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 .
Status of Application
This communication is responsive to the applicant's application filed 08/12/2024.
Claims 25-45 are pending. Claims 1-24 have been cancelled.
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.
Claim(s) 25-27 and 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kofman et al (US-2016/0286313, hereinafter, Kofman) in view of Clement et al (US-2018/0310081, hereinafter, Clement).
Regarding claim 25, Kofman discloses an acoustic device (see Fig. 3) that including an audio source providing an input audio signal, the audio source being at least one of an audio media player and an audio media receiver (see para [0049]); a processor (320) coupled to the audio source to receive the audio input and configured to generate an adjusted audio signal from the input audio signal, the processor being responsive to a user input from a user-input device including a first input and a second input, wherein the processor is configured to generate the adjusted audio signal to project sound farther behind when the first user input is received than when the second input is received (see para [0050], [0051], [0052], Kofman discloses the acoustic device includes one or more controls (user input having first input, second input as claimed) that allow an user to change the volume or other characteristics of the acoustic output and include a selection of a preferred acoustic mode, which is resulting the acoustic output being project sound farther behind when the user change to a bigger volume control). However, Kofman does not disclose the acoustic device being used in a boat that comprising a hull including a bow and a stern, and a plurality of aft-facing speakers configured to generate a sound behind the boat based on the adjusted audio signal.
Clement discloses a boat or a watercraft (see Figs. 1, 2) that comprising a hull including a bow and a stern (see para [0011]), and a plurality of aft-facing speakers (201, 202) configured to generate a sound behind the boat.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effect filing date of the claimed invention to utilizes the acoustic device taught by Kofman for a boat or watercraft, as shown by Clement, in order to provide an improved acoustic output for the boat or watercraft by allow a user to change the volume or other characteristics of the acoustic output and include a selection of a preferred acoustic mode with different desired user input controls.
Regarding claims 26 and 27, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effect filing date of the claimed invention to having specific mechanical arrangement for mounting the plurality of aft-facing speakers on different location of a boat or watercraft as claimed.
Regarding claim 35, see para [0052] of Kofman for amplifying (gain adjustment as claimed) of the input audio signal based on the user’s preference.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 28-34, and 36-45 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.
McPherson, Velado et al, and Kabel et al disclose various audio systems for a boat or a watercraft.
Lindahl discloses a system for acoustic output control having volume selection input from a user.
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/XU MEI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2695 07/28/2026
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