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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: regarding claims 7 and 11, the phrase “The hearing device connector of Claim 6,” in line 1 should apparently be “The hearing device connector of Claim 6, wherein”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the other” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 10 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 1. Since claims 2-9 and 11-15 are dependent claims, these claims are also rejected.
Claims 8, 9 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites the phrase “the base unit” in line 3 is indefinite. There are two different “a base unit” in the claim 8 and claim 1. It is not clear which one is being referred by the phrase. Claim 12 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 8. Since claims 9 and 13-15 are dependent claims, these claims are also rejected.
Claim 15 recites the phrases “the housing” and “the speaker unit” in line 2 are indefinite. There are two different “a housing” in the claim 15 and claim 1 and two different “the speaker unit” in the claim 15 and claim 10. It is not clear which one is being referred by the phrase.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 8-13, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dittli et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0098589) in view of Yu et al. (Chinese Pub. No. CN106558788A).
Regarding claim 1, with respect to Figures 1-4, Dittli teaches an ear-worn hearing device connector comprising:
an electrical connector receptacle connectable to one of a speaker unit or a base unit, the electrical connector receptacle comprising multiple electrical connections/connectors [i.e., contacts] at least partially located in a plug socket comprising a connector plug cavity, the electrical connector receptacle comprising a retention feature integrally formed on a wall portion of the plug socket (fig.2-3; paragraphs 0040, 0041, 0080, 0090, 0091) (Note; In paragraph 90-91, Dittli teaches that in FIG. 2d, the plug component 40 is fully inserted into the socket component 50 and the surfaces 61.2 and 45.1 have essentially complementary curved sections wherein the curved section of surface 45.1 has a concave curvature and the curved section of surface 61.2 has a convex curvature. When the plug component is fully inserted into the socket, the retention feature must be formed such that the catch 60 is held in the latching position by the resilient material of the sealing element 55.);
an electrical connector plug connectable to the other of the speaker unit or the base unit, the electrical connector plug comprising a plug body retaining multiple electrical contacts, the plug body comprising a complementary retention feature (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0040, 0041, 0080, 0090, 0091); and
wherein electrical contacts of the electrical connector plug are electrically connected to corresponding electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle and the retention feature is engaged with the complementary retention feature when the plug body is inserted into the connector plug cavity (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0040, 0041, 0080, 0090, 0091).
However, Dittli does not specifically teach a metal plug socket. Yu teaches a metal plug socket (abstract; second paragraph under “Background technology”). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Dittli to incorporate a metal plug socket in Dittli’s invention as taught by Yu. The motivation for the modification is to do so in order to provide proper insulating base and conductive elastic sheet.
Regarding claim 2, Dittli teaches wherein the retention feature is a detent protruding into the connector plug cavity and the complementary retention feature is a recess in the plug body (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091).
Regarding claim 4, Dittli teaches that the electrical connector receptacle further comprising a sealing element 55 in fig.2a-2d [i.e., non-conductive bushing] flexibly retaining the multiple electrical contacts in the connector plug cavity (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091).
Regarding claims 8 and 12, Dittli teaches that a housing containing a microphone connected to an electronic circuit, wherein the electrical connector receptacle is integrated with the housing of the base unit and electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle are electrically connected to the printed circuit board/signal processing circuitry [i.e., electronic circuit] (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0002, 0062, 0064).
Regarding claims 9 and 15, Dittli teaches that a housing containing a microphone connected to an electronic circuit, wherein the electrical connector receptacle is integrated with the housing of the base unit and electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle are electrically connected to the printed circuit board/signal processing circuitry [i.e., electronic circuit] (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0004-0005, 0025, 0026, 0038, 0062, 0063-0067).
Claim 10 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 3. Furthermore, Dittli teaches a gasket disposed about the plug body (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0035, 0036).
Regarding claim 11, Dittli teaches the non-conductive bushing comprising a recess forming a portion of the connector plug cavity, the multiple electrical contacts located on a portion of the non-conductive bushing defining the connector plug cavity (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091),
the electrical connector plug comprising a contact carrier protruding from the plug body and retaining the multiple electrical contacts of the electrical connector plug (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091),
wherein electrical contacts of the electrical connector plug are electrically connected to corresponding electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle when the contact carrier protruding from the plug body is inserted into the recess of the non-conductive bushing (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0078, 0080, 0081, 0087, 0090, 0091, 0096).
Regarding claim 13, Dittli teaches the electrical connector receptacle further comprising a detent protruding from a wall portion of the metal plug socket and into the connector plug cavity, and the electrical connector plug further comprising a recess into which the detent extends when the plug body is inserted into the connector plug cavity, wherein the detent and recess cooperate to securely fasten the electrical connector plug to the electrical connector receptacle (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091).
Claim 16 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 3. Furthermore, Dittli, teaches a body-worn unit comprising a housing containing electrical or mechanical hearing device parts (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0004, 0007, 0058, 0062) and an electrical connector receptacle connected to the body-worn unit and comprising:
a metal plug socket comprising a plug cavity proximate an opening of the plug socket, and a detent protruding from a wall portion of the plug socket into the plug cavity (fig.2-3; paragraphs 0040, 0041, 0080, 0090, 0091, 0097);
multiple electrical contacts, a first contact portion of each electrical contact extending into the plug cavity, and a second contact portion of each electrical contact accessible from an exterior of the plug socket (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0025, 0026, 0040-0042, 0080, 0090, 0091).
Claims 3, 5-7, 14 and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dittli et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0098589) in view of Yu et al. (Chinese Pub. No. CN106558788A) further in view of AKITANI et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,566,286).
Regarding claims 3, 14 and 17, Dittli in view of Yu does not specifically teach that the metal plug socket and the detent constitute a unitary deep-drawn article. AKITANI teaches that the metal plug socket and the detent constitute a unitary deep-drawn article (paragraph under “USE”). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Dittli in view of Yu to incorporate the feature of the metal plug socket and the detent constituting a unitary deep-drawn article in Dittli’s invention in view of Yu’s invention in order to provide excellent stability and drawability, without impairing basic property of the plate material, and improved tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation rate.
Claim 5 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 3. Furthermore, Dittli teaches wherein the complementary retention feature is a recess in the plug body and the retention feature is a detent protruding into the connector plug cavity (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091).
Regarding claim 6, Dittli teaches a gasket disposed about the plug body and located between the connector plug cavity and the plug body when the electrical connector plug is connected to in the electrical connector receptacle (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0035, 0036, 0090, 0091).
Regarding claim 7, Dittli teaches the non-conductive bushing comprising a recess forming a portion of the connector plug cavity, the multiple electrical contacts located on a portion of the non-conductive bushing defining the connector plug cavity (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091),
the electrical connector plug comprising a contact carrier protruding from the plug body and retaining the multiple electrical contacts of the electrical connector plug (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091),
wherein electrical contacts of the electrical connector plug are electrically connected to corresponding electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle when the contact carrier protruding from the plug body is inserted into the recess of the non-conductive bushing (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0080, 0090, 0091).
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons as discussed above with respect to claim 7.
Regarding claim 19, Dittli teaches that the body-worn unit is a behind-the-ear (BTE) unit, the hearing device parts comprising a microphone connected to an electronic circuit, wherein the electrical connector receptacle is integrated with the housing and electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle are electrically connected to the electronic circuit (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0002, 0025, 0042, 0062, 0064).
Regarding claim 20, Dittli teaches that the body-worn unit is a receiver-in-canal (RIC) unit further comprising an electrical cable assembly extending from the housing, the hearing device parts comprising a sound-producing transducer, the electrical connector receptacle connected to the electrical cable assembly, wherein the sound-producing transducer and electrical contacts of the electrical connector receptacle are electrically connected to conductors of the electrical cable assembly (fig.2a-fig.2d; paragraphs 0025, 0026, 0040-0042, 0062, 0064).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MD S ELAHEE whose telephone number is (571)272-7536. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday; 8:30AM to 5:00PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FAN TSANG can be reached on 571-272-7547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/MD S ELAHEE/
MD SHAFIUL ALAM ELAHEE
Primary Examiner,
Art Unit 2694
March 9, 2026