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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on June 20, 2024, July 15, 2024, April 30, 2025, August 05, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are 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)(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, 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Watanabe (US 2024/0211201 A1).
As to claim 1, Watanabe discloses an operation device [1 on FIG. 1] comprising:
a rotary operator [“The jog dial is a rotary operator.” Paragraph 0024];
a determination unit configured to determine whether there is a contact of a user with the rotary operator [“The touch panel detects a touch position by the user.” Paragraph 0034]; and
an output unit [6 on FIG. 3] configured to output, in response to the determination unit determining that there is not the contact, first information indicating a playback speed set in advance in the rotary operator and, in response to the determination unit determining that there is the contact, second information different from the first information [“The first playback unit is configured to play the music piece with the media player in response to the user’s operation (contact) and output signals to the audio output unit and similarly the second playback unit is configured to play the music piece with the media player based on the user’s operation (not the same contact) and output the audio signal.” Paragraph 0041 and 0047].
As to claim 6, Watanabe discloses the operation device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second detector comprising a sensor [Touch panel] configured to detect the contact of the user with the rotary operator, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine whether there is the contact on a basis of an output from the sensor [“The second playback unit is configured to play the music piece with the media player based on the user’s operation (contact) and output the audio signal.” Paragraph 0041 and 0047].
As to claim 7, Watanabe discloses an acoustic device [1 on FIG. 1] comprising: the operation device according to claim 1; and a playback device configured to play music piece data, wherein the output unit is configured to output at least one of the first information or the second information to the playback device [“The playback unit is configured to play the music piece with the media player based on the user’s operation (contact) and output the audio signal.” Paragraph 0041 and 0047].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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. See PTO-892 form.
Nagata et al. (US 2024/0361978 A1) discloses an audio data processing device is provided including a player configured to play an audio data, a playing direction switcher configured to switch a playing direction of the audio data between a forward direction and a reverse direction in response to an operation signal.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GERALD GAUTHIER whose telephone number is (571)272-7539. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
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, CAROLYN R EDWARDS can be reached at (571) 270-7136. 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.
/GERALD GAUTHIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
April 23, 2026
Prosecution Insights