DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the response to this office action, the Examiner respectfully requests that support be shown for language added to any original claims on amendment and any new claims. That is, indicate support for newly added claim language by specifically pointing to page(s) and line numbers in the specification and/or drawing figure(s). This will assist the Examiner in prosecuting this application.
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement filed September 27, 2024 has been considered and placed in the application file.
Drawings
The drawings are objected because:
they include the following reference character 1005 in Figure 1 not mentioned in the description;
reference character 1004 should be at the memory box;
reference character 1003 should be at the network interface box;
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
4. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5. Claim 10 recites “A computer-readable storage medium”, and the specification is silent regarding the meaning of this limitation. As such, applying the broadest reasonable interpretation in light of the specification and taking into account the meaning of the words in their ordinary usage as they would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP §2111 ), the claim as a whole covers both transitory and non-transitory media. A transitory medium does not fall into any of the 4 categories of invention (process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter). However, re-phrasing the claim such as “A non-transitory computer readable storage medium” would render the claimed subject matter statutory, and therefore overcome the 101 rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-10 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.
Independent claim 1 is indefinite because it is unclear whether limitation “a wearing state” in line 4 is the same “a wearing state” as recited in line 3. If it is, the examiner suggests that applicant can amend “a wearing state” in line 4 to read “the wearing state” to overcome this problem.
Claims 2-8 depend from claim 1, and are also rejected for the same reasons.
Regarding independent claim 9, this claim has similar limitations as Claim 1. Therefore it is rejected under for the reasons set forth in the rejection of Claim 1.
Regarding independent claim 10, this claim has similar limitations as Claim 1. Therefore it is rejected under for the reasons set forth in the rejection of Claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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 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.
9. 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 of this title, 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.
10. Claims 1-3, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20200100010 (hereinafter, “Yang”) Carino et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20190098390 (hereinafter, “Carino”).
Regarding claim 1, Yang teaches a method of detecting earphone wearing (earbud, Fig. 1), wherein the earphone comprises at least two capacitive sensors (The earbud includes at least two wearing sensors. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the earbud is exemplified by an earbud including two wearing sensors (par [0027], see Yang). In FIG. 1, the wearing sensor 1 includes a capacitive sensing unit, and the wearing sensor 2 includes three capacitive sensing units, respectively a capacitive sensing unit 21, a capacitive sensing unit 22, and a capacitive sensing unit 23, (see Fig. 1, par [0027], see Yang)), and the method of detecting earphone wearing comprises:
determining whether the earphone is in a wearing state (In the embodiment of the present application, the wearing sensor including three capacitive sensing units is selected as the first wearing sensor for detecting whether the earbud is correctly worn. Specifically, when the capacitance values detected on all the capacitive sensing units of all the first wearing sensors are greater than or equal to the correct wearing thresholds, the earbud is determined to be correctly worn, par [0032], see Yang);
in response to that the earphone is in a wearing state, determining whether capacitance values of all capacitive sensors are less than a corresponding initial threshold (Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the capacitance value detected on the capacitive sensing unit of the wearing sensor 1 is used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 1, and the sum of the detected capacitance values or the maximum capacitance value of the three capacitive sensing units of the wearing sensor 2 may be used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 2. When the maximum detection values of the wearing sensors 1 and 2 (corresponds to all capacitive sensors) are respectively not smaller than the wearing thresholds (corresponds to initial threshold) of the wearing sensors 1 and 2, the earbud is determined to be worn. In other words, when the wearing threshold smaller than the wearing threshold, the earbud is determined to be not worn, see Fig. 1, par [0031], see Yang);
in response to that the capacitance values of all capacitive sensors are less than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is detached (Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the capacitance value detected on the capacitive sensing unit of the wearing sensor 1 is used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 1, and the sum of the detected capacitance values or the maximum capacitance value of the three capacitive sensing units of the wearing sensor 2 may be used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 2. When the maximum detection values of the wearing sensors 1 and 2 (corresponds to all capacitive sensors) are respectively not smaller than the wearing thresholds (corresponds to initial threshold) of the wearing sensors 1 and 2, the earbud is determined to be worn. In other words, when the wearing threshold smaller than the wearing threshold, the earbud is determined to be not worn, i.e., detached, see Fig. 1, par [0031], see Yang).
Yang further teaches as shown in FIG. 2, the wearing sensor 2 includes three capacitive sensing units 21, 22 and 23. FIG. 2(a) describes the position of the wearing sensor 2 when the earbud is correctly worn, and at this wearing position, the earbud is unlikely to fall off and the user's tone experience is good. According to FIG. 2(a), the capacitive sensing unit 21 is in contact with an antitragus 52, and the capacitive sensing unit 23 is in contact with a tragus 53, and the capacitive sensing unit 22 is above an inter-tragus incisura 51 and is substantially not in contact with the ear. Because the capacitance values become large when the capacitive sensing units are in contact with the ear, the capacitance values of the capacitive sensing units 23 and 21 are larger (i.e., not less than the corresponding initial threshold), and the capacitance value of the capacitive sensing unit 22 is smaller (Fig. 2, par [0033, see Yang).
However, Yang does not explicitly disclose in response to that the capacitance value of at least one of the capacitive sensors is not less than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is loose.
Carino teaches earbuds with capacitive sensors (see Title) in which FIG. 7 is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in using earbuds 24 of system 8. As shown in FIG. 7, earbuds 24 may, during the operations of block 80, use capacitive sensor 60 to gather capacitance measurements. The capacitance measurements may be used in determining whether earbuds 24 are in the ears of a user (and being worn by the user) or are out of the user's ears (e.g., resting on a tabletop or in a case or otherwise not being worn by the user). The capacitance measurements may also be used to determine whether earbuds that are being worn by a user are fully or partly within the user's ear (e.g., snugly or loosely inserted in ear canal 48) (Fig. 7, par [0038], see Carino).
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 earbuds with capacitive sensors taught by Carino with the method of detecting earphone wearing of Yang such that to obtain in response to that the capacitance value of at least one of the capacitive sensors is not less than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is loose in order to determine whether the earbud is fully or partially within the ear of a user based on the capacitance measurements as suggested by Carino in Abstract.
Regarding claim 2, Yang in view of Carino teaches the method of detecting earphone wearing according to claim 1. Yang in view of Carino, as modified, teaches wherein the determining whether the earphone is in the wearing state (In the embodiment of the present application, the wearing sensor including three capacitive sensing units is selected as the first wearing sensor for detecting whether the earbud is correctly worn. Specifically, when the capacitance values detected on all the capacitive sensing units of all the first wearing sensors are greater than or equal to the correct wearing thresholds, the earbud is determined to be correctly worn, par [0032], see Yang) comprises:
determining whether all the capacitance values are greater than the corresponding initial threshold (In the embodiment of the present application, the wearing sensor including three capacitive sensing units is selected as the first wearing sensor for detecting whether the earbud is correctly worn. Specifically, when the capacitance values detected on all the capacitive sensing units of all the first wearing sensors are greater than or equal to the correct wearing thresholds (corresponds to initial threshold), the earbud is determined to be correctly worn, par [0032], see Yang);
in response to that all the capacitance values are greater than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is in the wearing state (In the embodiment of the present application, the wearing sensor including three capacitive sensing units is selected as the first wearing sensor for detecting whether the earbud is correctly worn. Specifically, when the capacitance values detected on all the capacitive sensing units of all the first wearing sensors are greater than or equal to the correct wearing thresholds (corresponds to initial threshold), the earbud is determined to be correctly worn, par [0032], see Yang); and
in response to that all the capacitance values are less than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is detached (Yang in view of Carino does not need to meet this limitation since it is a contingent claim limitation in the context of a method claim. See MPEP 2111.04 II and Ex parte Schulhauser, Appeal 2013-007847 (PTAB April 28, 2016)).
Regarding claim 3, Yang in view of Carino teaches the method of detecting earphone wearing according to claim 1. Yang in view of Carino, as modified, teaches wherein the earphone comprises a first capacitive sensor (23, Fig. 2, see Yang) and a second capacitive sensor (21, Fig. 2, see Yang), and the initial threshold (wearing thresholds) includes a first threshold and a second threshold (Corresponding correct wearing thresholds may be set for the three capacitive sensing units of the wearing sensor 2 to determine whether the earbud is at the correct wearing position. In this embodiment, large correct wearing thresholds may be set for the capacitive sensing units 23 and 21, and a small correct wearing threshold may be set for the capacitive sensing unit 22, Fig. 2, par [0033], see Yang);
the in response to that the capacitance values of all capacitive sensors are less than the corresponding initial threshold, determining that the earphone is detached comprises (Yang in view of Carino does not need to meet this limitation since it is a contingent claim limitation in the context of a method claim. See MPEP 2111.04 II and Ex parte Schulhauser, Appeal 2013-007847 (PTAB April 28, 2016));
in response to that a first capacitance value is less than the first threshold and a second capacitance value is less than the second threshold, determining that the earphone is detached (Yang in view of Carino does not need to meet this limitation since it is a contingent claim limitation in the context of a method claim. See MPEP 2111.04 II and Ex parte Schulhauser, Appeal 2013-007847 (PTAB April 28, 2016));
the in response to that the capacitance value of at least one of the capacitive sensors is not less than the corresponding initial threshold . According to FIG. 2(a), the capacitive sensing unit 21 is in contact with an antitragus 52, and the capacitive sensing unit 23 is in contact with a tragus 53, and the capacitive sensing unit 22 is above an inter-tragus incisura 51 and is substantially not in contact with the ear. Because the capacitance values become large when the capacitive sensing units are in contact with the ear, the capacitance values of the capacitive sensing units 23 and 21 are larger (i.e., not less than the corresponding initial threshold), and the capacitance value of the capacitive sensing unit 22 is smaller (Fig. 2, par [0033, see Yang)., determining that the earphone is loose As shown in FIG. 7, earbuds 24 may, during the operations of block 80, use capacitive sensor 60 to gather capacitance measurements. The capacitance measurements may be used in determining whether earbuds 24 are in the ears of a user (and being worn by the user) or are out of the user's ears (e.g., resting on a tabletop or in a case or otherwise not being worn by the user). The capacitance measurements may also be used to determine whether earbuds that are being worn by a user are fully or partly within the user's ear (e.g., snugly or loosely inserted in ear canal 48) (Fig. 7, par [0038], see Carino).comprises:
in response to that the first capacitance value is not less than the first threshold and/or the second capacitance value is not less than the second threshold, determining that the earphone is loose (As shown in FIG. 7, earbuds 24 may, during the operations of block 80, use capacitive sensor 60 to gather capacitance measurements. The capacitance measurements may be used in determining whether earbuds 24 are in the ears of a user (and being worn by the user) or are out of the user's ears (e.g., resting on a tabletop or in a case or otherwise not being worn by the user). The capacitance measurements may also be used to determine whether earbuds that are being worn by a user are fully or partly within the user's ear (e.g., snugly or loosely inserted in ear canal 48) (Fig. 7, par [0038], see Carino).
Regarding independent claim 9, this claim has similar limitations as Claim 1 and is therefore rejected under Yang in view of Carino for the same reasons. It is noted that Yang in view of Carino, as modified, teaches an earphone (earbud, Fig. 1, par [0027], see Yang), comprising: a memory; a processor; and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor; wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the method of detecting earphone wearing according to claim 1 (The software modules may be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method, par [0054], see Yang).
11. Claims 4, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20200100010 (hereinafter, “Yang”) Carino et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication 20190098390 (hereinafter, “Carino”), and further in view of Bonner et al. U.S. Patent 10045111 (hereinafter, “Bonner”).
Regarding claim 4, Yang in view of Carino teaches the method of detecting earphone wearing according to claim 1. Yang in view of Carino, as modified, teaches further comprising: in response to that the earphone is in the wearing state (In the embodiment of the present application, the wearing sensor including three capacitive sensing units is selected as the first wearing sensor for detecting whether the earbud is correctly worn. Specifically, when the capacitance values detected on all the capacitive sensing units of all the first wearing sensors are greater than or equal to the correct wearing thresholds, the earbud is determined to be correctly worn, par [0032], see Yang), obtaining the initial threshold of the earphone threshold (Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the capacitance value detected on the capacitive sensing unit of the wearing sensor 1 is used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 1, and the sum of the detected capacitance values or the maximum capacitance value of the three capacitive sensing units of the wearing sensor 2 may be used as the maximum detection value of the wearing sensor 2. When the maximum detection values of the wearing sensors 1 and 2 (corresponds to all capacitive sensors) are respectively not smaller than the wearing thresholds of the wearing sensors 1 and 2, the earbud is determined to be worn (Fig. 1, par [0031], see Yang) and recording the capacitance value of the capacitive sensor (The capacitance measurements may also be used to determine (e.g., recording) whether earbuds that are being worn by a user are fully or partly within the user's ear (e.g., snugly or loosely inserted in ear canal 48) (Fig. 7, par [0038], see Carino)).
However, Yang in view of Carino does not explicitly disclose obtaining the capacitance value of a preset number of wearing times before the earphone is detached, and obtaining an average capacitance value; and based on the average capacitance value, adjusting the initial threshold to a target threshold.
Bonner teaches on/off head detection using capacitive sensing (see Title) in which obtaining the capacitance value of a preset number of wearing times before the earphone is detached, and obtaining an average capacitance value (The one or more processing devices are configured to generate a capacitance signal based on the sensed capacitance, generate an average capacitance signal by averaging the capacitance signal over a period of time, generate an intermediate signal that includes a difference between the capacitance signal and the average capacitance signal, generate at least one of: a don signal and a doff signal, and set the average capacitance signal to be equal to the capacitance signal when a don or doff signal is generated (col. 2, lines 26-34, see Bonner).
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 on/off head detection using capacitive sensing taught by Bonner with the method of detecting earphone wearing of Yang in view of Carino such that to obtain obtaining the capacitance value of a preset number of wearing times before the earphone is detached, and obtaining an average capacitance value in order to increase battery lifetime, as suggested by Bonner in column 5, line 1.
Yang in view of Carino in view of Bonner, as modified, further teaches based on the average capacitance value (The one or more processing devices are configured to generate a capacitance signal based on the sensed capacitance, generate an average capacitance signal by averaging the capacitance signal over a period of time, generate an intermediate signal that includes a difference between the capacitance signal and the average capacitance signal, generate at least one of: a don signal and a doff signal, and set the average capacitance signal to be equal to the capacitance signal when a don or doff signal is generated (col. 2, lines 26-34, see Bonner see Bonner), adjusting the initial threshold (the wearing thresholds of the wearing sensors 1 and 2, the earbud is determined to be worn, see Fig. 1, par [0031], see Yang), to a target threshold (The intermediate signal 430 quickly returns to baseline as the capacitance signal 410 is stable and the long-term average 320 similarly stabilizes, Fig. 4, col. 7, lines 33-36, see Bonner). The motivation is in order to increase battery lifetime, as suggested by Bonner in column 5, line 1.
Regarding claim 8, Yang in view of Carino in view of Bonner teaches the method of detecting earphone wearing according to claim 4. Yang in view of Carino in view of Bonner, as modified, teaches wherein after the adjusting the initial threshold to the target threshold (see claim 4), the method further comprises:
configuring the target threshold as a new initial threshold, and performing the obtaining the initial threshold of the earphone (when the earbud is not correctly worn, a prompt for adjusting the wearing position of the earbud may be set based on the capacitance values of the capacitive sensing units of the first wearing sensor, and the user may adjust the wearing position of the earbud based on the prompt. How to set the prompt for adjusting the wearing position of the earbud based on the capacitance values of the capacitive sensing units has been exemplified in the foregoing, and details are not described herein again, par [0050], see Yang).
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claim 5 is 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, and if overcome the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action.
Regarding Claims 6, and 7, these claims depend from Claim 5 and are therefore would be allowable if claim 1 being allowable.
Conclusion
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/C.P.T/Examiner, Art Unit 2695
/VIVIAN C CHIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2695