching calls between devices).
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/Dorothy Harris/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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