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 . This Office action is based on the communications filed July 10, 2024. Claims 1 – 14 are currently pending and considered below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 17, 2024 and the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 8, 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d, 100e, 160, 165, 210, 215, 252, 260, and S160. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Double Patenting
Applicant is advised that should claim 4 be found allowable, claim 5 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Polivy (US 9,264,791 B1), hereinafter Polivy, in view of CN 212183687 U, with citations from the corresponding English translation, hereinafter CN212183687U.
Claim 1: Polivy discloses a wearable speaker (see at least, “The present invention relates generally to
devices and, more particularly, to small portable audio speakers that can be attached to clothing or other structures by magnets,” Polivy Column 1 Lines 15 – 18), comprising:
a speaker module having an audio output unit mounted thereon (see at least, “FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing various views of an assembled speaker/housing assembly, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Shown here are a front view 110, a top view 120, a side view 130, and an isometric view 140,” Polivy Column 3 Lines 54 – 58, “FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the speaker/housing assembly of FIG. 1. As shown, the speaker/housing assembly includes… a speaker 206,” Polivy Column 3 Lines 59 – 61); and a fixing module coupled to the speaker module by magnetic force (see at least, “When the speaker/housing assembly is placed on an item, particularly a non-metallic or non-magnetic item such as an article of clothing, a second magnet 210 (which is not an integral part of the speaker/housing assembly) may be used to secure the speaker/housing assembly to the item,” Polivy Column 4 Lines 4 – 9, Polivy FIG. 2), wherein the speaker module comprises a speaker housing having a sound hole formed in a first surface (see at least, “Each speaker/housing assembly may include multiple holes and/or a mesh screen to allow sound from the speaker to be heard more clearly,” Polivy Column 1 Lines 63 – 66, “The casing form in addition is not limited to a simple multiple hole design, or a mesh screen design, but may include one or more structures in or on the casing that can directly target the sound to the user's ear, e.g., through a plastic funnel or trumpet,” Polivy Column 4 Lines 20 – 24, Polivy FIG. 1, “a housing cover 208,” Polivy Column 3 Line 63, Polivy FIG. 2), the audio output unit (see at least, “a speaker 206,” Polivy Column 3 Line 61, FIG. 2) positioned inside the sound hole (see at least, “As shown in FIG. 3, the housing cover may snap-fit with the housing back in order to encapsulate the metallic plate or magnet and the speaker inside of the housing, although the housing cover may attach to the housing back in other ways, e.g., threading, glue, etc.,” Polivy Column 3 Lines 63 – 67, FIG. 3), and a first magnet (see at least, “a metal plate or magnet 204 separate from any magnet of the speaker 206,” Polivy Column 3 Lines 61 – 62, Polivy FIG. 2) disposed adjacent to a second surface of the speaker housing (see at least, “a housing back,” Polivy Column 3 Line 61, Polivy FIG. 2)
and wherein the fixing module comprises a second magnet coupled (see at least, “When the speaker/housing assembly is placed on an item, particularly a non-metallic or non-magnetic item such as an article of clothing, a second magnet 210 (which is not an integral part of the speaker/housing assembly) may be used to secure the speaker/housing assembly to the item,” Polivy Column 4 Lines 4 – 9, Polivy FIG. 2) to the first magnet (see at least, “a metal plate or magnet 204 separate from any magnet of the speaker 206,” Polivy Column 3 Lines 61 – 62, Polivy FIG. 2).
Polivy does not disclose a battery positioned inside the speaker housing. However, CN212183687U discloses a similar portable speaker (see at least, CN212183687U Background technique) and further discloses a battery positioned inside the speaker housing (see at least, “A lithium ion battery and a Bluetooth speaker main board are embedded in the casing, and the Bluetooth speaker main board is located above the lithium ion battery. Further, the power input end of the speaker, the LED lamp bead, the operation button, and the bluetooth speaker main board are all electrically connected to the power output end of the lithium ion battery,” CN212183687U Utility model content). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned battery positioned inside the speaker housing as disclosed by CN212183687U in the invention of Polivy thereby allowing for a power source inside the speaker housing of Polivy given the advantage that “Specifically, the lithium ion battery 7 is a rechargeable battery that can provide power to the speaker 2,” CN212183687U Detailed ways.
Claim 2: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, further comprising a first magnetic shielding plate disposed on a first surface of the first magnet (see at least, “502-magnetic
shielding sleeve,” CN212183687U FIG. 1 – 3, “a magnetic shielding sleeve 502 is fixedly connected to the back and sides of the magnet 5,” “the shielding sleeve 502 can shield the magnetism on the back of the magnet 5 to prevent the magnet 5 from affecting the normal operation of the internal electrical components of the Bluetooth speaker,” CN212183687U Detailed ways).
Claim 3: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 2, wherein the first magnetic shielding plate further comprises a side part covering a side surface of the first magnet (see at least, “502-magnetic shielding sleeve,” CN212183687U FIG. 1 – 3, “a magnetic shielding sleeve 502 is fixedly connected to the back and sides of the magnet 5,” “the shielding sleeve 502 can shield the magnetism on the back of the magnet 5 to prevent the magnet 5 from affecting the normal operation of the internal electrical components of the Bluetooth speaker,” CN212183687U Detailed ways).
Claim(s) 4 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Polivy and CN212183687U in view of Anklesaria (US 7,808,392 B1), hereinafter Anklesaria.
Claim 4: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising a second magnetic shielding plate disposed on a second surface of the second magnet. However, Anklesaria discloses a similar apparatus and method for magnet attachment to clothing. Anklesaria further discloses comprising a second magnetic shielding plate disposed on a second surface of the second magnet (see at least, “In a second preferred embodiment of the apparatus 41
shown in FIG. 3, the opposing magnets 46 project away from the second attachment member 44. It is also preferable for this 50 second preferred embodiment that the second attachment member 44 have a substantially smooth and flat surface to decrease friction between the attachment member 44 and the
article of cloth 11. Movement of the first attachment member 43 will therefore be less likely to cause disengagement of the magnets 42 and 46 as the second attachment member 44 is better able to slide along the clothing 11. In this manner, the first attachment member 43 is also more likely to remain on
the clothing 11 in this second preferred embodiment. The example of the enuresis sensor again illustrates the advantages of this second preferred embodiment of the apparatus 41,” Anklesaria Column 2 Lines 47 – 61, FIG. 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned second attachment member as disclosed by Anklesaria on a second surface of the second magnet in the invention of Polivy and CN212183687U thereby allowing for the advantage of secure attachment while not damaging the article of clothing by protecting the clothing from friction.
Claim 5: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, but do not disclose further comprising a second magnetic shielding plate disposed on a second surface of the second magnet. However, Anklesaria discloses a similar apparatus and method for magnet attachment to clothing. Anklesaria further discloses comprising a second magnetic shielding plate disposed on a second surface of the second magnet (see at least, “In a second preferred embodiment of the apparatus 41
shown in FIG. 3, the opposing magnets 46 project away from the second attachment member 44. It is also preferable for this 50 second preferred embodiment that the second attachment member 44 have a substantially smooth and flat surface to decrease friction between the attachment member 44 and the
article of cloth 11. Movement of the first attachment member 43 will therefore be less likely to cause disengagement of the magnets 42 and 46 as the second attachment member 44 is better able to slide along the clothing 11. In this manner, the first attachment member 43 is also more likely to remain on
the clothing 11 in this second preferred embodiment. The example of the enuresis sensor again illustrates the advantages of this second preferred embodiment of the apparatus 41,” Anklesaria Column 2 Lines 47 – 61, FIG. 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned second attachment member as disclosed by Anklesaria on a second surface of the second magnet in the invention of Polivy and CN212183687U thereby allowing for the advantage of secure attachment while not damaging the article of clothing by protecting the clothing from friction.
Claim(s) 6 – 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Polivy and CN212183687U in further view of Schwartz (US 2022/0311286 A1), hereinafter Schwartz.
Claim 6: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, wherein the first magnet has a ring shape (see at least, “The magnet may be fixed inside a recess in the bottom of the housing and secured with other means such as an adhesive along its circumference,” Polivy and CN212183687U Column 3 Lines 38 – 40, Polivy and CN212183687U FIG. 1) but do not disclose and comprises an inner pole and an outer pole different from the inner pole. However, Schwartz discloses in regards to a similar portable device “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils, the first and second devices may be provided with respective mating alignment magnets. The alignment magnets may be arranged in patterns such as rings,” Schwartz [0007]. Schwartz further discloses an inner pole and an outer pole different from the inner pole (see at least, “With the arrangement of FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6, the alignment magnets exhibit a magnetic pole pattern that essentially does not vary with rotation about center 40. The charging puck alignment magnets form an outer ring having poles with a south (S) magnetic polarity centered on center 40 and a concentric inner ring having poles with a north (N) magnetic polarity (see, e.g., FIG. 5). Regardless of how much the magnets are rotated about center 40, the outer ring will retain south polarity and the inner ring will retain north polarity. The electronic device magnets have similar rotationally symmetric magnetic poles but with reverse polarity,” Schwartz [0030]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned pole configuration as taught by Schwartz in the invention of Polivy and CN212183687U thereby allowing for the advantage “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils,” Schwartz [0007].
Claim 7: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, wherein the first magnet has a ring shape (see at least, “The magnet may be fixed inside a recess in the bottom of the housing and secured with other means such as an adhesive along its circumference,” Polivy and CN212183687U Column 3 Lines 38 – 40, Polivy and CN212183687U FIG. 1) but do not disclose and comprises a first pole positioned inside and a second pole positioned at an outer circumference of the first pole and forming a polarity opposite to that of the first pole. However, Schwartz discloses in regards to a similar portable device “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils, the first and second devices may be provided with respective mating alignment magnets. The alignment magnets may be arranged in patterns such as rings,” Schwartz [0007]. Schwartz further discloses a first pole positioned inside and a second pole positioned at an outer circumference of the first pole and forming a polarity opposite to that of the first pole (see at least, “With the arrangement of FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6, the alignment magnets exhibit a magnetic pole pattern that essentially does not vary with rotation about center 40. The charging puck alignment magnets form an outer ring having poles with a south (S) magnetic polarity centered on center 40 and a concentric inner ring having poles with a north (N) magnetic polarity (see, e.g., FIG. 5). Regardless of how much the magnets are rotated about center 40, the outer ring will retain south polarity and the inner ring will retain north polarity. The electronic device magnets have similar rotationally symmetric magnetic poles but with reverse polarity,” Schwartz [0030]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned pole configuration as taught by Schwartz in the invention of Polivy and CN212183687U thereby allowing for the advantage “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils,” Schwartz [0007].
Claim 8: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, wherein the first magnet is disposed along a circumference of the wearable speaker (see at least, “The magnet may be fixed inside a recess in the bottom of the housing and secured with other means such as an adhesive along its circumference,” Polivy and CN212183687U Column 3 Lines 38 – 40, Polivy and CN212183687U FIG. 1) but do not disclose a plurality of the first magnets are disposed along a circumference of the wearable and wherein the first magnet comprises a first pole positioned inside and a second pole positioned outside. However, Schwartz discloses in regards to a similar portable device “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils, the first and second devices may be provided with respective mating alignment magnets. The alignment magnets may be arranged in patterns such as rings,” Schwartz [0007]. Schwartz further discloses a plurality of the first magnets are disposed along a circumference of the wearable and wherein the first magnet comprises a first pole positioned inside and a second pole positioned outside (see at least, “With the arrangement of FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6, the alignment magnets exhibit a magnetic pole pattern that essentially does not vary with rotation about center 40. The charging puck alignment magnets form an outer ring having poles with a south (S) magnetic polarity centered on center 40 and a concentric inner ring having poles with a north (N) magnetic polarity (see, e.g., FIG. 5). Regardless of how much the magnets are rotated about center 40, the outer ring will retain south polarity and the inner ring will retain north polarity. The electronic device magnets have similar rotationally symmetric magnetic poles but with reverse polarity,” Schwartz [0030]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned pole configuration as taught by Schwartz in the invention of Polivy and CN212183687U thereby allowing for the advantage “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils,” Schwartz [0007].
Claim 9: Polivy, CN212183687U, and Schwartz disclose the wearable speaker of claim 8, wherein the first pole of the first magnet has a polarity opposite to that of the first pole of the neighboring first magnet (see at least, “To permit back-to-back alignment and attraction between the alignment magnets in devices 10, devices 10 may have a ring of magnets where the poles of the ring vary as a function of distance around the ring (e.g., poles that alternate as a function of distance around the ring and that therefore alternate as a function of angular position or angle about the center of the ring),” Schwartz [0033], Schwartz FIGS. 8 and 9).
Claim(s) 10 – 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Polivy and CN212183687U in further view of Takano (US 2015/0180270 A1), hereinafter Takano.
Claim 10: Polivy and CN212183687U disclose the wearable speaker of claim 1, but do not disclose the speaker module comprising: a power receiver charging the battery from a charger disposed on the second surface; and a power transmitter transmitting power to a speaker module stacked on the first surface. However, Takano discloses in regards to charging portable electronic devices a power receiver charging the battery from a charger disposed on the second surface (see at least, “rear-surface-side interface section (NFC wireless power receiving section),” Takano FIG. 1, “The rear-surface-side interface section 15A is a first interface section (NFC wireless power receiving section) arranged (incorporated) in one surface, such as the rear surface (the surface on the side opposite to the operating section 14a and the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0035], “When performing wireless electric power feeding, the rear-surface-side interface section (NFC wireless power receiving section) 15A and the front-surface-side interface section (NFC wireless power transmitting section) 15B receive and transmit electric power by using non-contact electric power transmission, such as an electromagnetic induction method (contactless method),” Takano [0038], “A power source control section 18 converts electric power received by the NFC wireless power receiving section 15A to a predetermined voltage for charging the power source section (secondary battery) 12,” Takano [0040]); and a power transmitter transmitting power to a speaker module stacked on the first surface (see at least, “front-surface-side interface section (NFC wireless power transmitting section,” Takano FIG. 1, “The front-surface-side interface section 15B is a second interface section (NFC wireless power transmitting section) arranged (incorporated) on the other surface, such as the front surface (the surface on the side of the operating section 14a or the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0036], “The charging device (cradle) 2 has a structure where a plurality of electronic devices (three electronic devices in the present embodiment) can be placed on top of one another in a vertical direction with a predetermined space (for example, a space of 10 cm or less) therebetween,” Takano [0026]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the aforementioned charging technique disclosed by Takano in each speaker/housing assembly of Polivy and CN212183687U (see at least, FIG. 5 of Polivy) so that the advantage of “charging from one of a plurality of electronic devices having a secondary battery as a power source to the other electronic devices can be performed,” Takano [0011].
Claim 11: Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano disclose the wearable speaker of claim 10, wherein the power receiver comprises a charging terminal disposed on the second surface of the speaker housing and configured to charge the battery and wherein the power transmitter comprises a transmitting terminal disposed on the first surface of the speaker housing and configured to provide power of the battery (see at least, “The rear-surface-side interface section 15A is a first interface section (NFC wireless power receiving section) arranged (incorporated) in one surface, such as the rear surface
(the surface on the side opposite to the operating section 14a and the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0035], “The front-surface-side interface section 15B is a second interface section (NFC wireless power transmitting section) arranged (incorporated) on the other surface, such as
the front surface (the surface on the side of the operating section 14a or the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0036], “Also, the rear-surface-side interface section 15A uses its NFC antenna as the electromagnetic induction coil (power receiving coil) of the wireless power receiving section, and the front-surface-side interface section 15B uses its NFC antenna as the electromagnetic induction coil (power transmitting coil) of the wireless power transmitting section. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure where the antennas are used as the coils, and a structure may be adopted where dedicated power receiving coil and power transmitting coil are provided,” Takano [0039], Takano FIGS. 1 – 3).
Claim 12: Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano disclose the wearable speaker of claim 10, wherein the power receiver comprises a charging coil disposed adjacent to the second surface of the speaker housing and configured to charge the battery and wherein the power transmitter comprises a transmitting coil disposed adjacent to the first surface of the speaker housing and configured to transmit power of the battery (see at least, “The rear-surface-side interface section 15A is a first interface section (NFC wireless power receiving section) arranged (incorporated) in one surface, such as the rear surface (the surface on the side opposite to the operating section 14a and the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0035], “The front-surface-side interface section 15B is a second interface section (NFC wireless power transmitting section) arranged (incorporated) on the other surface, such as the front surface (the surface on the side of the operating section 14a or the display section 14b), of the electronic device 1,” Takano [0036], “Also, the rear-surface-side interface section 15A uses its NFC antenna as the electromagnetic induction coil (power receiving coil) of the wireless power receiving section, and the front-surface-side interface section 15B uses its NFC antenna as the electromagnetic induction coil (power transmitting coil) of the wireless power transmitting section. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure where the antennas are used as the coils, and a structure may be adopted where dedicated power receiving coil and power transmitting coil are provided,” Takano [0039], Takano FIGS. 1 – 3).
Claim 13: Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano disclose the wearable speaker of claim 10, further comprising a controller configured to activate the power transmitter based on a charged amount of the battery greater than or equal to a reference value (see at least, “That is, when the plurality of electronic devices 1 have been placed in the charging device 2, if the battery remaining amount of one of the electronic devices 1 reaches a predetermined amount or higher by charging, the host device 5 starts charging for the next electronic device 1. Then, when the battery remaining amount of this electronic device 1 reaches the predetermined amount or higher, the host device 5 starts charging for the further next device 1. As such, the host device 5 causes the plurality of electronic devices 1 to be charged one by one,” Takano [0029], “Electric power discharged from the power source section (secondary battery) 12 is supplied to the NFC wireless power transmitting section 15B via a power source switching section 19, and a high-frequency alternating field is generated from the NFC antenna (omitted in FIG. 2) of the NFC wireless power transmitting section 15B by a power transmitting section thereof being activated,” Takano [0042]).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano in view of Schwartz.
Claim 14: Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano disclose the wearable speaker of claim 10, but do not disclose wherein the speaker module further comprises a third magnet disposed adjacent to the first surface and attached to the first magnet of the speaker module stacked on the first surface. However, Schwartz discloses in regards to a similar portable device “To magnetically align and attach first and second devices for power transfer between their coils, the first and second devices may be provided with respective mating alignment magnets. The alignment magnets may be arranged in patterns such as rings,” Schwartz [0007]. Schwartz further discloses wherein the speaker module further comprises a third magnet disposed adjacent to the first surface and attached to the first magnet of the speaker module stacked on the first surface (see at least, “The alignment magnet pattern of FIG. 14 may be used to allow central wireless power device 10C (e.g., a two-sided charging puck) to be stacked with back-to-back wireless power devices 10A and 10B (e.g., cellular telephones, wristwatches, or other portable electronic devices),” Schwartz [0043], “In two-sided wireless power device 10C of FIG. 14, the vertical orientation of alignment magnets 26 allows one side of device 10C to attract and align with magnets 26 in device 10A while simultaneously allowing another side of device 10C to attract and align with magnets 26 in device 10B. Devices 10A and 10B may be two different devices of the same type (e.g., two devices of the same model of cellular telephone) and/or may be other devices with the same pattern of magnets 26,” Schwartz [0044], Schwartz FIG. 14). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a third magnet disposed adjacent to the first surface and attached to the first magnet of the speaker module stacked on the first surface as taught by Schwartz in the invention of Polivy, CN212183687U, and Takano thereby allowing for the advantage of alignment of the coils as taught by Takano in the stacked position.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH SAUNDERS whose telephone number is (571)270-1063. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 4 p.m., EST.
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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.
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/JOSEPH SAUNDERS JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692