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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 05/16/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 11, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jin et al. (KR 20200139045 A – An English machine translated text document comprises of page 1 to page 25 is provided).
Regarding claim 1: Jin teaches an electronic (Fig. 1 and 8: Device 100 and 100b; and lines 14-18 on page 4) comprising:
a communication circuit configured to communicate with at least one external electronic device (Fig. 2: Output unit 112 includes a Bluetooth communication module or wiring interface to connect Device 100 with external sound devices such as wired headset S2 or wireless earphone S1; also see lines 20-25 page 4 and lines 21-22 on page 5);
a memory storing at least one sound source and at least one test sound for a tinnitus frequency test (Fig. 2: Storage unit 111 and lines 40-50 on page 4 and lines 1-5 on page 5); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory, wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively (Fig. 1 and 8: Controller 115; and lines 1-5 on page 5, lines 49-50 on page 5, and lines 8-11 on page 6), cause the electronic device to:
identify an ear with tinnitus symptoms between a left ear and a right ear based on a first input selecting a direction of the ear with the tinnitus symptoms (see the Abstract and lines 31-34 on page 12);
transmit a first control message configured to control the at least one test sound to be output through an external electronic device corresponding to the identified ear to the external electronic device through the communication circuit (Lines 31-34 on page 12);
determine a frequency corresponding to a selected test sound as a tinnitus frequency based on a second input selecting the one test sound among the at least one test sound (Fig. 2: Tinnitus frequency determination unit 134, line 16-18 on page 6, and lines 37-57 on page 8);
generate a second sound source in which a portion corresponding to the tinnitus frequency is removed from a first sound source among the at least one sound source (Fig. 8: Treatment sound selection unit 142 and lines 5-9 on page 17); and
transmit a second control message configured to control the second sound source to be output through the external electronic device to the external electronic device through the communication circuit (lines 1-4 on page 19).
Regarding claim 3: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a display, wherein the display is electrically connected with at least one processor, and wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
display a user interface including a question for evaluating a tinnitus state of a user on the display (Fig. 3, 4 and 5: Displaying user interface with different input selections); and
determine the tinnitus state of the user based on a third input selecting a response to the question (Fig. 4 and 5: Displaying user’s determination/feedback state of tinnitus which includes tinnitus frequency range).
Regarding claim 4: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 3, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: display feedback information corresponding to the determined tinnitus state on the display (Fig. 4 and 5: Displaying user’s determination/feedback state of tinnitus which includes tinnitus frequency range).
Regarding claims 11, 13, and 14: the electronic device discussed in claims 1, 3, and 4 above also supports these corresponding method claims.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2, 5-8, 12, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin et al. (KR 20200139045 A – An English machine translated text document comprises of page 1 to page 25 is provided) in view of Yu et al. (KR 102170186 B1 – Cited IDS – An English machine translated via K-PION is provided).
Regarding claim 2: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to:
receive a third sound source optimized for a tinnitus characteristic of a user and transmit a third control message configured to control the third sound source to be output through the external electronic device to the external electronic device through the communication circuit (Fig. 8: Therapeutic correction unit 143 for further modifying treatment sound and outputting the modified treatment sound to output device S1 or S2).
Jin does not specifically teach where the third sound source is received from.
Yu teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1: Device 100) comprising:
a communication circuit (Fig. 1: Communication unit 110 may include cellular module and Bluetooth module);
a memory storing at least one sound source (Fig. 1: Storage 120 includes built-in memory and external memory storing treatment sound data 121 and software code); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory (Fig. 1: Control unit 160), wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively control the communication circuit to receive treatment sound data from an external server (lines 1-6 on page 5).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Yu to have the electronic device communicates with an external server for receiving treatment sound data as well as managing other functions such as treatment evaluation. The motivation is to provide the electronic device with external storage and computing power to better assisting and evaluating user’s tinnitus treatment process.
Regarding claim 5: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 4 but does not teach the feedback information includes at least one of whether tinnitus is alleviated, a tinnitus alleviation degree, whether tinnitus management is required, or a tinnitus alleviation method optimized for the determined tinnitus state.
Yu teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1: Device 100) comprising:
a communication circuit (Fig. 1: Communication unit 110 may include cellular module and Bluetooth module);
a memory storing at least one sound source (Fig. 1: Storage 120 includes built-in memory and external memory storing treatment sound data 121 and software code); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory (Fig. 1: Control unit 160), wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively control the communication circuit to receive treatment sound data from an external server (lines 1-6 on page 5) and provide evaluation for the treatment (Fig. 1: Evaluation 165, Statistical part 166, and lines 16-26 on page 8).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Yu to have the electronic device to include a feedback which evaluates the treatment process. The motivation is to provide user evidences if the treatment is successful or not.
Regarding claim 6: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 4 but does not teach the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the electronic device to: transmit tinnitus state information based on the third input to an external server through the communication circuit; and receive the feedback information from the external server through the communication circuit, and wherein the feedback information includes information received from a medical institution server as the external server shares the received tinnitus state information with the medical institution server.
Yu teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1: Device 100) comprising:
a communication circuit (Fig. 1: Communication unit 110 may include cellular module and Bluetooth module);
a memory storing at least one sound source (Fig. 1: Storage 120 includes built-in memory and external memory storing treatment sound data 121 and software code); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory (Fig. 1: Control unit 160), wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively control the communication circuit to transmit tinnitus state information based on the third input to an external server through the communication circuit; and receive the feedback information from the external server through the communication circuit, and wherein the feedback information includes information received from a medical institution server as the external server shares the received tinnitus state information with the medical institution server (lines 1-6 on page 5).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Yu to have the feedback between the user and Medical Institution via the communication between the electronic device and the Medical Institution’s server. The motivation is to provide user with professional monitoring, evaluation, and help during the treatment process.
Regarding claim 7: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 6, wherein the feedback information includes at least one of tinnitus counseling information or tinnitus treatment information (lines 1-6 on page 5 and lines 41-44 on page 11).
Regarding claim 8: Jin teaches the electronic device of claim 3 but does not teach the electronic device transmits second information including at least one of direction information of the ear with the tinnitus symptoms based on the first input, tinnitus frequency information based on the second input, or tinnitus state information based on the third input to an external server through the communication circuit, receives a fourth sound source optimized for a tinnitus characteristic of the user, the fourth sound source being generated based on the received second information by the external server, from the external server through the communication circuit, and transmit a fourth control message configured to control a fourth sound source to be output through the external electronic device to the external electronic device through the communication circuit.
Yu teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1: Device 100) comprising:
a communication circuit (Fig. 1: Communication unit 110 may include cellular module and Bluetooth module);
a memory storing at least one sound source (Fig. 1: Storage 120 includes built-in memory and external memory storing treatment sound data 121 and software code); and
at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, electrically connected with the communication circuit and the memory (Fig. 1: Control unit 160), wherein the memory stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively control the communication circuit to receive treatment sound data from an external server (lines 1-6 on page 5).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Jin in view of Yu to have the electronic device communicates with an external server for receiving treatment sound data as well as managing other functions such as treatment evaluation. The motivation is to provide the electronic device with external storage and computing power to better assisting and evaluating user’s tinnitus treatment process.
Regarding claims 12 and 15-18: the electronic device discussed in claims 2 and 5-8 above also supports these corresponding method claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-10 and 19-20 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 DAVID L TON whose telephone number is (571)270-7839. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM (EST).
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/DAVID L TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695