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
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Double Patenting
3. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3 of US-PAT No. 12,185,054. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims 1-3 of US-PAT No. 12,185,054 reads into the pending claim 1 as shown in the table 1 below. This is a nonstatutory double patenting rejection.
Table 1
Claim Under Examination (18/635040)
US-PAT No. 12,185,054
1. A loudspeaker apparatus, comprising: a core housing, the core housing including a peripheric sidewall and a bottom wall connected to one end surface of the peripheric sidewall, the peripheric sidewall and the bottom wall forming an accommodating space with an opening at one end; a flexible circuit board disposed in the core housing, wherein the flexible circuit board includes a main circuit board, a first branch circuit board and a second branch circuit board connected to the main circuit board, a plurality of first welding pads is arranged on the main circuit board; a first microphone and a second microphone, wherein the first microphone is attached to an end of the first branch circuit board away from the main circuit board, the second microphone is attached to an end of the second branch circuit board away from the main circuit board, the first branch circuit board and the main circuit board are disposed parallel to the bottom wall, the end of the second branch circuit board away from the main circuit board is bent towards the opening of the accommodating space, wherein the first microphone is disposed opposite to the bottom wall, and the second microphone is disposed opposite to the peripheric sidewall.
1. A loudspeaker device, comprising: a speaker component, the speaker component including an earphone core and a core housing for accommodating the earphone core; a first microphone element disposed on a first branch circuit board of a circuit board; and a second microphone element disposed on a second branch circuit board of the circuit board, wherein the circuit board is configured to electrically connect to an audio signal wire, a first auxiliary signal wire, and a second auxiliary signal wire of an external control circuit, the audio signal wire, the first auxiliary signal wire, and the second auxiliary signal wire are electrically and respectively connected to the earphone core, the first microphone element, and the second microphone element through the circuit board, and a board surface of the second branch circuit board is tilt with respect to a board surface of the first branch circuit board.
2. The loudspeaker device of claim 1, wherein the core housing includes an outer side wall away from the head and a peripheral side wall operably connected to and surrounding the outer side wall, and the core housing is further configured to accommodate the first microphone element, the second microphone element, and the circuit board.
3. The loudspeaker device of claim 2, wherein the core housing further includes a bottom end wall operably connected to an end surface of the peripheral side wall, the first branch circuit board being disposed facing the bottom end wall, the second branch circuit board being disposed facing the peripheral side wall; the first microphone element is disposed on a side of the first branch circuit board facing the bottom end wall, and the second microphone element is disposed on a side of the second branch circuit board facing the peripheral side wall.
Regarding claims 2-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim 1.
This application is in condition for allowance except for the nonstatutory double patenting rejection stated above.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Rye et al. US-PG-PUB No. 2016/0050474, Circuit Assembly For Compact Acoustic Device, Fig. 14 shows a printed circuit board assembly includes a first circuit board (101), a second circuit board (102), and a one or more electronic circuits comprising electronic components (301,302,303,304,305, 310, 311) are disposed along one or more of the first circuit board and the second circuit board.
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