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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 19 and 20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 19 and its dependent are allowed because the closest prior art either alone or in combination, fail to anticipate or render obvious, the claimed limitations of “a soundbar comprising a housing, a first speaker, a second speaker, a first channel, and a second channel, wherein the housing has a first horizontal wall and a second horizontal wall, and when the first horizontal wall is vertically above the second horizontal wall, the soundbar is configured to selectively connect the first channel with the first speaker and the second channel with the second speaker, and when the second horizontal wall is vertically above the first horizontal wall, the soundbar is configured to selectively connect the second channel with the first speaker and the first channel with the second speaker” in combination with all other limitations in the claims as defined by Applicant.
The prior art discloses an audio visual system comprising a soundbar but does not teach or suggest a soundbar comprising a housing, a first speaker, a second speaker, a first channel, and a second channel, wherein the housing has a first horizontal wall and a second horizontal wall.
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) 1-18 and 21-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable by Justin et al. (US Patent 11,009,906).
In regards to claim 1, Justin discloses a soundbar (e.g., soundbar 12), comprising: a housing (e.g., housing 40); at least one speaker located in the housing (See col. 4 lines 50-53); and a biased lock (e.g., position connectors 16 and 18) having a locked and an unlocked condition, wherein the biased lock is movable from an unlocked to a locked condition in response to a force applied by a detent, and wherein when the biased lock is in the locked condition, the housing is restrained from moving relative to the detent along at least one axis of the housing (See col. 3 lines 30-37 and col. 4-5 lines 57-12).
In regards to claim 2, Justin discloses the soundbar, further comprising a soundbar installation groove formed in the housing, wherein when the biased lock is in the unlocked condition, the biased lock projects into the soundbar installation groove and is selectively depressible by the detent to a position beneath the sound installation groove (See col. 5-6 lines 56-1).
In regards to claim 3, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein when the biased lock is in an unlocked condition, the biased lock extends a first distance into the soundbar installation groove along a housing height axis, and when the biased lock is in a locked condition, the biased lock extends a second distance along the housing height axis into the soundbar installation groove, and the first distance is greater than the second distance (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 4, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the housing has first and second horizontal walls, and the soundbar installation groove is formed in one of the first and second horizontal walls (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 5, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a spring and a polygonal member, wherein when the biased lock 1s in the unlocked condition, the spring is in an uncompressed condition (See col. 5 lines 7-15).
In regards to claim 6, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the soundbar installation groove includes an upper wall and a lower wall positioned adjacent one another along a housing height axis, and the soundbar installation groove has a first width along a housing length axis defined by the upper wall that is less than a second width along the housing length axis defined by the lower wall (See col. 5 lines 39-49).
In regards to claim 7, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a first detent engagement surface shaped such that when a force parallel to a thickness axis of the housing is applied to the first detent engagement surface, the first detent engagement surface is displaced in a direction along a height axis of the housing (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 8, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a second detent engagement surface shaped such that when the soundbar is in the locked condition, the second detent engagement surface abuttingly engages the detent (See col. 3 lines 30-37).
In regards to claim 9, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a polygonal member that includes the first detent engagement surface and further comprises a spring that applies a biasing force against the polygonal member in the direction along the height axis of the housing (See col. 5 lines 7-15).
In regards to claim 10, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a spherical member that includes the first detent engagement surface and further comprises a spring that applies a biasing force against the spherical member in the direction along the height axis of the housing (See pg. 5 lines 7-15).
In regards to claim 11, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a first detent engagement surface shaped such that when a force parallel to a thickness axis of the housing is applied to the first detent engagement surface, the first detent engagement surface is displaced in a direction along a length axis of the housing (See col. 5 lines 39-49).
In regards to claim 12, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a second detent engagement surface shaped such that when the biased lock 1s in the locked configuration, the second detent engagement surface abuttingly engages the detent (See col. 4-5 lines 57-12).
In regards to claim 13, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a clamp that includes the first detent engagement surface and further comprises a spring that applies a biasing force against the clamp in the direction along the length axis of the housing (See col. 5 lines 7-15).
In regards to claim 14, Justin discloses the soundbar, further comprising an inertial sensor configured to detect an orientation of the soundbar relative to the Earth (See col. 9 lines 19-31).
In regards to claim 15, Justin discloses the soundbar, wherein the at least one speaker comprises a first speaker and a second speaker spaced apart along a length axis of the housing, and the soundbar comprises a first horizontal surface and a second horizontal surface, a first channel, and a second channel, and wherein when the first horizontal surface is vertically above the second horizontal surface, the first channel is selectively connected to the first speaker, and the second channel is selectively connected to the second speaker, and when the second horizontal surface is vertically above the first horizontal surface, the second channel is selectively connected to the first speaker, and the first channel is selectively connected to the second speaker (See col. 4 lines 39-56).
In regards to claim 16, Justin discloses an audio-visual system (e.g., display 10), comprising: the soundbar; a video monitor having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a fastener having the detent and connected to the bottom surface, wherein when the soundbar is attached to the video monitor, and the biased lock is in the locked condition, the detent is restrained by the biasing lock from moving along at least one of a housing length axis, a housing width axis, and a housing height axis (See col. 4 lines 39-56).
In regards to claim 17, Justin discloses the audio-visual system, wherein a soundbar installation groove is defined by a wall formed in the housing, wherein the wall defines a retaining surface, and when the biased lock is in the locked condition, the detent is restrained from moving along the height axis of the housing by the retaining surface (See col. 3 lines 30-37).
In regards to claim 18, Justin discloses an audio-visual system, comprising: the soundbar, wherein the biased lock comprises a biased member with an L-shaped cross-section and a lip and further comprises a spring that biases the biased member along a height axis of the housing (See col. 5 lines 7-15); and a video monitor (e.g., display panel 11) comprising a top surface a bottom surface and a fastener comprising the detent, wherein when the biased lock is in the locked condition, the soundbar is restrained from moving along a thickness axis of the video monitor by engagement of the detent and the biased member lip (See col. 4 lines 39-56).
In regards to claim 21, Justin discloses a method of attaching a soundbar to a video monitor, the soundbar having a housing, first and second channels, and first and second speakers located in the housing, the housing comprising first and second horizontal surfaces, and the video monitor having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a display, wherein when the first horizontal surface of the housing is vertically above the second horizontal surface of the housing, the first channel is selectively connected to the first speaker, and the second channel is selectively connected to the second speaker (See col. 4 lines 39-56), the method comprising: attaching the second horizonal surface of the housing to the bottom surface of the video monitor; selectively connecting the second channel to the first speaker, and the first channel to the second speaker (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 22, Justin discloses the method, wherein the step of attaching the second horizonal surface of the housing to the bottom surface of the video monitor comprises: inserting a fastener located on the bottom surface of the video monitor into a soundbar insertion groove formed in the second horizontal surface of the housing; moving the soundbar in a first direction orthogonally to the display while the fastener 1s located in the soundbar installation groove, thereby locking the soundbar to the fastener (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 23, Justin discloses the method, wherein the step of moving the soundbar in a first direction orthogonally to the display comprises engaging the fastener to and disengaging the fastener from an engagement surface of a biased lock (See col. 4 lines 39-56).
In regards to claim 24, Justin discloses the method of claim 23, wherein the step of engaging the fastener to the engagement surface of the biased lock moves the engagement surface out of the soundbar installation groove (See col. 8-9 lines 65-12).
In regards to claim 25, Justin discloses the method, wherein the step of attaching the second horizontal surface of the soundbar to the bottom surface of the video monitor comprises: engaging a fastener with an engagement surface of a clamp to displace the clamp in a direction along a length axis of the housing; moving the soundbar in a first direction orthogonally to the display while the fastener engages the engagement surface of the clamp until the fastener disengages from the engagement surface of the clamp, thereby locking the soundbar to the fastener (See col. 6-7 lines 62-17).
In regards to claim 26, Justin discloses a method of attaching a soundbar (e.g., soundbar 12) having a housing (e.g., housing 40) comprising first and second speakers (See col. 4 lines 50-53 and col. 5 lines 56-1), a first horizontal wall and a second horizontal wall to a video monitor having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a display, the method comprising: engaging a fastener connected to the video monitor lower surface and a biased lock engagement surface located in the soundbar housing (See col. 4 lines 39-56); and disengaging the detent and the biased lock engagement surface (See col. 6-7 lines 62-17).
In regards to claim 27, Justin discloses the method, wherein the step of engaging the fastener connected to the video monitor lower surface and the biased lock engagement surface comprises depressing the biased lock engagement surface with the fastener (See col. 6-7 lines 62-17).
In regards to claim 28, Justin discloses the method, wherein the biased lock comprises a polygonal member comprising the engagement surface, and the polygonal member is biased along a housing height axis by a biasing spring (See col. 5 lines 7-15).
In regards to claim 29, Justin discloses the method, wherein the biased lock comprises a ball comprising the engagement surface, the ball being biased along a housing height axis (See col. 5 lines 39-49).
In regards to claim 30, Justin discloses the method, further comprising inverting a vertical orientation of first and second horizontal soundbar walls, whereby connections between first and second soundbar channels and the first and second soundbar speakers are automatically reversed (See col. 9 lines 19-31).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Qiao (US Patent 6,305,892) teaches a fastening system for speaker grilles. Ke (US Patent Application, Pub. No.: US 2011/0186705 A1) teaches a speaker assembly with rotary fastening mechanism. Fay et al. (US Patent 11,858,428) teach a mounting kit and method for installing a soundbar in a vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THJUAN KNOWLIN ADDY whose telephone number is (571)272-7486. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30AM - 5:00PM Mon-Fri.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ahmad Matar can be reached at (571) 272-7488. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THJUAN K ADDY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2693