Detailed Action
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . See 35 U.S.C. § 100 (note).
Art Rejections
Obviousness
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.
Claims 1 and 3–10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of CN 116132894 A (published 16 May 2023) (“Zhang II”); US Patent Application Publication 2024/0292136 (effectively filed 05 January 2023 as US 63/478,628) (“Silver”) and US Patent 6,373,956 (patented 16 April 2002) (“Varla”).
Claims 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang II; Silver; Varla and US Patent Application Publication 2008/0205685 (published 28 August 2008) (“Schneider”).
Claim 1 is drawn to “a speaker.” The following table illustrates the correspondence between the claimed speaker and the Zhang II reference. Figure 1, below, further illustrates the correspondence between the reference and the claimed invention.
Claim 1
The Zhang II Reference
“1. A speaker, comprising:
Zhang II similarly describes a loudspeaker corresponding to the claimed speaker.1 Zhang II at FIG.1.
“a housing having a receiving space;
“a sound outlet penetrating the housing and communicated with the receiving space; and
“a sound-producing unit received in the receiving space and fixed to the housing;
“wherein the sound-producing unit divides the receiving space into a front cavity and a rear cavity, the front cavity communicates with the sound outlet, and a sound-producing side of the sound-producing unit faces the sound outlet,
Zhang II’s loudspeaker includes a speaker unit 1.2 Id. at FIG.4. Zhang II does not describe a housing for speaker unit 1. Rather, Zhang II focuses on describing the details of speaker unit 1. See id.
“wherein the sound-producing unit comprises:
“a frame fixed to the housing and having an accommodating space;
Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 includes a bracket, or frame, 21.3 Bracket 21 is depicted with an accommodating space for the internal elements of speaker unit 1. Id. at FIG.6.
“a vibration unit placed in the accommodating space; …
“wherein the vibration unit comprises a diaphragm with an outer periphery fixed to the frame; and
“a voice coil driving the diaphragm to vibrate and produce sound;
Speaker unit 1 further includes magnetic cover, or diaphragm, 15 that is vibrated by voice coil 231 and magnetic circuit 23.4 Id. at FIG.6. Magnetic cover 15 is fixed to the top periphery of bracket 21.5 Id. at FIG.6.
“a magnetic circuit unit configured to drive the vibration unit to vibrate and produce sound; and …
“wherein the magnetic circuit unit is provided with a magnetic gap, and the voice coil and the diaphragm is fixed to and inserted into the magnetic gap;
…
“wherein the magnetic circuit unit comprises a yoke and a magnet fixed to the yoke;
“the yoke comprises a yoke bottom wall and a side wall bending and extending from an outer periphery of the yoke bottom wall;
“the magnet and the side wall are spaced apart to form the magnetic gap; and
Magnetic circuit 23 includes central magnet 233 that cooperates with voice coil 231 to vibrate magnetic cover 15.6 Id. at FIG.6. Voice coil 231 is inserted in a magnetic gap formed in the space between magnet 233 and bent side walls that rise from a bottom plate of yoke 232.7 Id.
“a spring damping element elastically connecting the magnetic circuit unit to the frame;
…
“the spring damping element is configured to support the magnetic circuit unit to vibrate in the accommodating space;
…
“the spring damping element is fixedly connected to the side wall or the yoke bottom wall, and
Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 further includes vibrating plate 22, which corresponds to the claimed spring damping element.8 Plate 22 is elastic and connects magnetic circuit 23 to bracket 21.9 Plate 22 is also configure to support magnetic circuit 23 in the open space of bracket 21 by being connected to both the bottom of yoke 232 and internal side walls of bracket 21.10 Id. at FIG.6.
“the sound-producing unit further comprises a weight received in the rear cavity and fixed to the magnetic circuit unit.”
…
“the weight is fixed to a side of the yoke bottom wall away from the magnet.”
Zhang II does not describe including additional weights fixed to a side of the bottom plate of yoke 232.
Table 1
The table above and Figure 1, below, shows that the Zhang II reference describes a loudspeaker that corresponds closely to the claimed speaker. Zhang II does not anticipate the claimed speaker, however, because it does not include the claimed housing and the claimed weight.
The differences between the claimed invention and the Zhang II reference are such that the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this Application was effectively filed. Zhang II describes a loudspeaker by describing details of a speaker unit 1. Zhang II omits any details about or practically deploying speaker unit 1. Zhang II also does not describe adding weight to the rear of yoke 232.
The Silver reference, on the other hand, describes a similar speaker unit formed by elements 901, 903, 904, 950, 910, 915. As seen in Silver at FIG.9A, the speaker unit is mounted by its frame in a housing, such that the speaker unit divides the housing into a front cavity and a back cavity 980. Sound from the front cavity is emitted from a forward waveguide 930 while sound from the rear cavity is emitted from a rear waveguide 931. Silver teaches that this arrangement allows for cancellation of parasitic forces over a wide frequency range. Id. at ¶¶ 26, 75. Read in light of Zhang II, the teachings of Silver would have thus reasonably suggested embodying Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 in a housing like the one described by Silver. Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 would be mounted by bracket 15 to a housing, and would divide that housing into front and rear chambers. The diaphragm of speaker unit 1 would face the front chamber and radiate sound out through a forward waveguide, or sound outlet, 930. One of ordinary skill would have reasonably expected improved force cancellation.
Furthermore, the Varla reference teaches and suggests tuning the vibration of a magnetic circuit by adding and distributing a number of weights below the circuit’s yoke. Varla at col. 3 l. 66 to col. 4 l. 20, FIGs.1, 2. This would have reasonably suggested modifying the Zhang II loudspeaker to include additional weights distributed evenly along the bottom of the loudspeaker’s yoke to create a balanced vibration that does not rock. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 3 depends on claim 1 and further requires the following:
“wherein the spring damping element comprises a first stiffness layer, a damping layer stacked on and fixed to the first stiffness layer, and a second stiffness layer stacked on and fixed to the damping layer.”
Claim 4 depends on claim 1 and further requires the following:
“wherein the spring damping element is made of one or more of a high-damping simple-substance material, a high-damping polymer composite material, and a damping metal composite structure.”
Claims 3 and 4 are drawn to features of the spring damping element. The Zhang II reference does not describe, teach or suggest a specific embodiment of vibrating sheet 22, leaving their implementation to the knowledge and skill of those having ordinary skill in the art. The Schneider reference fills in that gap, teaching and suggesting forming a spider, corresponding to element 22, as a three-layer structure with two outer stiffness layers 210 formed with and a middle damping layer 215. Schneider at ¶¶ 16–18, FIGs.1, 2. For example, damping layer 215 is made of a fiber mat 215 and outer stiffness layers 210 are made of an elastomer matrix. Id. The layers are formed together to create a high-damping polymer composite material as claimed. Accordingly, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this Application was effectively filed to have implemented Zhang II’s vibrating sheet 22 as a three-layer spider structure with outer stiffness layers and a middle damping layer. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claims.
Claim 5 depends on claim 1 and further requires the following:
“wherein the yoke is in a shape of a rectangle, two spring damping elements are provided, and are respectively located on opposite sides of a minor axis of the yoke or on opposite sides of a major axis of the yoke.”
Zhang II’s yoke 232 is rectangular in shape. Zhang at FIG.4. Vibration plate 22 further includes at least two spring damping elements 223 on opposite sides of a minor axis. Id. at FIG.5. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 6 depends on claim 5 and further requires the following:
“wherein the spring damping element comprises an inner fixing portion fixed to one side of the yoke bottom wall close to the diaphragm, an outer fixing portion fixed to the bottom of the frame, and an elastic arm connecting the inner fixing portion to the outer fixing portion.”
Zhang II’s vibrating sheet 22 similarly includes an inner fixing portion coupled to yoke bottom wall 232, an outer fixing portion coupled to the bottom of bracket 21 and elastic arms between the two fixing portions.11 Zhang II at FIGs.5, 6. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 7 depends on claim 5 and further requires the following:
“wherein the weight is attached to opposite sides of the yoke bottom wall close to the rear cavity, or is attached to a geometric center of the yoke bottom wall, or is attached around a periphery of the yoke bottom wall.”
Claim 8 depends on claim 7 and further requires the following:
“wherein the two spring damping elements are respectively located on the opposite sides of the minor axis of the yoke, two weights are provided, the two weights are respectively fixed to the yoke bottom wall and spaced apart from each other, and the two weights are symmetrically arranged about the minor axis of the yoke bottom wall.”
Claims 7 and 8 are both drawn to adding weights to a yoke and distributing those weights. Zhang II does not suggest adding weights in the manner claimed. The Varla reference, however, teaches and suggests tuning the vibration of a magnetic circuit by adding and distributing a number of weights below the circuit’s yoke. Varla at col. 3 l. 66 to col. 4 l. 20, FIGs.1, 2. This would have reasonably suggested modifying the Nevill-Zhang loudspeaker to include additional weights (i.e., at least one weight) distributed along the bottom of the loudspeaker’s yoke. Moreover, it would have been readily apparent to one of ordinary skill that the added weight should be evenly distributed (either centrally or balanced across a plane of symmetry) to prevent rocking or unbalanced motion caused by an uneven distribution of weight. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claims.
Claim 9 depends on claim 1 and further requires the following:
“wherein the vibration unit further comprises a dome covering a surface of the diaphragm.”
Zhang II similarly includes a dome 11, 12 covering magnetic cover plate 15.12 Zhang II at FIG.3. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 10 depends on claim 1 and further requires the following:
“wherein the housing comprises a lower cover and an upper cover covering and fixed to the lower cover,
“the sound outlet is arranged on the upper cover,
“the sound-producing unit is supported on the upper cover, and
“the sound-producing unit, the upper cover and the lower cover jointly define the rear cavity.”
The obviousness rejection of claim 1, incorporated herein, shows the obviousness of embodying Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 in a housing, like the one taught and suggested by Silver. Silver’s housing is depicted with an upper cover forming forward waveguide 930 and a lower cover forming rear waveguide 931. Silver at ¶¶ 71–77, FIG.9A. See also Figure 2, below. The upper cover is fixed to and covers a portion of the lower cover. Id. Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 would be fixed to the upper cover as seen in Silver at FIG.9A. And a rear volume in Zhang II would be defined by the enclosure of the upper cover, Zhang II’s speaker unit 1 and the rear waveguide 931 formed by the lower cover in the same way that Silver’s rear volume 980 is defined by Silver’s speaker unit and upper and lower covers. See Silver at FIG.9A. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Zhang II, the Silver and the Varla references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
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Figure 1: Marked-up copy of Zhang II at FIG.6.
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Figure 2: Marked-up copy of Silver at FIG.9A.
Summary
Claims 1 and 3–10 are rejected under at least one of 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103 as being unpatentable over the cited prior art. 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 C.F.R. § 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Response to Applicant’s Arguments
Applicant’s Reply (11 November 2025) has substantively amended all the claims. All the claims now require the limitations of original claim 2, which has been cancelled. This has necessitated formulating new grounds of rejection to consider new combinations of claim elements that were neither previously presented nor considered. Specifically, the amendments to claims 4, 9 and 10 necessitated new grounds of rejection based on the teachings of the Zhang II base reference to address the newly presented combination of features from original claims 1, 2, 4, 9 and 10. This necessitates determining if the new grounds applies to claim 1 since claims 4, 9 and 10 (and all the other dependent claims) depend on claim 1. The previous rejections based on the teachings of the Nevill base reference have been withdrawn to avoid duplicative grounds of rejection.
Applicant’s comments pertaining to Nevill have been mooted by the new grounds of rejection entered in this Office action. However, for completeness, a rebuttal of the comments is included below. Applicant comments that Nevill’s first chassis corresponds to the claimed frame. This is not how the rejection maps the reference to the claim. Rather, it is Nevill’s second chassis 530 that corresponds to the claimed frame. This means that magnetic circuit 508 vibrates separately from chassis 530.
Applicant further comments that the magnetic circuit 508 of Nevill cannot vibrate independently of a loudspeaker drive unit and that they will move in the same direction together. This is speculation by Applicant’s attorney that is not supported by objective evidence. Nevill at ¶ 2 also contradicts this contention. Further, the claims do not include any limitation to that effect.
Applicant comments that Nevill’s conical extension 524 does not fairly correspond to the claimed weight. Applicant also comments that Zhang I does not disclose the claimed weight. This point is moot since there is inherent weight in the bottommost portion of Nevill’s yoke that corresponds to the claimed weight.
For the foregoing reasons, the Applicant has not persuasively established any error in the Office action. All the rejections will be maintained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 C.F.R. § 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WALTER F BRINEY III whose telephone number is (571)272-7513. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-4:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edwards can be reached at 571-270-7136. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Walter F Briney III/
Walter F Briney IIIPrimary ExaminerArt Unit 2692
1/9/2026
1 “As shown in FIG. 1 to 6, A unidirectional enhanced composite driving loudspeaker, comprising: a loudspeaker unit 1, the loudspeaker unit 1 comprises a sound film assembly 11, a suspension assembly 12, a bracket 21 assembly 13 and a first magnetic circuit assembly 14, the speaker unit 1 is provided with a magnetic cover plate 15; independent excitation unit 2, the independent excitation unit 2 is set on the back of the speaker unit 1, the independent excitation unit 2 comprises a second magnetic circuit assembly 23, the second magnetic circuit assembly 23 drives the magnetic cover 15 to vibrate.”
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 “Wherein, the second magnetic circuit assembly 23 comprises: a voice coil 231, the voice coil 231 is fixedly set on the back of the magnetic cover plate 15; a magnetic shield 232, the magnetic shield 232 is fixedly set on the vibrating sheet 22 close to one end of the magnetic cover plate 15; the magnetic steel 233 and the pole piece 234, the magnetic steel 233 and the pole piece 234 are fixedly arranged in the magnetic isolation cover 232; wherein, when the voice coil 231 is electrified, interacts with the magnetic steel 233 to generate vibration, driving the magnetic cover plate 15 to vibrate. By setting the voice coil 231, the magnetic shield 232, the magnetic steel 233 and the pole piece 234, to ensure that the magnetic circuit is connected to one end of the voice coil 231, improving the vibration effect between the voice coil 231 and the magnetic steel 233, so as to improve the vibration effect of the magnetic cover 15.”
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id.
10 Id.
11 “As a preference of the above embodiment, the vibrating plate 22 comprises: an outer ring frame 221, the outer ring frame 221 is fixedly set on the bracket 21; inner ring frame 222, the inner ring frame 222 is fixedly connected with the magnetic shield 232; a plurality of elastic arm 223, several said elastic arm 223 connected with the outer ring frame 221 and the inner ring frame 222. By setting the vibrating plate 22 as an outer ring frame 221, an inner ring frame 222 and a plurality of elastic arms 223, a good excitation vibration effect is provided for the magnetic separating cover 232 provided on the inner ring frame 222. wherein the plurality of the elastic arm 223 is an S-shaped structure.”
12 “As shown in FIG. 1 to 6, A unidirectional enhanced composite driving loudspeaker, comprising: a loudspeaker unit 1, the loudspeaker unit 1 comprises a sound film assembly 11, a suspension assembly 12, a bracket 21 assembly 13 and a first magnetic circuit assembly 14, the speaker unit 1 is provided with a magnetic cover plate 15; independent excitation unit 2, the independent excitation unit 2 is set on the back of the speaker unit 1, the independent excitation unit 2 comprises a second magnetic circuit assembly 23, the second magnetic circuit assembly 23 drives the magnetic cover 15 to vibrate. through the back of the speaker unit 1 is provided with an independent excitation unit 2, independent excitation unit 2 is provided with a second magnetic circuit assembly 23, the second magnetic circuit assembly 23 to drive the speaker unit 1 of the magnetic cover 15 to vibrate, magnetic cover 15 vibration sound, and the sound pressure of the speaker unit 1 are overlapped, to reach the effect of improving the sound pressure, and the traditional way of improving the height of the loudspeaker is different, in the invention, the loudspeaker is superposed and compounded and driven, which greatly improves the sound pressure to reach the ideal sound pressure value.”