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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 3/10/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/10/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the preamble states “detecting … connected to a first jack plug inserted into a first jack port”. However, the body of the claim does not refer back to the preamble. Thus, it is unclear how the claimed “a 3-pole jack plug” in the body (lines 5-6) is related to “a first jack plug” recited in the preamble, or they are being different from each other.
Regarding claim 3, if there is no audio signal present in response to the microphone bias, other possible determination, other than the claimed “determine that the type of accessory is a headphone and/or a line load”, could be no accessory being connected to the jack port. The claimed limitation does not clearly define how the claimed invention with the claimed feature “determine that the type of accessory is a headphone and/or a line load” would result. The similar ambiguity is also present in claim 10.
Regarding claim 3, the claimed feature includes the combination of a headphone and a line load be present simultaneously. It is unclear how could this be possible. The similar ambiguity is also present in claim 10.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patterson et al. (US 20040081099 A1; hereafter Patterson).
Regarding claim 1, Patterson discloses circuitry (30 in Fig. 1) for detecting a type of accessory connected to a first jack plug (26 in Fig. 1; “…connectors 26 which may be any form of terminal such as jacks for example…” in [0045]) inserted into a first jack port, the circuitry being configured to:
determine whether an audio signal is present at the tip or the ring of the first jack plug (“the excitation circuit may supply a test signal to the tip contact and the response analyzer circuit may respond to the ring contact” in [0021]); and, if there is an audio signal present at the tip or the ring of the first jack plug,
determine that the type of accessory is a stereo line-in accessory connected to a 3- pole jack plug (“the device is identified as a stereo microphone” in [0055]).
Regarding claim 13, Patterson shows that the circuitry further comprising:
a first jack plug detect module (40 in Fig. 2) configured to detect whether the first jack plug is received in the first jack port ([0047]).
Regarding claim 14, Patterson shows a first circuitry module and a second circuitry module, wherein the first circuitry module comprises at least one of:
left audio out circuitry (e.g., 88 or 90); right audio out circuitry; impedance measurement circuitry; microphone biasing circuitry; microphone and ground switching circuitry; and microphone input circuitry;
and wherein the second circuitry module comprises at least one of:
a first stereo input circuitry; a second stereo input circuitry; impedance measurement circuitry; microphone biasing circuitry (e.g., 112, 80, 82); and ground circuitry.
Regarding claim 15, Patterson shows at least one of a first source of voltage bias (VREF).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Poulsen et al. teach using ultrasonic generator as a test tone for detecting an audio accessory.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PING LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7522. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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, 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.
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.
/PING LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695
Prosecution Insights