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 § 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 20180131793 A1; hereinafter “KIM”) in view of Gehring et al. (US 20170257472 A1; hereinafter “GEHRING”)
Regarding claim 1, KIM teaches a method for managing connections of a pair of wireless ear buds comprising a first wireless ear bud and a second wireless ear bud (KIM discloses a personal wireless media station with a base station 102 (acting as a case/dock) and one or more wireless earbuds 104
. It further explicitly mentions that "one or more additional earbuds can be docked on the base station 102"; para. 0192, fig. 16), the method comprising:
by a processor of a wireless ear bud case (KIM discloses a base station 102 (case) comprising a processor 506, para. 0079-84), responsive to detecting an action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable (KIM, para. 0105, fig. 10, 1002):
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device (KIM describes pairing between the primary device 200 and the base station 102, or between the primary device 200 and a wireless earbud 104).
KIM is silent to teaching that comprising:
when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
erasing a first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and a second connection history of the second wireless ear bud;
causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud to establish a pair of wireless ear buds.
In the same field of endeavor, GEHRING teaches a method (GEHRING discloses establishing a wireless network with a first hearing assistance device (10) and a second hearing assistance device (11), which can be "wireless headphones" corresponding to earbuds) comprising:
when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING discusses the state before the devices are introduced to each other, indicating a time when they are not yet paired):
erasing a first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and a second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING teaches erasing "possibly existing partial pairing information" if a pairing step with an external device fails, para. 0037,48,59);
causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud to establish a pair of wireless ear buds (GEHRING teaches establishing a communication link (30) between the first and second hearing assistance devices, which pairs them and allows them to securely exchange messages); and
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device (GEHRING teaches the devices engaging in a pairing procedure with a new external device (40), meaning they become available/discoverable to form a connection).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM with the teaching of GEHRING in order to improve the hearing device pairing process and simplify the pairing process (see GEHRING, para. 0012).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of KIM and GEHRING teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable comprises: a button push on the wireless ear bud case while the first wireless ear bud and the second wireless ear bud are housed in the wireless ear bud case (KIM, para. 0105, fig. 10, 1002).
Claim(s) 8, 12, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM in view of Sheynman et al. (US 20070197164 A1; hereinafter “SHEYNMAN”)
Regarding claim 8, KIM teaches a wireless ear bud case (KIM discloses a personal wireless media station with a base station 102 (acting as a case/dock) and one or more wireless earbuds 104. It further explicitly mentions that "one or more additional earbuds can be docked on the base station 102"; para. 0192, fig. 16) comprising:
a housing for storing a first wireless ear bud and a second wireless ear bud (KIM discloses a personal wireless media station with a base station 102 (acting as a case/dock) and one or more wireless earbuds 104. It further explicitly mentions that "one or more additional earbuds can be docked on the base station 102"; para. 0192, fig. 16); and
a processor (KIM discloses a base station 102 (case) comprising a processor 506, para. 0079-84) configured to:
responsive to detecting an action to allow wireless ear buds to be discoverable (KIM, para. 0105, fig. 10, 1002):
enable the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device not indicated in a first connection history of the first wireless ear bud or in a second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (KIM describes pairing between the primary device 200 and the base station 102, or between the primary device 200 and a wireless earbud 104).
KIM is silent to teaching that configured to:
when the first wireless ear bud is wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud, forming a pair of wireless ear buds:
maintain the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged.
In the same field of endeavor, SHEYNMAN teaches a device configured to:
when the first wireless ear bud is wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud, forming a pair of wireless ear buds (SHEYNMAN, fig. 3, 304, para. 0033):
maintain the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged (SHEYNMAN teaches that if a paired device list is not empty, the device attempts communication with devices on the list; if those attempts fail, the device automatically enters discoverable mode to pair with a new device while retaining its stored list, fig. 3, para. 0033-38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of SHEYNMAN in order to improve Bluetooth pairing procedure and allow fewer steps by the user (SHEYNMAN, para. 0010).
Regarding claims 12 and 13, the dependent claims are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 3 and 6, respectively.
Claim(s) 2, 3, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM in view of GEHRING and SHEYNMAN.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of KIM and GEHRING teaches the method of claim 1.
The combination of KIM and GEHRING is silent to teaching that further comprising:
by the processor of the wireless ear bud case, responsive to detecting the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable:
when the first wireless ear bud is wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device not indicated in the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud or in the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud; and
maintaining the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged.
In the same field of endeavor, SHEYNMAN teaches a method comprising:
by the processor of the wireless ear bud case, responsive to detecting the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable:
when the first wireless ear bud is wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device not indicated in the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud or in the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (SHEYNMAN, fig. 3, 304, para. 0033); and
maintaining the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged (SHEYNMAN teaches that if a paired device list is not empty, the device attempts communication with devices on the list; if those attempts fail, the device automatically enters discoverable mode to pair with a new device while retaining its stored list, fig. 3, para. 0033-38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of SHEYNMAN in order to improve Bluetooth pairing procedure and allow fewer steps by the user (SHEYNMAN, para. 0010).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of KIM, GEHRING and SHEYNMAN teaches the method of claim 2, wherein the first wireless ear bud is wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud when:
a first media access control (MAC) address of the first wireless ear bud is stored as a paired partner MAC address in the second wireless ear bud; and a second MAC address of the second wireless ear bud is stored as a paired partner MAC address in the first wireless ear bud (GEHRING, para. 0052-53, pairing data, SHEYNMAN, para. 0008-9, Bluetooth address).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of KIM and SHEYNMAN teaches the wireless ear bud case of claim 8,
wherein the processor is further configured to: responsive to detecting an action to allow wireless ear buds to be discoverable (KIM, para. 0105, fig. 10, 1002):
enable the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by one or more source devices (KIM describes pairing between the primary device 200 and the base station 102, or between the primary device 200 and a wireless earbud 104).
The combination of KIM and SHEYNMAN is silent to teaching that wherein the processor is further configured to:
when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
erase the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud;
cause the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud.
In the same field of endeavor, GEHRING teaches a device (GEHRING discloses establishing a wireless network with a first hearing assistance device (10) and a second hearing assistance device (11), which can be "wireless headphones" corresponding to earbuds) configured to:
when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING discusses the state before the devices are introduced to each other, indicating a time when they are not yet paired):
erase the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING teaches erasing "possibly existing partial pairing information" if a pairing step with an external device fails, para. 0037,48,59);
cause the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING teaches establishing a communication link (30) between the first and second hearing assistance devices, which pairs them and allows them to securely exchange messages).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and SHEYNMAN with the teaching of GEHRING in order to improve the hearing device pairing process and simplify the pairing process (see GEHRING, para. 0012).
Regarding claim 15, KIM teaches a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for managing connections of a pair of wireless ear buds comprising a first wireless ear bud and a second wireless ear bud (KIM discloses a personal wireless media station with a base station 102 (acting as a case/dock) and one or more wireless earbuds 104. It further explicitly mentions that "one or more additional earbuds can be docked on the base station 102"; para. 0192, fig. 16), the instructions comprising:
instructions for, responsive to detecting an action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable (KIM, para. 0105, fig. 10, 1002):
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device not indicated in a first connection history of the first wireless ear bud or in a second connection history of the second wireless ear bud and enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by one or more source devices (KIM describes pairing between the primary device 200 and the base station 102, or between the primary device 200 and a wireless earbud 104).
KIM is silent to teaching that comprising
instructions for when the first wireless ear bud is wireless coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
maintaining the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged; and
instructions for, responsive to detecting the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable and when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
erasing the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud;
causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud.
In the same field of endeavor, GEHRING teaches a device (GEHRING discloses establishing a wireless network with a first hearing assistance device (10) and a second hearing assistance device (11), which can be "wireless headphones" corresponding to earbuds) comprising:
instructions for, responsive to detecting the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable and when the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING discusses the state before the devices are introduced to each other, indicating a time when they are not yet paired):
erasing the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING teaches erasing "possibly existing partial pairing information" if a pairing step with an external device fails, para. 0037,48,59);
causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple to the second wireless ear bud (GEHRING teaches establishing a communication link (30) between the first and second hearing assistance devices, which pairs them and allows them to securely exchange messages); and
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device (GEHRING teaches the devices engaging in a pairing procedure with a new external device (40), meaning they become available/discoverable to form a connection).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM with the teaching of GEHRING in order to improve the hearing device pairing process and simplify the pairing process (see GEHRING, para. 0012).
The combination of KIM and GEHRING is silent to teaching that comprising
instructions for, when the first wireless ear bud is wireless coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
maintaining the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged.
In the same field of endeavor, SHEYNMAN teaches a device comprising:
instructions for, when the first wireless ear bud is wireless coupled to the second wireless ear bud:
enabling the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable by a source device not indicated in a first connection history of the first wireless ear bud or in a second connection history of the second wireless ear bud (SHEYNMAN, fig. 3, 304, para. 0033); and
maintaining the first connection history of the first wireless ear bud and the second connection history of the second wireless ear bud unchanged (SHEYNMAN teaches that if a paired device list is not empty, the device attempts communication with devices on the list; if those attempts fail, the device automatically enters discoverable mode to pair with a new device while retaining its stored list, fig. 3, para. 0033-38).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of SHEYNMAN in order to improve Bluetooth pairing procedure and allow fewer steps by the user (SHEYNMAN, para. 0010).
Regarding claims 16 and 19, the dependent claims are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 3 and 6, respectively.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 10, 11, 17 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM, GEHRING and SHEYNMAN as applied to claims 1, 9 and 15 above, and further in view of Moy et al. (US 20160128114A1; hereinafter “MOY”)
Regarding claim 4, the combination of KIM and GEHRING teaches the method of claim 1.
The combination of KIM and GEHRING is silent to teaching that wherein the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud when: a first MAC address of the first wireless ear bud is not stored as a paired partner MAC address in the second wireless ear bud; or a second MAC address of the second wireless ear bud is not stored as a paired partner MAC address in the first wireless ear bud.
In the same field of endeavor, MOY teaches a method wherein the first wireless ear bud is not wirelessly coupled to the second wireless ear bud when: a first MAC address of the first wireless ear bud is not stored as a paired partner MAC address in the second wireless ear bud; or a second MAC address of the second wireless ear bud is not stored as a paired partner MAC address in the first wireless ear bud (MOY teaches that if the device address/identifier fails authentication, the device is ignored, prevented from pairing, or placed on a "blacklist", para. 0038,47).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of MOY in order to reduce the complexity of pairing of wireless devices with limited user interface (MOY, para. 0002).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of KIM and GEHRING teaches the method of claim 1.
The combination of KIM and GEHRING is silent to teaching that wherein causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple with the second wireless ear bud comprises: causing a first MAC address of the first wireless ear bud to be shared with the second wireless ear bud as a paired partner MAC address; and causing a second MAC address of the second wireless ear bud to be shared with the first wireless ear bud as a paired partner MAC address.
In the same field of endeavor, MOY teaches a method wherein causing the first wireless ear bud to wirelessly couple with the second wireless ear bud comprises: causing a first MAC address of the first wireless ear bud to be shared with the second wireless ear bud as a paired partner MAC address; and causing a second MAC address of the second wireless ear bud to be shared with the first wireless ear bud as a paired partner MAC address (MOY teaches the earpieces share their respective device addresses (e.g., Bluetooth device address) with one another when they send discovery queries and responses back and forth to initiate pairing, para. 0038,86).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of MOY in order to reduce the complexity of pairing of wireless devices with limited user interface (MOY, para. 0002).
Regarding claims 10, 11, 17 and 18, the dependent claims are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claims 4 and 5, respectively.
Claim(s) 7, 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM, GEHRING and SHEYNMAN as applied to claims 1, 9 and 15 above, and further in view of Smith (US 20110117972 A1; hereinafter “SMITH”).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of KIM and GEHRING teaches the method of claim 1.
The combination of KIM and GEHRING is silent to teaching that wherein the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable comprises: a cover of the wireless ear bud case being opened while the first wireless ear bud and the second wireless ear bud are housed in the wireless ear bud case.
In the same field of endeavor, SMITH teaches a method wherein the action to allow the pair of wireless ear buds to be discoverable comprises: a cover of the wireless ear bud case being opened while the first wireless ear bud and the second wireless ear bud are housed in the wireless ear bud case (SMITH, fig. 5, 6, lid 140, para. 0038).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of KIM and GEHRING with the teaching of SMITH in order to provide a storage case for convenience and comfort (SMITH, para. 0007).
Regarding claims 14 and 20, the dependent claims are interpreted and rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yang (US 20140087665), Zellner (US 20090154739), Lu (US 20100029205), Marples (US 20070047435) teach Bluetooth pairing process.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WEN WU HUANG whose telephone number is (571)272-7852. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10-6.
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, Wesley Kim can be reached at (571) 272-7867. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WEN W HUANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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