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 Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(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) 16-20, 22, 28, 30-31, and 35 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhao (US 2024/0207907 A1, cited in an IDS received 6/11/2025).
Regarding claim 16, Zhao anticipates
“A device comprising:
an enclosure including a port having an exterior opening and one or more interior openings” by teaching a housing with a first sound-pickup hole, where the first sound-pickup hole is provided on the outer wall of the housing to communicate with an accommodating cavity via an interior opening, such as an air guiding passage, and the first sound-pickup hole communicates with a sound-pickup cavity via a second sound-pickup hole (see Zhao, ¶ 0050-0053, figure 1, units 1 and 1a-1b, and figure 2, units 21, 22a-22b);
“a speaker positioned within the enclosure” (see Zhao, ¶ 0050 and 0057, and figure 1, units 1, 1a, and 3);
“an electronic device positioned at the one or more interior openings of the port” by teaching a sound-pickup module, or microphone (see Zhao, ¶ 0050 and 0052, and figure 1, units 2 and 21); and
“a passive radiator positioned at the one or more interior openings of the port, wherein the passive radiator is operable to be driven by sound emitted by the speaker to vibrate and expel liquid in the port out of the exterior opening of the port” by teaching that the speaker outputs sound into a rear sound cavity (i.e., the accommodating cavity) that drives air through the air guiding passage to vibrate a breathable waterproof membrane, or passive radiator, and the vibration of the membrane allows drainage of the sound-pickup, or microphone, cavity (see Zhao, ¶ 0053, 0055, and 0057 and figure 1, units 1a-1b, 2a, 3, 3a, and 23).
Regarding claim 17, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 16, wherein the one or more interior openings include a first interior opening and a second interior opening, wherein the port is positioned at the first interior opening of the port, and wherein the electronic device is positioned at a second interior opening of the port” by teaching the first sound-pickup hole provided on the outer wall of the housing to communicate with an accommodating cavity via an interior opening, such as an air guiding passage (i.e., the air guiding passage reads on the first interior opening), and the first sound-pickup hole communicates with a sound-pickup cavity via a second sound-pickup hole (i.e., the second sound-pickup hole reads on the second interior opening) (see Zhao, ¶ 0050-0053, figure 1, units 1 and 1a-1b, and figure 2, units 21, 22a-22b).
Regarding claim 18, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 17 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 17, wherein the first interior opening and the second interior opening are disposed non-collinearly with respect to each other” by teaching that the openings are orthogonal, or perpendicular to each other (see Zhao, figure 2, units 22a and 22b).
Regarding claim 19, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 17 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 17, wherein the port forms a first conduit between the exterior opening and the first interior opening and a second conduit between the exterior opening and the second interior opening, and wherein at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit is a non-straight conduit” by teaching various non-straight conduits that are arranged between the exterior opening and the first interior opening and non-straight conduits that are arranged between the exterior opening and the second interior opening (see Zhao, ¶ 0050 and 0053, figure 3, units 22a and 22b, and figures 4-10, units 22a and 22b1).
Regarding claim 20, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 19 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 19, wherein the first interior opening adjoins the second interior opening” (see Zhao, figures 2-3, units 22a and 22b, and figures 4-10, units 22a and 22b1).
Regarding claim 22, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 16, wherein the electronic device is a microphone” by teaching a sound-pickup module, or microphone (see Zhao, ¶ 0050 and 0052, and figure 1, units 2 and 21).
Regarding claim 28, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 16, wherein the passive radiator is positioned to face a back side of the speaker, wherein the back side of the speaker is on an opposite side of the speaker from a speaker diaphragm operably coupled to the speaker, and wherein the passive radiator is separated from the back side of the speaker by a volume within the enclosure” by teaching the breathable waterproof membrane (i.e., passive radiator) on the opposite side of the housing from the speaker, the passive radiator is positioned to face the rear of the speaker, and the passive radiator is operably coupled by the accommodating cavity via the air guiding passage (see Zhao, ¶ 0050, 0053, and 0056-0057, figure 1, units 1, 1a, 3, 3a, and 23, and figure 2, units 22b and 23).
Regarding claim 30, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 28 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 28, wherein the passive radiator is positioned to be parallel to be back side of the speaker” by teaching the passive radiator in a parallel position on an opposite side of the accommodating cavity with respect to the speaker (see Zhao, ¶ 0050 and 0057, and figure 1, units 3 and 23).
Regarding claim 31, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 16, further comprising: processing circuitry configured to drive the speaker to emit the sound that cause the passive radiator to vibrate and expel liquid in the port out of the exterior opening of the port” by teaching a smart watch that outputs sound to emit sound from the speaker and vibrate the passive radiator to drain liquid out of the exterior opening (see Zhao, ¶ 0073-0074 and 0078-0079, figure 1, units 1a-1b, 3-3a, and 23, and figure 2, units 1a, 22b, and 23).
Regarding claim 35, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the “device of claim 16, wherein the device is a wearable computing device” (see Zhao, ¶ 0002-0004 and 0049).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Kyocera Corp (JP 2017175284 A, received and cited in the IDS received 11/25/2024 and hereafter Kyocera; pp. 6-21 of the International Search Report and Written Opinion received and cited in the IDS of 11/25/2024 is a translation of JP 2017175284 A and will be cited in the following).
Regarding claim 21, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 16, but does not teach the features where “the port between the interior opening and the exterior opening forms a Venturi tube”.
Kyocera teaches improvements for waterproofing electronic equipment (see Kyocera, ¶ 0004). Herein, Kyocera teaches that the device is provided with a duct having a tapered shape to accelerate air emitted from a speaker in order to drain water more quickly (see Kyocera, ¶ 0069 and figure 8, units 7B-7C, 13B-C, and 13E). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify Zhao with Kyocera for the purpose of improving the force for discharging water (see Kyocera, ¶ 0069).
Therefore, the combination of Zhao and Kyocera makes obvious the “device of claim 16, wherein the passive radiator is positioned at an interior opening of the one or more interior openings of the port, wherein the port between the interior opening and the exterior opening forms a Venturi tube, wherein the interior opening is an opening of an entry cone of the Venturi tube, and wherein the exterior opening of the port is an opening of an exit cone of the Venturi tube” because Kyocera makes obvious the use of a duct having a tapered shape to accelerate air emitted from a speaker in order to drain water more quickly, where the tapered duct reads on the Venturi tube (see Zhao, ¶ 0053, 0055, and 0057 and figure 1, units 1a-1b, 2a, 3, 3a, and 23, in view of Kyocera, ¶ 0069 and figure 8, units 7B-7C, 13B-C, and 13E).
Claim(s) 23-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao as applied to claims 16 and 22 above.
Regarding claim 23, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 22 above. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 22, where the passive radiator is to be driven by a sound frequency in the range of 30-100 Hz and the air guiding passages and the microphone cavity are designed to reduce the microphone’s response to the sound in that same frequency range (see Zhao, ¶ 0079). However, Zhao does not appear to teach that “the passive radiator is tuned to be driven at a sound frequency that is below a passband of the microphone”
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to design the passive radiator with a resonant frequency in the sound frequency in the range of 30-100 Hz to improve the effectiveness of driving water from the port (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079). Therefore, Zhao makes obvious the “device of claim 22, wherein the passive radiator is tuned to be driven at a sound frequency that is below a passband of the microphone” because it would have been obvious to improve ability of the passive radiator to remove water from the port and not have the sound impact the microphone’s ability to capture the user’s voice (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079).
Regarding claim 24, see the preceding rejection with respect to claims 16 and 23. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 16, and for the same reasons as stated above with respect to claim 23, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to design the passive radiator with a resonant frequency in the sound frequency in the range of 30-100 Hz to improve the effectiveness of driving water from the port (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079).
Therefore Zhao makes obvious the “device of claim 16, wherein the passive radiator is tuned to be driven by a sound frequency that is at or below 100 hertz” because it would have been obvious to improve ability of the passive radiator to remove water from the port and not have the sound impact the microphone’s ability to capture the user’s voice (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079).
Regarding claim 25, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 24 above. Zhao makes obvious the “device of claim 24, wherein the passive radiator is tuned to be driven by the sound frequency that is between 10 hertz and 100 hertz” by teaching the emitted sound frequency is in the range of 30-100 Hz and making it obvious to improve the ability of the passive radiator to remove water by tuning its resonant frequency within that range (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079).
Regarding claim 26, see the preceding rejection with respect to claims 16 and 23. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 16, and for the same reasons as stated above with respect to claim 23, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to design the passive radiator with a resonant frequency in the sound frequency in the range of 30-100 Hz to improve the effectiveness of driving water from the port (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079).
Therefore Zhao makes obvious the “device of claim 16, wherein the passive radiator is tuned to be driven by the sound frequency that is between 100 hertz and 200 hertz” by teaching the emitted sound frequency is in the range of 30-100 Hz and making it obvious to improve the ability of the passive radiator to remove water by tuning its resonant frequency within that range (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and 0078-0079), and further making it obvious that the design of the speaker, accommodating cavity, and air guiding passage sizes are an engineering design choice that impacts the resonant frequency of the components.
Claim(s) 27 and 32-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao as applied to claims 16, 22, and 32 above, and further in view of Liang et al. (US 2020/0073338 A1 and hereafter Liang).
Regarding claim 27, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 22 above. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 22, but does not appear to teach or reasonably suggest “a barometric vent coupled to a moving membrane of the passive radiator”.
Liang teaches an electronic watch with a barometric vent to allow air pressure equalization between an interior volume and the external environment (see Liang, abstract). Liang also teaches barometric vents to equalize air pressure between two interior volumes (see Liang, ¶ 0033-0034). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify Zhao with the teachings of Liang for the purpose of preventing damage to sealed portions of the device from changes in barometric pressure (see Liang, ¶ 0033-0034).
Therefore, the combination of Zhao and Liang makes obvious the “device of claim 22, further comprising:
a barometric vent coupled to a moving membrane of the passive radiator, wherein the barometric vent has a time constant that is below operating ranges of the speaker and the microphone” because Liang makes it obvious to provide barometric vents to allow air pressure to equalize between different interior regions of the device and the external environment (see Liang, ¶ 0054-0057, 0068, and 0071-0072, figure 2A, units 211, and figure 2B, unit 231), and Liang further makes obvious that the barometric vents have a time constant below the operating ranges of the speaker and a microphone, because it is obvious to design the vents such that the sound quality is not impacted (see Zhao, ¶ 0079 in view of Liang, ¶ 0052 and 0057).
Regarding claim 32, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 31 above. Zhao anticipates the device of claim 31, but does not appear to teach that “the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive user input selecting a liquid ejection functionality”.
Liang teaches an electronic watch with a barometric vent to allow air pressure equalization between an interior volume and the external environment (see Liang, abstract). Liang also teaches various user input techniques, including the use of a touchscreen display, a crown, and/or a button (see Liang, ¶ 0039-0043 and figure 1A, units 108-110 and 112). It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify Zhao with the teachings of Liang for the purpose of giving the user various inputs to control the functions of a smart device (see Zhao, ¶ 0003-0004 and 0049 in view of Liang, ¶ 0042-0043).
Therefore, the combination of Zhao and Liang makes obvious the “device of claim 31, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive user input selecting a liquid ejection functionality” because Liang teaches that a user initiates an active liquid-ejection technique (see Liang, ¶ 0040-0043 and 0062); and
“in response to receiving the user input, drive the speaker to emit the sound that cause the passive radiator to vibrate and expel liquid in the port out of the exterior opening of the port” (see Zhao, ¶ 0053 and see Liang, ¶ 0061-0062).
Regarding claim 33, see the preceding rejection with respect to claim 16 above. Zhao makes obvious the device of claim 16, but does not appear to teach or reasonably suggest that “the electronic device is a barometer”.
Liang teaches an electronic watch with a barometric vent to allow air pressure equalization between an interior volume and the external environment (see Liang, abstract). Herein, Liang teaches a speaker and a pressure sensing component (i.e., a barometric pressure sensor) in a first internal volume of the device (see Liang, ¶ 0050 and figure 2A, units 204, 206, and 208). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to modify Zhao with the teachings of Liang for the purpose of providing a smart watch with a barometric pressure sensor to enhance functionality of the device, such as providing monitoring of changing air pressure for indicating weather changes and/or elevation changes (see Liang, ¶ 0046 and 0052).
Therefore, the combination of Zhao and Liang makes obvious the “device of claim 16, wherein the electronic device is a barometer” (see Liang, ¶ 0046, 0050, and 0052, and figure 1A, unit 208).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 29 and 34 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
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/Daniel R Sellers/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2694
