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 .
This office action is in response to applicant’s amendment dated 12/5/2023, claims 1-20 are currently pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (US 20230269512 A1) hereinafter Wang.
Regarding claim 1, Wang teaches 1. An earphone (“FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a customized wireless earphone 10” in ¶[0039]) comprising: a housing (combination of 100 and 500 in Fig. 1), an inside face of the housing that faces toward a concha of an ear of a user when the earphone is seated in the ear (“the customized housing 500 may include a first protruding portion 510 and a second protruding portion 520. When the user wears the customized wireless earphone 10, the first protruding portion 510 may be located in an external acoustic meatus of the user or an auricular concha cavity and the external acoustic meatus of the user” in ¶[0087]), a speaker (“a speaker assembly 190” in ¶[0041]) configured to audibly couple to an ear canal of the ear (“The speaker assembly 190 may include a sound output device configured to output sound” in ¶[0084]), a battery (“the battery 150” in ¶[0043]), a wireless network interface controller (“a wireless communication module 195 (not shown)” in ¶[0041]), a wireless antenna (“an antenna device 160” in ¶[0041]), an outside face of the housing that faces outward when the earphone is seated in the ear (110 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 8) such that at least an exposed region unobstructed to a finger of the user(See Fig. 8), and a charging connector of the earphone electrically coupled to the battery positioned on the outside face of the housing to prevent contact with the ear of the user when the earphone is seated in the ear of the user to at least one of reduce corrosion of the charging connector of the earphone, reduce dirt buildup, and improve comfort (“In FIG. 2, the charging device 140 is shown to include a plurality of charging pins, which are extended into the panel 110 for example through the manipulation device 130, and contacted with metal contacts of a charger or a charging stand from above the panel 110 through the opening of the panel 110 to charge the customized wireless earphone 10” in ¶[] and Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 2, Wang teaches the device of claim 1, Wang further teaches the device further comprising a controller comprising a processor, a memory, and a surface area of the controller, a touch sensor set in the outside face of the housing configured to detect the finger of the user and produce a control signal for generation of a control input (“As shown in FIG. 2, in an embodiment, the manipulation device 130 is a touchpad that can be manipulated from above the panel 110” in ¶[0069]), wherein the touch sensor is positioned in an exposed region of the outside face such that the touch sensor is accessible to the finger of the user without being blocked by a tragus and an anti-tragus (see 110 in Fig. 8 and how it is oriented so that the plate of the touch pad 110 is clear of any obstructions by the ear), and a first magnet of the earphone positioned on the outside face and configured to magnetically couple the outside face of the housing to a first magnet of a charging interface of a charging device to align the charging connector of the earphone with a charging connector of the charging interface of the charging device(“The magnet 170 is configured to stably attract the customized wireless earphone 10 with the charger or the charging stand when the customized wireless earphone 10 is charged, thereby improving the charging connection stability. In one embodiment, the magnet 170 may be a circular magnet, in which case its center may coincide with a center of the touchpad 130 or the battery 150” in ¶[0080]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-20 are allowed over prior art of record.
Most relevant prior art of record is Wang (US 20230269512 A1) hereinafter Wang.
Regarding claim 8, Wang teaches A method for identifying a control input of a user, the method comprising: receiving a control signal from a touch sensor of a first earphone generated by activation of the touch sensor (“As shown in FIG. 2, in an embodiment, the manipulation device 130 is a touchpad that can be manipulated from above the panel 110, and may be substantially circular or elliptical in shape, or may adopt any other shape” in ¶[0069] and “By operating with the touchpad instead of a mechanical knob or a mechanical switch, the user can control the customized wireless earphone 10” in ¶[0069]), wherein the first earphone comprising a housing having an outside face of that faces outward when the first earphone is seated in an ear such that at least an exposed region is unobstructed to a finger of the user (see 110 in Fig. 8); Wang does not specifically disclose the method further comprising receiving from an accelerometer of the earphone physically fixed relative to the outside face a first acceleration data comprising a positive acceleration indicating a direction of gravity; determining a direction of the touch sensor relative to the direction of gravity; and determining whether to generate the control input from the control signal based on criteria comprising the direction of the touch sensor relative to the direction of gravity, to reduce a probability of a false positive of the control signal while the user is engaged in a resting position.
The following is the reason for allowance of claim 8:
Wang alone or in combination with any other prior art of record does not specifically disclose, suggest nor render obvious the limitations wherein the method further comprises receiving from an accelerometer of the earphone physically fixed relative to the outside face a first acceleration data comprising a positive acceleration indicating a direction of gravity; determining a direction of the touch sensor relative to the direction of gravity; and determining whether to generate the control input from the control signal based on criteria comprising the direction of the touch sensor relative to the direction of gravity, to reduce a probability of a false positive of the control signal while the user is engaged in a resting position, therefore the claim is allowed for the limitations above in combination with all the other limitations of the claim.
Regarding claims 9-14, claims are allowed for their dependency on allowed claim 8.
Regarding claim 15, claim is allowed for being the device comprising at least the same elements and performing at least the same functions performed by the method of allowed claim 8 (see reason for allowance of claim 8 above).
Regarding claims 16-20, claims are allowed for their dependency on allowed claim 15.
Claim 3-7, claims 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMMAR T HAMID whose telephone number is (571)272-1953. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5, Eastern time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vivian Chin can be reached at (571) 272-7848. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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AMMAR T. HAMID
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2695
/AMMAR T HAMID/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695