Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/770,490

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING STATE OF EARPHONE BASED ON MULTIPLE SENSORS

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 11, 2024
Examiner
PAUL, DISLER
Art Unit
2695
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Little Bird Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 11m
To Grant
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
1186 granted / 1445 resolved
+20.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+8.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
41 currently pending
Career history
1486
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
5.9%
-34.1% vs TC avg
§103
46.6%
+6.6% vs TC avg
§102
24.7%
-15.3% vs TC avg
§112
14.2%
-25.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1445 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Allowable Subject Matter Claim(s) 2-7; 9-14; 16-20 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action: (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) 1,8, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 a (2) as being unpatentable over He et al. (US 11,842,717 B2). Claim 1, He et al. disclose of a method for detecting a state of an earphone based on multiple sensors, wherein the earphone comprises a loudspeaker located in an auditory canal, a first voice pickup sensor located in the auditory canal and disposed near the loudspeaker, and a second voice pickup sensor located outside the auditory canal (fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig.2 (202/204/230); col.4 line 40-52); and the method comprises: acquiring first earphone state information according to a source audio signal input to the loudspeaker and a first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor (fig.5/8 (FBM); col.7 line 45-50); acquiring second earphone state information according to a second audio signal picked up by the second voice pickup sensor and the first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor ((fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig.2 (202/204/230); col.7 line 45-52; col.8 line 33-67/the sealing or leakage according to canal and device may be determine) and outputting a final detection result of the state of the earphone based on the first earphone state information and the second earphone state information (col.9 line 10-25/the various earphone states may be combined to improve accuracy). Claim 8, He et al. disclose of a device for detecting a state of an earphone based on multiple sensors, wherein the earphone comprises a loudspeaker located in an auditory canal, a first voice pickup sensor located in the auditory canal and disposed near the loudspeaker, and a second voice pickup sensor located outside the auditory canal (fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig. 2(202/204/230); col.4 line 40-52); and the device comprises: a processor; and a memory for storing computer instructions executable by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: acquire first earphone state information according to a source audio signal input to the loudspeaker and a first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor (fig.5/8 (FBM); fig.2 (210); col.7 line 45-50); acquire second earphone state information according to a second audio signal picked up by the second voice pickup sensor and the first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor ((fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig. (202/204/230); col.7 line 45-52; col.8 line 33-67/the sealing or leakage according to canal and device may be determine); and output a final detection result of the state of the earphone based on the first earphone state information and the second earphone state information (col.9 line 10-25/the various earphone states may be combined to improve accuracy). 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon one or more computer programs which, when being executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for detecting a state of an earphone based on multiple sensors, wherein the earphone comprises a loudspeaker located in an auditory canal, a first voice pickup sensor located in the auditory canal and disposed near the loudspeaker, and a second voice pickup sensor located outside the auditory canal (fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig. 2(202/204/230); col.4 line 40-52); the method comprising: acquiring first earphone state information according to a source audio signal input to the loudspeaker and a first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor (fig.5/8 (FBM); fig.2 (210); col.7 line 45-50); acquiring second earphone state information according to a second audio signal picked up by the second voice pickup sensor and the first audio signal picked up by the first voice pickup sensor ((fig.5/8 (FBM, FFM, SP); fig. (202/204/230); col.7 line 45-52; col.8 line 33-67/the sealing or leakage according to canal and device may be determine); and outputting a final detection result of the state of the earphone based on the first earphone state information and the second earphone state information (col.9 line 10-25/the various earphone states may be combined to improve accuracy). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DISLER PAUL whose telephone number is (571)270-1187. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-6:00 M-F. 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, chin, Vivian can be reached at (571)272-7848. 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. /DISLER PAUL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 11, 2024
Application Filed
Feb 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+8.9%)
2y 11m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1445 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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