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 .
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 8,10, 13-14 and 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Du (US 20230156386 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Du discloses an in-vehicle microphone (fig.4 #200)(Par.[0023] the microphone assembly may be using in automotive applications, such installed in a car body), comprising:
a housing (fig.4 #220/226) having an accommodating cavity (fig.4 interior of sub-casing #220), the housing defining a sound receiving hole (fig.4 #228) in communication with the accommodating cavity (Par.[0027] first audio port #228 is provided in PCB base #226 which part of housing #220/226);
a sound pickup (fig.4 #222) arranged in the accommodating cavity; and
a sound insulation member (fig.4 #202/227) at least surrounding the sound pickup, the sound insulation member defining a through hole (fig.4 #237) in communication with the sound receiving hole (Par.[0027] a first acoustic opening #237 is defined in the base part #227 of the protective housing #202/227).
With respect to claim 2, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 1, wherein the through hole (#237) is arranged directly opposite to the sound receiving hole (#228), or the through hole is arranged partially opposite to the sound receiving hole (See fig.4).
With respect to claim 3, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 1, wherein the sound insulation member (#202/227) is located at an outer side of the housing (#220/226) to surround the housing (See fig.4).
With respect to claim 5, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 3, wherein a thickness of the sound insulation member is determined such that a difference between a first noise and a second noise is a noise reduction amount preset by an algorithm, wherein the first noise is a noise transmitted from a vehicle body to the sound pickup obtained by a road testing of the in-vehicle microphone not provided with the sound insulation member and with the sound receiving hole blocked; and the second noise is a noise transmitted from the vehicle body to the sound pickup obtained by a road testing of the in-vehicle microphone provided with the sound insulation member and with the sound receiving hole blocked. (The above claim does not provide any limitation on the thickness of the sound insulation member. The claim does not provide details on how the thickness is determined based on first and second noises as related to the claimed algorithm, therefor any thickness of the member may be interpreted as meeting the not defined bounds of the claimed algorithm. Due to the breadth of the present claim language the inherent thickness of the sound insulation member #202/227 of Du meets the requirements of the present claim).
With respect to claim 8, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 1, wherein the sound insulation member (#202/227) is fitted to at least part of an outer surface of the housing (#226)(See fig.4).
With respect to claim 10, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 1, wherein the sound insulation member comprises a first sound insulation member (fig.4 #202) and a second sound insulation member (fig.4 #227), the first sound insulation member and the second sound insulation member abut against each other to enclose a sound insulation cavity, and at least the sound pickup (#222) is located in the sound insulation cavity (See fig.4).
With respect to claim 13, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 10, wherein the housing comprises a first housing (fig.4 #220) and a second housing (fig.4 #226), the first housing is detachably connected to the second housing, and the first housing is connected to the second housing to define the accommodating cavity (Par.[0027] sub-casing #220 and PCB base #226 form an accommodating cavity for microphone #222, wherein casing #220 may be soldered to base #226. Soldering may be “detached” via the application of heat).
With respect to claim 14, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 13, wherein the first sound insulation member or the second sound insulation member wraps a joint of the first housing and the second housing (As shown in figure 4, PCB #208 wraps the joint between sub-casing #220 and PCB base #226).
With respect to claim 16, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 13, wherein a buffer layer (fig.4 #208) is arranged between the first housing and/or the second housing and an inner wall of the sound insulation member (Par.[0027] PCB #208 is a “buffer layer” between housing #226 and sound insulation member #227; see fig.4).
With respect to claim 17, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 13, wherein the sound pickup is fixedly connected to the housing (Par.[0027]).
With respect to claim 18, Du discloses a vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle body, and one or more in-vehicle microphones (fig.4 #200) installed inside the vehicle body (Par.[0023] the microphone assembly may be using in automotive applications, such installed in a car body), wherein each of the one or more in-vehicle microphones comprises:
a housing (fig.4 #220/226) having an accommodating cavity (fig.4 interior of sub-casing #220), the housing defining a sound receiving hole (fig.4 #228) in communication with the accommodating cavity (Par.[0027] first audio port #228 is provided in PCB base #226 which part of housing #220/226);
a sound pickup (fig.4 #222) arranged in the accommodating cavity; and
a sound insulation member (fig.4 #202/227) at least surrounding the sound pickup, the sound insulation member defining a through hole (fig.4 #237) in communication with the sound receiving hole (Par.[0027] a first acoustic opening #237 is defined in the base part #227 of the protective housing #202/227).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du (US 20230156386 A1) in view of Ueda et al (US 20200288224 A1).
With respect to claim 4, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 3, however does not disclose expressly wherein the sound insulation member is detachably connected to an internal structure of a vehicle body through a snap-fit or through a fastener.
Ueda discloses a snap-fit fastener (fig.2 #6) for detachably connecting an in-vehicle microphone (fig.2 #4,42) to an internal structure (fig.2 front grille “V3”) of a vehicle body (Par.[0036]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the snap-fit fastener of Ueda to connect the in-vehicle microphone of Du to the body of the vehicle. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide a waterproof attachment system that allows for mounting of the microphone to the vehicle.
Claim(s) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du (US 20230156386 A1) in view of Fujimoto et al (US 6307946 B1).
With respect to claim 6, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 1, however does not disclose expressly wherein the sound insulation member is located in the accommodating cavity, and the sound insulation member surrounds the sound pickup.
Fujimoto discloses a sound insulation member (fig.1B #12) surrounding a sound pickup (fig.1B #11)(col.4 ln.16-28).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the sound insulation member of Fujimoto to surround the pickup #222 of Du. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide additional vibration protection to the in-vehicle microphone.
With respect to claim 7, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 6 in view of Fujimoto, wherein the sound insulation member (Fujimoto: #12) is located inside a hard housing (Du: fig.4 #202/227) and surrounds the sound pickup, and the hard housing is mounted to an internal structure of a vehicle body (Du: Par.[0023] the microphone assembly may be using in automotive applications, such installed in a car body.
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du (US 20230156386 A1) in view of Welsh et al (US 20070058821 A1).
With respect to claim 11, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 10, however does not disclose expressly wherein at least one of the first sound insulation member and the second sound insulation member is an elastic buffer member.
Welsh disclose an in-vehicle microphone (fig.2 #36/38) comprising a sound insulation member (fig.2 #40/22) wherein the member is an elastic buffer member (Par.[0023] “microphone boot 40 and housing 22 are comprised of a non-conductive material, such as plastic or elastomeric material such as rubber”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use an elastic material as the sound insulation members of Du, as performed by Welsh. The motivation for doing so would have been to promote an acoustic seal around the microphone.
With respect to claim 12, Du discloses the in-vehicle microphone according to claim 10, however does not disclose expressly wherein a portion of at least one of the first sound insulation member and the second sound insulation member rigidly connected to a vehicle body is an elastic buffer member.
Welsh disclose an in-vehicle microphone (fig.2 #36/38) comprising a sound insulation member (fig.2 #40/22) wherein the member is an elastic buffer member (Par.[0023] “microphone boot 40 and housing 22 are comprised of a non-conductive material, such as plastic or elastomeric material such as rubber”).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use an elastic material as the sound insulation members of Du, as performed by Welsh. The motivation for doing so would have been to promote an acoustic seal around the microphone.
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Du (US 20230156386 A1) in view of Streit (US 20040195854 A1).
With respect to claim 19, Du discloses the vehicle according to claim 18, however does not disclose expressly wherein the one or more in-vehicle microphones comprises an in-vehicle microphone arranged at each of at least two of a roof, an instrument panel, an A-pillar, a B-pillar, and a C-pillar of the vehicle body.
Streit discloses wherein one or more in-vehicle microphones comprises an in-vehicle microphone arranged at each of at least two of a roof (#4), an instrument panel, an A-pillar, a B-pillar (#5), and a C-pillar of the vehicle body (Par.[0017]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to mount the microphone assembly of Du in the vehicle locations provided by Streit. The motivation for doing so would have been to capture voices at each passenger location within the vehicle.
With respect to claim 20, Du discloses the vehicle according to claim 18, however does not disclose expressly wherein the one or more in-vehicle microphones comprises a plurality of in-vehicle microphones arranged in an array at each of at least two of a roof, an instrument panel, an A-pillar, a B-pillar, and a C-pillar of the vehicle body.
Streit discloses wherein one or more in-vehicle microphones comprises an in-vehicle microphone arranged at each of at least two of a roof (#4), an instrument panel, an A-pillar, a B-pillar (#5), and a C-pillar of the vehicle body (Par.[0017]).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to mount the microphone assembly of Du in the vehicle locations provided by Streit. The motivation for doing so would have been to capture voices at each passenger location within the vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 15 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Li et al (US 20120213399 A1) discloses a vehicle microphone assembly in trim panel.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON R KURR whose telephone number is (571)270-5981. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9-5.
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JASON R. KURR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2695
/JASON R KURR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695