Detailed Action
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . See 35 U.S.C. § 100 (note).
Claims 1–4 and 6–10 are pending.
Art Rejections
Obviousness
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.
Claims 1 and 6–10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of US Patent Application Publication 2020/0213766 (published 02 July 2020) (“Chen”) and US Patent Application Publication 2023/0328446 (published 12 October 2023) (“Yang”).
Claims 2–4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Chen; Yang and US Patent Application Publication 2025/0159399 (effectively filed 30 December 2022) (“Zhang”).
Claim 1 is drawn to “a speaker.” The following table illustrates the correspondence between the claimed speaker and the Chen reference.
Claim 1
The Chen Reference
“1. A speaker, comprising:
The Chen reference similarly describes a speaker 100. Chen at Abs., ¶¶ 1, 13, FIG.1.
“a frame with a receiving cavity, a vibration system contained in the receiving cavity…and a magnetic circuit system contained in the receiving cavity,
Speaker 100 includes a frame 10 that includes a cavity to receive vibrating system 50 and magnetic circuit system 30. Id. at ¶¶ 13–15, FIGs.1, 2.
“[the vibration system] comprising a diaphragm assembly and a voice coil,
Vibrating system 50 includes a diaphragm assembly that includes suspension ring 51 and dome 53, as well as a voice coil 55. Id.
“wherein the voice coil comprises a coil body and a lead wire extending from the coil body,
Voice coil 55 is depicted with a coil body. Id. at FIGs.2, 4. One of ordinary skill would have also understood that because it is a wound coil, voice coil 55 inherently includes lead wires extending from the body. However, Chen does not describe the lead wires in detail.
“the diaphragm assembly comprises a main body fixed to the frame and
Chen’s vibrating system 50 includes a main body formed by suspension ring 51 and dome 53. Id. at ¶¶ 15–21, 26, FIGs.3–6. Suspension ring 51 fixes vibrating system 50 to frame 10. Id. at ¶ 15, FIG.1. 50
“[the diaphragm assembly comprises] an avoiding part formed by bending from the main body and in a direction far away from the voice coil,
Vibrating system 50 further includes grooves 533 corresponding to the claimed avoiding parts. Id. at ¶¶ 16–19, FIGs.3, 5. As shown best in Chen at FIG.5 and Figure 1 below, grooves 533 bend away from dome 53 in a direction away from voice coil 55.
“the coil body is bonded with the main body and forms an avoiding space together with the avoiding part,
Voice coil 55 is glued to dome 53. Id. at ¶¶ 15, 18, FIG.4. As best seen in Chen at FIG.5 and Figure 1, below, the space between voice coil 50 and groove 533 forms an avoiding space.
“the lead wire passes through the avoiding space to electrically connect with an external power supply,
Chen does not describe voice coil 55 in detail. One of ordinary skill would have understood that voice coil 55 must electrically connect to an external power supply in order to drive speaker 10. See id. at ¶ 15. However, the Chen reference does not describe passing a voice coil’s lead wires through the avoiding spaces formed by grooves 533 and dome 53 in order to make that electrical connection.
“the avoiding part comprises a side wall extending from the main body an in the direction far away from the voice coil, and an end wall disposed at an end of the side wall far away from the voice coil, an orthographic projection of the end wall to the voice coil comprises a part located at an inner side of the voice coil and another part located at an outer side of the voice coil.”
As best shown in Chen at FIG.5 and Figure 1, below, Chen’s grooves 533 correspond to the claimed avoiding part and includes a side wall and end wall (e.g., bottom wall 5331) as claimed with the same claimed orthographic projection of the end wall having a part located at an inner side of voice coil 55 and a part located at an outer side of voice coil 55.
Table 1
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409
1001
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245
552
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Figures 1(a), 1(b): Marked-up versions of Chen at FIG.5 (zoomed and marked-up to show correspondence with the claimed invention).
The table above shows that the Chen reference describes a speaker that corresponds closely to the claimed speaker. The Chen reference does not anticipate the claimed passage of a voice coil lead wire through an avoiding space to electrically connect with an external power supply.
The differences between the claimed invention and the Chen reference are such that the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time this Application was effectively filed. Chen describes a voice coil 55. The Chen reference does not describe the structure of voice coil 55 in detail, excluding descriptions of its lead wire and how the lead wire would be routed in order to make an electrical connection with an external power supply.
The Chen reference further describes adding grooves 533 to a diaphragm’s main body dome 53 to create leakage passages 101 that allow for pressure equalization between the spaces inside and outside the perimeter of voice coil 55. Chen at ¶¶ 17–21, 26, FIGs.3–6. Chen does not use leakage passages 101 to route voice coil 55’s lead wires.
The Yang reference, like Chen, describes a sounding device, or speaker. Yang at ¶¶ 14, 27, FIGs.2, 5. Chen’s device includes a dome 111, similar to Chen’s dome 53 with a voice coil 12 fixed to the underside of dome 53. Id. Yang fixes voice coil 12 to dome 11 by a set of sub-protruded portions 1112a spaced out over the surface of dome 111. Id. Chen notes that the space to the sides of sub-protruded portions 1112a, provide an avoidance gap for routing the lead wires of a voice coil 12. Id. See also Figure 2, below. In other words, Yang teaches locating voice coil lead wires near the top of a voice coil (i.e., near the interface between the voice coil and a dome).
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406
403
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Figure 2: Marked-up version of Yang at FIG.5 (marked-up to show correspondence with the claimed invention).
Read in light of Chen, the Yang reference’s teachings concerning the use of an existing avoidance gap to route voice coil lead wires would have reasonably suggested using Chen’s grooves 533 in a similar manner. In particular, given that Chen’s loudspeaker includes a voice coil 55, one of ordinary skill would have known that he has to route the voice coil’s lead wires in some manner. Yang teaches that an existing gap between a voice coil and a dome would provide a suitable path for routing the lead wire. Since Chen already provides grooves 533 that define a gap between voice coil 55 and dome 53, it would have been straightforward to apply Yang’s voice coil lead wire routing technique to Chen’s voice coil lead wires. In particular, one of ordinary skill would simply pass Chen’s voice coil lead wires through grooves 533, which would be sized appropriately to accommodate the wires while providing Chen’s air passage functionality. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 2 depends on claim 1, and further requires the following:
“wherein an amount of the avoiding parts is two,
“each avoiding part forms a corresponding avoiding space together with the coil body,
“the lead wire comprises a first wire and a second wire,
“the first wire and the second wire each passes through a corresponding avoiding space,
“one of the first wire and the second wire is used for electrically connecting with a positive pole of the external power supply, and
“the other is used for electrically connecting with a negative pole of the external power supply.”
The obviousness rejection of claim 1, incorporated herein, shows the obviousness of using Chen’s leakage passages 101 between grooves 533 and dome 53 to pass the voice coil’s lead wires. One of ordinary skill would have implemented voice coil 55 with two lead wires in order to close a circuit by making electrical connection with both a positive and negative contact. See Zhang at FIG.19 (depicting voice coil 1126 with two lead wires 11262). Since Chen includes four leakage passages 101 on opposite sides of voice coil 55, one of ordinary skill would have reasonably used two as avoiding parts, each passage routing one lead wire on opposite sides of coil 55. See id. (depicting two lead wires 11262 on opposite sides of a voice coil); Chen at FIG.4 (depicting leakage passages 101 at four corners). For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen, the Yang and the Zhang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 3 depends on claim 2, and further requires the following:
“wherein the two avoiding parts are arranged symmetrically with respect to a center point of the main body.”
The obviousness rejection of claim 2, incorporated herein, shows the obviousness of using two of Chen’s leakage passages 101 as avoidance spaces for two voice coil lead wires located on opposite sides of voice coil 55. The Zhang reference suggests locating voice coil lead wires symmetrically about a center point of a speaker. See Zhang at FIG.19 (depicting the symmetric position of two voice coil lead wires). The Chen reference similarly symmetrically arranges passages 101 about a center point of a speaker. Chen at FIG.4 (depicting symmetrically located leakage passages 101). Thus, one of ordinary skill would have reasonably considered using symmetrically located passages 101 for the symmetrically arranged lead wires. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen, the Yang and the Zhang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 4 depends on claim 3, and further requires the following:
“wherein the coil body comprises two first edges opposite to each other and two second edges connecting the two first edges, an edge length of the two first edges is greater than that of the two second edges, each avoiding part is arranged at a corresponding position of the main body corresponding to a junction of the adjacent first edge and second edge.”
Similarly, Chen’s voice coil 55 is formed with two short parallel edges and two parallel long edges that are joined to create a rectangle with rounded corners. Chen at FIG.2. Chen’s leakage passages 101 correspond to the corners, or junctions between first and second edges. Id. at FIGs.2, 3, 5. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen, the Yang and the Zhang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 6 depends on claim 5, and further requires the following:
“wherein an area of the part of the orthographic projection located at the inner side of the voice coil is greater than that of the another part of the orthographic projection located at the outer side of the voice coil.”
The position of grooves 533 relative to voice coil 55 would be a matter of a design choice that optimizes the designer’s goals of routing a voice coil lead wire and controlling airflow between the inner and outer regions of voice coil 55. See Chen at ¶¶ 3, 20. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would have conducted routine experimentation with the size of grooves 533 relative to voice coil 55 and the relative position of grooves 533 relative to voice coil 55. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 7 depends on claim 1, and further requires the following:
“wherein the main body comprises a diaphragm fixed to the frame and a dome attached to the diaphragm, the avoiding part is formed on the dome.”
Chen likewise describes suspension ring 51 corresponding to the claimed diaphragm since it fixes dome 53 to frame 10. Chen at ¶ 15, FIGs.1, 2. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 8 depends on claim 7, and further requires the following:
“wherein the dome is bonded with the diaphragm.”
Chen describes bonding dome 53 to suspension ring 51. Chen at ¶ 15, FIGs.1, 2. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 9 depends on claim 8, and further requires the following:
“wherein the diaphragm comprises a suspension in a ring shape, a first end portion extending from an inner edge of the suspension, and a second end portion extending from an outer edge of the suspension,
“at least part of the first end portion overlaps with the dome in a vibration direction of the diaphragm assembly and is bonded with the dome.”
Chen describes suspension ring 51 as being in a ring shape with a first end extending from an inner edge of the suspension and a second end portion extending from an outer edge of the suspension. Chen at ¶ 15, FIGs.1, 2. The first end portion overlaps with and is fixed to dome 53. Id. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Claim 10 depends on claim 1, and further requires the following:
“An electronic device, comprising the speaker as described in claim 1.”
Chen describes using speaker 10 in an electronic device, such as a mobile phone. Chen at ¶¶ 1–2. For the foregoing reasons, the combination of the Chen and the Yang references makes obvious all limitations of the claim.
Summary
Claims 1–4 and 6–10 are rejected under at least one of 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103 as being unpatentable over the cited prior art. 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.
Response to Applicant’s Arguments
Applicant’s Reply (10 March 2026) has substantively amended all the claims. This Office action has been updated accordingly.
Applicant’s Reply at 4–6 further provides comments concerning the rejections presented in the Non-Final Rejection (10 December 2025) and presented herein. Concerning claim 1, Applicant comments that Chen does not describe an avoiding part formed by bending from the main body an in a direction far away from the voice coil. Applicant contrasts Chen’s grooves 533 from the claimed avoiding part because Chen’s grooves 553 do not increase the overall thickness of dome 53, while the avoiding part does since it is formed by being bent from a main body, or dome. The Examiner agrees that Chen’s grooves 533 do not increase the overall thickness of dome 53, but the claim language does not reflect this characteristic of Applicant’s invention. The claim language of being “an avoiding part formed by bending from the main body and in a direction far away from the voice coil” reasonably covers avoiding parts, formed by a surface of the avoiding part resembling a surface that is bent from a main body and in a direction far away from a voice coil. That is precisely what is seen in Chen at FIG.5 and Figure 1, above. In particular, Chen’s grooves 533 are formed by sidewalls and a bottom wall 5331 that together form a surface whose contour bends away from a bottom surface of dome 53 and extend in a direction away from voice coil 50. Applicant may clarify this difference between Applicant’s invention and Chen by adding claim language describing the varied thickness of the claimed main body.
Applicant comments that Yang does not address the same technical problem as the claimed invention because Yang’s diaphragm includes sub-protruded portions 1112a that bend in an opposite direction from the claimed avoiding parts. Applicant further comments that Yang does not form an avoiding space by bending from the main body with orthographic projections as claimed. The rejection, however, is not premised on incorporating Yang’s sub-protruded portions into Chen’s dome 53. Rather, the rejection shows the obviousness of routing voice coil lead wires by using Chen’s grooves 533 to route the wires in an analogous way to the way Yang teaches and suggests using an existing gap between sub-protruded portions 1112a and a dome 1111 for routing voice coil lead wires. As shown in the rejection, one of ordinary skill would know that Chen’s voice coil 55 would have lead wires that need to be routed. Yang teaches and suggests using an existing gap between the top of a voice coil and a dome for the routing. In Yang the gaps are formed by the space between the bottom of a dome and a voice coil due to the presence of sub-protruded portions 1112a. Chen does not include sub-protruded portions, but does include grooves 533 that form gaps between the top of voice coil 55 and the bottom of dome 53. Thus, one of ordinary skill would have reasonably recognizes that grooves 533 would be useful for routing voice coil lead wires, assuming one of ordinary skill sized grooves 533 to pass both wires and pass air, as required by Chen’s overall design.
Applicant’s further comments concerning Yang II are moot since the rejections have been updated to no longer require the teachings of Yang II.
For the foregoing reasons, Applicant has not persuasively established any error in the Office action, and all the rejections will be maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 C.F.R. § 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 C.F.R. § 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WALTER F BRINEY III whose telephone number is (571)272-7513. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-4:30 pm.
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/Walter F Briney III/
Walter F Briney IIIPrimary ExaminerArt Unit 2692
7/10/2026
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