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 .
Claims filed 1-11-2024
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3-24-2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application filed on 1-11-2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-2, 9-11, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Melillo 2005/0031151.
Regarding claim 1, Melillo discloses a variable impedance speaker apparatus (para [10] discloses the plurality of impedances can allow each speaker to have one of a plurality of volume levels in a distributed system), comprising:
a voice coil having more than one voice coil wire (voice coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 are wound about a bobbin 222 and the voice coil 206 includes first and second leads 206a, 206b, para [33, 35]); and
at least three voice coil arrangements (voice coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 in Fig 2);
wherein each voice coil arrangement provides a different impedance value (in the exemplary embodiment described herein, the voice coils of each of the speakers 104, 106, 108 and 110 are manually configurable to have an impedance of 125 ohms, 250 ohms, 375 ohms and 500 ohms, para [27]) and
wherein said voice coil is in communication with the at least three voice coil arrangements (the bobbin 222 in Figs 2-3 is in communication with the at least three voice coil arrangements 204, 206, 208 and 210 in Fig 2, para [33]).
Regarding claim 2, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 1, wherein the more than one voice coil wire are wound around the voice coil to form a single layer of coil wire (the voice coils 204, 206, 208, and 210 may each be suitably two layer voice coils, as shown in Fig 2a, or single layer voice coils as is known in the art, para [33]).
Regarding claim 9, Melillo discloses a variable impedance speaker apparatus (para [10] discloses the plurality of impedances can allow each speaker to have one of a plurality of volume levels in a distributed system), comprising:
a voice coil having more than one voice coil wire wound around said voice coil to form a single layer of coil wire (voice coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 are wound about a bobbin 222, and the voice coils 204, 206, 208, and 210 may each be --- single layer voice coils as known in the art, para [33]); and
a jumper assembly having at least three voice coil arrangements (it will be appreciated that one advantage of the invention arises from using switchable terminals (i.e., switches, jumpers, other readily manually adjustable connection, para [55] and the switches 228, 230, and 232 may be used to selectively connect one, two three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210, para [37],
wherein each voice coil arrangement provides a different impedance value (in the exemplary embodiment describes herein, the voice coils of each of the speakers 104, 106, 108 and 110 are manually configurable to have an impedance of 125 ohms, 250 ohms, 375 ohms and 500 ohms, para [27]);
wherein said voice coil is in communication with the jumper assembly (the plurality of coils are connected to a switching terminal, and the switch terminal is configurable to selectively connect the plurality of coils in a plurality of configurations. Each of the plurality of configurations has one of a plurality impedances, Abstract).
Regarding claim 10, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 9, wherein the voice coil comprises three voice coil wires (one, two, three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210, para [37]).
Regarding claim 11, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 10, wherein the jumper assembly comprises a first voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a first impedance value (the jumper assembly, discloses in para [55], allows a first voice coil to have a first impedance when “if the speaker 200 is intended to be in a position where a relatively high volume is desired, then all of the switches 228, 230 and 232 are opened, thereby providing only a single 125 ohms impedance voice coil, para [38];
wherein the jumper assembly comprises a second voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a second impedance value (if a moderately high volume is desired, then only the switch 228 may be closed to provide two 125 ohms impedance voice coils in series having a total impedance 250 ohms, para [38]); and
wherein the jumper assembly comprises a third voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a third impedance value (is low volume is desired, then all of the switches may be closed, providing four series 125 ohms impedance voice coils having a total impedance of 500 ohms, para [38]).
Regarding claim 16, Melillo discloses a variable impedance speaker apparatus (para [10] discloses the plurality of impedances can allow each speaker to have one of a plurality of volume levels in a distributed system), comprising:
a voice coil having three voice coils wound around said voice coil to form a single layer of coil wire (voice coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 are wound about a bobbin 222, and the voice coils 204, 206, 208, and 210 may each be --- single layer voice coils as known in the art, para [33]); and
a jumper assembly having a first voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires
provide a first impedance value the jumper assembly, (discloses in para [55], allows a first voice coil to have a first impedance when “if the speaker 200 is intended to be in a position where a relatively high volume is desired, then all of the switches 228, 230 and 232 are opened, thereby providing only a single 125 ohms impedance voice coil, para [38]);
wherein the jumper assembly further comprises a second voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a second impedance value (if a moderately high volume is desired, then only the switch 228 may be closed to provide two 125 ohms impedance voice coils in series having a total impedance 250 ohms, para [38]);
wherein the jumper assembly further comprises a third voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a third impedance value (is low volume is desired, then all of the switches may be closed, providing four series 125 ohms impedance voice coils having a total impedance of 500 ohms, para [38]).
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.
Claims 3-8, 12-15, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Melillo 2005/0031151 in view of Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A
Regarding claim 3, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a jumper assembly having said at least three voice coil arrangements (it will be appreciated that one advantage of the invention arises from using switchable terminals (i.e., switches, jumpers, other readily manually adjustable connections, para [55] and the switches 228, 230, and 232 may be used to selectively connect one, two, three or all four of coils 204, 206, 208 and 210, para [37]; and
the plurality of coils are connected to a switching terminal, and the switch terminal is configurable to selectively connect the plurality of coils in a plurality of configurations. Each of the plurality of configurations has one of a plurality of impedances, abstract; Further, see paras [38, 49-51] which discuss the different impedance configurations achieved by connecting different voice coils using switches, as shown in Figs 3 and 4A-4B.
Melillo fails to disclose wherein each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches a variable impedance speaker apparatus (the present invention relates to a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, para [41], comprising; a jumper assembly having a plurality of voice coil arrangements (“input impedance switch 30 can be equipped with the fuse 32 shown in Fig 3, para [16] or the jumper wire 36 shown in Fig 4 can be attached instead of the fuse 32, para [17]; also see voice coils VC1 and VC2 which are connected to the input impedance switch 30, Figs 1-2 and 5-10); and wherein each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper (“a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, and more particularly to a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse”, para [16-18]). As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the jumper assembly of Melillo, so that each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper, as taught by Nakayama Masa, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, via switching the voice coils, can easily be done by connecting a jumper to a jumper assembly of the speaker.
Regarding claim 4, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 4.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches the speaker apparatus of claim 3, further comprising an input terminal (A1+, A1-, A2+, A2- of the input impedance switch 30 are connected to the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 in a separable manner, Figs 7-9, para [15]) and a jumper control board (the input impedance switch 30 includes a printed circuit board 41, para [19]);
wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in
communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board (Fig 5 shows how the voice coils and input terminals are all connected through the jumper control board 41), and
the voice coil (the output currents of the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 when the voice coils VA1 and VC2 are connected to the bi-amplifier flow as follows. The output current of the audio amplifier AMP1 flows in the order of AMP1+ → terminal A1+ → terminal A1 VC1+ → voice coil VC1 → terminal VC1- → terminal 47b → fuse 32 → terminal 47a → terminal A1- → terminal AMP1-, para [33])
to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement (a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse, para [0001], and when the impedance of the voice coils VC1 and VC2 are both 2ῼ, the input impedance of the speaker 20 in the bi-amplifier connection (BI-AMP), the series connection, and the parallel connection is as follows. That is, 2 + 2ῼ for bi-amp connection, 4ῼ for series connection, and 1ῼ for parallel connection; para [30].
As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the speaker of Melillo, to have an input terminal and a jumper control board; wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board, and the voice coil to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement, as taught by Nakayama Masao, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, can easily be done by the user.
Regarding claim 5, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 4, wherein the voice coil comprises three voice coil wires (para [37] discloses one, two, three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210).
Regarding claim 6, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 5, wherein the jumper assembly comprises a first voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a first impedance value (the jumper assembly, discloses in para [55], allows a first voice coil to have a first impedance when “if the speaker 200 is intended to be in a position where a relatively high volume is desired, then all of the switches 228, 230 and 232 are opened, thereby providing only a single 125 ohms impedance voice coil, para [38];
wherein the jumper assembly comprises a second voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a second impedance value (if a moderately high volume is desired, then only the switch 228 may be closed to provide two 125 ohms impedance voice coils in series having a total impedance of 250 ohms, para [38]; and
wherein the jumper assembly comprises a third voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a third impedance value (if low volume is desired, then all of the switches may be closed, providing four series 125 ohms impedance voice coils having a total impedance of 500 ohms, para [38]).
Regarding claim 7, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 6, wherein the voice coil wires of the first coil arrangement are in series (switches 228, 230, and 232 may be used to selectively connect one, two, three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 in series, para [37]. Further, Melillo discloses the number of coils may be two or more, and the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, para [13]).
Melillo fails to discloses wherein the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; and wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the voice coil wires of Melillo, so that the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; and wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel, as to allow the net impedance of the speaker to easily be adjusted using only the voice coil wires within the system.
Melillo contemplates “the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]. It is well known within the art that connecting wires, of a known impedance, in either series, parallel, or series-parallel can produce various, desired net system impedances.
Regarding claim 8, Melillo further discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 7, wherein the jumper assembly further comprises a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires are in parallel (the jumper assembly, discloses in para [55], comprises a fourth voice coil connected in parallel, the four coils 312, 314, 316 and 318 are parallel connected, para [42, 50]).
Melillo fails to disclose the speaker apparatus of claim 7, a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the fourth voice coil wire of Melillo to provide a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value, as to add a fourth net impedance to the speaker that can easily be enabled, since configuring a fourth voice coil arrangement that provides a fourth impedance value would only require connecting all four voice coils in a different arrangement of series, parallel, or series-parallel and since Melillo has already contemplated such a task (the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]).
Regarding claim 12, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 11, wherein the voice coil wires of the first coil arrangement are in series (the switches 228, 230, and 232 may be used to selectively connect one, two, three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 in series, para [37]; and
wherein the jumper assembly further comprises a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires are in parallel to provide a fourth impedance value (the jumper assembly, discloses in para [55], comprises a fourth voice coil connected in parallel “the four coils 312, 314, 316 and 318 are parallel connected, para [42, 50]). Further, Melillo discloses “the number of coils may be two or more, and the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, para [13].
Melillo fails to disclose wherein the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the voice coil wires of Melillo, so that the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; and wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel, as to allow the net impedance of the speaker to easily be adjusted using only the voice coil wires within the system.
Melillo contemplates “the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]. It is well known within the art that connecting wires of a known impedance, in either series, parallel, or series-parallel can produce various, desired net system impedances.
Further, Melillo fails to explicitly disclose a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the rt prior to the relevant date to modify the fourth voice coil wire of Melillo to provide a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value, as to add a fourth net impedance to the speaker that can easily be enabled, since configuring a fourth voice coil arrangement that provides a fourth impedance value would only require connecting all four voice coils in a different arrangement of series, parallel, or series-parallel and since Melillo has already contemplated such as task (the configurations preferably includes at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]).
Regarding claim 13, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 13.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches a variable impedance speaker apparatus (the present invention relates to a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, para [41], comprising; a jumper assembly having a plurality of voice coil arrangements (“input impedance switch 30 can be equipped with the fuse 32 shown in Fig 3, para [16] or the jumper wire 36 shown in Fig 4 can be attached instead of the fuse 32, para [17]; also see voice coils VC1 and VC2 which are connected to the input impedance switch 30, Figs 1-2 and 5-10); and the speaker apparatus of claim 11, wherein each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper (“ a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, and more particularly to a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse”, para [16-18]). As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the jumper assembly of Melillo, so that each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper, as taught by Nakayama Masa, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, via switching the voice coils, can easily be done by connecting a jumper to a jumper assembly of the speaker.
Regarding claim 14, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 14.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches the speaker apparatus of claim 13, further comprising an input terminal (A1+, A1-, A2+, A2- of the input impedance switch 30 are connected to the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 in a separable manner, Figs 7-9, para [15]) and a jumper control board (the input impedance switch 30 includes a printed circuit board 41, para [19]);
wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in
communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board (Fig 5 shows how the voice coils and input terminals are all connected through the jumper control board 41), and
the voice coil (the output currents of the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 when the voice coils VA1 and VC2 are connected to the bi-amplifier flow as follows. The output current of the audio amplifier AMP1 flows in the order of AMP1+ → terminal A1+ → terminal A1 VC1+ → voice coil VC1 → terminal VC1- → terminal 47b → fuse 32 → terminal 47a → terminal A1- → terminal AMP1-, para [33])
to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement (a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse, para [0001], and when the impedance of the voice coils VC1 and VC2 are both 2ῼ, the input impedance of the speaker 20 in the bi-amplifier connection (BI-AMP), the series connection, and the parallel connection is as follows. That is, 2 + 2ῼ for bi-amp connection, 4ῼ for series connection, and 1ῼ for parallel connection; para [30]).
As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the speaker of Melillo, to have an input terminal and a jumper control board; wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board, and the voice coil to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement, as taught by Nakayama Masao, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, can easily be done by the user.
Regarding claim 15, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 15.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches the speaker apparatus of claim 13, wherein each voice coil arrangement is further adapted to receive a cover (Figs 1-2, how the voice coils VC1 and VC2 are wound around bobbin 10, which received within cover, or basket 24, para [12-13]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to incorporated the teaching of Nakayama Masao in Melillo’s invention in order to improve the speaker apparatus.
Regarding claim 17, Melillo discloses the speaker apparatus of claim 16, wherein the voice coil wires of the first coil arrangement are in series (the switches 228, 230, and 232 may be used to selectively connect one, two, three or all four of the coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 in series, para [37]);
wherein the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series parallel;
wherein the voice coil wires of the third voice coil arrangement are in series parallel; and
wherein the jumper assembly further comprises a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires are in parallel to provide a fourth impedance value (the jumper assembly discloses in para [55], comprises a fourth voice coil connected in parallel, the four coils 312, 314, 316 and 318 are parallel connected, para [42, 50]). Further, Melillo discloses “the number of coils may be two or more, and the configurations preferably includes at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, para [13].
Melillo fails to disclose wherein the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; and wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the voice coil wires of Melillo, so that the voice coil wires of the second coil arrangement are in series-parallel; and wherein the voice coil wires of the third coil arrangement are in series-parallel, so to allow the net impedance of the speaker to easily to be adjusted using only the voice coil wires within the system.
Melillo contemplates, “the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]. It is well known within the art that connecting wires, of known impedance, in either series, parallel, or series-parallel can produce various, desired net system impedances.
Further, Melillo fails to explicitly disclose a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value. However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the fourth voice coil wire of Melillo to provide a fourth voice coil arrangement in which the voice coil wires provide a fourth impedance value, as to add a fourth net impedance to the speaker the can easily be enabled, sine configuring a fourth voice coil arrangement that provides a fourth impedance value would only require connecting all four voice coils in a different arrangement of series, parallel, or series-parallel and since Melillo has already contemplate such task (the configurations preferably include at least some series connections of coils and at least some parallel connections of coils, in para [13]).
Regarding claim 18, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 18.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches the speaker apparatus (the present invention relates to a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, para [41], comprising; a jumper assembly having a plurality of voice coil arrangements (“input impedance switch 30 can be equipped with the fuse 32 shown in Fig 3, para [16] or the jumper wire 36 shown in Fig 4 can be attached instead of the fuse 32, para [17]; also see voice coils VC1 and VC2 which are connected to the input impedance switch 30, Figs 1-2 and 5-10) of claim 17,
wherein each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper (“a switching device for input impedance of a speaker equipped with two voice coils, and more particularly to a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse”, para [16-18]). As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the jumper assembly of Melillo, so that each voice coil arrangement is adapted to receive a jumper and to configure the voice coil to the impedance value of said voice coil arrangement upon receiving said jumper, as taught by Nakayama Masa, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, via switching the voice coils, can easily be done by connecting a jumper to a jumper assembly of the speaker.
Regarding claim 19, Melillo fails to disclose the claimed limitation as recited in claim 19.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches the speaker apparatus of claim 18, further comprising an input terminal (A1+, A1-, A2+, A2- of the input impedance switch 30 are connected to the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 in a separable manner, Figs 7-9, para [15]) and a jumper control board (the input impedance switch 30 includes a printed circuit board 41, para [19]);
wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in
communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board (Fig 5 shows how the voice coils and input terminals are all connected through the jumper control board 41), and
the voice coil (the output currents of the audio amplifiers AMP1 and AMP2 when the voice coils VA1 and VC2 are connected to the bi-amplifier flow as follows. The output current of the audio amplifier AMP1 flows in the order of AMP1+ → terminal A1+ → terminal A1 VC1+ → voice coil VC1 → terminal VC1- → terminal 47b → fuse 32 → terminal 47a → terminal A1- → terminal AMP1-, para [33])
to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement (a switching device capable of switching the input impedance of a speaker by changing the mounting location of a connection conductor such as a fuse, para [0001], and when the impedance of the voice coils VC1 and VC2 are both 2ῼ, the input impedance of the speaker 20 in the bi-amplifier connection (BI-AMP), the series connection, and the parallel connection is as follows. That is, 2 + 2ῼ for bi-amp connection, 4ῼ for series connection, and 1ῼ for parallel connection; para [30].
As such, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to modify the speaker of Melillo, to have an input terminal and a jumper control board; wherein upon receiving the jumper each voice coil arrangement is adapted to be in communication with the input terminal, the jumper control board, and the voice coil to permit a signal to pass through said speaker at said impedance value of the particular voice coil arrangement, as taught by Nakayama Masao, so that changing the impedance of the speaker, can easily be done by the user.
Regarding claim 20, Melillo disclose the speaker apparatus of claim 18, wherein the three voice coils each have the same resistance (Fig 2a, voice coils 204, 206, 208, and 210 are wound about a bobbin 222, para [33]. Fig 2, Para [35] discloses each of the voice coils 204, 206, 208 and 210 is a 125 ohms voice coil. Melillo further discloses switches, jumpers, other readily manually adjustable connections, and adjust voice coil impedance net (resistance), para [ 30, 55].
Melillo fails to disclose each voice coil arrangement is further adapted to receive a cover.
Nakayama Masao JP2008/109222A teaches each voice coil arrangement is further adapted to receive a cover (Figs 1-2, show the voice coils VC1 and VC2 are wound around bobbin 10, which received within cover, or basket 24, para [12-13]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the relevant date to incorporated the teaching of Nakayama Masao in Melillo’s invention in order to improve the speaker apparatus.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIE X DANG whose telephone number is (571)272-0040. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5.
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) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn R 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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JULIE X DANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2692
/CAROLYN R EDWARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2692