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 1-2, 4, 6, 9-10, 13, 15-17, and 20 are currently pending.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald (US 20220183259 A1), hereafter referred to as “Oswald”, in view of Sheldon (US 20160135431 A1), hereafter referred to as “Sheldon”, Kennedy et al. (US 20160242393 A1), hereafter referred to as “Kennedy”, Brown (CA 2704094 A1), hereafter referred to as “Brown”, Pawlick (US 20230389523 A1), hereafter referred to “Pawlick”, and Marmen et al. (US 20170135315 A1), hereafter referred to as “Marmen”.
Regarding claim 1, Oswald teaches a communicative pet collar device for interacting between a pet owner and a pet (100; figs. 1-6), the communicative pet collar device comprising;
an elongated flexible strap (102; fig. 1);
a housing (120) removably attached to the elongated flexible strap (fig. 1 and paragraph [0031]);
a speaker (110; paragraphs [0032] and [0044]) retained within the housing and comprising a signal processor (paragraph [0029], [0034]):
a rechargeable battery (paragraph [0009]);
a wireless transmitter (106; paragraph [0034]) retained within the housing (fig. 1) configured to pair the speaker with a mobile application via a wireless channel (paragraph [0031] and claim 4, figure 2, paragraph [0034]);
wherein the signal processor is configured to receive a digital signal via the wireless channel and convert the digital signal to an audio signal for the speaker (paragraphs [0031]-[0032] and [0034]),
wherein a rear surface of said housing (fig. 1 showing dotted module 108) comprises a vibration module (108) for generating a vibration independently from an audio signal played by said micro speaker (paragraph [0034]).
As shown above, Oswald teaches that housing removably attached to said pet strap (paragraph [0031]), but does not explicitly teach that the housing is slidably attached, and further does not explicitly teach the signal processor comprising a noise cancellation functionality, wherein the speaker is a micro speaker, the rechargeable battery being a wirelessly rechargeable battery, and wherein the wireless channel comprises an Infrared wireless communication link, and further wherein said micro speaker is a wirelessly chargeable micro speaker.
Sheldon teaches a communicative pet strap (800; figs. 1-8) including a housing (440, 840) that is slidably attached to a pet strap (800; paragraph [0108]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond, such that the housing is slidably attached, as taught by Sheldon, in order to improve the removal and installment of the housing as desired by the user (paragraph [0108] of Sheldon).
Kennedy teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-25) including a signal processor comprising a noise cancellation functionality (paragraph [0116]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, such that the signal processor includes a noise cancellation functionality, as taught by Kennedy, in order to reduce sound interference to improve sound quality of the user’s voice to the pet (paragraph [0116] of Kennedy).
Brown teaches a communicative pet collar including a micro speaker (abstract and page 4, claim 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon and Kennedy, such that the speaker is a micro speaker, as taught by Brown, in order to provide a more compact speaker mechanism within the housing of the collar (Brown page 4, claim 5.
Pawlick teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-8) including a wirelessly rechargeable battery (paragraph [0158]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, and Brown, such that the battery is wirelessly rechargeable, as taught by Pawlick, in order to improve the ease of charging the unit by preventing the need to attach ports to charge the device (paragraph [0158] of Pawlick).
In addition, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, and Pawlick, such that the micro speaker is also wirelessly chargeable, as suggested by Pawlick, in order to improve the ease of charging the micro speaker, eliminating the need to remove the speaker from the device in order to charge the speaker.
Marmen teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-7H) including a wireless channel with an Infrared wireless communication link (paragraphs [0100], [0105], and [0134]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, and Pawlick, such that the wireless channel includes an Infrared wireless communication link, as taught by Marmen, as it is well known in the art that IR signals do not interfere with radio frequency signals, unlike signals like Bluetooth and WiFi.
Regarding claim 2, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Pawlick, and Marmen teaches the communicative pet collar device of claim 1, and Oswald further teaches wherein said audio signal is selected from the group consisting of an instruction, a command, and a message from the pet owner (paragraphs [0034] and [0042]).
Regarding claim 6, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Pawlick, and Marmen teaches the communicative pet collar device of claim 1, and Oswald further teaches wherein said housing is waterproof (paragraph [0040]).
Claims 9-10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Marmen, Gotts (US 20180184618 A1), hereafter referred to as “Gotts”, and Pawlick.
Regarding claim 9, Oswald teaches a communicative pet collar device for interacting between a pet owner and a pet (100; figs. 1-6), the communicative pet collar device comprising:
an elongated flexible strap (102; fig. 1):
a housing (120) attached to the elongated flexible strap (fig. 1 and paragraph [0031]);
a speaker (110; paragraphs [0032] and [0044]) retained within the housing and comprising a signal processor (paragraph [0029], [0034]),
a wireless transmitter retained within the housing configured to pair the speaker with a mobile application via a wireless channel (paragraph [0031] and claim 4, figure 2, paragraph [0034]);
wherein the signal processor is configured to receive a digital signal via the wireless channel and convert the digital signal to an audio signal for the speaker (paragraphs [0031]-[0032] and [0034]), and
wherein a rear surface of said housing (fig. 1 showing dotted module 108) comprises a vibration module (108) for generating a vibration independently from an audio signal played by said micro speaker (paragraph [0034]).
Oswald further teaches wherein said housing removably attached to said pet strap (paragraph [0031]), but does not explicitly teach that the housing is slidably attached, and a locking component comprising a first member pivotally attached to a top edge of the housing, and a second member pivotally attached to a bottom edge of the housing, wherein the first and second members each secure to a rear surface of the elongated flexible strap, the signal processor comprising a noise cancellation functionality, wherein the speaker is a micro speaker, wherein the wireless channel comprises an Infrared wireless communication link, wherein the strap comprises an indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap, and wherein said mobile application is configured to generate a threshold distance between said mobile application and said housing and to send a notification to said mobile application and said speaker when a distance between said mobile application and said housing exceeds said threshold distance, and further wherein said micro speaker is a wirelessly chargeable micro speaker.
Sheldon teaches a communicative pet strap (800; figs. 1-8) including a housing (440, 840) that is slidably attached to a pet strap (800; paragraph [0108]), and a locking component (fig. 4; 416) comprising a first member pivotally attached to a top edge of the housing (fig. 4), a second member pivotally attached to a bottom edge of the housing (fig. 4), wherein the first and second members each secure to a rear surface of the elongated flexible strap (fig. 4), and wherein the strap comprises an indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap (fig. 2 and paragraph [0050]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond, such that the housing is slidably attached and a locking component comprising a first member pivotally attached to a top edge of the housing, and a second member pivotally attached to a bottom edge of the housing, wherein the first and second members each secure to a rear surface of the elongated flexible strap, as taught by Sheldon, in order to improve the removal and installment of the housing as desired by the user (paragraph [0108] of Sheldon).
In addition, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond to include indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap, as further taught by Sheldon, in order to provide pet identification and owner contact information (Sheldon, fig. 2 and paragraph [0050]).
Kennedy teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-25) including a signal processor comprising a noise cancellation functionality (paragraph [0116]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, such that the signal processor includes a noise cancellation functionality, as taught by Kennedy, in order to reduce sound interference to improve sound quality of the user’s voice to the pet (paragraph [0116] of Kennedy).
Brown teaches a communicative pet collar including a micro speaker (abstract and page 4, claim 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon and Kennedy, such that the speaker is a micro speaker, as taught by Brown, in order to provide a more compact speaker mechanism within the housing of the collar (Brown page 4, claim 5.
Marmen teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-7H) including a wireless channel with an Infrared wireless communication link (paragraphs [0100], [0105], and [0134]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, and Brown, such that the wireless channel includes an Infrared wireless communication link, as taught by Marmen, as it is well known in the art that IR signals do not interfere with radio frequency signals, unlike signals like Bluetooth and WiFi.
Gotts teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-7B) including a mobile application configured to generate a threshold distance between said mobile application and a housing (paragraphs [0014], [0021]) and to send a notification to said mobile application and speaker when a distance between said mobile application and said housing exceeds said threshold distance (paragraph [0028]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, and Marmen, such that the mobile application is configured to generate a threshold distance between said mobile application and said housing and to send a notification to said mobile application and said speaker when a distance between said mobile application and said housing exceeds said threshold distance, as taught by Gotts, in order to encourage the pet to stay closer to the owner (paragraph [0021] of Gotts).
Pawlick teaches a communicative pet collar (figs. 1-8) including a wirelessly rechargeable element (paragraph [0158]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Marmen, and Gotts, such that the micro speaker is wirelessly chargeable, as suggested by Pawlick, in order to improve the ease of charging the micro speaker, eliminating the need to remove the speaker from the device in order to charge the speaker.
Regarding claim 10, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Marmen, Gotts, and Pawlick teaches the communicative pet collar device of claim 9, and Oswald further teaches wherein said audio signal is selected from the group consisting of an instruction, a command, and a message from the pet owner (paragraphs [0034] and [0042]).
Regarding claim 13, Oswald as modified by Osmond in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Marmen, Gotts, and Pawlick teaches the communicative pet collar device of claim 9, and Oswald further teaches wherein said housing is waterproof (paragraph [0040]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Pawlick, and Marmen as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wikelski et al. (WO 2023041542 A1), hereafter referred to as “Wikelski.”
Regarding claim 4, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, and Marmen teaches the communicative pet collar device of claim 1, but does not explicitly teach said speaker comprises an audio range from 50 Hz to 5000 Hz.
Wikelski teaches a communicative pet strap (figs. 1-13b) including a speaker (page 14, lines 17-22) having an audio range from 50 Hz to 5000 Hz (page 8, lines 14-17).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Oswald in view of Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Pawlick, and Marmen, such that the speaker has an audio range from 50 Hz to 5000 Hz, as taught by Wikelski, in order to provide a message to the animal that is within an ideal hearing range of the animal (page 8, lines 14-17 of Wikelski).
Claims 15, 17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon.
Regarding claim 15, Oswald teaches a method of communicating between a pet owner and a pet (abstract, figs. 1-6), the method comprising the steps of:
providing a communicative pet collar device comprising a strap (100) having a housing (120) comprising a speaker (110; paragraphs [0032] and [0044]) and a signal processor (paragraph [0030]), a paired mobile application (figure 2, paragraph [0034]), and a handheld user device (paragraph [0031] and claim 4) for enabling a pet owner to communicate with said speaker (paragraph [0031]), wherein said mobile application and said handheld user device comprises a wireless channel (106) for sending digital signals (paragraphs [0031]-[0032] and [0034]);
sending said digital signals from said handheld user device to said speaker with said paired mobile application (paragraph [0034]), wherein said signal processor receives said digital signals via said wireless channel (paragraphs [0031]-[0032] and [0034]), and further wherein sending said digital signals is a voice message (paragraph [0034]);
converting said digital signals into an analog audio signal for playing out by said speaker (paragraph [0034]); and
wherein a rear surface of said housing (fig. 1 showing dotted module 108) comprises a vibration module (108) for generating a vibration independently from an audio signal played by said micro speaker (paragraph [0034]), but does not explicitly teach selecting a desired communication language from a language tab on the mobile application, wherein the mobile application further comprises a language translation icon for translating an input text message to a different language, wherein the strap comprises an indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap, and further wherein said mobile application further comprises a command box configured to allow for displaying and reviewing the textual message prior to transmission to the speaker.
Gotts teaches a method (abstract) including selecting a desired communication language from a language tab on the mobile application (paragraph [0048] and fig. 7A).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Oswald to include selecting a desired communication language from a language tab on the mobile application, as taught by Gotts, in order to expand the user base and accessibility of the mobile application by providing multiple language options (paragraph [0048] of Gotts).
The examiner takes official notice that, before the effective filing date, it was well known that mobile applications commonly included a language translation icon for translating an input text message to a different language and a command box configured to allow for displaying and reviewing the textual message prior to transmission to the speaker (e.g., see well-known Google Translate mobile application and similar translation tools available on mobile platforms prior to the filing date). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Oswald in view of Gotts to include a language translation icon for translating an input text message to a different language and a command box configured to allow for displaying and reviewing the textual message prior to transmission to the speaker, in order to further provide user accessibility of the mobile application by allowing a wider range of users speaking different languages to utilize the application.
Sheldon teaches a communicative pet strap (800; figs. 1-8) including indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap (fig. 2 and paragraph [0050]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communicative pet strap of Osmond in view of Gotts to include indicia embossed on an outer surface of the strap, as taught by Sheldon, in order to provide pet identification and owner contact information (Sheldon, fig. 2 and paragraph [0050]).
Regarding claim 17, Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon teaches the method of communicating between a pet owner and a pet of claim 15, and Oswald further teaches that said audio signal is selected from the group consisting of an instruction, a command, and a message from the pet owner (paragraphs [0034] and [0042]).
Regarding claim 19, Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon teaches the method of communicating between a pet owner and a pet of claim 15, and Oswald further teaches that a rear surface of said housing (102; fig. 1) comprises a vibration module (108) for generating a vibration when said audio signal is played out by said speaker (paragraph [0044]).
Regarding claim 20, Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon teaches the method of communicating between a pet owner and a pet of claim 15, but does not explicitly teach said housing comprises a vital sign detector;
wherein said vital sign detector is configured to detect at least one vital sign of the pet; and
further wherein said at least one vital sign is selected from the group consisting of a pet heart rate and a pet temperature.
Sheldon further teaches a method (abstract; figs. 1-8) including a housing (440, 840) having a vital sign detector (887 and 878; fig. 8 and paragraph [0067]), wherein said vital sign detector detecting at least one vital sign of the pet (paragraphs [0035]-[0036]), and further wherein said at least one vital sign is selected from the group consists of a pet heart rate (887) and a pet temperature (878; paragraphs [0035]-[0036] and fig. 8).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon, such that said housing includes a vital sign detector, wherein said vital sign detector detecting at least one vital sign of the pet, and further wherein said at least one vital sign is selected from the group consisting of a pet heart rate and a pet temperature, as further taught by Sheldon, in order to allow an owner to monitor their pet’s health (paragraphs [0035]-[0036]).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon as applied to claim 15 above, and further in view of Ickovic (US 20150099472 A1), hereafter referred to as “Ickovic.”
Regarding claim 16, Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon teaches the method of communicating between a pet owner and a pet of claim 15, but does not explicitly teach wherein said housing comprises an LED, and further wherein said LED is configured to illuminate during the playing out of said analog audio signal by said speaker.
Ickovic teaches a method (abstract, figs. 1-13) including a housing having an LED (110a, 110b, 310a, 310b, 606; fig. 1A and fig. 6), and further wherein said LED is configured to illuminate during the playing out of an analog audio signal by a speaker (paragraphs [0057], [0059], [0063], [0073], [0080]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon, such that said housing having an LED, and further wherein said LED illuminated during the playing out of said analog audio signal by said speaker, as taught by Ickovic, in order to improve device’s ability to notify the animal of a message (paragraph [0057]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/8/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive and/or are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
As shown in the rejections above, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Pawlick, and Marmen teaches each and every element of claim 1, Oswald as modified by Sheldon, Kennedy, Brown, Marmen, Gotts, and Pawlick teaches each and every element of claim 9, and Oswald in view of Gotts and Sheldon teaches each and every element of claim 15.
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 CFR 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 extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 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 date of this final action.
The cited prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure. The references have many of the elements in the applicant’s disclosure and claims.
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/H.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 3643
/MARISA V CONLON/Examiner, Art Unit 3643
