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 .
EXAMINER’S COMMENTS
To facilitate processing of the internet communication authorization or withdrawal of authorization, the Office strongly encourages use of Form PTO/SB/439, available at www.uspto.gov/PatentForms. The form may be filed via the USPTO patent electronic filing system using the document description Internet Communications Authorized to facilitate processing. If applicant authorizes Internet communications, USPTO employees may respond to email and initiate communications with applicants via email.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “134” has been used to designate both an armature and a first back volume. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, “an armature having a movable portion connected to the diaphragm” and “a terminal board comprising an electrical interface located within the housing” recited in Claims 1 and 13,
“the diaphragm comprising an S-shaped frame supporting a paddle connected to the armature” recited in Claim 6,
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 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.
6. 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 of this title, 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.
7. Claims 1-4, 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang) US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0204064 in view of Badillo et al. (Hereinafter Badillo) US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0204079 and further in view of Granicki US-PG-PUB No. 2019/0273989.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches
A receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing device component (a receiver-in-canal (RIC) device…..Para. [0016], Lines 3-8) comprising:
a balanced armature receiver (Fig. 8 shows an acoustic receiver 800) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 8 shows a receiver housing 802) containing a diaphragm (Fig. 8 shows a diaphragm 804) that separates an interior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) into a back volume (Fig. 8 shows a back volume 808) and a front volume (Fig. 8 shows a front volume 806) acoustically coupled to a sound port (Fig. 8 shows an acoustic output 810) of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) (Para. [0027], Lines 1-9), the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) constitutes an exterior of the RIC hearing device component (i.e. acoustic receiver 800) as shown in Fig. 8;
a multicoil motor (Fig. 8 shows a receiver motor assembly 814) located in the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) and comprising an armature (Fig. 8 shows an armature 812 (also known as a reed)) having a movable portion (Fig. 8 shows a paddle 816) connected to the diaphragm (i.e. diaphragm 804) as shown in Fig. 8;
a terminal board (Fig. 8 shows a terminal board 700), the multicoil motor (i.e. receiver motor assembly 814 includes coils 200, 202) electrically connected to contacts of the terminal board (i.e. terminal board 700)….Para. [0026], Lines 1-4;
a capacitor component integrated with the electrical interface and electrically connected to contacts of the electrical interface (the reactive circuit element is mounted directly on the terminal board…..The reactive circuit element includes a capacitor……Para. [0020], Lines 1-12).
Zhang does not teach that the electrical interface located within the housing and an electrical cable assembly comprising a first end portion connected to the housing and an electrical connector on a second end portion of the electrical cable assembly.
Badillo teaches that an electrical interface 122 located within the housing and a cable 144 comprising a first end portion connected to the housing and a BTE unit on a second end portion of the cable 144 (Para. [0026], Lines 11-14).
Zhang and Badillo each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of Zhang with the electrical interface located within the housing and the electrical cable assembly comprising the first end portion connected to the housing and the electrical connector on the second end portion of the electrical cable assembly as taught by Badillo. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of Zhang with the electrical interface located within the housing and the electrical cable assembly comprising the first end portion connected to the housing and the electrical connector on the second end portion of the electrical cable assembly as taught by Badillo. The motivation is to improve output in balanced armature receivers by protecting the electrical interface placing the electrical interface within the housing and using the electrical cable assembly enables electrical signals to be transmitted between the housing and the electrical connector.
Zhang does not teach electrical connections of the multicoil motor and the capacitor component to the electrical interface configured to change an electrical impedance of the balanced armature receiver based on a frequency of an electrical signal applied to the multicoil motor.
Granicki teach a capacitor component integrated with the electrical interface and electrically connected to contacts of the electrical interface (a capacitor to the intermediate point of the first balanced armature driver and the end point which is connected to the positive signal cable of the cabling…Para. [0018]), electrical connections of the multicoil motor and the capacitor component to the electrical interface configured to change an electrical impedance of the balanced armature receiver based on a frequency of an electrical signal applied to the multicoil motor (an impedance and phase curve of the driver when cabled conventionally. It appears clearly that the impedance of the driver varies greatly depending on the frequency of the input signal….Para. [0060]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skills in the art before the effective filing date of the application to use the impedance control taught by Granicki as impedance control in the balanced armature receiver taught by the combination of Zhang and Badillo. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the quality of the acoustic output from the receiver.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that the RIC hearing device component of claim 1 is devoid of secondary housing structure encapsulating an exterior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) as shown in Fig. 8.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 2 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that the multicoil motor (i.e. receiver motor assembly 814) is directly coupled to an interior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) without intervening structure as shown in Fig. 8.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above. Badillo teaches that the terminal board is integrated with the electrical cable assembly (i.e. cable 144) as shown in Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that the multicoil motor (i.e. receiver motor assembly 814) is directly coupled to an interior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) without intervening structure as shown in Fig. 8.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that a first coil (Fig. 1 shows a coil 202) of the multicoil motor is located between a yoke (Fig. 1 shows a yoke 824) and a second coil (Fig. 1 shows a coil 200) as shown in Fig. 8.
8. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and further in view of Dayton et al. (Hereinafter Dayton) US-PG-PUB No. 2019/0342666.
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above. Zhang teaches a paddle 816, which is a part of the diaphragm 804, is supported on one end by a support structure 820. The link 826 connects the armature 812 with the paddle 816 such that the paddle moves as the armature 812 (Para. [0028], Lines 1-14) as shown in Fig. 8.
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki do not teach that the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting.
Dayton teaches that the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting (Para. [0037], Lines 1-3).
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and Dayton each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting as taught by Dayton. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting as taught by Dayton since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
9. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and further in view of Albahri et al. (Hereinafter Albahri) US-PG-PUB No. 2022/0150643.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki do not teach that a second diaphragm that separates the interior of the housing into a second front volume and a second back volume, the second front volume acoustically coupled to the sound port.
Albahri teaches a second diaphragm 116 that separates the interior of the housing into a second front volume 118 and a second back volume 120, the second front volume 118 acoustically coupled to the sound port 114 (Para. [0037], Lines 6-15).
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and Albahri each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the second diaphragm as taught by Albahri. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the second diaphragm as taught by Albahri. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the quality of the acoustic output from the receive by providing additional internal volume to allow more flexibility in the movement of the armature.
10. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and further in view of Jacob et al. (Hereinafter Jacob) US-PAT No. 11,671,778.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki do not teach that a second diaphragm that separates the interior of the housing into a second back volume, and a cup coupled to the housing, wherein an interior of the cup acoustically couples the back volume to the second back volume.
Jacob teaches a second diaphragm 106 that separates the interior of the housing 102 into a second back volume 126, and a cup 300 coupled to the housing 102, wherein an interior of the cup 300 acoustically couples the back volume 122 to the second back volume 126 (Col. 8, Lines 1-8).
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and Jacob each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the cup acoustically couples the back volume to the second back volume as taught by Jacob. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the cup acoustically couples the back volume to the second back volume as taught by Jacob. The motivation is to use the cup increase the acoustic compliance of the second back volume and the first back volume.
11. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and further in view of King US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0385582.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki do not teach that a first coil of the multicoil motor comprising a first portion interwound with at least a portion of a second coil of the multicoil motor, the first coil having more turns than the second coil, wherein a second portion of the first coil is wound about the first portion interwound with the second coil.
King teaches a first coil 108 comprising a first portion interwound with at least a portion of a second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 5, the first coil 108 having more turns than the second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 1, wherein a second portion of the first coil 108 is wound about the first portion interwound with the second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 5.
The combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki and King each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the first coil interwound together with the second coil as taught by King. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang, Badillo and Granicki with the first coil interwound together with the second coil as taught by King. The motivation is to use the coil design for improve production efficiency and acoustic performance.
12. Claims 13-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang) US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0204064 in view of Badillo et al. (Hereinafter Badillo) US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0204079.
Regarding claim 13, Zhang teaches
An ear-worn hearing device (a receiver-in-canal (RIC) device…..Para. [0016], Lines 3-8) comprising:
a balanced armature receiver (Fig. 8 shows an acoustic receiver 800) comprising:
a housing (Fig. 8 shows a receiver housing 802) containing a diaphragm (Fig. 8 shows a diaphragm 804) that separates an interior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) into a back volume (Fig. 8 shows a back volume 808) and a front volume (Fig. 8 shows a front volume 806) acoustically coupled to a sound port (Fig. 8 shows an acoustic output 810) of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802), the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) constitutes an exterior of the ear-worn hearing device (i.e. receiver-in-canal (RIC) device…..Para. [0016], Lines 3-8) as shown in Fig. 8;
a multicoil motor (Fig. 8 shows a receiver motor assembly 814) located in the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) and comprising an armature (Fig. 8 shows an armature 812 (also known as a reed)) having a movable portion (Fig. 8 shows a paddle 816) connected to the diaphragm (i.e. diaphragm 804) as shown in Fig. 8;
a terminal board (Fig. 8 shows a terminal board 700), the multicoil motor (i.e. receiver motor assembly 814 includes coils 200, 202) electrically connected to contacts of the terminal board (i.e. terminal board 700)….Para. [0026], Lines 1-4;
a capacitor component integrated with the electrical interface and electrically connected to contacts of the electrical interface(the reactive circuit element is mounted directly on the terminal board…..The reactive circuit element includes a capacitor……Para. [0020], Lines 1-12).
Zhang does not teach that the electrical interface located within the housing and an electrical cable assembly comprising a first end portion connected to the housing and an electrical connector on a second end portion of the electrical cable assembly.
Badillo teaches that an electrical interface 122 located within the housing and a cable 144 comprising a first end portion connected to the housing and a BTE unit on a second end portion of the cable 144 (Para. [0026], Lines 11-14).
Zhang and Badillo each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of Zhang with the electrical interface located within the housing and the electrical cable assembly comprising the first end portion connected to the housing and the electrical connector on the second end portion of the electrical cable assembly as taught by Badillo. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of Zhang with the electrical interface located within the housing and the electrical cable assembly comprising the first end portion connected to the housing and the electrical connector on the second end portion of the electrical cable assembly as taught by Badillo. The motivation is to improve output in balanced armature receivers by protecting the electrical interface placing the electrical interface within the housing and using the electrical cable assembly enables electrical signals to be transmitted between the housing and the electrical connector.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 13 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that the ear-worn hearing device component of claim 13 is devoid of secondary housing structure encapsulating an exterior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) as shown in Fig. 8.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that the multicoil motor (i.e. receiver motor assembly 814) is directly coupled to an interior of the housing (i.e. receiver housing 802) without intervening structure as shown in Fig. 8.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 14 as outlined above. Badillo teaches that the terminal board is integrated with the electrical cable assembly (i.e. cable 144) as shown in Fig. 1.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 13 as outlined above. Zhang teaches that a first coil (Fig. 1 shows a coil 202) of the multicoil motor is located between a yoke (Fig. 1 shows a yoke 824) and a second coil (Fig. 1 shows a coil 200) as shown in Fig. 8.
13. Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang in view of Badillo and further in view of Dayton et al. (Hereinafter Dayton) US-PG-PUB No. 2019/0342666.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 13 as outlined above. Zhang teaches a paddle 816, which is a part of the diaphragm 804, is supported on one end by a support structure 820. The link 826 connects the armature 812 with the paddle 816 such that the paddle moves as the armature 812 (Para. [0028], Lines 1-14) as shown in Fig. 8.
The combination of Zhang and Badillo do not teach that the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting.
Dayton teaches that the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting (Para. [0037], Lines 1-3).
The combination of Zhang and Badillo and Dayton each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting as taught by Dayton. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the diaphragm comprising the S-shaped frame supporting as taught by Dayton since a change in the shape of a prior art device is a design consideration within the skill of the art.
14. Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang in view of Badillo and further in view of Albahri et al. (Hereinafter Albahri) US-PG-PUB No. 2022/0150643.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
The combination of Zhang and Badillo do not teach that a second diaphragm that separates the interior of the housing into a second back volume.
Albahri teaches a second diaphragm 116 that separates the interior of the housing into a second back volume 120 as shown in Fig. 2.
The combination of Zhang and Badillo and Albahri each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the second diaphragm as taught by Albahri. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the second diaphragm as taught by Albahri. The motivation to do so would have been to improve the quality of the acoustic output from the receive by providing additional internal volume to allow more flexibility in the movement of the armature.
15. Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Zhang in view of Badillo and further in view of King US-PG-PUB No. 2021/0385582.
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Zhang and Badillo teach all the features with respect to claim 13 as outlined above.
The combination of Zhang and Badillo do not teach that a first coil of the multicoil motor comprising a first portion interwound with at least a portion of a second coil of the multicoil motor, the first coil having more turns than the second coil, wherein a second portion of the first coil is wound about the first portion interwound with the second coil.
King teaches a first coil 108 comprising a first portion interwound with at least a portion of a second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 5, the first coil 108 having more turns than the second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 5, wherein a second portion of the first coil 108 is wound about the first portion interwound with the second coil 110 as shown in Fig. 5.
The combination of Zhang and Badillo and King each disclose a balanced armature receiver. One of ordinary skill in the art could have modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the first coil interwound together with the second coil as taught by King. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the balanced armature receiver of the combination of Zhang and Badillo with the first coil interwound together with the second coil as taught by King. The motivation is to use the coil design for improve production efficiency and acoustic performance.
Allowable Subject Matter
16. Regarding claims 5, 11, 17 and 21 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 ANGELICA M MCKINNEY whose telephone number is (571)270-3321. The examiner can normally be reached 7AM-3PM EST M-F. 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, Fan Tsang can be reached at (571)272-7574. 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.
/ANGELICA M MCKINNEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2694