DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter 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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
Claims 31-37 and 41-43 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Lemelman et al. (US. Pub. 2013/0069583 A1; hereinafter “LEMELMAN”) in view of Syed (US Pub 2009/0029734 A1; hereinafter “SYED”)
Regarding claim 31, LEMELMAN teaches an accessory management system (see LEMELMAN, fig. 1-4) comprising:
a housing configured to mate with a handheld electronic device (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2-4, case 20), the housing comprising:
a plug head configured to electrically connect the housing to the handheld electronic device (see LEMELMAN, fig. 4, connector 42, para. [0068]);
at least one charging station (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2, UPM connection assembly 21, para. [0055]) configured to charge at least one accessory item of the handheld electronic device (see LEMELMAN, para. [0084], IMI contacts); and
at least one accessory station configured to removably and electrically connect at least one interchangeable modular accessory to the handheld electronic device via the housing (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2-4, UMP as the interchangeable modular accessory, para. [0055]);
wherein said at least one accessory item is independent from the housing (see LEMELMAN, fig. 29, Bluetooth headset 2910) and removably and magnetically attaches to the housing (see LEMELMAN, para. [0084], magnetic connection);
wherein said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is distinct from said at least one accessory item (see LEMELMAN, fig. 1-4, UPM batteries);
wherein the housing comprises at least one port configured to transfer data or power from an external source to or from at least one of the following: the housing, the handheld electronic device, said at least one interchangeable modular accessory, and said at least one accessory item (see LEMELMAN, fig. 4, port 41, para. [0067]).
LEMELMAN is silent to teaching that wherein said at least one accessory item or said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is configured to be powered by a power source of the handheld electronic device.
In the same field of endeavor, SYED teaches a system wherein said at least one accessory item or said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is configured to be powered by a power source of the handheld electronic device (see SYED, fig. 2A, para. [0021]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of LEMELMAN with the teaching of SYED in order to improve the size of the mobile headsets and allow proliferation of gadgets (see SYED, para. [0009]).
Regarding claim 32, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein the housing further comprises one or more storage chambers configured to store and protect at least one of the following: at least one power component and an integrated circuit (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2, para. [0055], hollow space, back face).
Regarding claim 33, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 32, wherein said at least one power component is configured to power at least one of the handheld electronic device, said at least one accessory item and said at least one interchangeable modular accessory (see LEMELMAN, para. [0068,84]).
Regarding claim 34, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is a battery (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2-4, UPM).
Regarding claim 35, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is configured to removably and magnetically attach to the housing (see LEMELMAN, fig. 5, 6, para. [0077], magnetic connection).
Regarding claim 36, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 32, wherein said one or more one storage chambers is formed between a removable panel and the housing (see LEMELMAN, fig. 14, door 1401, para. [0062]).
Regarding claim 37, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, further comprising an integrated circuit (IC) chip configured to control transmission of at least one of electrical power and data signals among the housing, the handheld electronic device, said at least one accessory item and said at least one interchangeable modular accessory (see LEMELMAN, para. [0047-48], charging circuit).
Regarding claim 41, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is configured to removably and magnetically attach to said at least one charging station (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2, para. [0056])
Regarding claim 42, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein said at least one interchangeable modular accessory is configured to removably connect to another interchangeable modular accessory (see LEMELMAN, fig. 1, UPM stack 10a-c).
Regarding claim 43, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31, wherein said at least one accessory item comprises at least one battery (see LEMELMAN, fig. 2-4, UPM)
Claims 38-40 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over LEMELMAN and SYED as applied to claim 31 above, and further in view of Huang (US Pub 2011/0287808 A1; hereinafter “HUANG”).
Regarding claim 38, the combination of LEMELMAN and SYED teaches the accessory management system of claim 31.
The combination of LEMELMAN and SYED is silent to teaching that wherein the housing comprises at least one of the following: a wireless transmitter and an integrated circuit (IC) chip.
In the same field of endeavor, HUANG teaches a system wherein the housing comprises at least one of the following: a wireless transmitter (see HUANG, fig. 14, external interface 1408, para. [0151], Bluetooth) and an integrated circuit (IC) chip (see HUANG, fig. 13, para. [0060-61, circuit board 1308).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of LEMELMAN and SYED with the teaching of HUANG in order to extend the capabilities of mobile devices and satisfy the user’s need (see HUANG, para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 39, the combination of LEMELMAN, SYED and HUANG teaches the accessory management system of claim 38, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to facilitate a wireless connection between wireless components of said at least one accessory item and the housing (see HUANG, para. [0151]).
Regarding claim 40, the combination of LEMELMAN, SYED and HUANG teaches the accessory management system of claim 39, wherein a wireless signal is transferred to said at least one accessory item when said at least one accessory item is proximate to said at least one charging station (see HUANG, para. [0151], Bluetooth).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rathi et al. (US. Pub. NO. 2012/0054509 A1), Monaco (2011/0233078), Sa (2012/0147536), Thome (2007/0099592), Nylund (2013/0210475) teach mobile device accessory systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEN WU HUANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7852. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-6.
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, Wesley Kim can be reached at (571) 272-7867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WEN W HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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