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 .
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “processing unit” in claim 1 and “communication unit” in claim 12.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 9:
Line 3 recites “GATT”; the examiner suggests changing to “Generic Attribute Profile (GATT)”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamamoto (JP2020188392A).
(1) Regarding claim 1:
Yamamoto discloses an information processing system comprising:
a processing unit (determination unit 5R of right ear earphone 200 as shown in figure 1, abstract, page 5, 9th paragraph) that determines whether or not a first device and a second device that are attachably and detachably worn on a predetermined portion so as to face each other are in a relationship of facing positions (determination unit determines that a user is wearing the stereo earphone when a difference between an inclination of the right ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from an output of the first acceleration sensor and an inclination of the left ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from an output of the second acceleration sensor is within a predetermined range, abstract) on a basis of a first acceleration and a second acceleration that are accelerations of the first device and the second device, respectively, and detects an attached and detached state of the first device and the second device (The determination device disclosed in the present specification includes a first acquisition unit that acquires the output of the first acceleration sensor provided in the right ear earphone of the stereo earphone, and a first acquisition unit provided in the left ear earphone of the stereo earphone. A second acquisition unit for acquiring the output of the two acceleration sensors is provided, and the inclination of the right ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from the output of the first acceleration sensor and the output of the second acceleration sensor for the left ear are obtained. This is a configuration (9th configuration) in which it is determined that the user is wearing the stereo earphone when the difference from the inclination of the earphone with respect to the gravity direction is within a predetermined range, page 3, 3rd paragraph).
(2) Regarding claim 11:
Yamamoto discloses an information processing method comprising:
by a processing unit (determination unit 5R of right ear earphone 200 as shown in figure 1, abstract, page 5, 9th paragraph) of an information processing system including the processing unit (stereo earphone 100as shown in figure 1), determining whether or not a first device and a second device that are attachably and detachably worn on a predetermined portion so as to face each other are in a relationship of facing positions (determination unit determines that a user is wearing the stereo earphone when a difference between an inclination of the right ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from an output of the first acceleration sensor and an inclination of the left ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from an output of the second acceleration sensor is within a predetermined range, abstract) on a basis of a first acceleration and a second acceleration that are accelerations of the first device and the second device, respectively, and detecting an attached and detached state of the first device and the second device (The determination device disclosed in the present specification includes a first acquisition unit that acquires the output of the first acceleration sensor provided in the right ear earphone of the stereo earphone, and a first acquisition unit provided in the left ear earphone of the stereo earphone. A second acquisition unit for acquiring the output of the two acceleration sensors is provided, and the inclination of the right ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from the output of the first acceleration sensor and the output of the second acceleration sensor for the left ear are obtained. This is a configuration (9th configuration) in which it is determined that the user is wearing the stereo earphone when the difference from the inclination of the earphone with respect to the gravity direction is within a predetermined range, page 3, 3rd paragraph).
(3) Regarding claim 12:
Yamamoto discloses an information processing system comprising:
a communication unit (The left ear earphone 300 includes a wireless communication unit 1L, page 5, 2nd paragraph) that transmits an acceleration of a first device to a second device connected to the first device by wireless communication, through the wireless communication (Information regarding the output of the acceleration sensor 3L of the left ear earphone 300 is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 1L of the left ear earphone 300 to the wireless communication unit 1R, page 4, 8th paragraph).
(4) Regarding claim 2:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses the processing unit detects a gravity direction with respect to the first device and the second device on a basis of the first acceleration and the second acceleration, and determines whether or not the first device and the second device are in the relationship of facing positions on a basis of the gravity direction (The stereo earphones disclosed in the present specification include an earphone for the right ear, an earphone for the left ear, a first acceleration sensor provided in the earphone for the right ear, and a second acceleration provided in the earphone for the left ear. The determination unit includes a sensor and a determination unit, and the determination unit includes the inclination of the right ear earphone with respect to the gravity direction obtained from the output of the first acceleration sensor and the output of the left ear earphone obtained from the output of the second acceleration sensor. This is a configuration (first configuration) in which it is determined that the user is wearing the stereo earphones when the difference from the inclination with respect to the gravity direction is within a predetermined range, page 2, 4th paragraph).
(5) Regarding claim 3:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses each of the first device and the second device includes an audio output device (The right ear earphone 200 includes a wireless communication unit 1R, a speaker 2R, an acceleration sensor 3R, a mounting sensor 4R, a determination unit 5R, a battery 6R, and a charge / discharge control unit 7R, page 4, 2nd paragraph; The left ear earphone 300 includes a wireless communication unit 1L, a speaker 2L, an acceleration sensor 3L, a battery 6L, and a charge / discharge control unit 7L, page 5, 2nd paragraph).
(6) Regarding claim 4:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses the first device and the second device include earphones worn on left and right ears, respectively (The stereo earphone includes an earphone for the right ear, an earphone for the left ear, abstract, as shown in figure 1).
(7) Regarding claim 5:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses the first device and the second device include true wireless earphones worn on left and right ears, respectively (FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a stereo earphone. The stereo earphone 100 includes a right ear earphone 200 and a left ear earphone 300. The stereo earphone 100 is a completely separate wireless earphone. That is, the right ear earphone 200 and the left ear earphone 300 are completely separated and are not wiredly connected to each other, and the stereo earphone 100 and the external device perform wireless communication, page 3, last paragraph – page 4, 1st paragraph).
(8) Regarding claim 6:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses the information processing system
wherein the first device and the second device include a first communication unit and a second communication unit that are communication units which perform wireless communication (right ear earphone 200 comprises a wireless communication unit 1R (page 4, 2nd and 4th paragraph) and left ear earphone 300 comprises a wireless communication unit 1L (page 5, 2nd and 4th paragraph), respectively,
the first communication unit switches the wireless communication between enabled and disabled according to the attached and detached state of the first device, and the second communication unit switches the wireless communication between enabled and disabled according to the attached and detached state of the second device (The wireless communication unit 1R may establish or cancel the communication connection with the smartphone 400 based on the determination result of the determination unit 5R. For example, when the content of the parameter state is switched from "not installed" to "installed", the wireless communication unit 1R establishes a communication connection with the smartphone 400, and when the content of the parameter state is switched from "installed" to "not installed". The wireless communication unit 1R may cancel the communication connection with the smartphone 400. Information on the determination result of the determination unit 5R is transmitted from the right ear earphone 200 to the left ear earphone 300, and the wireless communication unit 1L, like the wireless communication unit 1, uses the smartphone 400 based on the determination result of the determination unit 5R. Communication connection with may be established or canceled, page 8, 4th paragraph, the examiner interprets the action of cancel the communication connection as the claimed disable the wireless communication).
(9) Regarding claim 7:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claim 1, and further discloses the processing unit acquires acceleration information of at least one of the first acceleration or the second acceleration through wireless communication (Information regarding the output of the acceleration sensor 3L of the left ear earphone 300 is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 1L of the left ear earphone 300 to the wireless communication unit 1R, page 4, 8th paragraph).
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.
Claims 10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto (JP2020188392A) in view of Seok et al. (US 2023/0217150 A1).
Regarding claims 10 and 15:
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claims 1 and 12, and further discloses the wireless communication includes wireless communication conforming to a Bluetooth protocol (page 4, 3rd paragraph), but fails to disclose the Bluetooth protocol is a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy standard.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Seok discloses the first wireless earphone 222 and the second wireless earphone 224 may communicate with each other, based on wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth communication, or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication). In various embodiments, at least one of the first wireless earphone 222 or the second wireless earphone 224 (e.g., central (or, primary, or main)) may communicate with the external devices 101 and 300 (e.g., a terminal), based on wireless communication (such as Bluetooth communication, or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication), para. 0125.
It is desirable to use the Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy standard for earphone wireless communication because it reduces power consumption for the communication between earphones. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Seok in the system and method of Yamamoto for the benefit of reducing power consumption.
Claims 8 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto (JP2020188392A) in view of Jin et al. (US 2023/0097491 A1).
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claims 1 and 12, but fails to disclose the acceleration information is transmitted such that the acceleration information is included in an advertising packet when pairing is performed.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jin teaches earbuds uses pairing support signal 620 may be an advertising packet transmitted in the BLE advertising mode to support BLE communication between the first earbud 202 and/or the second earbud 204 and the external electronic device 630. In response to identifying the user's intent, the electronic device 300 may enter the advertising mode for BLE communication and transmit an advertising packet including the device information 605 about the first earbud 202 and/or the second earbud 204 in the advertising mode. The external electronic device 630 may obtain the device information 605 about the first earbud 202 and/or the second earbud 204 from the advertising packet and establish a BLE communication connection with the first earbud 202 and/or the second earbud 204 using the device information 605, para. 0131.
It is desirable for the acceleration information is transmitted such that the acceleration information is included in an advertising packet when pairing is performed because it reduces power consumption for false connection between the earbuds. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Jin in the system and method of Yamamoto for the benefit of reducing power consumption.
Claims 9 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto (JP2020188392A) in view of Kwon (WO/2016/108646 A1).
Yamamoto discloses all subject matter of claims 1 and 12, but fails to disclose the acceleration information is transmitted as characteristic information of a GATT in data communication of a GATT specification.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Kwon teaches a device may include the characteristic information in an advertisement message and transmit the characteristic information to the neighboring device, thereby informing the neighboring control device of the characteristic of the GATT that it can provide. The characteristic information may be referred to as pairing agent feature information (page 36, 6th to 7th paragraph).
It is desirable to have the acceleration information is transmitted as characteristic information of a GATT in data communication of a GATT specification because it provides a pairing information to decide if a pairing is necessary. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching of Kwon in the system and method of Yamamoto for the benefit of preventing false connection and reduces power consumption.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fujita (US 2019/0104557 A1) discloses communication apparatus, method of controlling the same, and storage medium.
Cooper et al. (US 2026/0010288 A1) discloses federated codebook optimization and neural upsampler training for distributed device networks.
Sumita (US 2023/0138231 A1) discloses control method, information processing apparatus, and computer-readable medium.
Ganesan et al. (US 2021/0051742 A1) discloses remote wireless network setup without pairing.
JP2021153243A discloses Sound input-output control device, sound input-output control method, and program.
JP2020184692A discloses Control system and control method of the same.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIU M LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1083. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 8:30-7:00.
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/SIU M LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 6/16/2026
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